UKC

Ben Masterson reviews a new guidebook to the wealth of quality crags in Asturias, a Spanish sport destination that you can actually climb at in summer

Read more

In reply to UKC Gear:

A quick question for either Ben or Richie: how much extra stuff is in this one compared to the first book?

In reply to jon:


+1. Just what I was thinking, what is the difference between the first and second guide book?

In reply to UKC Gear:

Going off the cover of the new guide compared to the cover of the old one.

The new guide has 53 crags, 239 sectors and 3410 routes.
Whereas the old one has 43 crags, 193 sectors and 2800 routes.

So 10, 46 and 610 more stuff, respectively.

In reply to Christheclimber:

"This second edition includes 20% more climbs and 20% more sectors across a total of 53 crags. Furthermore Roca Verde is also the first guide ever to include the crags in the Desfiladero de La Hermida." another review http://www.climbonline.co.uk/roca_verde.htm

In reply to Steve Crowe:



Cheers

In reply to UKC Gear:

Has anyone ever been to this area in early February? Research suggests it might be a bit risky, but it'd be nice to go somewhere different for the winter sports climbing trip.

In reply to UKC Gear:

Anyone got any idea of grade spread?

In reply to UKC Gear:

Visited the area last August for Naranjo de Bulnes and was seriously impressed by the roadside crags alone as we drove in. Looking forward to visiting this area again soon, some friends are sport climbing there now and the scenery is stunning down in the valley as it is up high.

In reply to earlsdonwhu:

There are many easy climbs but the bulk of the routes are single pitch in the range 6a-8c. Some of the routes are longer than 35m but can usually be climbed with a 70m rope provided you re-belay as you lower off. 20 quick draws will be sufficient for most of the routes.

In reply to Steve Crowe:

Thanks.

In reply to earlsdonwhu:

Articles by Richie is also on this site;

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=7151

and more recently

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=8501

In reply to jon:

Jon, there are 600 new routes and 6 completely new areas never published as well as 2 or 3 areas which were 'missed' from the first book...
There are also updates to the major crags - especially Teverga where there are 3 new sectors and about 70 new routes...sorry for slow reply been climbing too much...just moved to the middle of Teverga...

In reply to Christheclimber:

Chris, there are 600 new routes and 6 completely new areas never published as well as 2 or 3 areas which were 'missed' from the first book...
There are also updates to the major crags - especially Teverga where there are 3 new sectors and about 70 new routes...sorry for slow reply been climbing too much...

In reply to earlsdonwhu:
To add to Steve Crowes reply there are plenty of 4s and 5s too just not at every crag.
So for example Quiros has loads of 4s and 5s (and even some 3's) whereas at Teverga (10 minutes away) there are less but if you choose the sectors carefully like Depuradora or Electrico there are quite a few 5's too. In Leon there are loads of crags with whole sectors of 4s and 5s as well - Redipollos, Aviados (both new in book 2) and at Pedrosa as well and Penacorada and Rabanal de Luna. Also in eastern Asturias Berodia, Cabadas, and Placas de Esquilleu...

So I would say there is plenty of everything...

In reply to Richie Patterson:

Thanks

In reply to Richie Patterson:

Sounds good Richie, enjoy the climbing.

In reply to Phi:

Phi, sorry for slow reply.
As you say in Feb it can be a bit risky as Feb, March and April are the least stable months for rainfall.
However, it can be brilliant as well with cold clear days and great temps. Basically at that point the general situation is that all the wall climbs remain dry while the tufas are generally wet. And therefore certain crags are better than others so it also depends what grade you are climbing and what you are looking to do.
When the sun's out it's still hot and you can climb in a T shirt...
In Leon, on the plata, it's generally more stable weather at that point and there are more crags which remain very climbable - the only problem is the cold at night as it's nearly at 1000m+...Leon is where the Asturian climbers tend to go in winter.
To be honest though I'd say the back end of the year is a better bet than after Xmas - generally over the last 5 or 6 years it's been very good up until mid-Jan. Obviously depends when you're free...