Rock Climbing Mallorca: S' Estret (Valldemossa)

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
The area is split up into a large number of sectors and walls but generally speaking the climbs found to the right side of the road (driving towards Valldemossa) are more in the easy to medium/hard (grade 4b to 6c) range while the walls on the left side of the road host the hard and very hard stuff. In addition to the roped climbing there are also some documented boulders on the left side of the road.

Many routes in this area are fairly long and sometimes use the full length of a 60m rope to get back down. In some cases routes are split up into several pitches - especially harder ones.

In general the protection and belay stances are pretty good and the walls to the right of the road have enough space at the bottom to hang out even if there are a few other climbers present.

The rock itself is a mix of the typical sharp and deeply scarred grey stuff found in the Tramuntana on the slabs and vertical climbs, and more yellowish orange stone with interesting features on the overhanging routes.

Approach
Park by the road and follow either the trail to the left directly by the parking spot or cross the road and find a small trail by the bridge for the sectors on the right side of the road.

The time to approach varies from 15 minutes to maybe 30 depending on the sector you choose.

The good, the bad and the ugly
Great variety, a short approach (mostly) and the setting in the Valldemossa valley makes this a good area. Maybe not on par with Sa Gubia, but still good.

Being one of the older and well known areas that is also pretty close to Palma it will be busy with climbers especially on weekends. However the walls are spread out enough that this does not get too noticeable. Note that there are very few easy routes and all are in the same area.

As the walls face almost all directions weather is not much of an issue as you will find a dry and sunny/or shady spot.

More Information
Route Information on theCrag
Route Information on UKClimbing
The area is also described in RockFax Mallorca