Spain Climbing Week

When

15/10/2016 - 22/10/2016    
12:00 am

Bookings

Log in to book

Where

Spain, Costa Blanca
Costa Blanca, Calpe, Calpe, Costa Blanca

Event Type


Pre-Travel Info
Pre-Travel Information

With just days before we travel, here is some important information that will help us all travel with ease:

GETTING TO SPAIN:

If you have not yet done so then get involved in the chat on facebook here to find or offer a lift to Gatwick. If you need a lift just post “can anyone offer me a lift to the airport?”

Please go to EasyJet online and check in for your flights. You should then be aiming to be in the airport terminal for 07:20am on Saturday. This is the time that you can start to check in any hold luggage you might have. Remember that your allocated hold bag (if you have one) must be 20kg or less. Aim for less.

On arrival at Gatwick, please get through security as quickly as possible and then keep an eye on the Spain facebook group for chatter of where everyone is having breakfast.

During our time in departures we will sort out who is sleeping in what apartment.

On arrival at Allicante, please be patient whilst all the drivers sort the car hire out. Then when we arrive at the accommodation we will be given keys to put our bags away and then there will be a short welcome meeting that everyone must attend. This will be followed by climbing immediately after for anyone who fancies it.

Hand Luggage:

In addition to the usual, we must not pack the following in our hand luggage:

  • Rope (could tie people up)
  • Slings (as above)
  • Carabiners (could be knuckle duster) (I have known people to get through with these, and known people to have to surrender them)
  • Nut key
  • if in doubt, back it in the hold bags.

DRIVERS:

All drivers must:

  • ensure they take their driving licence
  • Visit the DVLA site here, log in with your personal details, then select to share your licence. Then finally select to print your certificate or save it on your phone to show to the hire company.
  • read all the info below.

Primary Drivers. You will be responsible for signing the hire car out and you must have a credit card with you. Your credit card will be swiped by the hire company and the cost of a tank of fuel will be taken, then at the end of the week we will return the cars with full tanks and you will be refunded. The cars are fully insured against damage but there will be an excess. If your car is damaged then the excess will be taken from your card the the club will refund you with no questions asked. On arrival in Spain each car will be given cash for tolls and directions to the accommodation. The primary drivers are:

  • Christopher Smith-Duque
  • Simon Powell
  • Jon Blaine
  • Andrew Tyrrell
  • Colette O’Neill
  • Sophie Reynard
  • Adam Devine
  • Rob Tilley
  • Tim Miller

Secondary Drivers. Each car will have a secondary / additional driver. You will not need a credit card but please bring one if you have it, just in case a primary driver forgets theirs. Secondary drivers are:

  • Ash Rymer
  • Joanne Osborn
  • Neil Howarth
  • Sarah Wilby
  • Paul Grattage
  • Jason White
  • Roscoe Hart
  • Richard Dodds
  • Gordon Mission

We need a couple of back up drivers. If you are 25 or over, hold a full licence and happy to drive then please just post on the Spain fb group here and then bring your licence with you.

ACCOMMODATION:

We will be staying at the SunSea Village on the outskirts of Calpe. Directions will be given to each driver. There are 4, 6 and 8 person apartments and everyone can select which apartment they’d like to be in at Gatwick on the way out.

FOOD:

Each apartment will be responsible for their own food. The supermarket is a 10 min drive from the accommodation. It’s up to you on how to organise this in your groups but from experience it works well if everyone puts cash (say about 30€) each in a pot and then the person going shopping takes that pot to the shop. Then you all just add more as the week goes on if needed and then split the change at the end.

Within your cost for the holiday we are aiming to have two nights out as a group. One will likely be in the complex and the other in Calpe. The nights for this will be announced at the welcome meeting.

INSURANCE:

I (Tim Miller) advise that everyone should have travel and activity insurance. The BMC and Sports Cover Direct are two that I believe are decent providers. It is your responsibility however to read their policies and ensure they are suitable for you.

DAILY LOGISTICS:

Every car will have a white board up in the resort. Each day the driver will write where that car is going the next day. Then anyone who wants to have a space in the car can write their name in an open space next to it.

We will have broad range of abilities in the group and on arrival we there will be a welcome meeting where we will discuss ways to ensure that everyone is kept involved at a level of climbing they feel comfortable with.

ANYTHING ELSE?

If you have any questions then just post them to the Spain Facebook group here.

 

Previous Important Update on Accommodation and Costs

UPDATED SPAIN INFO

So, turns out lots of people want to climb in Spain and there will now be about 40 of us! This year’s loud shirt night will be brighter than a parakeets private parts.

Here’s the new plan and answers to questions you might have:

  • The total cost per person is now £185 (+ flights). Saving £75 from the original price.
  • If you:
    • Have already paid in full then you will be refunded £75 by 10th
    • Have just paid the £35 deposit then you will need to pay your outstanding balance of £150 by no later than the 1st of August. This should be done by clicking the “Pay Now” button below under the “Pay Final Balance” title.
    • Registered your interest but haven’t paid anything, then you will notice that your booking (of registered interest) was cancelled off the system. Please now sign back up to pay the deposit or full amount. PLEASE DO NOT DELAY AS FINAL NUMBERS ARE NEEDED NOW.
    • Haven’t registered your interest or paid anything. There’s still time for more people join in. Just sign up and pay below.
  • All the flights times are the same. If you haven’t yet purchased them, then be aware that they are only going up and there is a chance they could all sell out. You are strongly advised to buy you flight now.
  • We will now be staying in a selection of 6 or 8 man bungalows in a gated community. There will be other people in the community, but they will steer clear of us once they see the shirts.
  • Nearer the time of the trip a Doodle Poll will be released for people to select what room they would like to stay in.
  • Food is now NOT included in the price (mostly, see below). On the assumption that everyone will be sharing you are asked to bring 40€ in cash with you to put into a kitty in your bungalow. This keeps it simple and can be used to buy food, toilet roll and so on. Anything left at the end of the week gets split back out.
  • Car hire is still included and drivers will be needed. You’ll be asked to volunteer in the weeks before travel.
  • There will be a whiteboard in a communal area listing all the cars, where they are going the next day and how many spaces there are. If you want to join that then just write your name there. If there’s no space, then rub someone’s name out and have a great day!
  • There will still be two nights of food (and a couple of drinks) included in your money. The first will be a loud shirt night by the pool (there is a prize!). The second meal will be at a restaurant in town.
  • There is a facebook group for this event, please post your excitement and questions there.


All Other Spain Info

Costa Blanca’s dramatic topography of blue seas, white beaches and terraced fruit groves set against panoramic mountains, is home to Spain’s most exciting rock climbing. On the above dates we’ll be off to the sunny shores of Costa Blanca for a week of world-class climbing in the sun.

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Type of climbing:

It’s all there and all very accessible. The limestone cliffs in Costa Blanca offer everything from quaint single pitch venues to dramatic 15 pitch, 400m adventures. All of the crags and routes are well logged in the Costa Blanca Rockfax book and this will be available to view on Tuesday nights at SCW. The single pitch routes are generally all sport / bolted routes that are very well maintained. The longer routes all generally have bolted belays and mostly bolted in-between, with the occasional need for a nut.

We are anticipating around 30 members on this trip and everyone of all abilities is welcome. So you can take full advantage of this great climbing environment we would recommend that you are a competent indoor lead climber, with some outdoor lead experience being even better still.

Accommodation & In-Country Transport:

Most of the price you pay to SCC is to cover your accommodation and in-country transport.

In-Country Travel – we will be hiring a few vans and cars to provide transfers in Spain, this will also be used to transport us all to / from the airport and the various crags each day. (We already have a couple of members willing to drive and if you’re happy to be an additional driver then please mention this to a committee member.)

Accommodation – We will be in a gated community of bungalows. There will be other guests in other bungalows and we will all share a pool and bar. No hot tub this year though, but we are a 45min walk from a major crag!

Price & Payment:

The holiday, excluding flights will cost a mere £185 per person! This will include:

  • 7 nights’ accommodation in a villa near the sea with a private pool
  • All in-location transport
  • Equipment (where needed. Inc. quick-draws, ropes…)
  • 1 night out at a local Spanish restaurant with food and drink
  • 1 night around the pool with food and drink
  • All arranged for you, just pay and relax

In addition to this we will all need to individually purchase our flights. The flight prices may vary between £120 to £more, depending when they are purchased. We advise buying your flights asap to benefit from the lowest possible air-fares. There are a lot of us going and a real chance the flight will sell out – DO NOT DELAY BUYING YOUR FLIGHT.

Your deposit must be received by 1st June at which time we will book the accommodation. After this date there may still be limited spaces available to book at the bottom of this page.

How to Book:

Book Your Space
1Scroll down and click to pay your £35 deposit (or select to pay the full balance now). This will notify us you’re coming and we can allocate you accommodation and in-country transport space. You will then also see this event on your “my bookings” page.
Book Your Flight
2
The flights are:
– Departing from Gatwick: Dep 09:20 Flight EZY8663
– Returning from Alicante: Dep 16:25 Flight EZY8666
(please note that transfers in Spain will only be available for these flights. If you need to take other flights you will also need to arrange independent transfers to Calpe)
Click here to book your flights

Pay Final Balance
3The final balance of £150 is due no later than the 1st August 2016. Simply click below to pay your final balance at any time.




You can also pay the final balance by BACS to:
Account no. 37954628
Sort Code 56-00-68

Insurance:

Everyone will also need insurance to cover their holiday, a few sugesstions of where to look are Sport Cover Direct, Snow Card or The BMC which will all cover you for rock climbing. Prices from around £25. Please note that you may want to DWS (Deep Water Solo) climbing and you may want to check where your insurance provider stands on this.

UK Transfers:

During the weeks and months before the trip we will discuss car shares for the 1h 45min journey to Gatwick. There will be space for everyone!

Get social, ask questions and generally get excited:

We’ve set up a specific Facbook event for this trip. Please ensure you join as this will be where all announcements will be made prior to travelling.

Join the Spain facebook event here


 

 

Bookings

To book on to this event you must first login at the top of this page. If you are logged in and still seeing this message then bookings for this event are now closed or you have not renewed your subscription for this year.

There are 65 of 100 spaces remaining