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lollipopchic
Feb 17, 2007, 6:21 AM
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Registered: Aug 9, 2003
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Yay a euro freaks forum, so i can speak to all the europeans, fantastic!
Well I'm looking for some advice and general recommendations - and I know how hard it is to do that when people give vague ideas about what they're looking for, so I'll try and be as specific as possible, but given that my plans are really open at the moment, that may be a bit difficult.
Okay so this is what i'm looking for:
I'm heading to Europe for the months of Feb-April (although will probably spend a few weeks in Morocco of that time) as part of a big RTW trip. Initially I was just looking at going to Spain, Slovenia, Croatia and Greece but I'm open to other suggestions.
I climb mostly sport and climb pretty comfortable around ozzie grade 21-23, though can probably get myself up stuff around 24/25 - depending on which grading conversion chart I look at it looks like i can climb around 6b/6c maybe drag myself up 7a french. I also like to boulder, but prefer routes, and although i'm up for some trad stuff I won't have a rack and would probably prefer to make the most of euro sport climbing!
I'll be travelling alone and won't have a car, so I need to find places where it's easy to get to by public transport or easy to hitch to and also easy to hook up with fellow climbers.
I'll be there in feb-april so so looking for places that will weather-wise be good at that time of year.
I have done a little bit of research and I made a rough plan of what I thought might be good, but would love to hear other suggestions or comments.
So my first thoughts were head to spain
- it seems like el chorro is quite easy to get to and find partners
- other places that sprung to mind were the costa blanca area, montserrat and riglos
- how easy it is to get to these other areas/hook up with other climbers?
- if you could only climb at a few spots in spain, where would you climb?
Then i was also keen to head to eastern europe (slovenia, croatia) as i also really wanted to go travelling there and wasn't really so interested in travelling in western europe (even though i know it has got really good climbing)
i've seen some cool pics of climbing in croatia and it looks like paklenica nat park is a definite goer, what about other areas - around split, hvar etc. And slovenia i've heard of misja pec and osp - but are all the routes really hard there - no point in showing up and finding i can't get up anything!
And then i thought i'd finish it off with kalymnos in greece.
So be grateful for any advice on those areas, the climate etc or suggestions of other places that might be worth a look, or perhaps offer better climbing.
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thomasribiere
Feb 17, 2007, 9:18 AM
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All the places you mentionned should be OK to be climbed in Feb-April (2007 or 2008???)
For the transportations, I can't help for Spain. Overlord will help you for Slovenia and probably Croatia.
Kalymnos crags are easy to reach indeed (once there, hike or a take a scooter).
Why do you want to skip Italy and France? Have you been there already?
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overlord
Feb 17, 2007, 1:39 PM
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well, paklenica is good in feb/april IF you have some serious luck with the weather. usually, if its not raining, its windy. and by windy i mean WINDY. burja is serious, and with paklenica being a canyon is oriented in the prevailing burja direction, you can imagine. other crags on the karst edge are better protected (on the edge rather than along an obvious 'weakness' on it).
as for slovenia, wind usually isnt a problem, but the weather can be pretty changing. especially april is renowned for sun mixed with rain. but, again, if youre lucky, those can be the best months for climbing.
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booger
Feb 18, 2007, 10:18 AM
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I'll answer for Spain...
Your plan, and the areas you mentioned sound perfect! El Chorro is a great starting-point, as it's super-easy to reach by transport, and a great place to meet people. I must admit to having a soft spot in my heart for Costa Blanca, as it is less touristy and less developed - particularly the area I will recommend which is near Murcia - best town to stay is El Berro - and I can send you all the particulars on getting there via public transport, etc, via email if you get interested. Problem is, you'll want to head there with a partner as it may be hard to find a partner.
Riglos I'v never been to (planning for this year though) but it's a dream-spot.
Taz
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lollipopchic
Feb 20, 2007, 4:47 PM
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Thanks for all the replies everyone
thomasribiere wrote: All the places you mentionned should be OK to be climbed in Feb-April (2007 or 2008???)
2008 - I realise this probably sounds a long way off! It's actually because I'm heading off on a RTW trip at the end of May 2007, but will be in Europe in 2008 but I thought I'd gather some ideas now before I left and also I'm trying to figure out how much time I should spend in Europe. But who knows maybe by the time I get to Europe I'll have exhausted myself of climbing! (probably unlikely though  )
In reply to: Why do you want to skip Italy and France? Have you been there already?
I haven't been there before, I think the reason I initially decided to forgo France and Italy was because I was more interested in travelling through Croatia and Greece - however since my trip has taken on more of a climbing focus I'm reconsidering my plans.
I think I was also under some vague impression that the weather would be better in Croatia/Spain/Slovenia/Greece for those months than it would be in France or Italy, but it seems I might be mistaken considering overlord's post.
In reply to: well, paklenica is good in feb/april IF you have some serious luck with the weather.
Hmm so the weather in march/april in croatia/slovenia is not that likely to be all that great overlord? How lucky do I have to be? Is it worth attempting to climb or would you recommend going somewhere else?
I think maybe the other reason I haven't thought much about France/Italy is I just have a real lack of knowledge of crags in France and especially Italy. I mean I know of Fontainbleau, Ceuse, Verdon, Gorges du Tarn and Arco. But from what I've heard (besides Fontainbleau) the routes are generally pretty hard (ie beyond me) and quite crowded. But I'm really quite ignorant towards what else is available - and I'm guessing there must be a lot more. So if anyone wishes to enlighten me or point me towards some websites I'd be very grateful. I have had a browse of the RDB on rc.com but I find it really hard to get an idea of which places to go as there are just so many areas/routes.
Thanks taz for the help on spain, i think el chorro will definitly be on my list
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overlord
Feb 21, 2007, 3:57 PM
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well, especially april is renowned for changeable weather, but that holds true for most of Europe. it can be pretty dry and its impossible to predict before it actually happens. last year it was pretty good, but i have no idea how it will be this year.
imho its worth a few days, just to see how the weather is. me and a few of my buddies will probably be trying our luck in paklenica at the end of april, but again, that depends on the weather. i believe that you have better chances fo rother crags that are sheltered from the wind, so the rain is the only problem. if you want some easier routes, check out dvigrad in croatia and crni kal in slovenia.
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vertical_planar
Mar 16, 2007, 4:18 PM
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Athens has more than 20 crags. It would be worthwhile to stop by for a few days on your way to Kalymnos, do some climbing and spent your rest days sightseeing.
If you are coming by train from northen Europe I would also suggest a stop at Meteora and nearby Trikala in central Greece.
If you decide to stop in Athens and need any help or tips just send me a pm.
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