European Climbing areas in Late January through February

Hello! My wife and I are going to be traveling in Europe from January through March. We will be in Spain in January and are looking for where else we should go. I know this isn't necessarily in season, but we are pretty good at enduring the cold crags, especially if it's sunny. We were thinking maybe Sardinia and or Arco. Any suggestions people have would be greatly appreciated! 

Also, if anyone has a place they are renting out as well, we would be interested and are great house/dog sitters too if anyone is looking for that. 

Thank you!

I wouldn't go to Arco then it's cold and climbing-wise shut down, really lucky if it got to 50° and surrounded by snowy mountains. The warnest place in Italy for climbing is San Vito lo Capo in Sicily, I've climbed there all winter.

I would suggest Finale Ligure over Arco in February, higher chance for nice weather. Should also be cheaper as there's no skiing nearby while many places remain open for MTB and climbers. But watch out for crag closures due to nesting birds.

if you go to Arco pm me for the best crags, however MOST crags at Arco are very polished.  if you like polish, or don't mind it, then super cool place.  I've heard finale Ligure is less polished but have not climbed there personally.  Be aware of Stress Corrosion cracking and sulfur breakdown that you can get at seaside crags.  I'm not sure if they have seen this in finale.  I would highly recommend el chorro, stay at the olive branch or la finca. the vibes there were great in 2017 when I went!  I also loved leionidio, Greece and have heard it is less crowded in the spring.  Mars crag and elona were world class crags.  plus the town of leionidio I just fell in love with all the locals, the food was amazing, costs were very reasonable for housing and food (at least by my standard) 

let us know where you end up and a review!  oh also I wonder if briancon would be good, marseille and Vernon gorge - all places in France - they can be very precipitation and weather dependent.  

Garrett Swankwrote:

I know this isn't necessarily in season, but we are pretty good at enduring the cold crags, especially if it's sunny.

I'd disagree that it's not in season.  I spent all of last January and February seeking shade in southern Spain. (Costa Blanca and Chulilla) I've also found Greece to be great that time of year. (Kalymnos and Leonideo)  I'm no expert on the whole Mediterranean region, but based on my experience of those four areas, mid winter is prime climbing season for lower-elevation/seaside climbing.  Maybe I've just been really lucky with the weather?

I agree - i think the temps in the winter in europe are pretty good - i think there are many europeans that prefer warmer temps than i.  in leonidio i would be in shorts and a tank and the europeans would be in their puffies.  very individual tho, i like it colder than my boyfriend and am less likely to numb out with my hands!  

if you go to el chorro go to el arabe (the arab steps, and there is a tufa crag in el chorro) they were both exceptional.  and there is more bolted multies than you will know what to do with.  

El .Chorro is fine from October to May and often from late Sept and into June.  Jan.-Mar is great here. Even when night temps are around freezing (which is not common), by midday if it is sunny (we supposedly get 330 days of sun each year), the south facing crags will be plenty warm, even hot. March is frequenly warm enough to climb on the north facing crags. There are supposedly 1500 routes here, most facing south but a few hundred face north. 

Max Tepferwrote:

I'd disagree that it's not in season.  I spent all of last January and February seeking shade in southern Spain. (Costa Blanca and Chulilla) I've also found Greece to be great that time of year. (Kalymnos and Leonideo)  I'm no expert on the whole Mediterranean region, but based on my experience of those four areas, mid winter is prime climbing season for lower-elevation/seaside climbing.  Maybe I've just been really lucky with the weather?

So March isn't too cold for Kalymnos? Looking at MP, 8a & thecrag, it looks like there aren't a lot of ticks during that time. 

Jeremy Lwrote:

So March isn't too cold for Kalymnos? Looking at MP, 8a & thecrag, it looks like there aren't a lot of ticks during that time. 

While I haven't been there in March, I would doubt that it would be too cold in Kalymnos in March, though it might be somewhat rainy at times. There are quite a few south-facing crags that are too hot ( at least for me) during the 'peak season', that should be fine then.

I have climbed in Finale, Italy in March--though conditions were far from ideal, we still got in a fair amount of climbing. I've had even better ( mostly) conditions at that time of year in Spain (Sierra de Prades), Sardinia, Sicily, and in southern France ( the original winter 'sun rock' destination but surprisingly neglected nowadays though the climbing remains as good). I also think that Geyikbayiri ( and possibly other areas) in Turkey should be good at that time of year.

Jeremy Lwrote:

So March isn't too cold for Kalymnos? Looking at MP, 8a & thecrag, it looks like there aren't a lot of ticks during that time. 

I've gone on two separate 3 week trips to Greece in January. (Kalymnos once and Leonideo the second time)  We had some rain in both trips, but only a handful of days and I was seeking shade and still climbing in shorts/no shirt most days.  In Leonideo we found slightly cooler temps by going to higher elevation crags, (Elona, Nifada, etc) but it was still not that cold.  As far as other climbers went, Kalymnos was weirdly dead (which was awesome) with only a handful of other climbers while Leonideo felt like peak season.  I'm headed back to Kalymnos for another month this year and am hoping for the best.  I had some friends go there last winter and they got a little bit more pushed aound by wind and rain, but also said that locals told them there was a historically strong winter storm while they were there.  Despite that, they still got out and climbed plenty of days. (in the sun)