[Norton Sharley]

just been and visited a 'new' bouldering venue in Spain - Albarracin.  Top venue, top problems, top weather, top locals.  There's 5 main areas with several hundred problems.  It's located between Valencia and Madrid and is top for autumn and spring trips.  May get a bit cold and under snow in winter but could be ok.  More info and photos to follow when I get back to civilisation and a fast connection.

[Bubba]

Sounds good Norton - get some pics posted - how's the winter season starting?

[unclesomebody]

Any more news on Albaraccin? I'm really keen to go, but don't know if it will be too warm now. Any information on getting decent topos, places to camp/stay, etc etc is really welcome. I've read the most recent month's Climb which has an article on the place, but it doesn't give much away to be honest... so any advice is appreciated. Photos would be a real brucey too.

thanks in advance.

[Palomides]

Uncle et al,

This may not add anything to the article in Climb (which I haven't seen) but there's a piece in Escalade Mag #1, which can be downloaded from this site as a 9.5MB pdf:

http://escalademag.com

You have to register to get the "Escalade en pdf" section - or you could try this direct link:
http://escalademag.com/images/stories/archives/num1.pdf but that may not work forever.

Please note - for the hard of thinking - that this is a French magazine, written by French people, in French...  :roll:

[Palomides]

COuple more links, from the zebloc forum:

http://comandonerp.iespana.es/Escalada/albarracin.pdf

http://destinationbloc.free.fr/viewtopic.php?t=26

[Lostboy]

did Norton's pics ever get posted, I'd be interested to see some if anybody has any? I've heard good things

[account_inactive]

How good does this look?



or this



Almost as good as.................................................................................................................The Forest of Dean

[Lostboy]

sooo good 

[gaby]

A page in english dedicated to Albarracin is there : http://www.zebloc.com/articles/albarracin/albarracine.php

[gaby]

I've just added a movie at http://www.zebloc.com

Check it!


Gaby

[cofe]

this place any good say early April???

[Pantontino]

There's a Welsh team going end of Feb/start of March. I might go over for the first week in March. Looks like a very cool place.

I reckon April would be okay, as it is set at quite a high altitude (1000m I think?). It'll probably be baltic when I get there.

[account_inactive]

Just got back from a trip here.

Don't bother, not enough rock and overhyped..................

[Bonjoy]

Can you elaborate on that a bit? How much rock is there exactly? I have it down as a destination on my big Euro tour so am pretty keen to find out as much as possible.

[Percy B]

Dylans right - its completely rubbish. Don't bother. Absolute crap. Definately not as good as Burbage....











OK - its awesome, but don't tell anybody.

[unclesomebody]

Dylan, could you post something useful like a trip report to try and help the rest of us make the most from a trip out there. Thanks.

[Duma]

+1.
Come on dylan, we're hurting here.

[Serpico]

this place any good say early April???

Hopefully the correct answer to this is yes, as I'm going there with a French team from the 6th -15th April.
I'll be easily identifiable as the pale one with no style...

[Terrace Ghost]

 www.boulderalbarracin.com

[BenF]

If you're after a good report on the place, speak to Mick Adams if you know him (I know a few of the Sheffield portion of UKB do).  He visited in January and had a fantastic trip.  Not sure what he knows about the range of areas available, but he certainly climbed a lot of very good stuff in accessible places.  He said it was pretty hot there in January though.

[Duma]

cheers TG

[r-man]

Here's a goodun -

[cofe]

Just got back from a trip here.

Don't bother, not enough rock and overhyped..................

where'd you stay word? having a spot of bother finding somewhere but this maybe because we've opted to go at easter.

any photos to show?

any must tick probs?

go on...

[account_inactive]

Its rubbish

Have PM'd you

[Johnny Brown]

Crikey! My source, who is usually very reliable, really rated it.
And perfect conditions in the peak all week. :roll:

[dave]

if this place isn't proper weapon then i'll go to the foot of our stairs. there can't be all these photos of amazing looking problems and they all turn out to be shit. where theres that much smoke theres bound to be a fire with my name on it. fuck yeah.

[BenF]

if this place isn't proper weapon then i'll go to the foot of our stairs. there can't be all these photos of amazing looking problems and they all turn out to be shit. where theres that much smoke theres bound to be a fire with my name on it. fuck yeah.

Fuckin' spot on and eloquently put Dave.  Pure poetry.

[r-man]

From http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=231444&new=3403763#3403763

Albarracin is certainly the current "hotspot" in Spain and deservidely so. If you could imagine Font about 100 years ago then...you get the picture? It's a beautiful place and there is a lot more to climb than what's been opened. There is rock everwhere!

I went in November 2004 when it was still quiet and very much under development. I believe that now it's a lot busier. October through to early Spring are certainly good times to visit. It does get very cold up there though and in the winter it does snow too. In the Summer it gets very hot indeed...probably too hot for most boulderers....although the things I have seen climbed in Spain in temperatures over 40degC....it'd make you want to burn your boots!

There are plenty of hotels, there's a youth hostel and there's a campsite. The bar to be seen in and to meet other climbers is El Molino Del Gato...they do a nice hot chocolate.

Some of these clips depict a locals choice of classic problems.









There are many more such as Pinturas Buldestres (8a+), Zatoichi (8a), Turbo Kleenex (2.05m dyno 8a+ but now in a "banned" zone), Grasshopper (7b+)...a bit like Deliverence without the flake, Wassame (7b)...monster roof/overhang....the list could go on...

All this talk makes me want to go back there!

Hope this is of some use.
Cheers
Luc

[LucP]

New to this forum but noticed that there is a lot of interest in the bouldering in Albarracin.

Thought I'd share this with everyone and hope that you find it useful:

Accomodation:  There's a youth hostel, plenty of hotels and a campsite.  At the campsite you can rent nice comfy bungalows.  If you get to know the villagers/town's folk a bit you may get lucky and find a house to rent.  This was my experience when I went out there in 2004.

The campsite's web address is:  http://www.campingalbarracin.com

There are also abandoned resin collectors huts in the forest.  Some of this make pretty good dosses.  There are caves (no paintings) but the park rangers prefer you don't sleep in them and very much don't want people lighting fires.  That said some locals do still doss in the caves.  My first night there was spent in a cave....it was a great experience..so quiet and with a clear sky and no light pollution....

There is a topo to the area which can be got here: 

http://comandonerp.iespana.es/Escalada/albarracin.pdf

There are rules for climbing here.  It's UNESCO site and climbing is permitted but there are things we have to abide by.  The big one is not climbing on boulders facing the road or forestry tracks or near to any cave paintings (pinturas rupestres).

If you want to see some video clips of a few local's selection of classic problems:







The bar to hang out in is El Molino Del Gato - nice hot chocolate and an interesting bar with a glass floor giving you a view of the river running through the mill. There a couple of mini super markets on the road up to the crag, a butchers and a baker all on the same road.  Recommend trying out the local bread....very nice.  Plenty of places to eat in town.  Nearest big town is Teruel and worth a visit on a rest day....well I liked it.  There is also a Lidl or Aldi supermarket at Teruel.

The locals are really friendly and keen to show people around.  I can put you in touch with people out there if you (speak Spanish) and would like to try and meet up with some of the folks who've been behind the development of the place.

Albarracin at over 1200m altitude.  Nice crispy dry air.  Pine forest.  Best season for bouldering probably from around October through to early Spring.  In the winter it can be bitterly cold and it does, of course, snow.  In the Summer it can be one of the hottest places in Spain and so may not appeal to all boulderers.

Cheers
Luc

[LucP]

oops.  Someone beat me with my own UkClimbing reply!

[dave]

Any idea what to do accomodation wise over easter weekend when every Manuel and his perro have descended on albarracin and taken all the accomodation? We're fucked.

[Serpico]

I think there must be plenty of camping there - I'm going there with a French team from the 6th April 'till the 15th, and they don't seem too concerned about lack of accomodation. That could just be because they're french though....

[dave]

i don't class camping as accomodation. especially not with a ryanair 15kg baggage limit.

[unclesomebody]

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ

There have been some developments in Albarracin and it affects all the people who plan to go, so please read.

For those of you who read spanish, this is the full report;  http://www.barrabes.com/noticias/articulos.asp?id_articulo=5185

I read this on a french website (so if you understand french read this);
Publié dans le Bulletin officiel d'Aragón du 18 avril, la nouvelle réglementation concernant les blocs de la zone protée de Los Pinares de Rodeno de albarracín est maintenant entrée en vigueur.  L'escalade sportive reste interdite (quelle soit en utilisant des protections fixes ou a demeure) et l'escalade de bloc reste limitée a des zones strictement définie.  L'escalade nocturne est interdite et il est stipulé de limiter l'usage de la magnésie et de nettoyer les traces.

La reglementation complète, le plan des zones interdites et toutes les informations pour une grimpe responsable ( www.climbing-attitude.org ) en espagnol sur : www.barrabes.com


A rough babelfish translation gives the following (for those who don't speak french or spanish) which kind of sums it up;
Published the official Bulletin of Aragón of April 18, the new regulation concerning the blocks of the protée zone of Los Pinares de Rodeno de Albarracín now came into effect. The sporting climbing remains prohibited (which is by using fixed protections or has residence) and the climbing of block remains limited has zones strictly defined. The climbing at night is prohibited and it is stipulated to limit the use of magnesia and to clean the traces.

[Bonjoy]

'Climbing nocture'? Night climbing perhaps?

[dave]

so what exactly the fuck does that mean? you can't climb with gear, you can't climb in the restricted areas at the restricted times, and you should try and clean off your chalk? thats the same as before, shirley.

is the bit about night climbing new? not that you'd want to. I don't get the fuss here, whats new - have i missed something?

[cofe]

that sounds the same as the current situation.

[anon]

You can check the online guide http://norop.es

They also show some other spots in Spain

[rodma]

Heading to Albarracin this weekend for the first time and could do with the help of the ukb'ers knowledge for must-do problems. Any help would be greatly appreciated 

[adamb]

Hey Rodma - was good to meet you out in the snow of Albarracin (I was the one mucking around with you on the soggy A Ciegas...)

Though it worth posting some of my experiences... I won't go into detail on the rocks... you'll have to go see for yourselves on that front.  But thought it might be worth posting a couple of snippets re. practicalities that might help (or would have helped me had I known before I went...!).

I'd definitely recommend the hotel I stayed in - called El Gallo, at the bottom of the hill just near the tunnel.  Very comfortable though basic rooms, wifi, and the friendly owners did me half room rate for single occupancy which was nice.  Breakfasts paltry but that's the norm on the continent I guess.  Anyway, their website doesn't have an email address but I picked up a card which suggests they can be contacted at hotelelgallo "at" hotmail.es.  If that doesn't work, you can always try calling (google will supply a phone number) - the owners son who is on the desk about half the time speaks English.

I found there were plenty of bad places to eat (I think Rodma's experience was the same!).  Disappointing.  Anyway, my fave place was La Relada, which is a decent sized cafe directly under the cathedral (a couple of streets lower).  Second was a small ish restaurant just off the main square.  Can't recall name.  From the square you head South East ish (I think) and down a hill with a nice narrow street.  Restaurant is about 30m down the hill on the left.

I hope this info saves at least one UKB'er the (relative) misery of being served crap cold food after a full on day's bouldering!

Cheers

Adam

[Paul B]

The food in La Taverna in the main square is pretty decent bar style tapas (IMO). The house wine is also ridiculously cheap.

[rodma]

Adam  and Paul, some good advices there. didn't try the the taverna in the main square since it seemed to keep backwards hours compared to the other places.

We stayed at the hotel bella donna, which was pretty swanky for the price, even had a balcony. We only booked it over any other hotels since they had an online booking form that functioned (although it may have been through hotels.com). I'd def camp if going back, although was glad of the warm bed given the crazy overnight snow.

I would only really add that there is up to date access info on http://norop.es which includes areas like sector sol being totally closed (rather than seasonally).

The food was pretty hard to take and was not what i expected (my fault really). I'd had patatas bravas in edinburgh and it was pretty damn tasty, so was stupidly excited about going out for a beer and a plate of them in spain. But a plate of chips drowned in ketchup is all that it was (with whipped cream on top). proper rank. 

On the plus side booze is incredibly cheap and the bread is delicious.

We also rather naively thought that we would get away with one pad, but didn't and when we saw that you could rent pads in the boulder shop thought that we'd be sorted, but it only appears to open from 7-7:30pm each saturday in a month with no y in it. So would definitely drive out next time.