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Rock Climbing, Scenery, Panorama |
Avoiding the crowds
The south of Spain offers lots of rock climbing opportunities. In summertime it's too hot, but we didn't have that problem as we visited in December, and got rewarded by excellent weather. There was a little variation in daytime maximum temperatures, usually getting rising to quite pleasent by late afternoon, but rarely high enough for me to need any chalk. One of the best places to go to is El Chorro, with lots of crags nearby, many within walking distance. During our visit we found out that December 8 happened to be a holiday. The bunkhouse in the simple lodge where we were staying was full, as if to prove a point. Therefore I readily agreed when Jan proposed to drive to Túron, where I hoped it wouldn't be crowded.
Túron west from the viewpoint along the road
A climber low on the big slab at Túron west. If you look closely you can make out a climber on the slab, and another one at the base. Or take a look at this much larger image for a better view.
A big, smooth looking angled slab attracted our attention. We saw a few climbers, which nicely served to put the size of the wall in perspective. From the viewpoint itself, only a small part of Túron east was visible, but after just walking back along the road for a minute or two the full expanse of the cliffs came into sight. It was early afternoon, and they were still in the shadow. However, that didn't deter us. We drove back, found the right turnoff and followed the dirt road up to the top of the cliffs.
The paddle points to the viewpoint along the road.
As we got closer, we saw just one parked car, so we reckoned it would be quiet, as we hoped. And when we parked and got out, the other car turned out to be from an elderly couple, who were just sight seeing or hiking. From the small parking area, a steep trail wound itself down by the north side of the cliffs. There was nobody else around, and dozens of routes to chose from. Mind you, most of those were too hard for us, only a handful were within our capabilities.We were taking it easy that day, and had lunch before finally starting to get ready to climb. The sun was coming around the cliffs already, and it wouldn't be long anymore before we would be out of the shade. We figured we would climb the routes that weren't too hard and then move to Túron west. But we were very relaxed, and before we knew it it was getting late already. There wasn't enough daylight left to head for Túron west and get any climbing done there. I suppose that's the drawback of being out there so late in the year. But hey, that's a small price to pay for a rock climbing holiday with loads of sunshine in December!
The left sector of Túron east, which is where we climbed. I estimate that the face is about 40 m high, but in this sector there are no bolted routes going all the way up.
Our car is parked out of sight, at the top. The approach is from the left.