I have just booked a flight to Alicante and decide to carry some climbing gear with me this time! :) I'm going to live in Torrevieja and have car available. Questions, 1. Do you think it's possible to get the Costa Blanca guide from rockfax.com there? (short of time to order via internet...). 2. Good clif for beginners (5a-5c) close to Torrevieja. I guess we have to climb in early mornings and the evening (warm?) Thankful for quick answers, Benny
The Murcia region has kinda shitty climbing possibilities so you definitely want to head for the crags near Alicante. e.g. Marin and backside of Forada have good climbs on the easier end. These places are also a bit higher so climbing there would be possible even later (I was there in June three years back and neither of those places was too bad). I would think it's almost impossible to find a guidebook from there. Alicante has one climbing shop and having visited it last week, I remember them having only very limited guidebook section and definitely not rockfax (the rockfax costa blanca guidebook is actually pretty good).
@ Shock:Sorry for being rude, but saying: "Murcia region has kinda shitty climbing possibilities" shows you got no idea of climbing in that region. @ Benny: Rockfax is a good overview, but is very limited if you like to climb in the region of murcia. If you also like landscape, you definetly should visit Sierra Espuรฑa with the quite known (in Spain) pared de Leiva. It's up to 200m high, very well bolted and has multi-pitch and sportsclimbing on the lower end of difficulty. Should be really warm, but being quite high, it's defintly better than orihuela and redovan close to your stay. This is burning hot and people use to go there in november-feb. Murcia also has climbing on the easier side above the town. But it's a bit polished and conglomerat rock which is kinda strange. very nice possibility for two days could be Mula. It got 2 sectors with the pared de la presa having routes from 4-7b. But this is REALLY HOT, been climbing there on 1. January without shirt. sector ferrari might have some shade and/or wind and is some of the finest climbing I ever did. For mula and espuna, you should look for spanish topo "climbing in sierra espuรฑa". By the way there is a climbing shop in murcia town. not every spanish climber likes rockfax as they are making profit out of the work of local guys putting up the routes with their money. I try to buy local. Have fun.
And the best sectors, like Vallecito and the cave close to Orihuela you can't find in any guidebook. Since the lokals don't like englishmen invading the crags they refuse to make guidebooks. There is a ton of very good climbingsectors and crags you jusit have to figure out just by getting to know lokals. One nice start is to contact the well known climber Hรฅkon Hansen who lives and climbes in Biar, one hour inside Torrevieja. Directions to Vallecito I can give by mail.
And don't clamethat Murcia is a bad region. Some of the best and hardest bouldering along the coast you find in Murcia. F.eks Mula and Leyva. Here you find routes up to 8b+.
This site contains some guides: http://tukanrocca.com/escalada-murcia-croquis/croquis/
Help: Climbing in Costa Blanca