Rock climbing
Rock climbing abroad
Picos de Europa
Join us on a fantastic adventure. A week long expedition to the amazing Picos.
The Picos de Europa is a compact range of mountains, no more than 30 miles long and 15 miles wide, not far from Spain's northern coast. The mountains are made up of the largest mass of mountainous limestone found on the Continent and it is this limestone that has given the area such a violent topography. In a process known as karstification, naturally acidic rainwater has dissolved the rock cutting great chasms through it and dividing the range into three distinct massifs: Western, Central and Eastern.
This same geological process is responsible for creating the sierra's signature peak, Naranjo de Bulnes, the great tooth of rock jutting out of the Central massif and our main focus for this expedition. On the Naranjo there is a good choice of routes at around alpine grade V/V+ (VS/HVS) but whichever lines we pick this is an adventure of alpine proportions so this trip is only suitable for climbers with a fair amount of experience who are comfortable seconding VS. We will head up and spend a night in a mountain refuge before an early start to tackle our objective which will typically involve around 15 pitches of ascent and a technical descent involving scrambling and multi pitch abseils. But don’t worry, we’ll spend a few days on some of the many lower sport climbing crags getting ‘in the zone’ beforehand!
Accommodation is in a mixture of comfortable Casa Rural’s and mountain refuges and the cost of these is included in the prices along with transport within Spain and all instruction. All we ask you to organise is flights (although we can book these for you) and food. There are lots of great eating places to suit all budgets so we certainly don’t go hungry! You can even try the legendary Cabrales blue cheese if you feel brave. Made with a blend of cow, sheep and goat's milk, it's left to mature in caves for months until a mould completely covers it - not a cheese for the timid palate. Authentic Cabrales is only made in Arenas de Cabrales, a small town in the range.
- 7 days
- Ratio 1:2
- Cost per person £780 which includes everything except flights (typically around £60) and food.
Please check our Course Calendar for upcoming courses
Climbing is not a spectator sport .
Mark Wellman
