The Jaizkibel is a beautiful hill range in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa (the home of Josune Bereziartu and Patxi Usobiaga, to name just a few) near the Spanish-French border.
Though the hills are surrounded by the industrial harbour of Pasaia-Lezo to the south-west, the city of Irun and the touristic town of Hondarribia to the north-east, they are well preserved and face the Atlantic sea.
They have retained an isolated character - the only life you'll meet here apart from livestock are cyclists and climbers, i.e. only fools and horses.
Rock
The rock is a high quality hard sandstone with lots of big round dishes and holes. It is a bit rougher than that of Fontainebleau. People climb mostly on the outcrops but some areas, like Cerillas, have proper stand alone boulders too. There's plenty for both sport climbing and bouldering.
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Mar de romos, 7a+
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Sectors
Several sectors have been developed. The most famous, perhaps because it’s the closest to the road, is Cerillas, but there are plenty of other areas worth a visit and plenty more to develop.
Accommodation
There are lots of type of accommodation available in Hondarribia, but the cheapest and most practical (unless you have a van) is to stay at the camp site, located down the road that leads to the crags. Prices
here.
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Highballing
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Online Topos
Some Videos
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Ireki ateak, 7a
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Some classics of sector Cerillas
- Luzea***, ('long'), 7a. Really nice overhang with rock-over at the top. Bad landing though.
- Arista kanto gabe**, ('arête eliminate'), 6b
- Espolon romo** ('slopey arête'), 6c
- Ireki ateak eskumatik*** ('Open the doors, right hand'), 6c, easy version without the horizontal rail. SS low at the bottom right and follow the arête all the way up.
- Ireki ateak eskumatik***, 7b, same SS low at the bottom right but this time cross through the roof and climb up Ireki ateak.
- Ireki ateak*** (Open the doors'), 7a. The nice overhanging face through a horizontal rail.
- Eskailera**, 7c. Sharp prow.
- Zuzen*** ('straight up'), 8a, Mar de romos direct sit-start.
- Mar de romos*** ('Sea of sloppers'), 7a+. Awesome traverse on slopers and crimps. Tricky finish - mind your head!
- Trikuarria* ('Dolmen'), 7a. Hard mantelshelf.
- Greenpeace***, 6c. Tricky slabby wall.
- Cool unknown SS overhang***, 7a?
- Tsunami***, 5+. Easy but high. Beautiful honeycomb wall.
- Pijorik ez***, 7a. The arête's lip without the big holes of its upper side. The crux is at the top!
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| Unknown 6b |
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| Espolon Romo, 6c |
