UKC

As said really.

A couple of friends and my girlfriend have recently learnt to climb and would like to go on a trip abroad in the next couple of months.
We're really looking for low grade bolted multipitch. (if it exists?!) as they fancy the adventure of it but don't have the trad experience and aren't yet particularly accomplished at higher grades.

I'm a bit rusty on my climbing destinations and used to be operating in the mid grade 6s so am not sure what the answer would be.

Any suggestions gratefully received, thanks

In reply to ClimberEd:


I haven't been everywhere but of the places I have been I'd say Costa Blanca is well suited to your needs. Plenty of 2 to 5 pitch easy sport climbs at Toix Oueste and Toix Placa near Calpe. Not only that but also even more single pitch climbs of any grade you like so you can get some done with your friends belaying. And with approaches from 5 to 15 minutes and a very very good chance of warm sunshine in December, what's not to like?

Depending on how they get on you could maybe get a bit more adventurous and get 'em up the iconic summit of the Penon d'Ifach on eg Via Valencianos (has one hard move but you (they) can frig it) or Via Pany. (I can't remember whether or not we took and/or used a small rack on these to augment the bolt protection). Yet more adventurous, perhaps the classic Espolon Centrale on Puig Campana might not be beyond your reach, though I wouldn't recommend it for a rope of 4 (would take too long on short days - takes many ropes of 2 too long!!) and you'd want a small rack for it. Plenty of other venues too. The Rockfax will give you the lowdown.

Apartments in Calpe, flights and car hire are cheap enough even taking into account the crappy exchange rate you'll get these days. I normally book a package through eg Travelrepublic. Typically flight, car, apartment and even your Uk airport parking will cost under £200 per person per week, give or take an exorbitant tank of petrol the car hire people will insist on. Or if you want a nice villa airbnb or homeaway are good websites to find those. We have a week somewhere along the coast in December every year - so far averaged perhaps one wet day per trip, and then not always all day.

In reply to ClimberEd:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=652529&v=1#x8427199 a few useful Costa Blanca multipitch suggestions in this recent thread.

In reply to ClimberEd:

Calanques have incredible amounts of routes in that grade range; and for a change you could look into short multipitch in Ste. Victoire, reaonably closeby. better than costa blanca in my opinion.

In reply to tjekel:

What is like for car break ins now, I do fancy a trip there, but this has put me off up to now?

In reply to Jim 1003:

It was fine for us earlier this year at the calanques, but there was plenty of broken glass in the car park. I guess the only problem with the calanques was the polish, but an awesome setting.
Sainte Victoire was incredible, but the lower grade routes weren't exactly bolted in a friendly way!

In reply to ClimberEd:

I would agree the St Victoire option - I did a brilliant long multi-pitch to the top of the crag. Also Calpe - we used to go in December and it was fine for climbing.

Kalymnos has a lovely easy 7-pitch Regensberg which is about 5 minutes from the road. No pitch above 5c. Not sure how easy the flights to Kos are in the winter though.

In reply to Martin Bennett:


It's a fantastic route but I agree with you about timing at this time of the year. We did it as a rope of 3 with alternating leads, and in spite of a pre dawn start to walk in we got overtaken by darkness during the descent and had a bit of unexpected fun descending with head torches - not recommended. We managed to get ourselves down safely, but it was an abject lesson in time planning for 3. A rope of two leading through would be ideal. It's also important to take plenty of water.

I understand that benightments are common amongst parties who underestimate the time it takes, and the local police/mountain rescue have become quite pissed off by people's lack of planning.

In reply to ClimberEd:

Thanks for all the replies and useful info everyone. Plenty to have a look at.

In reply to tjekel:


Hijacking thread somewhat - I've been meaning to get back to the Calanques and around since my only visit in 1972 (when, incidentally, we were warned about car break-ins - plus ça change!) - have you been in December - can one rely on warm sunny days a la Costa Blanca? Canyou recommend a guide book with the relatively easy multi pitch routes you cite? Thanks.

In reply to ClimberEd:
There's a lot of great climbing at these grades around Toulon (see Rockfax Cote d'Azur). This is the best crag I've come across anywhere for bolted 4s & 5s, but there aren't many multi pitch if that's important.
Mount Coudon
Some of the other crags in the area have them, such as Baou de Quatre Ouro where this route gives a good day out as long as you by-pass the starting moves:Les E.T. (4c)

Edit: I see the first link brings up all Mt Coudon - I was referring to Sector Baudouvin in particular.

In reply to Rog Wilko:


This is about to sell out and won't be back in print until some time next year (hopefully early in the year), so if you see a copy it might be worth getting it,

Chris

In reply to Jim 1003:
Piece of advice for those planning a trip to Provence regarding car break ins:
For your tranquility, you can rent a local car from a local through a company like Drivy:
https://www.drivy.com/
It is cheap, you are insured, and can have an old non flashy car with the "door opener" 13 plate number. (This is the number for the Marseille-Aix-Arles-Shire).
Then do not leave anything inside, remove the boot shelf, and, best, let the car open so thieves do not break windows to check by themselves...

This being said, Sainte Victoire is a paradise for low grade multipitch routes.
When you have booked your flight, do not hesitate to ask about the routes there.

Update: I would avoid Nov-Dec period because of the weather. Winter months are better. And Calanques are a very decent Plan B in case of Mistral (north wind)

In reply to Francois R:



We did this - they still smashed the lock at Calanques even though the car was actually left unlocked had they tried it.....

In reply to Babika:

Stupidity has no limit...
Was it a 13 plate?

In reply to ClimberEd:

Costa Blanca fits the bill perfectly and will likely have fine, sunny weather too.
Toix Oeste has plenty low grade sport climbs and most of them are really good. For a bit more adventure try the Morro Falqui sea cliffs (straightforward access).
Here's a link to an information page on our website, has useful notes & info about routes and other things to do in the area: http://www.mountain-journeys.co.uk/guides-and-information.html

Hope you have a great trip.

Mark

In reply to ClimberEd:


Another vote for the Costa Blanca and Toix. It sounds just what you're looking for. I think I've done 8 trips to the CB and I always look forward to our "Multi Pitch Day". Calanques is great, but I think the Costa really is ideal for the routes and time of year.

Marin is also a great place to start your multi pitch account (My partner set up her first multi pitch belay here way back in 2004, and we have a real soft spot for the place). If people are feeling confident by the end of the week, then maybe a trip to Sax (Cabreras) would be a good thing to do. It's only two pitches, but my, oh my do you catch some exposure on the second pitches (and some of the belays!). In the Fives, I thought Tupungato (5c) was utterly brilliant.

Some of the other suggestions on here are getting a bit "Traddy" so I've stuck to routes that are fully bolted.

Enjoy wherever you go

In reply to Jim 1003:

leave the car empty and open. we haven been the some ten times, never had any problem except for one day in the early nineties when the car was broken twice in a day.

In reply to Martin Bennett:

I do not have the climate charts ready, but we've had close to every thing from bitter cold mistral when we climbed in a t-shirt on crwt st. michel and where nearly blown off the top.

there's a guidebook version of the every few years or so - i've had good experiences with various versions of the ffme-guides. they offer enough information to select your crag depending on on wind direction, exposition and temperature.

http://www.topo-calanques.com/

hope this helps, thomas.

In reply to Babika:

That is rather sad.
What I do is not only leave the car unlocked, but also some visible clue that the car is open. If it's a non-rainy non-windy day, a simple way to accomplish that is to just roll the driver's side window down open before going out climbing.
. (also much more difficult to break the window if it's in that configuration).

And I usually leave something of small value inside the car -- sort of like a parking fee if they want it.

I notice that no one is saying _which_ Parking they had their car broken, and which ones they've always been safe. I bet the theft rate is rather different at different locations.

Anyway I've never had my rental car broken into anywhere near the Calanques (but once in range of a Continental city nowhere near there). Nor has anyone ever taken my token small-value item.

The first time I left my car unlocked with the window rolled down it was a thrill to return and find everything intact. Now years later it seems boring.

Ken

In reply to kenr:

Well we did have a sign on the dashboard saying "Cette voiture est vide" but they still broke in.

Perhaps we'd made a grammatical error that really pissed them off

In reply to tjekel:

Thanks Thomas. I'm thinking Springtime might be best bet for Calanques/Ste Victoire etc, Might return yet again to C Blanca in December. Or Sicily? But not sure there's any easy multipitch there.

In reply to ClimberEd:

Hey. For Costa Blanca what did you find you needed for a rack for the trad routes there? I'm on a sport and ice trip so only have draws, slings and nuts.

Anyone know what black Diamond size cams you need for Espolona on Puig Campara?

In reply to Jhnz:

You won't need cams on Espolona on Puig Campara. We did it on a set of DMM offsets and a load of slings

In reply to Jhnz:

Mostly slings and a few nuts is all you'll need for the trad in Costa Blanca. No cams needed from Espolon Central