Page 35 - 2017 AMA Winter

WEID BABU – SEASIDE
A good crag in the gorge leading out to the Blue Grotto. We spent a reasonable amount of time trying to find the entry point into the gorge that was safe as the guide book to lacked the detail necessary to pinpoint access. However, if you can find the red dog-poo bin in the middle of the straight section of the main road then there’s a small ladder beyond the fence to the gorge and a path leads down to the gorge floor. This is not the kind of walk-in which can be done in flip flops! If wet this would be treacherous and not advisable with groups with questionable common sense. A decent first aid pack and lightweight stretcher is also a must for this crag as a slip or other injury down here would be an epic to get someone out with injuries.
The climbing in the gorge depends on the previous weather that’s passed by. As the gorge is steep sided on the easterly side, it doesn’t get much sun until late afternoon. However, if you’re looking for good intro-
HAMRIJA TOWER SLABS
A fine area that is under-developed. Park at the Hamrija Tower car park and museum. In the winter months (January when I was there) there was no requirement to pay for parking, however, it seems paying a local to not scratch your car while you go climbing seems to be a wise move to support the local economy. Arguably, not paying them and paying your rental company more money upon drop-off may actually be more beneficial to the economy but ill-advised. Anyway, I digress.... Unfor- tunately, I cannot give you more detail as there was no-one there when we were and no signs were present but the guidebook suggested this was common practice. This may be a question for the Malta Rock Climbing Facebook group.
Proceed as the guidebook suggests. Walk past the two dome tents covering historical caves and statues and into the distance towards the sea front. There are some rather sketchy bolts at the top of the cliff that we didn’t use for anchors, however, provided a good marker for seeing where to ab-off the cliff. A bit of bush whacking was required to establish somewhere to change shoes and rope up but the rock is razor sharp and appears unclimbed in
ductions to multi-pitch climbing in an atmospheric area or can climb above 6b then this is a good place to go. Towards the inlet at the mouth of the gorge there’s a few multi-pitch climbs at the end of the obvious track. Three routes lead to a substantial boulder overhanging the route at the top of the first pitch. Descents are bolted for abseils at this point and at the top of the next pitch for multi length abseils. All bolts were found to be suitable but carrying a length of ‘tat’ is always advisable.
a lot of places. Grades are relatively easy and some vegetation was present when we climbed, however with some effort searching for the best lines this is an enjoyable location when the weather inland
is a bit rough. Like Commando Rat Lines, this crag enjoys the benefit of the sea breeze from the south that prevents a lot of the rain seen inland from being a problem.
The island as a whole is covered by a thick thorny thistle, which is frankly, brutal! If you are going to go bush whacking or go to a crag off the beaten track then I’d strongly suggest taking a pair of trousers and some reasonable shoes to fend off the thorns. Flip-flops and shorts, or worse, swimmers are not the brightest ideas you’ll have on your visit.
For an interesting escape route back up the crag to get to the car park head west along the face of the crag and before you reach a re-entrant separating this part of the cliff from that of Commando Rat Lines there is a disused quarry which provides an interesting route back to the top and doesn’t require ropes. Some brute force upper body strength and / or a bit of team work and it makes for something different to interest a group. A word from the wise here though, don’t wear any expensive clothing doing this as I ripped a new jacket on this climb after 2 weeks of wearing it in Malta – gutted!
ARMY MOUNTAINEER 33