CLICK FOR LATEST UPDATE INFORMATION - 1 Feb

A chain of granite peaks rising up to 2500 forms the spine of Corsica. There is a lot of climbing here but information is hard to come by; I have managed to acquire a comprehensive guide to “The Massif de Bavella” with topo’s of over a hundred routes across a range of grades from Alpine III to sport routes that are far too hard for me. I am happy to co-ordinate a meet to the island. The peaks of the Bavella region are up to about 1800m and approach walks do not appear to be epic, some routes are 20 min from the car park at the Col de Bavella (1218m). The typical route length is about 200m with routes going up to 300+m. The bulk of the routes face South (ish) hence the relatively late dates for the meet, I have been in contact with a local climber who tells me that it is possible to climb there mid-summer but early starts and finishes are required to avoid the heat, May and September being somewhat cooler. Easyjet have a Sunday flight to Ajaccio and Bastia from Gatwick (they also fly to Bastia from Manchester and Bristol) – Ajaccio is much closer to The Bavella area). As an indication of costs prices for Gatwick to Ajaccio this September come out at about £65 return before all the extra fiddles such as baggage charges and taxes. The draft plan would be to hire a car and camp at a town called Zonza which is in the valley leading up to the col from which the routes can be accessed. There is also a lot of walking (the GR20 traverses this range), canyoning, mountain biking and, for those in need of their fix, sport climbing.

Please note, the widely available (and costly at £30) guide “Falaises de Corse” only covers single pitch sports routes, mainly outside the mountains but does have a few on the small cliffs at the Col de Bavella.

If you are interested in either (or both) of these trips please get in touch with me, contact details in the handbook. Meet coordinator: Trevor Langhorne: