It took a while before the new guide book came out again. And when it did, it was sure worth while to get it. Dream routes and new areas in granite, conglomarat and limestone – all found summerized in a valley and each one better than the next. Infact we did not climb any route that did not deserve a star the last week. I was practically amazed how international the scene has become, with annual boulder cups and rock climbing competitions, the area has developed well for the rock climber in the last few years. Read the rest of this entry »

Mention the word “Frankenjura” and your opposite stares at you glimply and says…oh! you mean the climbing area in the woods? Yes, hmmm ….. right! Many of the crags are all found hidden in the woods, which is why it’s rumoured to be Robin Hood’s hideout. Frankenjura is blessed with a huge bunch of crags spreaded all over. The majority of them are formed into 12-15m overhanging crags with thousands of finger pockets, dents and scarce bolts.  Of course, not all crags are this way… but thats the impression you’re going to take along with you after you leave Frankenjura.

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Alpes – Maritimes: a beautiful mixture of the alps and the sea next to each other in southern france. The region is blessed with hundreds of sectors of climbing possibilities for every taste and  difficulty be it a wall of tufas, ledges or overhanging grips. If you are situated in Nice, the furtherst crag to reach is at most 1.5 hrs away. The border to Italy is just about an hour away from there and every view you inhale is one of blue skies, sun and sea, one of the things which is essential for the beginning of a great climbing holiday in Côte d’Azur.

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We finally made it to the areas near Grenoble after dozens of recomendations from various climbers. Without much expectations and equipt with an 10 year old guide book from 1996 Val d´Isere, we packed our stuffs and took off for Grenoble, Combe lava

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General If you drive through Longarone and look up to the roads that lead to Erto, you’ll notice this great wall that covers a great part of that hill you’ll be passing. Then you’d go asking yourself, if there’s anything to climb on it. Casso is situated just right on top left of Erto. The access is a liitle difficult to find, especially if you’re there for the first time and if you get on the wrong path, it’s going to lead you all the way down to the other side of the valley. Read the rest of this entry »

…is an all time favourite. And it’s topping up the favourites list in the last few years.

Kalymnos is an island some 20 minutes away by ferry from the Island Kos in Greece. We discovered Kalymnos in 2001, many people kept saying that there’s so much potential in-between the crags, you could build up routes for the rest of your life.Well, if you’re alone, yes, you may need quite an effort and some time to finish all those routes. We left for Kalymnos in 2001 to test and feel those 21 sectors people were drooling about.

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A short story:

Mr Stimpson, a strong, young and a vain 1.6m tall man were in the skirts of Nice, France. He would battle anyone who came across his way. And he was always ready for more.

It was a wonderfull Tuesday morning, after Mr. Stimpson had victoriously wrestled down the >>Star Gladiator<< in the arena of Castillon. He amused himself with the idea to reward himself in the fore runnings of the Formula One in Monte Carlo! Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re looking for an alternative to climbing in Finale, crags in and around Castelbianco offers a handful of crags that’s worth a few weeks of holidays to spend your time on. VALLE PENNAVAIRE is a quiet valley with little medieval towns and a few popular gourmet restaurants to go to. It ‘ s almost untouched nature surrounded by crags on all sides of the valley makes it possible to climb here in summer and in winter too. Olive trees, & Marones, are some specialties of the region . Looking aside from the amount of crags on each side of the valley, you will almost always find little lovely bridges , old romantic houses on a steep hangs, ruins and churches . Rosemary, Lavender & Thyme grows here like weeds. The valley is narrow, the hills on both sides steep. The way to the crags could be private property!

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Sardegna is one of the most beautiful Islands opposite of Rome and about 9 Ferry Hours away from Livorno, where we took off on a lovely morning in Autumn. News had been brumming on the many new climbing areas that were supposed to be good. And there’s nothing stopping us from having a fantastic holiday climbing and beaching! There are numerous crags all over the island for climbing of all sorts – if you’re looking for Overhangs, alpine, or Slabs, climbing on the shore, or just bouldering Sardegna is the place to go. Believe me – you won’t get bored there! So there we were going off and bringing lots of Fight Gravity Impulse along, and hoping that it works. I’m going to give you here a short idea how the most of the new areas are – (new? anything that’s been bolted after ’96) as there are enough articles in the Internet on Sardegna. ..

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Mentioning the name “Arco” makes every climber´s heart beat a little faster. It’s the place where climbing dreams are made of, a place to get great pizzas and pasta or gelatis, to go equipment shopping and sizzle your skin brown over the weekend. Olive trees and wine yards decorate the sarca valley. Arco with a great infrastructure by today poses a great getaway for everyone big & small, beginners or muscled packed. There´s no corner where you could turn to and not find some mountaineering store to spend your money on. Not only is the region made for climbers, it’s a haven for mountain bikers and windsurfers. With it´s mild Mediterranean climate 360 days long, no wonder it boomed over the last 20 years with sport tourists coming from all over the world, looking for sun, sport, pizza and great fun over the weekend. In the winter when days are short and the sun low, arco offers you many possibilities to enjoy climbing in your t-shirt. The best time of the year to come is nevertheless from February till November. It could get really hot and humid in the summer but there are an abundant crags hidden behind the trees, or north facing, offering shade and cooling air. Read the rest of this entry »