UKC

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=8813

Looks cool and different to the usual lime stuff and has got me inspired. Does anyone have any information and advice on this area??

E.g.
Where to order guidebook?
Where to fly in to? (Malaga? But quite a drive...)
Simple accomodation options?
Winter conditions? (assuming it's pretty good)
Amount of good routes in 6b-7a range?
Other crags nearby?

Thanks in advance!

In reply to Fiend:

Book
Andalucia, guia de escalada deportiva - has english sections and covers the area of Tarifa (where San Bartolo is)

We bought ours in Tarifa at the climbing shop.

info - http://www.tarifainfo.com/en/climbing.html

Tarifa is the wind capital of Europe for kite surfing so loads of cheap accomodation.

Malaga was good an option (1 hr drive), the other is Gibraltar

Other crags (as listed in the book) Benaocaz, Grazalema, El Bujeo, Castellar, Jimena, La Muela, La Canada

In reply to Fiend: prob worth doing a search for tarifa on here

In reply to Fiend: http://www.libreriadesnivel.com//libros/andalucia-guia-de-escalada-deportiv...

For buying the 2010 guidebook

In reply to Fiend:
Fiend - its bloody late! I'll reply at greater length tomorrow/today/when I'm awake.

In reply to Fiend:
Fiend.
Crag is in the David Munilla guides to 'Andalucia' and 'Cadiz'. May be available through Cordee? The Cadiz guide is certainly available in the Decathlon in Algeciras. The topos are crap in both guides - although the 'Cadiz' guide is quite recent some of the diagrams bear little relation to reality. But its 'work outable'.
I flew to Malaga. I would suggest that an hour drive is optimistic (unless you really hammer down the 'payage' sections of motorway but you can certainly do it in 2/3 hours meandering along the coast road - plenty of Lidls to stock up at!
The road from Tarifa to San Bartolo is lined with kite-surf centres all doing 'bungalow-style' accommodation. I think that there is a refuge in the small village below the crag as well. There is a pretty funky bar at the road junction beyond the crags where, if you have the bottle, you can watch Chelsea knocking Valencia out of the Champions league live - or equivalent! Tarifa is a cool chilling venue with limitless bars and hippy shops.
Mid December the temp was steady in the 20's and there was no rain for a week - probably pot luck. The environment is quite green so I would suspect there is some moisture comes in off the Atlantic!
At your grade range you'd certainly find enough to keep you occupied at San Bartolo for 3/4 days. There's loads easier and there are also quite a few trad multi pitch routes
Other crags?
Close by is El Bujeo; close to a military zone (there are many signs in the area warning of military areas - seems you can ignore most of them!) and a bit minor but a couple of days worth at your grade range.
Next crag is Castellar (N of Algeciras); worth a visit for the Castle! Probably not worth a visit just for the climbing - a few small slabby sectors.
A couple of hours away is Grazalema (might be worth moving base). Not been myself but it looks to be the major crag of the area - limestone rather than hard sandstone - loads to go at.

I really liked the area - if you'd like to have a look at scans of a few of the topos to give you an idea just PM me.

Andy

In reply to Fiend: Hi friend I live down in Gib and I would be more than happy to show you some routes in Gib and the local area.

In reply to people:

Thank you all for your replies. It did look a fair drive from Malaga but under 3 hours is okay. It sounds promising!!

In reply to anyone:

Can anyone do me a favour - can someone scan a couple of topo pages for a couple of crags near Malaga / en-route to Tarifa?

We arrive at 11:30 so will have an afternoon on the first day, I was hoping to get some climbing in before driving down. I tried to buy a copy of David Munilla's area guide but can't find one. So if there's any easy access crags en-route with 6b-7a climbing anyone can send me details of, that would be much appreciated.

In reply to Fiend:

Andy Say's got some good info there, I'll have save or print it out.

How long did you go for?

I'm just wondering if I can get a 4/5 day pass and nip out and bag a couple of days climbing

Better knock the Works on the head and get back down the Edge for some route fitness. And knock off about a stone of weight I've put on over the last year, Doh!
I've put a lot on since our 2nd child was born.

J