UKC

Hey all, 

Looking at getting away from the cold this January to find some sun and some big multi pitch routes. We had a brilliant time in El Chorro last year, but would be keen to go elsewhere!

Anyone got any recommendations? We’re looking at Montserrat at the moment and it’s looks cool but potentially too cold? Anywhere else people would recommend.

Neither of us can rent a car sadly, so preferably somewhere doable by public transport!

We’d preference trad too - anything up to about E2, but are happy for big multi pitch sport as well!

looking forward to hearing your recommendations! Cheers!

Malta.

Easy to get around with taxis, Ubers, etc.

Although there's no big multi pitch routes there are quite a few lovely sea cliff multipitch routes.

Flights and accommodation are reasonably priced 

Isn’t January generally a bit grim at most climbing venues in Europe? If you can wait a couple of months so many more venues start to become reliably pleasant. Presumably Morocco has what you want though in terms of winter multi-pitch and also trad routes. 

Morocco would be very tricky if not impossible without a hire car.

I think the rest of the list of usual suspects will probably also be tricky, however Costa Blanca and El Chorro are very commonly visited.

Wadi Rum is worth considering. Not quite in Europe but ticks the boxes for big multi-pitch, trad, perfect in January, and fine without a hire car. Fantastic adventure climbing too, albeit probably more expensive than the Spanish options.

Leonidio should be reliable for weather in January. Reachable by bus from Athens, or lots of people offering ride shares in their hire cars, and once you're there the main multipitch sector is in easy walking distance directly above the town.

Not sure how much there is in your grade range though - there's a few bolted routes up to 6b or so, but I suspect the trad if any would be much harder

Costa blanca . You can make do without a hire car if you climb on the penon ifach (there's trad up to 14 pitches) and stay in calpe. Probably also other options . For the weather there's only 2-3 rainy days all month of January 

We did the Todra Gorge without a hire car, admittedly not trad but two out of three isn’t bad.

Whereas the Costa Blanca would seem a bit of a nightmare without a hire car. Chulilla is nice but it’s just single pitches and I’ve no idea how you’d get there without a car. (Google Maps seems to think it’s possible by bus.)

I just tend to think that January is not the best month for long routes.

If you can get to Finestrat (35mins taxi from Alicante) and stay at the Orange House, The Puig Campana isn't far away. Espolon Central is 13 pitches of HS with some bolts, but mostly trad. There's the option of another 5 pitches to finish on the summit, but this is a bit more Alpine-esque in terms of route finding etc. We did in January and was perfect. 

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/puig_campana-1689/espolon_central-...

The added bonus is that there will be loads of other climbers at the Orange House for you to share lifts with. 

As a slight digression. but probably still relevant here, I think it's fair to say that the 'Type' column in the Peñón de Ifach database page - https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/penon_de_ifach-1697/ - could do with a few tweaks; apart from aid routes and just a couple of others it appears to categorize everything else as a sport route. Admittedly blurred memory, but also a glance at some of the route descriptions, suggest otherwise.

Another vote for Costa Blanca. January is often perfect weather there for a climber. You'll see from some of these blog entries: https://www.mountain-journeys.co.uk/category/puig-campana/ - we've had plenty of big multi-pitch days there at that time of year.

For Puig Campana you're best staying in Finestrat and The Orange House would make a good base: https://theorangehouse.co.uk

Calpe is also well worth considering. Loads of great climbing on El Peñon d'Ifach and there's the Toix sea cliffs, with routes like: https://www.mountain-journeys.co.uk/parle-toix-sea-cliffs/

And if you base yourself in La Nucia, there's the big walls of Ponoch to have a go at. Last Jan we climbed Flor de Luna on there and that proved to be fantastic: https://www.mountain-journeys.co.uk/flor-de-luna-ponoch/

Hope that's helpful 

If you're committed to January, looking for multi-pitch and already been to El Chorro, then I reckon Costa Blanca (and specifically Calpe) is your best bet. Penyon, Toix seacliffs, Ponoch and Sella all offer options and after 30 years of winter sun-rocking I don't think there's anywhere more reliable.

A flavour of Penyon fun here: https://rockaroundtheworld.co.uk/2017/02/12/penyon-difach/

Have a great trip! Cheers, Dom 

Another vote for Calpe/Penon de ifach

Sardinia maybe?  Plenty of multipitch stuff, and almost certainly not too cold in January.

I'd second that. Certainly a lot more scenic than Calpe. Having been rather hot on it in February, January might be ideal for the brilliant Giradili: https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/punta_giradili-9925

Edit: Oops. Just seem you won't have a car. Probably forget Sardinia.

Thank you for all the advice all! I'll have a good look at all your suggestions! Cheers!