[jwi]

There is quite good bouldering all over Norway, or so I've been told. I haven't been able to stay away from bigger stuff when I've been there.  Lofoten is really beautiful and is rumoured to have quite good bouldering which is unfortunately not covered by any guide-book.  (They also have despite a so called "bolting-ban" a good sport-climbing crag, complete with holiday grades!)

There is some general info about bouldering in Norway on http://www.bouldering.no/
The red banner at the top has the names for the different shires of Norway. Click away.

If you go up through Norway it will make sense to drive down through Sweden. If so I can give you beta for Northern Sweden, just send a PM.

For southern Sweden maybe contact this fellow:
http://kearneyjourney.blogspot.com/

More pics form Gothenburg/Bohuslan area:
http://climbingpics.blogspot.com/
http://crimp.se

[r-man]

Ailefroide (in France, sort of near the French/Italian border) has good bouldering at all grades, in a very scenic glacial valley. Quite high up, so climbable during summer, though still hot at midday. Lots to do. There are routes and things there too, so I'm told.


Tralenta (in Italy, not too far from the French/Italian border) is an extremely pretty place, with decent problems at all grades, certainly enough for a few days climbing. Again, it's at altitude, so climbable during summer.


Some videos of Tralenta problems here: http://www.freestone.fr/communaute.php?NoIDN=30

[Nibile]

hey paul, any pics of the van?

[Paul B]

just a few phone snaps, I didn't take any of the interior or with the roof up but I can at the weekend.

[Drew]

That is one sexy beast! Like the Transformers logo!

[Jaspersharpe]

[Nibile]

bastardo.

[Bonjoy]

For the later months the choice is vast as most stuff is in best conditions Sept-Nov. For summer you want to be thinking about more northerly venues. We opted for Frankenjura, Magic Wood and then Ceuse, having been to none of them before.
Much as I enjoyed Frankenjura it was probably the least favourite of the places I went to in the six month trip. It rained a lot, it was a little too like peak limestone, it lacked the grandeur of other places we went, the routes were a bit short, most crags only had a handful of classics and I’m no great fan of small pockets. That said if you are a fan of short steep and pockety you are bound to love the place, there are loads of historic hard routes, some good looking bouldering. If you do go I’d suggest you get a list of recommended routes and crags of Frank-o-fans such as NCB or Andy Harris. My favourite crags were Eldorado, Schlosbergwand and Mariantallerwand (excuse the spelling).
I’m sure you already know plenty about Magic Wood. Zillertal also sounds like a good bet for a bit later in the season. Likewise Ceuse.
If I were to do another summer in Europe I would seriously consider the Czech/Polish sandstone (apparently there are areas with fairly normal bolt spacing), the Norway Sweden thing sounds ace but I’d find out about how bad it is for biting insects before committing (!) and I’d really really love to climb in the Verdon though it’s probably best suited to a matched ability team.
I once spent three weeks in the Dolli’s in Sept and it is indeed amazing and I’ll almost certainly go there again. But don’t bother going there for single pitch sport climbing, as it’s pretty poor by euro standards. If you go there and don’t fancy doing big trad the via ferrata are great fun and you get to visit some spectacular locations.
Somewhere we very nearly went which sounds amazing and good for late summer is the Basque country in Northern Spain. This area is much more green and temperate than the rest of spain and looks to have some awesome sport crags, plus is near the Picos De Europa and even has some mystery grit crags according to the local guide! Stu Littlefair is the man to ask about this area.

For later in the season it depends on what type of routes/bouldering you want to do. I was keen for super long, super steep, onsight friendly tufa hauling and hence opted for long periods in Rodellar and Terradets, both places are utterly amazing if you like that sort of thing and I can’t recommend them highly enough. Nothern Spain has a vast amount of good sport climbing in universally beautiful locations, it’s hard to go wrong. If you prefer things a bit more short and crimpy I’d suggest Siurana. Tres Pont is a good retreat if temps get unusually high. Margalef appears to be all the rage for pocket hommes, or Montsant if you want long stamina pocket fests. We spent much of November at Montgrony which is exceptionally beautiful, even by Spanish standards. Being hill top you get quite a long day (valley crags get very cold once the sun is obscured!). The best stuff there is short/mid-length technical tufa climbing, rockfax do a miniguide. Alquezar near Rodellar would also be good for cold snaps.

Obviously I can give more specific advice on park-up spots etc for any of the places I’ve been if you need.

[Paul B]

Cheers jon thats incredibly useful

[Stu Littlefair]

Jon's advice looks like the bomb. For the start of the trip, don't forget the alpine venues. I think Schleier Wasserfall and Voralpsee are both good summer crags, although I'm not sure either has much scope for Nat. Also, wasn't there a rock trip held at Zillertal? Those routes looked really good.

When it comes to Spain it makes a lot of sense to stay away until september time. The options for summer climbing are limited. Tres Ponts is a decent summer venue, quite shady and enough sixes to keep Nat happy for a day or three. There's quite a lot of climbing in the pre-pyrenees which is good in summer, Bielsa is a very shady, very high tufa-fest crag, but again I'm unsure of easy options. If you fancy something different check out Cavallers; it's slabby granite of the highest quality. Limited bouldering, mostly trad but some excellent single pitch sport in amenable grades, and a very pretty spot. Unlike Bonjoy, I'd be a little cautious about the Basque in the summer. Baltzola is a huge cave so offers retreat from the sun, but condensation is a major problem in the hotter, humid months. There are higher crags like Atxarte that offer good climbing and a retreat from the heat however. On a similar note I have heard good things about Teverga, near the Picos de Europa, which would be a good hot weather venue. Unfortunately I have misplaced our guide to the region (Mawson or Ruth *may* have it). All the northern spanish venues are within striking distance of top notch surfing if it gets too hot. I have seen Patta's photos of grit bouldering in the area too; it looks good, but one for winter.

For october/november in Spain; what the boy said. Pretty much anywhere is good. It's not for Nat, but you must blag a partner for a route on Los Mallos de Riglos. Also, Montserrat is beautiful, has very good climbing and ought to be checked out for something a bit different.

Hope that helps

[Paul B]

cheers stu...I'm yet to see what she's capable of on sport routes, chances are I'm underestimating her ability and given a months mileage she'll be RP-ing harder stuff.

[Doylo]

you better climb 8c Bennnett you lucky bastard!

[Paul B]

I'm not going to be climbing in the Uk so it wouldn't count anyway... F_Euro8c is a different kettle of fish but still f*cking desperate no doubt...

I'd also like to point out that "lucky" and I, aren't well acquainted and that even a good insurance quote for me would seem like financial rape for everyone with a NCB.

[Doylo]

I am sure you will encounter 'hard' and 'easy' on your travels, crush em all!

[Palomides]

other shit:

the non-albarracin bouldering spots near madrid
sardinia - i assume there's a car ferry you can catch from somewhere
slovenia - there's some bouldering around here somewhere. think there might also be some sport in croatia.

Near Madrid is La Pedriza - zebloc has a link to a blog about Pedriza bouldering on their front page at the moment... http://entreansias.blogspot.com/ Apprently there're some topos there somewhere.

For parking spots in France, there's a guide to (legal) camping-car spots that comes out every year and can be bought in tabacs. Looks like this http://www.campingfrance.com/campingenfrance.jsp?idPage=61 This might be useful too http://www.campingcar-infos.com/index1.htm

[Bonjoy]

I am sure you will encounter 'hard' and 'easy' on your travels, crush em all!

Too right, euro-world is large and varied with sandbags and soft touches in much the same measure as over here. The myth that all uk sport routes are grades harder than the euro counterparts is mostly a fig leaf conjured up by folks who don't want to admit just how much better the euros are at sport climbing than us.

[Paul B]

and I guess magic wood is dead solid too? 

[Doylo]

pretty on the money these days, gone are the days when supernova and Sofa Surfer were 8b

[lagerstarfish]

When uncle Joe took me to Nice we had a couple of nice days at Tete de Chien above Monaco. There were a couple of guys in a camper parked up there - ace view. They had arrived in the night in thick fog and awoke to find themselves looking out over the Med  

The parking is on top of the obvious crag above the town

[lagerstarfish]

I've remembered the name of the South of France bouldering area that I couldn't remember earlier; Annot.

[Bonjoy]

and I guess magic wood is dead solid too? 

Depends whether you get on the soft touches or the sandbags

[T_B]

Lehn (sport routes) near Interlaken is worth visiting and near the bouldering at Sustenpass/Grimselpass.

Gorges du Tarn is a brilliant girlfriend venue (super accessible sectors, nice river to relax by etc), though not much below F6c. Good temps mid summer.

Dunno about much in the Czech being 'normally bolted'. Berdorf might be more suitable? 
http://www.climbing.lu/index.php?page=berdorf

Freyer?

[nik at work]

Can I just suggest that you avoid any countries in the grip of political instability, or those with a history of internal conflict and genocide, or those which currently or have in the past suffered under self destructive ego-maniacal leadership, or those whose economy is in poor shape, or those with high rates of violent crime, in fact those with high rates of general crime, or high unemployment, or large disenfranchised ethnic/religious/societal groups. You don't want to push your luck do you?

[slackline]

Can I just suggest that you avoid any countries in the grip of political instability, or those with a history of internal conflict and genocide, or those which currently or have in the past suffered under self destructive ego-maniacal leadership, or those whose economy is in poor shape, or those with high rates of violent crime, in fact those with high rates of general crime, or high unemployment, or large disenfranchised ethnic/religious/societal groups. You don't want to push your luck do you?

The UK then? 

[Paul B]

Righteo people as time is rapidly running out and we still only have a long list, any info you can offer on anything on the below list is welcome. Time of year being the main one. Its also far too long so any cuts? any glaring omissions? (sorry JB Lofoten and the outer hebrides will have to wait!)

Ailefroide
Albarracin
Alquezar
Annot
Arco
Baltzola
Berdorf
Buoux
Catalunya
Cavallers
Ceuse
Chateauvert
Chironico
Claret
Cresciano
Cuenca
Dolomites
El Chorro
Fontainebleau
Frankenjura
Freyr
Gorge du Loup
Gorges du Tarn
Gorges du Verdon
Hyltebergen
Interlaken
Kalymnos
Kjugekull
Lebak
Lehn
Les Eaux Claires
Lofoten
Magic Wood
Margalef
Meshia
Misja Pec
Montenejos
Montsant
Orpierre
Pfalz
Rodellar
Russan
Santalinya
Sardinia
Schlier Wasserfall
Seynes
Siurana
Sokoliki
St Leger
Sustenpass
Targassone
Terradets
Tete de Chien
Tetto di Sarre
Tres Pont
Val Di Mello
Venue
Volx
Voralpsee
Zillertal