UKC

Booking flights for a quick 4/5 day trip next week , we are staying in Altea ( free accommodation ) .

Iv never been somewhere were its mainly sport climbing so its a bit of grey area but I guess it cant be that hard to work out . My questions are :

I climb trad at about vs 4c ( on a good day )/ hvs 5a ( on a really good day ) . I know the grading probably doesn't have a direct conversion but is there a rough grade to be aiming for , and what are the best crags for lower grades?

Is 10 quick draws enough or do I need to get more? We plan on mixing it up with single pitch routes and hopefully plenty of multis . Also , Iv been eyeing up some new quick draws anyways but they re light weight trad types , I notice that most people seem to use the thick ones for sport , I'm assuming using skinny ones is the same thing just people prefer the tougher one from extended use at sport?

In terms of ropes and gear , Is there any point in bringing my full trad rack? I spoke with a friend about ropes and he said to bring halfs and a long single . I own a pair of 60m halfs and a 60m single so I guess ill do that . How ever i was wondering , If i use doubles on a sport route do i clip both ropes through each draw on routes that go straight up and then left / right as you would on a trad route when it winds over and back ?

I know the obvious answer to this is '' why do you need halfs on a route that goes straight up " . My thinking behind this is to be able to do 60m abseils if needs be . Please feel free to correct me if I'm being silly

As you can tell my sport experience is very limited and I'm trying to gain as much info as possible before we go so please feel free to set me straight if any of the above seems daft

Thanks for reading

In reply to discosucks:

You should be aiming for grade 5 although you may find the bolts will give you extra confidence to be more ambitious.


Between 15 and 20 would be better, some routes are very long. Any style will do it's a personal choice. I prefer solid biners (DMM Shadows) but it's not that important.


There are trad routes in Echo Valley but as you say Costa Blanca is primarily a sports venue so it's up to you. Using doubles on a sports route is a bit of a faff and it is seldom necessary to extend any great distance. Whether to clip alternately or together depends on a number of things. If your doubles are not too thick I would be inclined to do the latter.


See previous answer. The majority of sports routes are single pitch to a lower off. If you are doing multi pitch you really need to consider the length of each pitch and in some cases doubles may be essential. As mentioned I find climbing sport on doubles a faff and wouldn't do it but then I own an 80 metre triple rated rope.

Al

In reply to discosucks:

Olta and Toix Oeste are the obvious easy access easy grade crags, but Echo Valley is well worth a visit

In reply to discosucks:

Refer to Gridnorth's pronouncements above, Gav (that is Gav isn't it?). AKA The old man of the mountains ("look who's talking", he would say) his is a voice of wisdom and experience and, as The Chancellor of The Exchequer might be heard to say: "I commend it to you".

In reply to discosucks:

For Costa Blanca I only ever bother taking a 60m single rope and about 15 quickdraws. I'm usually a trad climber but I've never really seen the point of searching out trad lines amongst the excellent bolted lines (unless you have a particular trad protected target in mind, of course).

Sounds like you should be targeting 5s to start with and I'd definately put Sella on your list of places to go.

In reply to discosucks:

Hey!

Myself and a group of friends are flying out there on Saturday and will be there for a week. A mixed bunch of sport and trad climbers, all taking a variety of gear. Last year, I took a 60m rope (single) and about 12 quick draws, a few slings and crabs....didn't really need much else (I haven't started trad climbing yet).

As Paul mentioned.....Echo Valley is definitely worth a visit, it was my favourite place

In reply to discosucks:

I’m a bit different to most of the replies. I like low grade trad and low grade sport. But I only really like multi-pitch. Single pitch to me, like bouldering, is a bit boring.

I always go to costa with double ropes – sort of – at the moment a light triple-rated single + 8mm half usually stuffed in a small backpack. Namely, for getting off stuff.

Toix has quite a few fun low-grade multipitch sports routes at the west end. About 3-5 pitches. You CAN ab off (all well rigged with chains) with a single rope. But much easier with an extra rope in your (tiny) pack.

Echo Valley has some good low grade trad. You can walk off some of that, but I used my extra ab rope to bail out off one a few weeks ago! So obviously a bit less worrying with an easy retreat option in the bag.

Obviously need a reasonable rack for that Echo Valley stuff too.

And a small rack means you can Espolon Central on Puig Campana. Which is always the highlight of any trip there. Especially if you are a low grade trad fan!

Good low grade sport crags:
Toix
Alacali
or a long drive Marin

4-5 days will not be long enough.

In reply to paul_in_cumbria:

I took clients to Toix Este Left for some trad, as far as I took tell everything there is now bolted, including retro of the sport climb. Didn't do the upper pitches of the longer routes.

In reply to discosucks:

Puig Campana, most still trad on the easier lines.
There is a lot of trad on Ponoch too but that maybe a bit too hard starting at 6a ish
Divino is good Espolon Pertemba.
Cabazon Gene or Espolon Paiju if you're prepared for a little aid.
Perhaps the ridges too, there are a huge amount of them. To get a taste do the ones in the RF first.