Cordillera Cantábrica

“Escalada deportiva en la Cordillera Cantábrica” can be thought of like a kind of travel guide book. A circular trip that starts in the north of León, crosses into Asturias and ends on the western side of Cantabria, passing through more than 4000 routes. A circular trip in time, without a beginning or end. A trip that means everything to climbers, a trip where multiple individuals cover many kilometres of rock in the pursuit of that brief, yet momentous, joy that comes with finishing a route. “Escalada deportiva en la Cordillera Cantábrica” is a project that aims to present and document one of the best areas for sport climbing in the Iberian Peninsula. The guide includes the best climbing areas of the Cordillera Cantábrica and the surrounding areas of Asturias, Western North Cantabria and León. To climb in the Cordillera Cantábrica and the Picos de Europa is to participate in a (mostly vertical) form of exercise with over a hundred years of history. Since Gregorio Pérez “ Cainejo “ and Pedro Pidal completed the first ascent of Picu Urriellu (Naranjo de Bulnes) in 1904, climbing in this area of ‌‌Spain has evolved, like in other major European areas, by differentiating between two clear trends: big wall climbing, which is done in the highlands of the Picos de Europa and the great walls of the Cantabrian Mountains, and sport climbing, which is usually done in the valleys and on shorter walls. The information detailed subsequently illustrates the best climbing areas in the region, on walls and sectors of superb limestone, many of which have, as the best invitation to the climb, the possibility of doing so along natural lines in a truly unique setting. In this book, we have reviewed both the larger and the nice little areas where it is possible to enjoy a quiet day either in the sun or in the shade. The guide provides you with information about places and popular classic areas such as Quirós, which became popular with climbers in the 1960s, to those places where the amplification of possible itineraries increases day after day, places such as Teverga and Desfiladero de La Hermida. The distances between the various zones are short, allowing you to travel from one to the other with little trouble according to the preferences of each one.