[cha1n]

Could rent a small van and sleep in it in the car park? We slept in the carpark (in a motorhome though) for weeks with no problems, lots do it. There is a hole in the floor style public toilet down in the village, near the climbing shop. I think the climbing shop rents pads out but it was rarely open when we were there.

You definitely would not want to walk but it might not be too hard to hitch a ride up the hill from the village. I don't generally pick up hitchhikers (coward) but it's one of the few places I would have if I'd ever seen any.

Cheers guys very helpful.

Don't like sound of the toilet paper scenario much. Any recommended/ cleaner areas? Ideally one with lots of mid 6s and another with lots of low 7s

I travelled around a lot of bouldering spots on my trip but nothing beats Font in my opinion, would have stayed there for the whole 9 months if it had been in condition.

[filz]

A bunch (all?) of the sectors that were previously seasonally restricted are now fully closed (Psicokiller, Península + some more).

Ouch! 


Forgot to mention. The website http://norop.es/ has a lot of infos including pictures and videos of the problems.

[mrjonathanr]

Thank you very much to those who shared info.

Apologies to the OP for gate crashing the thread but it seems a sensible place to post questions and unhelpful to start a separate thread.

Font is great, I know, but not so convenient as I will be driving over from Madrid in late October.

Although if anyone has any recommended areas in striking distance of the capital I'd love to know. Hoya Moros sounds good though less frequented....

[cha1n]

La Pedriza, then Targasonne on the way back? There's somewhere at altitude where the La Pedriza locals go during the warmer months, will try and find out where it is.

[mrjonathanr]

Thanks Chain. I will just be flying to Madrid around half term time, keen to meet Spanish climbers and get some bouldering done before doing other stuff.

[joel182]

The people in the shop in Albarracin were very positive about El Escorial - we're planning to head down there later this month to check it out!

[cha1n]

I didn't really find El Escorial to be that extensive, perhaps OK for a short period of time but La Pedriza is the main show. You can get the guidebook http://www.libreriadesnivel.com/libros/pedriza-boulder-1864-bloques/9788461577804 from the climbing/camping shop just off of the square in Manzanares El Real.

If you're lucky enough to meet up with Talo (guidebook writer) and Edu you will have a great time. We were lucky enough to meet up with them and get shown around the best areas. It's a bit like Dartmoor granite, looks like rounded features but you're generally crimping on crozzly crimps/crystals. I wouldn't personally go there on a short trip as the rock is tough on the skin but great if you have a little time to stay. Videos for psyche:

http://vimeo.com/user2340008/videos

http://vimeo.com/user2562567/videos

[mrjonathanr]

Good knowledge there, madrileño boulderers said el Escorial was good too.

Do you have any Spanish mates/ acquaintances who might be willing to speak/share advice? (I speak good Spanish btw).

¡Gracias!

[cha1n]

I was only there for a month, so not sure if they would class me as a friend but they are certainly the type of people I'd befriend if I was going to live there, great guys. One left us the key to his house after only knowing us a week or so to use his washing machine and shower! Edu barely ate all day due to lack of money, yet he let us into his apartment to cook us a Spanish omelet one evening, really crazy levels of kindness. Many of them speak good English and they rarely see English speakers there, so are keen to practice on you. I was trying to learn Spanish but barely got a chance to practice!

Add Talo Martin on facebook and message him, I'm sure he'll help you out. Many of the locals are out of work because of the 'crisis' and go out climbing many days per week.

[mrjonathanr]

buen consejo, gracias.

[cha1n]

De nada.

[a dense loner]

See

[old cheese]

Thanks for all of the replies, no worries mrjonathanr for the hijack, it's all relevant.

Is it just me but I seem to remember a time when dense would provide some practical and erudite insights into all things climbing and I would often take heed of his advice. Are those days gone?

[a dense loner]

Yes, you can only repeat yourself so many times 

[TonyS]

The weather conditions can be mixed in the winter months.... Been a few times first was very warm and looking for shade all the time second was a mixed bag with sun and rain...third though we got a lot of snow and the second day of snow we decided to pack up and get out of the valley and think we were one of the last cars out (only just) as they closed the roads in/out of the town...

Going else where (I don't know if your taking the family) but Can bouquet near Matero 30 km North of Barcalona is quite a nice spot, big forest area not far from F1 track but with the med as a back drop and beach for family fun before or after the crag... Lots will tell you there's not much to do but we had a 4 day trip climbing 3 1/2 days and only climbed in 5 sectors and lots lots more to go at... As well you only have about 1 1/2 hours drive to Savasonna (this months climber mag)

[mrjonathanr]

Update after 2 days in Albarracín.

Ace climbing, like burly Northumberland.

Arrastradero excellent but too much toilet paper though no crusties in evidence. Techos and Fuente nicer and great areas. Spanish climbers say the seasonally closed areas are all now permanently banned ie Psicokiller, Peninsula, Valle de la Madera, Acantilados and Mirador. Lots of people climbing at Peninsula in defiance/ignorance of ban though.

The BoulderAlbarracin Desnivel/Noropes guide is out of date and reprint planned according to Sofa Boulder lady. There's a newer one, landscape stylee like peakbouldering but I bought old one, thought was well executed for getting round and finding boulders (despite some grading errors, apparently).

Campsite pad was ok. Small at €5, big at €8.

Walkable to crag but 5k, would be a real chore though.

Supposed to be well cold in winter being 5000ish feet up.

I will be going back. If free in February it will be to La Pedriza though, would go to Albarracin later March April etc.

[sjw]

Great knowledge, thanks for sharing.

[Fiend]

Bump.

Any more useful information, in particular, what are the accomodation options? Any cheap hotels reccommended? What would pad hire be like at the last minute?

[rodma]

The hotels were all pretty cheap ( and are pretty much of a muchness)when we went and some don't charge a single occupancy supplement.



Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

[mrjonathanr]

I stayed at both the campsite and also Hotel Arabia which I booked quite cheaply through Booking.com -  a bargain tbh. It's a former monastery, I'd recommend it. Albarracín's a real tourist hotspot for its architecture and so in the winter maybe you could get a good deal? It's high so winter months will be cold. I'd recommend having a car.

The campsite had some small and some big Edelrid taco pads (with bump pad insert) - a bit floppy but quite serviceable. Not sure how many though, you might want to get in touch to reserve. Cafe/bar on campsite is a separate business, not too expensive, nice and warm with TV and bar owner who will happily discuss corrupt state of Spanish politics.

[kelvin]

I'll be kicking around there for the first couple of weeks of Feb, thanks for all the info everyone.

[Fiend]

Goddammit, I've got to randomly bump into Kelvin in Spain somehow.

[old cheese]

We are staying in a bungalow in the campsite and have prebooked pad hire. I think the owners are pretty good about that. Super keen though still suffering from 'CIFE' (core instability due to festive excess) so anything off vertical could be challenging

[kelvin]

Goddammit, I've got to randomly bump into Kelvin in Spain somehow.

Nothing random about it at all. I saw the thread and thought 'I'll stalk the git'. Reckon I'm above the law over here.

[Fiend]

Sofa Boulder in Albarracin will hire out mats - everyone I've spoken to in there speaks good English - and the mats look like they are of good quality.

It would be a fairly miserable walk from the  campsite to the boulders every day - and I'm not sure how easy it is to get to Albarracin without a car.

There is a lot of toilet paper around, though I haven't seen any directly around any boulders - and I haven't seen any human poo around.

A bunch (all?) of the sectors that were previously seasonally restricted are now fully closed (Psicokiller, Península + some more). There's still loads of climbing open though, and loads in the 6s to low 7s.

Quoted for truth.

The Sofa Boulder mats were a bit soft but large enough and good value at e5 per day. The shop is very well stocked for bouldering.

The toilet situation wasn't nearly as bad as it's reputed to be, and there are LOTs of non-climbing blocs to go hide behind.

I'd add the following:

Tierra Media is well worth a look for the vibes, solitude, beautiful woodland and really good mileage around the 6s and some great looking harder problems. Walk to the meadow as for Techos, turn left then head right following the cairns, don't try to cross the ravine from Cabrizero.

Chalk is a bigger problem than bogroll. Especially the fucking slimey bollox pink chalk some idiots are using. Take all the soft, fine brushes you own and get more when you're out there!

Boulders face all directions to catch sun / shade / stiff breeze / shelter.

The village is exceptionally pretty and well worth a wander around. There's lots of hotels, the usual bars, a bank, pharmacy, small supermarket, petrol station etc.

Hotel Meson El Gallo was good value and very nice for the price.