Climbing at Wied Babu, Malta

Ahhhh... a full on cragging day today, with sun on skin, pumped forearms, sore, chalky fingers and happy hearts. Wied Babu is the main climbing area on Malta, with a whole range of amenable routes. Having arrived at the gorge, we discovered that all of the 'easier' routes on the slabs were in the shade and exposed to the wind in the mornings. We didn't come all this way to climb in the cold, so had to pump up the grade a bit to get into the sunshine on the other side, which is characterised by caves and tufas. Not exactly the warm up we expected, but while we were basking in the glorious sunshine, folk on the other side of the valley were shivering up routes in down jackets and hats, only some 50m away!



One of the first climbs we did was ridiculously steep, but well bolted and with huge 'juggy' holds. As long as you didn't hang around too long it was ok. Near the top, just as I was getting terminally pumped, I pulled over a ledge and into a cave, where I found I could have a sit down rest!

 

It felt great to be soaking up some vitamin D and to be climbing in T-Shirts (although a little surreal to see everyone on the other side of the valley looking so cold!)

After a nice picnic in the sunbathing cave, the sun had got around to the other side of the valley, so we followed the sunshine and did several more classic climbs in the warmth of the late afternoon sun. We left as soon as the sun did though, as the temperature dropped instantly - and anyway, our arms were too tired to carry on much longer!

 

Wied Babu:
West Side / Smoothies Cave:
- Toledan Acid Mango, 6a+
- Kurts Smoothie, 6b+**
- Call out the Cops, 5c***

Diamond Buttress:
- Shredded Tweet, 5b***
- Owl Nest Corner, 5a***
- Kleen Klutter, 6a+***
- Bentornati a Malta, 6a+***