Cranky Climbing

Sh*t. It's completely natural, organic and biodegradable, I know. But I'll never get used to stumbling upon human feces or sh*tty toilet paper, while walking around a crag. Or anywhere else, for that matter! And I know it's not just me, since the issue always pops up at some point, when I discuss with other outdoorsy people.

During our road trip, me and T have seen quite a lot of sh*it.
When it comes to the yucky phenomenon, El Chorro (Spain) is one of the worst places I've been to. On our first morning next to the mighty wall of Las Encantadas, I recall having spotted a used diaper just a few meters from where our RV was parked. And yes, there was a dumpster within a walking distance.

An unfortunate, but inevitable side effect of the crag's popularity? I hope not. Despite the fact, that El Chorro is a hugely popular winter crag, I think one can expect climbers and other visitors to respect the place a bit more.
Another example of a poop polluted crag is Camarasa (…

Looking for some great sport climbing in mid-Finland? Perhaps some traditional climbing as well? You just found your go-to crag! Located a short drive from Jyväskylä, Halsvuori is a popular crag with many high-class lines to climb. The shaded and a bit rugged-looking crag has a variety of slab, vertical as well as overhanging sport routes from 5c to 7c and trad lines from 4 to 7.

Measured with a Finnish yardstick, the routes at Halsvuori are also quite long. Being a land of a thousand lak... boulders, Finland has a lot of crags with just 10-15-meter routes. Halsvuori, however, has several lines longer than that. But don't worry, that 60-meter rope of yours is still enough to get you safely to the anchor and back on 99% of the routes.


Have I already praised Halsvuori enough to have caught your interest? Great! Now I can reveal the cons or more like a con, that the place has. Truth being told, there aren't that many easy routes at Halsvuori. At least, if you are not ready to com…