UKC

Hey guys. going to Barcelona for a few weeks this december with some friends. we will have about 7-8 days of climbing and just looking for a general sampling of all the best areas. But never been there before and the amount of crags is making my head spin! What are the top 2-3 must-go areas for sport and bouldering respectively? What would be a good home base to reach the crags? Also, are there any guide books that cover larger territories so I dont have to buy 50 different books? Thanks in advance!

Tarragona Climbs and Lleida Climbs will give you good coverage of the best of the sport climbing in the area between them.

Donde escalar en Espania is a worthwhile publication for an overview of the best crags around the country, should you wish to venture any further.

At this time of year, I'd just be flexible and go wherever the weather and conditions look best, rather than trying to hit the "must see" crag. There's world class venues everywhere you turn, it's hard to go wrong.

I've never bouldered in Catalonia - there's too much of the aforementioned world class sport.

Trying to sample the very best of the best of Catalunya climbing in only 7-8 days is a bit of a tall order...

That said, a few zones are regarded as 'must visits' on the world sport climbing scene and these would include Montserrat (only the south side at this time of year), Siurana, Margalef, Camarasa and Terradets. But really, there are dozens and dozens of high-quality sports venues right across the region.

For bouldering, there's Savassona and Can Boquet, neither of which is very far from Barcelona, as well as El Cogul in the west of the region. Information regarding the latter can be found here:

http://www.lleidaclimbs.com/p/bouldering-el-cogul.html

Pete.

At what grades do you climb ? Part of the answer must depend on this - Terradets Bruixes is only a top recommendation for folk climbing at least 7a ...

thx! those seem like great suggestions. will def take a look.

I understand that some regions are higher up in the mountains and thus might be quite cold. any areas to avoid during this time of year?

Yes I am aware that it would be impossible to do all of it. We may decide to focus on only 2-3 areas depending on weather/psyche/etc. but just needed a general filter to figure where to even start looking.

thx for the suggestions, will look into them.

good to know. personally i climb up to 7a, but we have some beginners in the group as well. so terradets definitely does not sound ideal. crags that feature a good mix of grades would be preferable, so everyone has stuff to climb.

For the Lleida zone I recommend Camarasa - newer S facing sectors, St LLorenc de Montgai Cilindre (conglomerate),  Os de Balaguer, Ager Baranc de Grillons (but needs a 80m rope), Abella Iglesia (the last two  essential in case of winter fog) .

There is a lot more - but that would make a good starter

Currently in Camarasa and primo conditions, with a good spread of grades, so can second others recommendations.

Although I live in the Margalef area, I always recommend a visit to Montral for those climbing mid grades. It is very quiet, great rock,  less  affected by winter fog, great area in the 6s and medium 7s, lovely scenery and  extremely tranquil. Pete's guide Tarragona climbs has a great selection of routes.

It is also close to Siurana, La Mussara, Arboli and an hour from Margalef.