Costa Blanca
A winter climbing area with many diverse crags catering for all tastes. From the multi pitch trad and bolted routes on the Peno d'Ifach to the overhanging crags of Gandia, and a bit of everything in between. The climate is excellent, with not too much rain, but relatively warm and plenty of sunshine in the winter months. Climbing is still possible in Spring and Autumn, but in summer it is too hot for all but the shadiest of crags.
Spain: Costa Blanca by Chris Craggs and Alan James published by Rockfax covers the major crags in the area
Crags in this region:
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Acantilado de Bixauca | A pleasant cliff set amongst olive, almond and cherry trees, the crag of Bixauca offers something at most grades, usually on good, incut and rough holds. The left hand side has some hard, steep tufas, the middle some long middle grade classics (80m rope required), and the right hand side steep, sustained routes. |
| Font d'Axia | A small crag with a handful of easy routes in a nice setting in the hills behind Jalon. It gets the sun in the afternoon and is sheltered from the wind. Some of the routes have a bit of loose rock, a helmet is useful, and the bolts sometimes feel spaced. |
| Gandia | An excellent sport climbing crag with routes up to 30m long on steep, solid and sometimes polished limestone. Bolting is very good and there are a variety of routes from steep walls to overhanging tufas. It can get hot even in the middle of winter. |
| Pego | A pleasant crag that is difficult to find, just outside the village of Pego. It has two buttresses, one right next to the car park with several lower grade routes, and a second, better crag just 10 minutes up the valley. Although not a major cliff, the routes are on the shorter side, some of the climbing is very good. The upper cliff is described here. The lower cliff has routes from 5a to 5c on the wings, and a couple of 6bs in the middle. |
| Pena Roja | Pena Roja is an easily accessible and pleasant crag of red limestone just two kilometres from the village of Jalon in the hills above Calpe. It has some steep walls with routes mostly in the 6b to 7b range. Bolting is good and the rock is solid, albeit polished in places. it gets the sun in the morning and is understandably popular. In addition to the established left hand sector there are newer routes on two smaller buttresses of grey rock about 200m further right. |
| Sella - Hidden Valley, Wild Side | One of the best crags in the area, if you climb 7b and above. Long, steep routes up to 40m in length. Wild side is nearly always in the shade, which coupled with the altitude means that it can be cold in winter, although the routes will keep you warm. It is steep, and sheltered from the rain. |