Climbing in Rodellar

Why: Rodellar village is situated above the beautiful Muscan gorge in the Sierra de Guara National Park.  This limestone gorge is one of Europe’s famous climbing areas and provides plenty of steep hard routes.  The climbing style is powerful and athletic, with plenty of overhanging caves, arches, roofs,  tufas and pinnacles.   

Where: Rodellar is at the end of a long, windy, rural road leading up to the Pyrenees through beautiful olive groves and wheat fields with snow capped mountains in the background. Before you reach the Pyrenees you come to the end of the road with the small village of Rodellar nestled in the foothills. Just outside of the village, a giant gorge opens up and is filled with amazing caves, arches, spires and walls with the beautiful but chilly Mascun river flowing (or rather raging during our trip) at the bottom. The area is extremely popular for canyonists and we saw many French and Spanish with their wet suits and haul bags in the parking lot. You can fly into Barcelona, rent a car, and drive a few hours (2) west pretty easily.

When: Not May. Well, supposedly May can be good, but when we went in May, the rain never stopped and it was cold!Summer is too hot, so probably another good place to go from Sept - November.

Accommodations: We stayed in a bungalow at El Puente that was cheap and decent and close to the climbing. Two bedrooms, kitchen/living room and a full bathroom with shower.  Fina, the campground owner is the nicest lady ever and kept a warm fire going in the restaurant/bar/gear shop the whole time we were there. Our bungalow was a bit cold, so we lit a fire (our stove) every night to get a little warmth in the place as we huddled around in our down coats with wet socks and shoes! 

 

El Peunte (means bridge), right next to the campground

Where to Climb: We spent most of our time in Rodellar hiking and exploring, looking for dry climbing but in the end we did end up actually getting quite a bit of good climbing in and had some good weather, mostly at the El Camino wall. This wall is the closest approach from the trail, and is pretty decent for families with kids. Although, there is a drop off, and the hike in is not short. Other areas would be much harder for families with little ones (under the age of 5) and I'm not so sure I'd recommend it over all the other great, easier, family crags in Europe. 

El Camino Wall

The Landing/Drop off at El Camino

Another crag that stays dry - Las Ventanas

What to see in the Area - Rodellar is pretty remote. Not too many choices on places to stay, but endless hiking. We checked out a nearby town called Aragon that was beautiful and worth checking out. Barcelona is a must see city, so if you fly in, spend a few days there for sure.

Climbing in Gorge Du Tarn

Why: The best limestone you have ever climbed on period.

Where: Gorge Du Tarn, France is a bit remote. We drove from Germany through Switzerland and then on south through France where we rented a gite.  You can find more about the area and the gite in this post .

When: We went in the off season, October, when it was still great for climbing, and their were no crowds at all anywhere. The downside to this was that many resturants/shops in the area were not open. I'd say spring through fall would be great here. So much shade, and you are up at a pretty high elevation for southern France, so in summer, it still isn't too hot.

 Accommodations: I would recommend a gite personally over camping. The gite we stayed in was so cheap and perfect for a family with kids. Separate bedrooms, kitchen, TV, etc. 

Food:  As always, we stock up on groceries and prepare a lot of our meals on trips like these with our kids. We drove to to Millau our first day and stocked up at a HUGE grocery store on the edge of town. We also hit up the wonderful farmer's market in Millau later on in the week for fresh food, soap, and gifts to take home. Make sure you get Pain Chocolat for breakfast in France, the best pastries in the world, amazing wine, fresh bread, and try a few cheeses out as well!

Where to Climb: Honestly, I haven't been in a few years, so I forget the names of all the crags we tried out! However, this link should help you out. I do remember there were quite a few crags you would not want to take kids, however, there were just as many that are easy/safe with kids.

What to see in the Area: The city of Millau and the famous Millau viaduct the tallest bridge in the world. Plus, kayak on the tarn. Most of the tourists in the area are there for the kayaking, so we gave it a try and it was awesome! Plus, if you like Roquefort, you can visit the caves where it is made. Just hiking and driving around the area was entertainment for us.