Rock Climbing Mallorca: Dalt de na Clara (Betlem)
Tl:Dr: Hard and steep climbing on interesting rock in a great location. Routes are mostly 7b and higher and the approach is quite difficult.
This article is part of a series in which I am reviewing the local climbing spots on Mallorca from my beginner / intermediate climber point of view.
The climbs
There are 16 bolted lines in the crag. Most of them are grade 7b and harder and located in the main cave. A bit further to the right there are four routes graded 6a to 6b+. The routes are between 15 and 25 meters in length.
All grades here seem to be fair but hard - at leasts what we could gather climbing the 6s - No use coming here if you are not willing to climb hard even in this grade!
All of the climbs are somewhat steep and quite pumpy on fantastic rock and the protection is top notch (all bolts have been replaced with glue-ins recently).
Approach
Park in the settlement of Betlem and follow the path along the coast for a few meters before turning left towards the large orange cave that can be seen from here further up a valley. Follow a vague path for about 20 minutes before reaching some fixed ropes that lead up to the crag (another 5 to 10 minutes).
You can see the cave the whole time and will need to gain about 250 meters of elevation. All in all the approach is quite tricky and exhausting if the sun is already shining into the valley.
The good, the bad and the ugly
If you are looking for some hard climbing in a spectacular location this might be the crag for you. The steepness of the routes also makes lead falling acceptable (trust me I did give it a good try).
The downsides are the small number of routes (16) and somewhat difficult approach.
The cave is facing north and provides shadow all day.
More Information
Route Information on Foracorda.com
PS: I visited the crag with Buddel and Benno during their week long climbing focused visit to the island.