Again ! We propose the second ClimbingAway photo contest!Amazing pictures has been send last year and we gave many gifts to the 20 first one. Lot's of nice prizes: Men or Women shirts, free digital guides ...
Like last year, you can send up to 5 climbing photos with the name of the site concerned to:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Join your name, your postal address and the operating system of your smartphone (iOS / Apple or Android).
For those who will take the opportunity to try out the climbing photo, look at the best pictures we already have might be helpful :)
Good luck to everyone !
Klemen Bečan is a top climber. He started climbing when he was 7 years old and he still climbs with the same passion as on the day he grabbed the first holds. At first he just liked to climb and soon started to train more seriously for the competitions and in 1997 he became youth world champion. In 2008 he won lead world cup competition in Kranj and later he got two 2nd places in bouldering world cups. Since always he preferred traveling and exploring new outdoor climbing spots in real rock where he was also an active bolter. He bolted new routes in more than 10 different countries. He’s preferred climbing style is “On Sight” and he might tell you that he doesn’t like the grades. Still he managed somehow to climb all the way up to 9a+ and he’s proud of it.
Klemen Bečan likes to climb and he feels better up, high in the wall than on the ground. This is why his favorite rout is a multi-pitch he bolted in Drašnice in Croatia. The route Roctrip which he graded 8c+ is one of the hardest of the kind in the world. But who cares, the view from the middle of the wall is just amazing!
Klemen is still climbing around the world today and he propose as well to share his experience on his website and during organized session for all thoses who wants to improve their climbing and share his passion. The next organized session will be this autumn on the beautiful Kalymnos island.
Christian Trujillo is the winner !
Jérome Chambard is 2nd (and 7th also):
Florent Vorger is 3rd (and 6th & 8th also):
Frederic Gibert is 4th (and 14th also):
Yohann Paolini is 5th:
Florent Vorger 6th:
Jérome Chambard 7th:
Florent Vorger 8th:
Vincent Montbel is 9th:
And Florent Vorger again is 10th !
After the Christmas gifts, the galettes des rois, extend the holidays in February with the ClimbingAway photo contest!Throughout the month of February, send your best climbing photos to win one of our many prizes: T-shirts, calendars "Women of climbing" ...
You can send up to 5 climbing photos with the name of the site concerned to:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Join your name, your postal address and the operating system of your smartphone (iOS / Apple or Android).
For those who will take the opportunity to try out the climbing photo, look at the best pictures we already have might be helpful :)
Good luck to everyone !
Rock climbing is exciting !
Every year brings new routes, new areas, new horizons ... On the website as on apps we continue offer you more and more rock climbing areas, information, pictures, ethic mobile guide books ...
And many historic sends this year ! First female 9a+ (Margos Hayes with the famous Rambla at Siurana) and 9b (Angela Eiter with La planta de Shiva at Villanueva del Rosario) ... Female climbers come closest from highest level even if Adam Ondra push it alittle bit with Silence send, the very first 9c ever at Flatanger !!!
Yes we are passionate about our sport and it is exciting to start this new year.
Happy New Year 2018 !
What is the Golden Boulders Hampi Climbing festival about?
Its a gathering of souls who want to find a community of likeminded people who will set out on opening new climbing routes in undiscovered parts of Hampi's powerful landscape. Come climb, slackline, do yoga, eat and sleep amongst friends - everything you will need for this ten day festival will be supplied for one set price.
When?
January 5th-15th, 2018
Where?
Hampi, Karnataka - information found at Tom & Jerry climbing shop. Contact at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. +91 948274669, +91 8277792588
Starting 1st december, a brand new paper guidebook will be available : "Rock around the World" !
Thierry Souchard make this nice book for us. Thierry is, among others, co-author of the 2 famous guidebook "Falaises de Corse" and "Grandes voies de Corse".
This time, he left the "island of beauty" to make a nice world tour of climbing destinations and offer us a compilation guide that you can pre-order today on its website (at a preferential rate)!
Nouveau topo de grandes voies Rock around the World
Thierry kindly answers our questions about this book.
The interview
Hello Thierry. We know you well as author of the Corsica's guidebooks but we don't know more about you. Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
I started climbing at the age of 15, but it became a passion only five years later. When I arrived in Corsica 20 years ago, I wanted to go beyond the stage of 'consumer' and invest myself in the development of the activity by re-equipping many sectors and multi-pitches routes around Ajaccio, Gozzi for those who know. I also participated in some openings and especially the creation with friends of a climbing gym associative in Ajaccio to overcome the lack of infrastructure.
Then with Bertrand Maurin, we began the realization of Falaises de Corseguidebook by associating the regional committee Corse FFME to generate revenues for the maintenance of the climbing areas. Finally, I also got the BE climbing.
Corsica was not a playground big enough for you so you need to travel all around the globe?
Since my arrival in Corsica, my personal practice is focused mainly on discovery and multipitches routes, preferably on stoppers/nuts. This has led me to make a guidebook of multi-pitches routes in Corsica. It was with the same motivation that I have climbed around the world in multi-pitches mainly, inspired and guided by the beautiful books of Arnaud Petit, the famous "Walls of legend" which have been my books for a long time.
Corsica is a paradise of climbing still undervalued but it is obviously not the only one. By going elsewhere, I discovered new cultures and often new styles of climbing. The world of climbing is small and rather intimate especially among practitioners of multipitches routes. The contacts with the local climbers are done naturally and one can appreciate each country a little more of the interior; it is an opportunity to combine climbing with meeting and exchange. I stayed in touch with climbers from many countries.
And then there are the landscapes of course that are often striking; I think for example of the sandstone walls of Wadi Rum or the pudding towers of Meteora, truly unique places. But we could mention others like the imposing wall of El Capitan Yosemite that I have already had the opportunity to climb twice or the hand of Fatma in Mali (a place to avoid now ...). Climbing is a pretext for discovery and travel ... unless it's the opposite.
The multipitches routes around the world: how can you embrace such a project?
It was almost a logical follow-up after the release of the Corsica guidebooks in 2012 and all the trips I had already done. I started with the same desire to make a 'utility' guidebook, meaning precise in the informations and sufficient for a first trip to each destination, but also with beautiful full-page climbing pictures to dream before leaving . From then on, I took great care to return to the chosen destinations and sometimes even to redo routes that had already been climbed when I thought it necessary.
Thierry Souchard, Wadi Rum - photo Cédric Bronnert
How long did it take you and how many areas are described?
I started in 2013 but a motorcycle accident in early 2015 slowed me down slightly. I have worked hard since the beginning of the year to finish it and update the information on the first sites visited. There are 7 areas described, some will find that it is little but each time, there are enough ways to fill a first stay:
The Calanques and the Verdon in the South of France, Sardinia: limestone climbs all bolted on walls and an exceptional environment
Meteors in Greece: fairly affordable but sometimes very involved climbs on surrealist conglomerate towers
The Wadi Rum in Jordan: 'trad' rock climbing on sandstone walls in an unforgettable desert environment
The Tsaranoro massif in Madagascar: equipped but fairly involved climbing on large granite walls
The parks of Red Rocks and Zion in USA: 'trad' climbing often affordable on sandstone walls really major
How did you choose the selected destinations?
The 'climbing' interest was the main criterion for the choice of sites. But accessibility from Europe, a fairly stable weather over favorable times and the absence of unacceptable political tensions were also indispensable conditions.
The mandatory level required for the routes shown ranges from 6a to 6c for bolted routes and from 5c to 6b for trad routes.
There is a digital version of the Meteors already available on the ClimbingAway app. Have you planned to put more online?
Yes, I planned to put all destinations online by the end of the year.
Can you tell us more about the book? It is in several languages? How many pages, format, price and how to get it?
This is a classic format book "guide" 15X21, 328 pages any color, public price 35 euros.
I chose a title in English, Rock around the World, because I hope to broadcast at least as much abroad as in France. It is fully bilingual French / English and will be distributed throughout Europe from early December.
This topo is a topo of multi-pitches routes. Do you have any advice for gym climbers or single pitch climbers who would like to try multi?
Whatever the practice, climbing is an activity that can be potentially dangerous if you do not do it properly. It seems to me essential to start with people who will be able to explain the right actions, whether in an club or by calling in a professional directly; it also involves observation and curiosity, for example by going through his first multi pitches route top rope (with a reliable leader of course).
And of course, do not skip the steps, especially to go to the adventure field where you really have to stay modest during his first experiences: the pleasure is not necessarily here in the difficulty and pure sports performance but in the discovery and the much stronger adventure that emerges.
And you? What is your preferred climbing area?
Corsica obviously! It is a huge playground whose potential seems inexhaustible but I risk being taxed chauvinism.
Abroad, Meteora and Wadi Rum are the two destinations that have marked me the most; I think that any climber of big ways must have visited these 2 sites at least once in his life!
Strangely these are not the destinations where climbing is the most beautiful intrinsically (be careful, it's still great climbing) but there is a supplement ... Come on, let's say, spiritual almost palpable.
Finally, can you tell us about the news of the guidebook "Falaises de Corse"?
I just put the final point to 'Rock around the world' and I'm currently working on the new edition of "Falaises de Corse". It should be released in March / April 2018. There will be something new, especially in the South of Corsica with superb cliffs turned to the high level (until 9a and up!) And the confirmation of a trend, certainly still a little marginal: the single pitches in trad 'especially on Bavella: absolutely major!
The partnership with ClimbingAway will continue in 2018: having already published 3 regions of Corsica in digital format, we should continue broadcasting by next spring with all the cliffs of Corsica updates available on the app.
Thierry , Tsaranoro, photo Guillaume Pellissier
Thank you Thierry !
Useful informations
Guidebook title : Rock around the world, Grandes voies autour du monde
Author : Thierry Souchard, preface by Arnaud Petit
Public price : 35 euros (pre-order: 30 euros, including delivery)
328 pages tout couleur, qui détaillent 180 grandes voies sur 7 destinations autour du Monde !
All routes of Céüse is available right now in our ClimbingAway apps for smartphones and tablets iOS and Android. You can buy the whole guidebook or just some sectors thanks to our flexible digital guidebooks packs.
High climbing season with all climbers came from all over the world is over. So enjoy Céüse through our digital guidebooks store on the iOS app or Android one and discover the best digital guidebooks experience at all !
The Dolomites are one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world. There are lot of long routes at all levels of difficulty, but also there are countless crags, and sport climbers will find in these mountains a fantastic place to play. On this page, I want to tell you about the crags of Cortina d'Ampezzo.
The multitude of sport climbing crags around Cortina give climbing lovers about 2000 pitches that can be climbed, a really significant number and one which is growing as a result of constant efforts and undoubted passion which has always been an aspect of those attempting to provide climbers with a new and ever changing playground.
But it is definitely not only the amount of pitches which pulls climbers from all over the world: sport climbing in Cortina means finding yourself in one of the most beautiful places in the world, placed in a natural environment perfect for treating visitors to indescribable views and unforgettable thrills.
Ernest Hemingway, who had seen a large number of places, wrote thus in a letter to E.Walsh: “Cortina d’Ampezzo is the swellest country on earth. The people are good and square too. We spent the end of a winter there once, at the Hotel Bellevue. Luigi Menardi proprietor. It is the loveliest country I’ve ever known”. (See here)
Yes, a lovely place where forests and meadows have been collectively owned by the original community for years and years and the area has been carefully protected against building and abuses.
But let’s get back to sport climbing, the principal theme of this post.
DIFFICULTY The rock faces offer pitches of assorted difficulty and complexity levels and everybody are able to find a climb suitable for their abilities, from beginners to the climbing greats. The highest grade is 9a and there are a good amount of 8c+ and 8c and many 8a-8b. For newbies, there are several well-equipped faces with a lot of grades suitable to beginners.
TYPE OF CLIMBING There is really something for everybody! From the smooth slabs at Son Pouses to the overhangs of Becco d'Ajal, from the short and intense pitches at Sasso dei Finanzieri to the long and sustained pitches at Rio Gere and Setsas. The rock faces around Cortina feature a variety of different rock types and features: crimps, pockets, slopers; yellow, red, grey and black rock. There are no tufas however, these are not really found in the Dolomites.
EQUIPMENT All the crags are well equipped with bolts and chains at the rest places. You will find only a few pitches with obsolete equipment and these will, in any case, soon be put right. I advise 80 meters, or at a minimum 70 meters ropes. On some crags, for example Cinque Torri, where you can find both sport climbing routes and traditional multi-pitch routes, helmets are advisable. Otherwise, you need normal sport climbing equipment.
CLIMATE During the summer period, from the middle of June to the beginning of August, the climate is pleasantly warm during the day and fresh during the night.
From July to end-August, there are sometimes thunderstorms in the afternoon. A warm sunny day can transform in a kind of hell in less than an hour. Considering the wind-chill factor, temperature can fall up to 15 degrees. I suggest that you always wear suitable clothing, however.
GUIDE TO CORTINA’S SPORT CLIMBING In terms of climbing guides are concerned, last year a guidebook was published. In order to climb in this area I recommend that you buy this guidebook to Cortina’s crags: “Falesie a Cortina d’Ampezzo”. The guidebook is in three languages: Italian – English – German. You can see details and buy it on the guidebook page.
Already 10 years that a small group of passionate climbers-travelers develops this website and enriches it for the whole community.
10 years that the number of our users and contributors, on the website as on the free apps (for smartphones / tablets with iOS / Android), keeps growing up, mainly through word of mouth.
10 years and 6565 rock climbing areas detailed and perfectly geolocated around our small planet. Areas for every levels, every types of climbing, every trips, every tastes ... :)
10 years of ethics also on many important points for us. We still have not given in to the advertisment calls. Disable your
So to find a little bit anyway, we have been selling digital topos for some time. Historically, these are the first ethical and dynamic digital topos in the world. They are bought and can be consulted only on our applications. These are also the only French digital topos!
To our 60 digital guide books available (some are free, the others paying ...), it is now our Corsican friends who dare this way of diffusion complementary to their pretty well known paper guidebook. All of the North Island is now available on your iOS apps. The equivalent on Android apps will not be long.
On the rocks of the Bedouins have been opened multi pitches routes on orange sandstone, mainly trad climbing.Among the rare bolted routes "La Guerre Sainte" 7b 500m, bolted by Arnaud Petit & co.Gear needed, beautiful surroundings and very welcoming people in the heart of the Jordanian desert.
Idyllicsandy beaches,coconut palms, incrediblelagoonpopulated by amyriad offishof all sizes andall colors,theKanakpeople and theirtribal life and ancestralcustoms,the west coastwithits open spaces,itsherdsandbushmen(sort of local cowboysthat huntdeeraswe do our shopping).
And for some time, New Caledoniais also averticaladventurecountry!
Indeed in Noumea, the capital, Magenta climbing gym has become a mecca for sports. Since the organization of the world youth championships this place is always full. From morning until evening primary schools to senior everyone comes tighten holds and fill their arms.
Parallel to the development of Nouméa, the town of Koumac in the north has also caught the fever of verticality. Spurred on Vertikaledonie club and territorial technical employee, routes were opened, initiations were implemented, passions were born and a sports movement is created.
Today there are 150routesfrom 4 to 8a onLes Roches de Notre Dame, fifteen on the Koumac cave and 70 problems on the boulder area of Haute Néhoué. In the middle of a forest without age where grows sprawling banyan trees, Caledonian limestone offers a number of high class routes. Single pitch up to 35 meters in vertical or setep walls, ending up to the canopy and promise memorable climbs. A little hot during the austral summer (mid-November to mid-April) although some areas are shaded and super nice winter (June to August with 20 to 23 °C), weather permitting go climbing all year in shorts/sandals. The two flagship areas of sport climbing are printed on a paper guidebook and ClimbingAway ethical and digital guidebooks :)
Finally, eachyear a territorial scale rally is organized on the crag of the north and offers the community rises the country the opportunity to share and enjoy together a unifying weekend that highlightsthe uniqueness of the Caledonian climbing .
The strong point of theses 6000 presented rock climbing areas is the accuracy of the information with 99% of perfect locations. At ClimbingAway we did in the craft! All these rock climbing areas have been added/validated patiently one by one "hand work" to ensure the quality of information. And it takes time! As being a community sharing quality information website requires us to examine scrupulously rock climbing areasproposed by users from the website or from the Apple application. Thus, they are validated only if the information is correct, starting with their locations as our smartphone apps use them to lead you on any of these 6000 rock climbing areas :) Unlike those focus on numbers, we prefer the quality. No rock climbing areas fake, banned, poorly located and partially filled in with us! We believe that the climbing days are too precious to be lost with incomplete information: p
Specifically, the number of rock climbing areas presented on ClimbingAway increases first with the ares known team members, but the most part of theses rock climbing areas additions are those proposed by contributors and checked by us. We also enrich ClimbingAway with all areas which hosts the sends of the best climbers in the news of our sport and who push up the grading limits.
True with practical reality, we mainly present sports crags and bouldering areas, but we also present more and more areas of multi-pitches routes and deep water soloing areas. Owners of smartphones and tablets must not forget that to get all the latest areas added, it must launch the "timing" of their app.
These 6000 rock climbing areas allow you to findsomerock(almost)anywhere in108 countriesall around oursmall planet.Because we areFrench, France is bestcoveredwith1815rock climbing areastoday.Thenwe have784areas inSpain,696in Italy,680in the USA, 309in Switzerland,222in Germany, 118 in the UK, 102 in Austria,93in Greece ...In fact, thesestatistics reflectthe nationalitycontributorswho addedsites andpicturesfor many years. Soon behalf of allthose who use theirinformationClimbingAway.comand applications:
Merci Beaucoup !!!, Muchas Gracias !!!, Grazie Mille !!!,Thanksa lot !!!,
Vielen Dank !!!, σαςευχαριστώπολύ!!! ...
Et bonne grimpe à tous !
Best wishes for thisyear that beginsvery well withgreat pictures ofNinaCaprez.
Versatileclimber, particularly giftedand bubbly, Nina Caprezattackswithout restraintboulders, extreme single pitcheand multi pitches routesbecause she likes it all. Goodliving, she promotesjoyand good humorcommunicatively. An example for all at the moment of takinggood resolutionsfor thecoming year.Check out someof her sends on pictures of herClimbingAwaypage.
Thank you very much Nina and a goodand happy2016to all again,wewish you tons of great climbing moments !
