UKH

Looking for ideas for a European climbing trip this year.

About a year ago, me & my mate penciled-in all of September for a trip to the Alps for some classic snow stuff (we are recently retired).

Obviously this summer has been a tad warm and it appears many snow & ice routes are not in condition.

We are also seeing some reports that many of the easier rock routes, especially ridges, are also not in good condition due to the ongoing drought.

It would appear that what activity is happening is mainly on steep & harder stuff. Things that we are no longer very good at.

Any ideas for areas suitable for longish  low to mid grade routes  in the high mountains of Europe?

We have thought of the Dolomites or Pyrenees, but there appears to be little info about current activity, suggesting that not a lot is happening?

Cheers,

Ian

There will be plenty happening in both the Pyrenees and the Dolomites right now, and for the Dolomites, you can check the recent ascents in the Alpine Conditions section of this website.

The Pyrenees are great, but info, particularly in English, is hard to get hold of. The good quality climbing also tends to be spread out, unlike the Dolomites, where good routes are much more concentrated and plenty of info available in English. 

The Picos De Europa (again, info in English is tricky to find) might also be worth considering, along with many of the areas in the various Schweiz Plaisir books, which also cover the French and Italian Alps. 

As long as you avoid what little remains of the glaciated areas of the Dolomites and Pyrenees then both these areas should be fine for long easy mountain routes.

As said above, there's plenty of information in English for the Dolomites and little for the Pyrenees but there's this

https://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Books-Media/Guidebooks/Spain-Portuga...

Also with basic French (or that translation app that you point at writing to have it magically appear in English) then both these books are very user friendly

https://www.amazon.co.uk/plus-belles-voies-Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es-Occidentales/...

and

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plaquettes-Dans-Vallees-Gaves-Alfonso/dp/849395232...

It would be difficult to access much of the climbing in the Pyrenees without a car as its quite spread out but Gavarnie is a good central base if you have one to minimise driving.

September is a great time of year for the Dolomites as weather is usually far more stable and less stormy until mid to late October. Although it can get much colder in October, if you pick the right face, you can climb plenty if stuff. September also benefits from the crowds leaving and the mountains being less busy, this only increases during autumn and you can have some of the very best days during this period. Indeed autumn has become very dry and there is often little to no rain until November.

Recorded activity is not there because the Dolomites don't attract climbers who like Strava you know that it still happened even though they didn't record it right? I'm only kidding but it is a bit like that. Lots of locals simply get on and do stuff without the sprayfest which occurs in the western alps. I know that makes it more difficult for knowing what others have been getting on, but that's the way it is. You will find stuff to do, just avoid Marmolada at the moment as the North side is banned after a serac collapse and the south side routes are probably harder than you are looking for? If you want any specific advice or ideas, PM me...

Thanks for the very useful info.

I have now managed to get hold of a 2012 Pyrenees guide (Laurens, VP), so that is an option. Although a friend living in Spain suggests that there has been more rockfall this summer compared to previous years.

My friend speaks & reads French, which is very useful, so no problem with a French guidebook.

It appears to me that there is less reported activity this summer, (here, Facebook & Instagram). As previously mentioned, this may be due to the reality that not everyone is attracted to social media. However, in previous years, UK guiding companies have published regular blogs, but this year I have not seen much. 

Temperatures across the Alps have dropped a bit and there has been a little snow.

It's a big area and there is loads of rock - if we do go, we are bound to find plenty to do.

We will keep monitoring the situation. We are fortunate that we are flexible with our departure time.

Plan B is to go to Scotland this September and the Alps in June next year.