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DESTINATION GUIDE: Siurana Revisited

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 UKC Articles 17 May 2011
Albert Cortés on Lo dejé to blanco (F7a) - Siuranella East, 5 kbA destination guide to the sport climbing Mecca of Siurana in northern Spain.

Focusing mainly on the lower and mid graded routes.

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=3709

 Sheffield Sam 17 May 2011
Nice article, always wanted to go there but though it was the preserve of the elite, will have to rethink that!

I may be missing something but the new guidebook seems to be mentioned a few times but without reference to its name or where to get it from! Im sure somebody will be along to correct me shortly mind you!

Sam
 Mick Ward 17 May 2011
In reply to UKC Articles:

Great article! Thanks for doing it. Love the photo of Montsant, above the almond trees and have fond memories of 'getting lost among the endless pockets of another Montsant classic'.

Mick
Davebrown135 17 May 2011
In reply to Sheffield Sam:
The new guidebook is only available in the small climbing shop in the village of Cornudella I believe. It was when we were there only last month.....
The campsite bar may have had some but it had run out when we were there.

Awesome place with LOADS of stuff in the F5 and F6 grades.

Highly Recommended!!

D.
 flaneur 17 May 2011
In reply to UKC Articles:

Ali, thanks for the article.

One question: what is the deal with the Refugio in Siurana village itself these days?
 RBonney 17 May 2011
In reply to UKC Articles: I was confused when i typed siurana into google maps, another place in catalunya called that apparently, looks really cool but would be disappointed if i had to go all the way there to get a guide book.
 Ramon Marin 17 May 2011
In reply to UKC Articles:

The Montsant red wine and the olive oil from Margalef are the some of the best in the world, make sure sample some!
 Sheffield Sam 17 May 2011
In reply to net: Great thanks for the link.

Sam
 JMarkW 18 May 2011
In reply to UKC Articles:

Nice one Ali.

Might drag myself out there. Amazingly not too many phots of your mrs either?

cheers
mark
 ksjs 18 May 2011
In reply to UKC Articles: I'm going to be contrary - sorry! I've been to Siurana twice for month long trips and it is a truly stunning and inspiring place but never did it seem to lend itself to someone climbing in the 5s / low 6s; I think you'd be scratching around to make a week's climbing in that grade range and what there is didn't seem the highest quality.

You certainly can't go to a wall and stay there all day long ticking route after route in those grades. I know more areas have been developed over the last few years and these may well offer more, but still limited, choice however the best bits of Siurana (Can Piqui, L'Olla, Espero Primavera, El Pati, L'Aparador and Siuranella) really need you to be climbing in the 7s.

Yes, if combined with other nearby venues (Villanova de Prades, El Falco, Monsant and Margalef and no doubt others), Siurana could be a great destination but on its own I think it might be a hassle (shifting bags between sectors and limited route choice) if you're climbing 5s and low 6s.
 Alun 18 May 2011
In reply to UKC Articles:
Nice article and photos, Ali, and glad to see you're still enjoying yourself in Reus.

I have to agree with ksjs to a certain extent though. Although there are plenty of 5s and 6s in Siurana, they are either scattered around in the higher grade sectors (e.g. the few very good 6s that are around Sector Primavera), or busy and polished (viz all the rubbish at Can Melafots).

Of the 'newer' places, my favourite for mid-grade stuff is Can Toni Gros, it has a selection of great 6s and a couple of soft 7s (including my one, only, and probably last 7b flash!).

Although La Mussara is out of fashion, I would still recommend it to climbers operating in the 6s.

 Pete O'Donovan 18 May 2011
In reply to UKC Articles:
Good stuff Ali, but I'd also concur with others' comments about Siurana not being the best choice in the area for those looking for 5's and easy 6's.
It's strange just how much of draw both Siurana and Margalef have become in recent times, for climbers of all levels of proficiency, when the majority of folk would have a far more profitable time in the 'old' Serra de Prades haunts such as La Riba, La Mussara, Mont-ral and Arbolí.

Pete.
 ali k 18 May 2011
In reply to UKC Articles:

So much negativity!

No, obviously Siurana is no different to the vast majority of the world famous sport crags, in that you have more choice from 7a upwards, and the harder routes are generally of a higher quality. But name one world-class sport venue that's any different [Horseshoe quarry does not count! ]

The main point of the article was to make people aware that it's not just home to routes like La Rambla and Golpe Estado and that there are some very good quality routes in the 5's and 6's. You just have to be prepared to combine a few sectors in a day and move a little between them. But that means walking maybe 5mins further along the edge, or across the valley, rather than getting in your car and driving between them. I have to say though, I really like that about Siurana. Each sector has a slightly different outlook, a different view - from the sectors around the village overlooking the reservoir, to the Siuranella cliffs perched high up on the ledges with stunning views across to Montsant. Each to their own though. And as you all rightly said, combined with the other crags in the Prades area (all a maximum of 20-30 minutes drive away), there's enough for anyone to go at. But you could hardly write an article about La Mussara or La Riba individually, so it makes sense to base yourself in Siurana and have day trips to the other crags I guess, rather than the other way around.

Although she's climbing a fair bit harder now, when my girlfriend first came here she was limited to the 5's and low 6's in Siurana and she absolutely loved it!

Alun - if you haven't been already, Grau dels Masets Esquerra and Herbolari are a couple of other 'newer' sectors that spring to mind which have plenty of very good quality routes between 6a-7a.
1
In reply to UKC Articles:

Great article and superb photos.
Really makes me want to go back there again.
Sigh....... and continues with work..............
 Maria - Spanny 21 May 2011
This is my hometown!! It's an amazing place, for those who don't climb too hard, la mussara is the place!
 Maria - Spanny 21 May 2011
I think it cost like 7 Euros per night... at least last summer
 Maria - Spanny 21 May 2011
Yeah and careful if you use GPS and write la siurana it may take you somewhere else.... check the road map you can buy it in a petrol station

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