After leaving Sicily, our next climbing stop was Statte in Puglia. Statte is right in the arch of the boot of Italy, about 500km south east of Rome and 15 km north of the city of Taranto. The crags at Statte are spread across 16 sectors along the side of a 100m (or more) deep, … Continue reading Climbing in Statte
We have had a fantastic 10 days climbing in Statte (in the heel of Italy), but one thing that has been proven to me during this trip, is that I am absolutely hopeless at spotting a good route! Generally, I just go with the flow. I enjoy climbing for the places it takes me, the … Continue reading Do not let me choose routes!
I started climbing almost 40 years ago but for much of the last twenty years everything, including climbing, took a back seat to work. Whilst I have never stopped climbing, the standard at which I performed slipped from on-sighting E5 / 7b to HVS / 6b. However, my enthusiasm for climbing never dimmed and is … Continue reading Making Progress?
As our time on Sicily draws to a close we find we will be leaving with a great sense of dissatisfaction. Why? Well, mainly because we have only scratched a small part of the surface of this varied and complex place. Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean; almost 200 times larger than Kalymnos, … Continue reading Climbing in South East Sicily
After 10 days of unpredictable and changeable weather our time in San Vito Lo Capo has come to an end. Despite several days of hanging around waiting for the weather to improve, the time passed very quickly, and I certainly, was not yet ready to move on. We had extended our stay by an extra … Continue reading San Vito to Ragusa, via Selinunte
Our week climbing in Salerno got off to a very poor start (read the first blog here). Day 1 had good climbing, Day 2 had bad climbing, and Day's 3 and 4 were rained off. It is fair to say we were not in the best frame of mind by the end of Day 4. … Continue reading Climbing in Salerno – part 2
Climbing in Salerno has not been the motivating introduction to our trip that we had hoped for. It has been cold, wet, and the crag has spat us off routes that seemed perfectly achievable from the ground. However, there have been some highlights, although these were mostly in the form of some new found 4 … Continue reading Climbing in Salerno – Part 1
A three and half month trip is an awkward length of time for a holiday, especially in terms of the organisation. For short, two week trips, I can book, pack and go in the space of a day. Nothing exceptional needs to be done, pack a bag, grab my passport, turn the heating down. When … Continue reading What else have I forgotten?
After several requests I have finally got around to creating the latest installment in the photo gallery. (Just click on the "Gallery" menu above to access them and others). The new photos supplement my last blog post and contains images from our trip to Fontainebleau. If you have read that blog you will know why … Continue reading Gallery Update
Fontainebleau has become a bit of a favourite destination for us over the last few years, we try and escape at the start of the year while it is still cold here, and is just starting to warm up there. This year was no different, and we went across for a week at the end … Continue reading Fontainebleau, 2018
Ordinary Climbers 