Climbing Southern Spain

2008-06-11T06:56:00.000-07:00

I don’t want to stereotype, but with the odd exception, climbers tend to be tighter than a ducks backside, total skinflints if you like. I have known climbers wear the same pair of socks for weeks in order to save a couple of quid in the vain hope that they might squeeze an extra day out of there trip. People may frown on this sort of behaviour but when you realise how much time they are spending avoiding work and just playing, it makes you kind of wonder! Last year I spent a couple of weeks in the sun with my family soaking up the rays, it was very nice, very exclusive and very pricey! For the same cost I once travelled for three months in New Zealand climbing and that included buying a car! That’s right, when needs must, I’m also as tight as a duck’s arse. So when the chance of a free trip to Spain came along, courtesy of Alhambra Rambler, I couldn’t pack my bags fast enough.

The above company was set up by an English friend of ours about four years ago who specialises in organising group activity holidays in and around the Granada area. Based out of Alhama, they are central to the area with some stunning locations. They cover everything from mountain biking to trekking, with plenty of drinking and tapas in between. The idea behind the trip was to bring John and myself (as so called experienced climbers) out to Spain to scope all the nearest climbing venues to see if they were good locations for both novices and experienced climbers alike. What we failed to tell Terry (the boss) was that neither john nor I had actually used a rope for some time, as we both had bouldering syndrome. Needless to say our sport climbing fitness wasn’t the best but we figured the fact that it was free and we were psyched would make up for it.

“Take” god I’m pumped my guns have given up the ghost! (That’s climbing terms for what the hell am I doing up here). Day one was spent at Los Cahorros and was a bit of a wake up call especially with a hangover! But the absolutely stunning location soon made up for it. The climbing is located in a valley rich with colour and wildlife, with climbs of all grades, some of which climb alongside waterfalls and others follow amazing tufers on perfect rock. After a bit of a lazy start we both seemed to shake off the lethargy and start getting our teeth into the routes. We ticked most of the routes in Sector Erotico (mainly because we liked the name) but also as it climbs alongside a waterfall and has loads of atmosphere. Following that we moved to Sector Casilla to try a couple of harder routes, finishing off by climbing “Alpinistas de mucho calibre 7c” a great route that that comes highly recommended. By the time we got finished it was getting late and my mouth was as dry as a camels toe, so we headed for the nearest oasis for a well deserved drink, lucky for us it was located at the bottom of the crag. The fact we didn’t have to drive (terry taxied us everywhere) turned out to be a godsend, as it stopped all the ‘who’s turn is it to drive’ arguments and we could just chill with a couple of cold ones after a hard days work.

The 5 mile run we had planned for the following morning went by the wayside as the large quantities of wine we had drunk meant we could only manage a brisk walk to the car. I hid behind sun glasses and suffered in silence as we made the half hour journey out to Loja, the second venue Terry wanted us to look at. As soon as we stepped foot out of the car the hangover seemed to vanish as we stared in awe at a crag with hundreds of routes at all grades on perfect compact limestone, a crag that stays in the shade in the morning but gets the sun in an afternoon. John kicked off by ticking a couple of awesome 6b+ routes “Sidroterapia” and “D’ayo”, both of which felt way hard for the grade but well worth the effort. The pick of the bunch however was Patranas a 6a+ route that was just sublime! We settled for a cruzy afternoon as we both wanted to save ourselves for some harder routes the following day. As we kicked back in the sun Terry presented us with a couple of cold ones from the ever stocked cool box and all we could do was sit grinning at each other as this just about summed up a fantastic day.

Day three and back at los Cahorros and we were both fresh and mad for it. After warming up we headed straight for Sector Diabolico, a great leaning wall, riddled with tufers in permanent shade. A nice cold breeze from the river meant conditions were good. We picked anything that resembled a boulder problem and set to work ticking some stunning routes. Later in the afternoon we got stuck into a brilliant un-named 7c+ whilst I was very surprised at the on sight I don’t think anyone was quite as surprised as Toddy (Terry’s dog) who whilst watching took the biggest whipper of the day by falling 7 foot off the path into the river ouch! As he was feeling a little sorry for himself we thought it best to wrap it up for the day and head off to the all you can eat Chinese buffet in Granada for a night of indulgence.

On our fourth and final climbing day we were keen to go back to Loja to scope out some routes suitable for beginners and groups, before heading down to Sector Central O Asombra, home of the hardcore. An area that boasts 50 routes of 7c and above all, within a stones throw from each other. The morning was spent checking out where best to take groups for instruction, and cruising on user friendly routes. The afternoon was spent getting spanked all over town, sweating, swearing then getting spanked all over again, frustrating yes but in a strange kind of way, deeply satisfying!

On our final night, before flying home we were being quizzed by a local journalist over a few wines about our trip and what we thought of the area. Racking my slightly sozzled brain I struggled to think of another trip that was so effortless, but offered so much. Where else could you get the climbing, the culture and weather all wrapped up in a nice little package when the only thing you have to worry about is getting up in a morning? It’s a package holiday that delivers what ever you want, you can go basic and sort out your own accommodation and just use Terry as a guide. Or you can do it in style and let Alhambra Rambler sort out everything, accommodation, transport and packed lunches for the crag. Christ, Terry will even quite happily belay all day if that’s what you want! And all this for around £280 based on 6 people for a week, even for a tight ass like me that’s a bargain. So will we be back next year, damn right! And with those kind of prices I might even buy an extra pair of socks.

Fact File

How to get there

Granada is the closest airport and the best option. Ryan Air offers cheap flights from Liverpool, Stanstead and East Midlands. The best offers tend to be the mid week flights. Alternatively you could fly to Malaga from Manchester or Liverpool.

Season

It would be possible to climb all year but the best conditions will be found from September through till May, as the summer months tend to be a tad warm.

The Climbing

All the climbing areas are covered in the Andalucia guide written by David Munilla.

The guide can be bought from www.desnival.com but Terry also has a couple of copies available.

Where to stay

My recommendation is book through Alhambra Rambler and let them find the best accommodation for you, depending on numbers and where you want to climb. Terry is very helpful and fluent in Spanish.

Contact Terry Motershead at www.alhambrarambler.com

Dave Sutcliffe

david Sutcliffe chalkypalmsdave@hotmail.co.uk
John Bannister jbannyadi@yahoo.co.uk;

Introduction

2008-06-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

Rock Rambler is part of Alhambra Rambler.
Based in the Granada region of Spain we provide climbing holidays as just one of the many activity packages offered by the company.

Should you fancy a great climbing break, with all your transport in Spain included, B+B accommodation plus guide to the crags and bars for only 250 pounds, check out the website www.alhambrarambler.com

Rock Rambler Climbing Holidays

Climbing Southern Spain

Introduction