Community platform for information and inspiration about sustainable climbing
Corsica is a very nice island to go climbing. The granit over there is really crazy and can take amazing shapes called « tafoni ». You can also find beautiful slabs or cracks. Bavella is the biggest equipped multipitch spot of the island.
Los mallos de Riglos (Mallets of Riglos) are 300m red sandstone towers that seem to appear out of nowhere. When taking a closer look, they offer a very unique type of multipitch climbing with long sections of overhang on very good holds, a sharp contrast to more traditional slabby multipitch climbing. Located in the Aragon region of Spain and close to the Pyrenees, the town of Riglos is also very accessible by public transport thanks to a train station located on the Zarragoza-Canfranc train line. It is a trip I recommend for every climber to do at least once in their life.
Nestled in the Bavarian Alps, the Allgäu offers climbers a playground, with routes ranging from beginner-friendly to challenging. Everyone can test their skills while soaking in the region’s serene beauty. As public transport is not the best in the region, it is a great place to go climbing by bike.
I traveled from Lausanne to the south of France by train, then cycled along the Mediterranean coast. The scenery was absolutely stunning, and I climbed in the beautiful Calanques. It was a fantastic spot, with routes perfect for all skill levels, breathtaking climbs, and incredible views.
For this new years eve, we travelled to the Karst in Trieste. A quick internet research promised well-secured routes, climbing areas close to the city and good food – what else could a climber dream of? Trieste has around 200,000 inhabitants and is characterised by its proximity to Slovenia, Croatia and Austria. During the Habsburg monarchy, Trieste was a Mediterranean harbour and a hub of the Austro-Hungarian economy, which can still be seen today in the imposing buildings from this period. The harbour is still the city’s major economic factor. So it’s no wonder that you can look directly out to the sea from the impressive Town Hall Square. More important for the climbers? The caffeine supply. Trieste is known for its coffee house culture, which is in no way inferior to that of Vienna. As you can see, there is enough cultural program for rest days.
Not only does the Zillertal have a lot to offer in terms of sport climbing, multi-pitch climbing and winter sports, there are also plenty of great boulder problems. Especially in the hot months, the bouldering areas in the higher altitudes, in the forests and directly by the river offer cool conditions. There are numerous spots both in the main valley and in the side valleys. The Sundergrund area is particularly idyllic, scattered across alpine meadows and right by the river with lovely swimming spots – both hardcore and beginners will find something here (FB 5a – 8b+, most boulders in the 6a – 6c range).
Despite my dream to visit the Lofoten for a long time now, I have been tempered by the cost of getting there (carbon footprint wise). After a yearlong of adventuring by bike I felt ready to end my gap year on a high note and travel (solo and slowly) to this remote place. For the sake of simplicity for everyone, I will describe what I think – based on my experience going up and down – is the easiest and most direct way of getting to Lofoten. Although there are beautiful granite walls throughout the archipelago, most of the climbing is centred on Henningsvaer. There are numerous climbing possibilities along the road that winds down to the village, including short and long trad multi-pitch routes; bouldering and sport-climbing sea cliffs. Which makes it very practical for an ecopoint trip.
This summer we were travelling the Balkans for two months via public transport and luckily, we brought our climbing equipment along! Especially Bosnia and Herzegovina surprised us with its many new and very well-maintained crags that were quite easily accessible by public transport. One of our favorite climbing areas, and the one we spent the most time at, is Blagaj in Herzegovina.
Blagaj is a village that sits next to Vulin Potok Canyon, which was made accessible in 2014 by a via ferrata, which opened it up for exploration to the climbing community. Now there are about 14 established sectors for sport climbing and multipitching on the beautiful limestone rock with tufas, crimps and crack lines of all grades which are still growing every year. Our great (!) guidebook from 2020 was already outdated when we arrived there but the local climbing community is very active and has topos on its website.
El Chorro is a popular winter sport climbing destination in southern Spain featuring mainly south facing crags and a great range of grades. There is a fantastic climbing community here and a very relaxed atmosphere, plus the majority of the climbing areas are within easy walking distance from the village.
During our climb&bikepacking trip in the Balkans, we didn’t want to miss the beautiful climbing spots in the Peloponese! So as we head off Leonidio, we decided to go to two stunning climbing spots that are definitely worth the detour: Kyparissi and Vlychada. Those are peaceful and remote places with amazing climbing and the traditional greek “tufas”, where you can get gorgeous views on the Azur Blue sea. Do I need to say more?