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Mallorca  

by Alan James and Mark Glaister
Published December 2006
Price - £18.95 - -

The beautiful Mediterranean island of Mallorca is one of Europe's great sport climbing destinations with its magnificent mountains and coastal scenery offering majestic locations for the many fine crags. Add to that a fine climate, a well-established tourist trade and friendly locals and you have an ideal destination for the travelling climber. On a first visit most climbers will be stunned by the sheer quantity of rock on view however, don't be fooled, Mallorca as a climbing destination is still in its infancy and much of the less accessible rock has yet to be developed. There is still plenty to go at though and much of it is not where you would expect. The mountains have their fair share of fine crags but many other cliffs are located down the rocky east coast and on the dramatic headland of Formentor.

The climbing on offer will appeal to those operating at most grades from 4 to 8c - test yourself on some of the steepest and best leaning tufa systems in Europe in a shady north-facing cave; or have an easy day ticking pleasant slabby routes, on a perfect sheet of compact grey rock, while soaking up the winter sun.

One of the great attractions of a climbing trip to Mallorca is the island's compact size and good network of roads, that allow all the crags to be visited from any of the host of accommodation possibilities. Mallorca's 'off-season' is the perfect time to plan a visit, the island's mild climate, discounted accommodation and low cost flights making it a prime choice for a winter sun visit. What could be better than a morning spent relaxing on a sublime beach, or exploring an exquisite mountain village, followed by as much world class climbing as the body and skin can take, and rounded off by an evening in one of the quiet ports sipping a beer on a terrace as the sun goes down.

176 Pages 21 Crags 850 Routes Full colour throughout

The book is in the new full-colour photo-topo format and has several venues that have never appeared in a Rockfax before - check the list below or download the FREE PDF map of the island. A new set of high resolution digital photographs has been assembled, and on the rare occasion where this has proved impossible, detailed full-colour topos have been used. Some of the full-page crag shots are a breathtaking revelation.

What's New Since the 2001 Guidebook - Substantial new developments at Andratx (Puig de Garrafa), S'estret, and Les Perxes. New crags at Gorg Blau, El Fumat, Ermita de Betlem and Felanitx, plus the reappearance of Calvià. In addition, all the exisiting information has been updated.

Next Print Edition - A new edition is planned for Christmas 2010.

Corrections

The following minor correction has come to light since publication.

• Page 44 - The layby for aprking is actually 1.9km from the school turning, not 2.8km as written in the guidebook. It is said to be just after the 2.6km post. The track itself appears to be on actively farmed land and as such isn't always easy to locate.
• Page 66, Sa Gubia Approach - Just as the book went to the printers the local landowner at Sa Gubia put up some fences to try and keep people of his land. A new path has been established which now follows the dry river bed from the point where the descriptions says 'break into a field on the right (with a football pitch).'
• Page 70, Albahida Topo - You can download a free single page topo of the route Albahida from here. The topo in the book is fine but this might be useful if you wish to climb light without carrying the guide.

Crags Included

Links take you to the relevant section of the Rockfax Route Database.

New crag since publication - Can Ortigues (FREE MiniGuide)
New MicroGuide since publication - Albahida Topo

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• Route Database for Mallorca
• Area Guide to Mallorca
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• Ask a question on the Destinations Forum about Mallorca
• List other publications for Spain

ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS

Mallorca Deep Water Soloing   by Daimon Beail Published - July 2008 (version 2.00) Price - £5.00 - This MiniGuide to Mallorca deep water soloing covers 11 more crags, including Cala Serena and Porto Colom, which are not featured in Deep Water. It should be regarded as a supplement to Deep Water. -

Albahida MicroGUIDE   by Alan James Published - October 2007 (version 1.00) Price - FREE - A single page MicroGUIDE for the popular route Albahida (aka Gubia Normal). It contains everything you need for the route for those who don't wish to carry the guidebook up with them. - -

Can Ortigues   by Dave Spencer Published - January 2007 (version 1.10) Price - FREE - A small crag on the west side of the island with a handful of routes in the mid-grades. Not included in the Mallorca Rockfax. Now updated with local route names. - -

Worterbuch   by Karsten Kurz Price - FREE - A dictionary translating many of the popular climbing phrases from English to German. It includes most of the obscure language used in the Rockfax guidebooks. Compiled with painstaking accuracy by Karsten Kurz. Updated and expanded to Version 3.0 in December 2006.