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Spain Advice

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 ghughes1989 27 Feb 2022

Hi all

I am planning a sport climbing trip to Spain next year for 3 months (March, April and May). I am hoping to visit a few different areas but also want to stick around for a few weeks in certain areas to work on some projects. I am currently red pointing around 7a. 

I am currently thinking about the following areas:

  • El Chorro
  • Jaen
  • Chuillia
  • Siruana
  • Margalef
  • Monserrat
  • Camarasa
  • Rodellar

I was just hoping for advise on the following questions:

  1. Is there any other areas that you would recommend
  2. How is the accommodation in these areas that you would recommend
  3. How far are the crags from the accommodation
  4. Is it better to work South to North during these months 
  5. Is a 80m rope required
  6. I will be going alone so is it easy enough to find climbing partners (generally speaking)

Thanks all

Gareth

 racodemisa 28 Feb 2022
In reply to ghughes1989:

I'd recommend the Catalan hubs Siurana (campground..still an excellent place to meet climbers) and Margalef which has a van park/campground with a cafe which is a good hub though sometimes quieter than Siurana.All in all you have margalef..montsant....siurana..arboli.. and about 4000 rts to go at .Much more if you include local outlier areas.Northern Catalan areas are more spread out though.Spanish towns are nearer so hubs are smaller and less easy perhaps to meet people. If your Spanish is good you can look up local social media climbing partner platforms and find climbers perhaps this way..

Post edited at 09:03
OP ghughes1989 28 Feb 2022
In reply to racodemisa:

Great! Thanks for that, can't wait to get into it! And would you recommend a longer rope? 70/80m?

 Ciro 28 Feb 2022
In reply to ghughes1989:

Definitely better to work South to North - by March a lot of the van travelling climbers will have already moved north from Costa Blanca and Valencia to Catalonia, and by mid April might be heading for France - and the van travelers are a good source of climbing partners, people going out for a couple of weeks tend to have that sorted.

France can be a bit harder finding climbing partners, but Ceuse is definitely an exception to that - the stiff walk in there means a lot of people will hike up on their own when their partner wants a rest day and find a partner at the crag... Depending on the weather and how you're travelling, I'd consider ending the trip with a couple of weeks there. Catalonia is already very hot - although Rodellar will be good - so it depends whether you want some of the most fun and exhausting 3D tufa climbing to be found anywhere on the planet, or arguably the best sport crag in the world 🙂

Edit: an 80m will do you, but i find a skinny triple rated 100m rope best for a long trip in Europe - that way you can always chop a bit of damage off and still be OK on a 40m route. 

Post edited at 11:50
 racodemisa 28 Feb 2022
In reply to ghughes1989:

An 80m is advised but only for certain rts at say montsant or arboli.Some of the northern Catalan crags it's definitely more than handy I would have thought.Rodellar as well.

Post edited at 20:43
 henwardian 01 Mar 2022
In reply to ghughes1989:

Definitely get an 80m rope minimum. You _will_ find pitches that you want to climb that need it and after a month or two of (ab)use you will have had to trim 2-3m sections of each end at least once (and probably more if you do much projecting). Anything shorter will just become irritating and there really isn't _that_ much difference in price.

My experience of Siurana and Margalef were that it wasn't hard to find partners. Not been to the others, except Montserrat and that was only for like 2 days or something.

 Aigen 02 Mar 2022
In reply to ghughes1989:

All excellent places.

On your way home you should stop at Montserrat and do one multi pitch route, Then head to Verdon and do the same and then to Cause. Finally stopping in Font and pop into Paris for a day before getting the ferry back to England. 

 dominic o 04 Mar 2022
In reply to ghughes1989:

Those are all good options and you'll easily occupy yourself for 3 months with that list. Thinking about later in your trip, you could also consider the areas covered in the "Roca Verde" guide in Asturias, Cantabria and Leon? Great climbing and culture and a good alternative to the "usual suspects". There's a bit of a destination guide / trip report here:

https://rockaroundtheworld.co.uk/2016/10/22/a-month-of-roca-verde/

For general information on all the crags you've mentioned and a couple of hundred more, visit the Spain section of our blog:

https://rockaroundtheworld.co.uk/category/spain/

As an added bonus, my favoured onsight grade is 7a so you'll find a ready-made ticklist and plenty of beta!

Have a great trip! Cheers, Dom 

 Tyler 04 Mar 2022
In reply to ghughes1989:

By Camerasa do you mean the general area because I didn’t really rate the crag itself but Collecats and Tres Ponts which are in the vicinity are good. 
It will probably be a bit warm by May so if d take a look at the Rocca Verde guide before you go so you have some options

 critter 06 Mar 2022
In reply to Tyler:

It's a long drive from Llieda to Cantabria, particularly if you decide to drive south, under the Pyrenees, rather than through France to the Basque country.

There will be a multitude of crags  further north and/or in the mountains that will be closer. Cavallers comes to mind.

 climbercool 06 Mar 2022
In reply to ghughes1989:

my advice would be to do less, you could spend 3 months in just one of those areas and have a blast, cut off the Andalucia crags and save them for a future holiday, it will make a much more relaxed trip and hopefully allow you to see the areas you do visit in a more intimate way.


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