Araotz YECTOYD and a Santander Seaside Send-off at La Arnia

Araotz is one of the most significant climbing areas in the Basque Country, with over 400 routes either side of a steep sided valley, near the town of Oñati (best known for its Arrikrutz Show Cave). Our route from Pamplona to Santander took us within striking distance, so despite the mizzling weather we thought we’d take the 30mins detour for a recce.

As the crags came into view I got a deja vu sinking feeling – I’d dragged us on exactly the same rainy day reconnaissance mission a few years before! Doh! So many crags!

There’s plenty of parking for the cave, and there are half a dozen topo poster boards to browse.

Cold, dull and windy at the parking area but it wasn’t actually precipitating, so we wrapped up warm for a closer inspection (from the slightly cheeky parking immediately below sector Sandaili – saves you a 500m flat walk).

Not surprisingly, the short fierce routes on this sector are polished to oblivion (about 4/10 on the Stoney scale). However, the overhanging flake crack of Kalimotxogradista was strangely appealing and turned out to be a really fun 6a YECTOYD.

About 100m further up the path to the Hermita, there’s an appealing orange wall, and I enjoyed a chilly tussle with Txalaparta, 7a. No cigar, but a good taste of some of the trickier climbing hereabouts and confirmation that it would be well worth a proper visit in better weather.

Distant view of one of the higher sectors with a hardy local in action:

Sunnier near Santander, and Helen’s trawling of TopoGuru / TheCrag came up with the perfect spot for an end-of-trip seaside saunter. La Arnia might not be the most impressive or extensive crag we’ve visited during ten weeks in Spain (seven routes up to 20m from IV+ to 6a) but it enjoys a stunning location. It could hardly be more convenient either: a 5mins stroll down from the van, and just a 20mins drive to the Santander Ferry Terminal.

Details here including a topo: https://climbingaway.fr/en/climbing-areas/la-arnia

It resembles something you might find on the Culm Coast, apart from the smattering of bolts (reassuringly new-looking stainless units, often side-by-side with a rusting artefact of the previous generation).

We picked a busy day, with a local couple and a Dutch family for company (if only it had been developed when we had tiny tots – what a great family-friendly spot!) Judging by the absence of chalk, this is the exception rather than the rule.