[BRidal]

Looking to go away somewhere in December. Font is the obvious choice but I thought I would look in to other possibilities. Lots of options but as Car hire isn't possible (too young) i'm unsure what areas would be practical.
Cheers

[boxmonkey]

Are we discounting UK?

[BRidal]

Are we discounting UK?

Yes, ideally A less rainy and slightly warmer climate.

[shark]

I'm struggling to think of anywhere unless you go somewhere more far flung like Hampi or Hueco

[fatneck]

Pretty sure some of the younger Hangar Crew Helms went to Albaricin last year without any transport. They did a lot of walking but I seem to remember it went ok! Will check with them...

[tommytwotone]

Not sure about your budget, but if you wanted to have a great city holiday with some rock available via public transport you could do a lot worse than NYC or Sydney.


On both the city experience is far superior to the quality of the rock available but beggars can't be choosers...

[sxrxg]

Disclaimer: I have never been to either of these locations so they could be terrible!

Can Boquet, Spain: Near Barcelona so easy to travel to, weather should be ok being low lying and close to the sea. Looks like you can get the train and then walk up to the blocs in less than an hour (I was researching going as part of potential city break when i wouldn't have a hire car).

Video from Mike Adams showing some problems can be found here http://redclimbing.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/four-days-bouldering-in-can-boquet.html.
The blocs don't look that large and not sure of the quality, I was only looking at the venue as a possible single day hit so wasn't a consideration for me. 

Tinos, Greece: Longer travel time as need to fly to Athens and then get a four hour ferry. Being so far south though weather should be ok with prime months for bouldering apparently being Dec-Feb. In this article, http://www.climbing.com/news/isle-of-granite/, it mentions getting a bus to the boulders. From the photos and videos (see below) it looks amazing and it is somewhere i would like to get to at some point.

[Nibile]

Cresciano and Chironico are both easily accessible with the perfect Swiss public transports. Once there, no car is needed.
From Cresciano hostel it's a 20 minutes uphill walk to the first boulders.
From Chironico a five minutes walk.
Cresciano and Chironico are well connected via bus.

I have been to Can Boquet, and I did a lot of driving!

[Duma]

Tinos, Greece: Longer travel time as need to fly to Athens and then get a four hour ferry. Being so far south though weather should be ok with prime months for bouldering apparently being Dec-Feb. In this article, http://www.climbing.com/news/isle-of-granite/, it mentions getting a bus to the boulders. From the photos and videos (see below) it looks amazing and it is somewhere i would like to get to at some point.

This looks great! anyone on here been and care to comment on how brutal the granite is?

[fatneck]

+1

Although being partial to a bit of brutal granite I'm more interested in logistics... 

[SA Chris]

It's come up on here a few times;

Message that stelios chap?

http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php?topic=13620.0

Thanks

[i.munro]

This looks great! anyone on here been and care to comment on how brutal the granite is?

Yes & loved the place, felt in places like climbing on broken glass but I had no  skin problems at all. I'm not sure about the weather though, was there at Easter and wearing full u.k. winter kit & even then I could only climb out of the wind. Obviously no idea if this is usual or not.

N.B. logistics may not be easy. Most crags were over an hours drive from the main town partly on dirt roads. Bear in mind there's no rescue setup and I don't think even a hospital on the island and hardly anyone,  six years ago, spoke English. I remember thinking how very serious a simple bust ankle would be, in fact that's the only reason I haven't been back.  If you had a local driver of course that would really help. Also I remember thinking how expensive the place was & that's before both Greek austerity put prices up & Brexit kicked the pound in the 'nads. The most beautiful place I've ever climbed though and it seemed like every single problem was excellent.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[SA Chris]

Any reason why a hire car is not an option? Is it age or money? If it's money, bear in mid if you are really dirtbagging it on a budget the hire car can always be used for accommodation.

[slackline]

Car hire isn't possible (too young)

[dave]

Fuck it, just get train to font and get a taxi to the crag, Pat King style.

[tc]

La Pedriza. Fly to Madrid. Airport bus into the city. Bus from the bus station at the Plaza de Castilla to Manzanares el Real.

Fontainebleau. Fly to Paris, train to Avon, bus into Fontainebleau and rent a bike.

Harz (Okertal). Fly to Hanover, train to Goslar, bus to Oker. Walk up the valley.

Zillertal. Fly to Innsbruck or Salzburg, train to Mayrhofen via Jenbach. Hitch up the valley.

I've done all these (apart from the renting a bike bit).

[mrjonathanr]

You been to Pedriza in the winter tc? Dec/Jan/feb?

[tc]

We were in Pedriza at the end of Feb/beginning of March a couple of years ago.

[mrjonathanr]

Thanks. Been in October, but mid winter is a different proposition. Was wondering because snow and low temps can bite round there but fancy a winter trip if possible.

[tc]

La Pedriza granite bites in any conditions but I reckon cooler temps are probably best.

[twoshoes]

Tinos is ace. You can drop off a boulder, turn round and jump in the sea. Then get out and eat some really nice olives for lunch. I went in May and it was too hot to climb really, but it's such a nice place that it didn't matter. I'd  have thought it would be bob on now. The rock seemed less brutal than dartmoor but definitely not skin friendly! Then again, we were just pottering under 7a (although the hardest thing I did was headed 6a...) so it's hard to say - I imagine it is brutal if you're slapping for holds. The actual problems are good, and they're are loads of them, but it's not font. Such a nice place that it didn't matter though.

Sadly though, although you can easily get to the island without a car, you probably need one when you're there. The only real (and open) shops and most of the accommodation is in Tinos town and all the climbing is on the other side of the island, and too far to really walk. Didn't see (m)any busses. Hitching might be possible with some walking, but there's not a lot of traffic. You might be able to hire scooters. There's a crazy low speed limit on the island and it's not huge, but half the roads are dirt tracks, which i would either be awesome or terrifying on a scooter with a pad on your back, depending on your point of view. 

[stokesy]

Second Nibs' suggestion of Cresciano and Chironico,went 3 years back without a car and it was easy enough. Flew to Milan (you can also fly to Zurich), train from there to Bellinzona, bus from Bellinzona to Cresciano hostel. As Nibs said you can walk to Cresciano from there or catch another bus to Chironico. Might be worth looking into other accommodation though as the hostel is expensive (as is Switzerland generally).

[jwi]

Fuck it, just get train to font and get a taxi to the crag, Pat King style.

With the right accommodation train + Uber might work out cheaper than rental? Especially if lots of days are lost to rain anyway.

[Evil]

Fuck it, just get train to font and get a taxi to the crag, Pat King style.

With the right accommodation train + Uber might work out cheaper than rental? Especially if lots of days are lost to rain anyway.

La musadiere would be good for this kind of option (as there's plenty within walking distance once you get there), but I think it's closed now for the winter.

[i.munro]

I'm not sure Bleau falls into the "less rainy and warmer" category  my feeling is that it's generally colder than a lot of the U.K. in winter and generally about the same on the rainfall front.

In addition say Grit probably dries faster - no trees.