Valenciana, Comunidad·Spain
Photo: Ximonic (Simo Räsänen) · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sella is what the Costa Blanca is known for: a valley of steep grey and orange limestone walls, sun-warmed through the winter, with a huge spread of routes from friendly slabs to the long, powerful lines of the Wild Side. It is the anchor of a winter climbing trip that can string together a dozen nearby crags.
In season: Oct–Apr · Peak: Feb–Mar, Nov–Dec
Vertical to steeply overhanging endurance climbing on excellent rock, with sectors in sun or shade to chase the temperature. Winter is the season; summer is far too hot.
Easy-angled and friendly, where groups start
Mid-grade walls in the sun, the winter default
The sector Sella is known for, steep and long
Short powerful pitches at the top of the valley
Base in Sella, Finestrat or Benidorm's quieter edges. A single-pitch sport rack and a 70 m rope cover it; a Costa Blanca guidebook maps the many sectors.
Climbing4 sectorsSpain
Winter-sun endurance climbing above a Valencian gorge.
Cycling4 routesSpain
The winter training base of the pro peloton, climbs and coast under the Peñón at Calpe.
Climbing3 sectorsSpain
A 300-metre limestone rock climbed straight out of the Mediterranean at Calpe.
ClimbingArgentina
Some of the most technical and committed granite towers on earth.
Climbing4 sectorsUnited States
The home of big-wall climbing, where El Capitan and Half Dome rise a kilometre above the Valley floor.
Climbing5 sectorsSpain
The cliff-top crag that shaped modern Spanish sport climbing.
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