Date/Time
Date(s) - 11/10/2020 - 22/10/2020
All Day
Location
Calpe, Costa Blanca, Spain
Meet organiser: Stuart Watson
Pub afterwards:
Categories
This meet was originally planned for October 2020, and was postponed to the same time in 2022 due to COVID19. When we were unable to go in 2020 due to cancelled flights and Covid rules, I (Stuart) simply changed the dates to the equivalent dates 1 year later (2021). However I subsequently postponed until 2022 because a) it would probably have been the middle of 2021 before we knew whether travel will be allowed/safe in 2021 (when it may have been too late to book accommodation) and b) because (as most of you know) I had a climbing accident in August 2020 and am still unable to climb anything hard. At the time of editing this (end Jan 2022) I am still uncertain when I’ll be ready to climb at a decent standard so I feel I want to postpone this meet yet again (e.g. to 2023 or 2024). Rather than keep postponing, I have decided to put the dates back in the past. This will remove the meet from the future meets list, yet, in comparison with just deleting the meet (where I would have to re-input the details if we do reschedule it) the meet details will remain in our database .
Details published in 2020 (which will need updating)…
In October 202? we are running a climbing meet to Calpe (an hour’s drive north of Alicante airport on Spain’s Costa Blanca). Your other half is welcome too – we normally end up with a mix of singles and couples – there is plenty for non-climbing partners to do.
Accommodation will be in one of two large villas (1x 7 bedroom, 1x 6 bedroom), both with their own pool, both very near each other, 5 mins walk from the beach, bars, restaurants, etc…
https://www.plusholidays.es/en/rentals/villa-calpe-caleta-193819.html
https://www.plusholidays.es/en/rentals/villa-calpe-calalga-195254.html
The accommodation cost should be between £140-£220 per person for the 11 nights (depending on whether we can fill every bed). This is less than £20 per night so cheaper than most youth hostels.
A typical itinerary could include…
Toix – good warm up location 44 routes < 4+, 91 routes 5-6a+ (mostly sport). Well worth visiting for 2+ days. A nice layback route up a big flake Espolon Limbalan (5) 2 pitches.
Puig Campana -Espolon Central – HS (4+) 13 pitches (trad) in a mountain environment.
Penon – Via Pany – HS/VS- (5) 7 pitches (trad). The Penon is the huge rock sticking out of the sea that dominates Calpe.
Penon – Via Valencianos – VS (5+) 8 pitches (trad)
Olta – great location with good views overlooking Calpe with hundreds of sport routes at all grades.
Dozens of other great crags with a thousand routes within a 1 hour drive
Bernia Ridge – fantastic mountaineering day mainly grade 3 scrambling with short section of climbing (4)
Toix Ridge – another ridge scramble but with more climbing (10 pitches total with several climbing pitches up to 5+)
Canyon 1 – Barranc de l’Estret de les Penyes (Algar)
Canyon 2 – Gorgo de la Escalera (Anna)
Both canyons involve abseils through waterfalls up to about 15m high and need a wetsuit. Brilliant adventure though – worth buying a cheap wetsuit for (I bought mine for £25 from Mountain Warehouse). The only climbing skill required is abseiling, so some non-climbing partners may be interested.
Walk – to the summit of the Penon
Walk – Benissa along a path halfway up a cliff face
Walk/swim – Fonts de vela (natural springs)
Guadelest – climb or sightsee (a castle on top of a mountain with climbing routes around it – 13 routes < 4+, 92 routes 5-6a+). Great place to visit even if you don’t climb – bars with fab views.
Beach – villas 5 mins walk from lovely sandy beach
Via Ferrata – 2x easy 2x hard (the best one is 1.5 hours drive from Calpe but it is pretty amazing with a ‘gate swing’ where you hinge out above the abyss).
The best guide is the Rockfax Costa Blanca guide.
It is best to fly to Alicante. Flights are available from…
Newcastle – Ryanair (out:20:00, back:08:30 from £143), Jet2 (out:06:05, back:12:20 19:10 from £167**), EasyJet (out:06:00, back:20:55 from £180), TUI (out:06:30, back:13:05 from £290)
Liverpool – Ryanair (out:16:40, back:18:30 from £146), EasyJet (out:19:20, back:1820 from £214)
Leeds Bradford – Ryanair (out:17:25, back:18:05 from £114), Jet2 (out:08:30, back: 21:35 from £207**)
Manchester – Ryanair (out:06:30 17:15 19:25, back:11:40 14:30 22:35 from £171), EasyJet (out: 07:15 19:20, back: 10:45, from £206), Jet2 (out: 07:00, back:11:55 15:45 from £224**), TUI (out:06:00 18:50, back: 11:20 from £277)
Stansted- Ryanair (out:06:35 16:45, back: 10:25 21:15, from £70), Jet2 (out:10:55, back:13:15, from £196**)
** If you book with Jet2 you can get an extra 15% off with the code JET2ANYWHERE
The other costs are a share of car hire (maybe £50pp) and food/drink.
We have 18 confirmed or almost certain, 2 extra probable, and 2 more who aim to join us as part of their own separate adventure (22 in total)..
Stuart & Celia
Jim & Jane
Judith
Mark & Claire
Richard & Carolyn
Jon & Fiona
Steve & Chris
Bob
Geraint
Ian N
Matt
Bryan
Phil & Liz N
Ian & Linda M
This list is those who were coming in 2020, and the list may be very different in 2022!
To book or for more information email Stuart at stuartataltitude@gmail.com or call his mobile 07801132576.