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Sport climbing in Europe

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NicolaO 02 Jun 2016
My self and my partner are looking to have a sport climbing holiday in September exact date 19th for one week.

We went to Sardina last year and had an excellent time doing the sport routes and would like to try the south of France or somewhere in Spain. But open to suggestions of good places to go. Can anyone recommend anywhere and include a recommendation for the guide book to go with the area.

With regards to grade: in Sardina we were happy and comfortable on 5a to 5c and enjoyed the challenge of a 6a+ Even if not always successful done very gracefully!

We are looking for somewhere which will sunny, warm and easy to get to as we only have a week.

I look forward to hearing people's suggestions.

Many thanks

Nicola
 Greylag 02 Jun 2016
In reply to NicolaO:

I'm not a sport climber nor a seasoned European climber but I'm off to the Tirol in August and there's a bible sized book for sport climbing available in UK shops, £35.

Fly to Munich or Innsbruck and apparently, according to the friend I'm going with many sport crags are roadside and there are some at 1500m if you were feeling adventurous.
 The Ivanator 02 Jun 2016
In reply to NicolaO:

You want warm, but some of the best Spanish areas may be scorchingly hot still in September, but Mallorca offers the option of DWS if the bolted crags are too hot (Rockfax guide covers Sport and DWS). Costa Blanca area is another option, again you'll need to research shady options to maximise your climbing opportunities (Rockfax guide).
Ariege (French side of the Pyrenees) is slightly higher, likely to be a little cooler and has plenty in the right grade range Calamès (Limestone) and Auzat (Granite) are especially good low/mid grade Sports Climbing venues, again Rockfax do a guidebook. Some of the other major destinations in the South of France are better for those operating in higher grades, but there are exceptions.
All easy to access fly to Palma (Mallorca), Alicante (Costa Blanca), Carcassonne or Toulouse for Ariege. Hiring a car is an advantage in all these places.
 CurlyStevo 02 Jun 2016
In reply to NicolaO:
I went to Croatia at that exact time last year. The weather was pretty good for climbing although it did get too hot directly in the sun for a few hours in the middle of the day some days. Its cheaper than Spain and very beautiful with amazing water clarity for swimming. I would look in to it. The weather isn't quite as reliable as spain at that time of year but it is generally a little less hot.
Post edited at 18:04
 Elsier 02 Jun 2016
In reply to NicolaO:

Paklenica in Croatia should be the perfect temperature that time of year, the multi pitch climbing is fantastic, and there is plenty to do in that grade range (the grades are quite stiff though, so you will need to factor that in) but if you're looking for single pitch then elsewhere might be better, as IMO the single pitch routes are getting quite polished.

The Guidebook is Paklenica Rock Climbing.

Corsica is also pretty amazing, with so much climbing in that grade range, although it is pretty spread out around the island, but you would probably find enough around the Bavella area or Restonica to keep you going for a week. It's mostly granite so a nice change from the usual sport climbing on Limestone.

There is a guidebook available with descriptions in English as well as French (Falaise de Corse)
 DundeeDave 03 Jun 2016
In reply to NicolaO:

Two years ago we went to Kalymnos for the first week in September, climbing similar grades to you. It was hot but crags in the shade were fine: we climbed every day though often not all day.

David
 BrendanO 05 Jun 2016
In reply to NicolaO:

Tenerife? Depending if you have good direct flights from where you are: lots at yr grade, choice of sun/shade, often both in same venue, and good bolts & rock. Local topos downloadable from shop/website adds lots to what's available in the guide book.
 Rog Wilko 05 Jun 2016
In reply to NicolaO:

I think that if you're mainly wanting to climb 5s and 5+s you need to be aware that a lot of popular sport venues don't have a large choice of routes in that grade range, and that in quite a lot of places the so-called 5s are really sandbags. I don't think you could beat going to Provence where the crags around Buis les Baronnies and the Dentelles de Montmirail will give you much more stuff than you can even look at in a week. Having said that, the grading across the crags is quite variable. For starters I'd go for Baume Rousse which has loads of confidence-boosting 5s and 5+s and the Rocher de Cayron (ditto). There are some shady crags should these be needed.
Guidebooks: Haute Provence (Rockfax) does a good job over this area. If you want to buy a local guide Escalade en Drome Provençale is a good up-to-date and easily usable guide which covers mainly the Buis area, and has a number of crags to interest you which aren't in Rockfax (eg the recently developed Aiguille de Buis). This book is widely available in shops and supermarkets in and around Buis.
This area is also one of the most agreeable parts of France (in my opinion). I can recommend some good gites if you are interested in that).
You can fly to Nice with Easyjet and hire a car or you may get lucky with cheap flights to Lyon or Marseille at that time of year.

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