In reply to TheGeneralist:
> Got to say, I'm dissappointed with this article. Was in El Chorro last year and the year before and the situation regarding access was a mess. I assumed that it would just drop off the radar of most climbers as a consequence. The locals were well pissed off and even the local guides didn't know what was going on.
> Essentially the idea was that you just took your chances in the tunnels. It was this bizarre situation that the climbing on the front wasn't all that amazing but the climbing in the back required running the gauntlet of guards/police on the railway. Nobody seemed sure what to do.
I am not sure what you mean by ‘climbing on the front’. The gorge and the tunnels represent about 10% of the climbing on offer at El Chorro and it is far from the best. The vast Frontales cliff, Encantadas area, the lovely slabs of Abdalajis, and the brilliant Desplomilandia have thousands of routes without any access issues. Makinodromo is easily reached without going through any tunnels. There is also the stunning new crag of Puerto Rico which has some of the most amazing mid-grade tufa routes I have seen plus the beautiful walls of St. Anton. Add in the hard stuff at Archidona, the excellent wall at Villanueva de Cauche, the fine slabs of Turon and the wild rock formations of El Torcal and you have plenty of variation.
Yes, the polished slabs of Los Cotos are difficult to get to, as is the quality El Polovorin. The gorge routes were never that good and there are around 6 routes on Navegador that have a seasonal bird restriction but basically, that’s it.
The reason we have published this article is because of misconceptions like the one you have stated here. There are at least twice as many routes since the last guide so we are producing a 400+ page guidebook (the last one was 200 pages) which will cover routes with excellent access and I am very confident that it will sell fine. One reason I know this is that the previous edition has been consistent seller and it has even picked up in recent years because of the quality of the new developments.
> Gobsmacked that RockFax are producing a new guide with not really any more definitive info, other than break the law and go through the tunnels anyway.
Every crag we cover will have information on how to get to it without breaking the law and going through the tunnels because it is really easy to do that. We will state the facts about the tunnels but we will only say that is an option if you wish to Los Cotos or El Polvorin a bit quicker, but you do so at your own risk.
Alan