Hola. When I’m not climbing for work, I climb for pleasure! The end of last year saw me jetting off for an overseas climbing trip to Tenerife.
I set off with my mate Paul for an overseas climbing trip to Tenerife. Paul has lived out there previously, so had all the local knowledge of the best places to climb!
We had arranged to base ourselves in the south near to airport at a quaint little town called El Medona. Here you can escape the holidaymakers, and really get a taste of the local way of life. It is a great little town that hasn’t been too spoilt from tourism, yet still close enough to the cliffs to climb.
A short drive from El Medona takes you to Arica (the main cliff in Tenerife), which is ideal for a young family. You can reach Arica with ease with just a 2 min walk in from the car park.
The locals have set up a cool little place called villa de Arico. Here you can find a few items of locally made clothes, climbing courses and information for visiting climbers. They also offer accommodation that is one of the closest places to stay to the crag.
Overseas Climbing in Tenerife offers something for everyone.
If you’re after a more challenging crag, then El Hoyo is for you. Situated in a steep gorge, this little gem will give you an adventure just by getting to it – you have to abseil in, and climb out! Some very funky climbing is to be had there. The first few metres is water washed, and then you get on some cool features. At present its not in any guide books either, so you will have to speak nicely to the locals to gain some more information on this area, but it has the hardest 6a (tricky feet and steep jamming for the grade).
If you fancy an adventure on a rest day, then head to Acantilados de los Gigantes. There you will find a nice little to walk along an exposed ledge at 100 to 300 metres. This is not for the faint hearted though – at one point you end up 300m above a tiny beach! It’s what we like to call at Young’s Adventure Solutions ‘type 2 fun’, meaning you never quite know if you’re enjoying it at the time, but afterwards it feels awesome!
Benefits of climbing in Tenerife.
Another benefit of winter climbing in Tenerife is that the flights are cheaper in winter. The best time to go is between November and February. There are plenty of routes and fun to be had to last at least 2 weeks. With food and accommodation also being cheap, it’s a superb choice for a pick-me-up when the nights start to draw in in the UK. There are also shops for pretty much anything that you get back home, so you can get the feeling of adventure, without having to sacrifice any comfort!
Here’s a list of climbing kit that I took:
70m rope and rope bag – 8.9 Swift Edelrid Dry treated
16 Quickdraws Petzl spirits
Petzl Gri gri 2
Harness- DMM Renegade
Helmet – Petzl meteor 4
Rock shoes – La Sportiva Katana Lace
Best Ever approach shoes- La Sportiva Mutant
Rucksack – Patagonia ascensionist pack 45l
See you at the crag, and keep #LivingTheDream!
Eddy J
Considering an overseas climbing trip? Get in touch and find out how we can help.
