New year, new traditions; climbing trip in Spain!
After eating way too much during the Christmas days, Sas went off to Barcelona. This time it wasn’t to see the Sagra de Familia, FC Barcelona or Parc Guell. A visit to Barcelona can involve much more than just a city trip with pinchos and good wine; There are several beautiful climbing areas within an hour’s drive from Barcelona!
Reunion
Coincidentally, Marion and Leah, two American ladies who joined our ‘Tulip trip’ in 2021, also landed in Barcelona on December 28. A small reunion will follow during which memories will be recalled of the adventures we had with mudflat walking, the balloon flight over the tulips, the skydive over Texel and the introduction to custard, the typical Dutch dessert.
After spending a night in the camper in a suburb of Barcelona, Sas, together with her climbing buddies Lette and Ansofie, leave the city and into nature! Lette, Ansofie and Saskia met on a warm summer day in Namur, the starting point of the lead climbing course that we organized with La Karavana. There was an immediate click, and participating in the lead climbing trip turned out to be just the beginning! With the acquired knowledge still fresh in my memory, several climbing weekends followed in Belgium and Luxembourg. Now it was time for the real work; an 8-day trip to the climbing areas around Barcelona! A camper was rented, good wine was purchased and a topo was ordered; let’s go!
Siurana
It turned out to be a bull’s eye; first stop was sun-drenched Siurana; with thousands of single pitch routes to choose from, it’s a true paradise for climbers. There is something for everyone; the difficulty of the routes varies from 4 – 8a. The views are phenomenal, the sun in December is wonderful and the temperatures are pleasant. Because it is tolerated to park your camper anywhere, it is teeming with climbers with campers scattered in the parking lots next to the climbing area.
Hikes & Via Ferratas
In addition to beautiful climbing, the area is also very suitable for walks and there are fantastic via ferratas. The ‘Ferrata Guide‘ app is really great for that; it has an overview of all via ferratas including grading, location, duration, etc. The ferrata route ‘Dels Patacons‘ is a 50-minute drive from Siurana. This route, level D, is truly beautiful, with 4 different rope bridges and (optional) an abseil down at the end. Parking is easy at Parking de La Font del Roure’, within 10 minutes you will be at the start of the route. On this weekday in January there was no one else there, but we can imagine that it is a lot busier here in the summer. Please note: you need a via ferrata set for this route. 😉
Montserrat
The last day we left for Montserrat, a well-known climbing area that is less than an hour from Barcelona. (If you don’t have a car, you can also go here by train from Barcelona). In addition to the famous monastery, there are hundreds of multi-pitch routes here, but you can also do single pitches. From the famous rocks, which sometimes tower 300 meters into the air, you have a beautiful panoramic view.
After a week of enjoying the simple life; delicious cheeses, wine, climbing and living in a camper, it is time to go home again. But one thing is certain; we will be back!
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