Thank you for sharing this video. This may actually save lives and/or prevent severe issues/accidents that people may encounter when embarking on this hike while left unaware of the dangerous hazards that this trail has in store... Definitely scrapped from my to-do list when visiting Marbella again during one of my regular visits, I'll stick to safer hiking & MTB trails like the one to Istán!
I thought it was going to be a leisurely stroll, but the places where you had to hang onto chains were really unpleasant and unexpected. I don't have much of a head for heights either, so it was pretty distressing. You can hear it in my voice and language!
Bloody hell Gav that looked dodgy! If it wasn't for the chains I would've thought you weren't on the designated path! Fantastic views which made me wished I'd done it when there but that bit at the end is enough to put anybody off! Looking forward to your Caminito del Rey video 🤗
Brian I couldn't believe it either. The pathway is marked with small Yellow and White stripes painted onto rocks, so I knew I was in the right place. I can't believe there are not more accidents. Caminito Del Rey was fantastic. I got the guided trip, lovely roads up there aren't they?
@@GavCritchley Yeah I enjoyed just about every road on the whole trip apart from the north part of Portugal down to Coimbra. I check TH-cam daily to await your next post 😆
Well done for doing it and getting back safely. The first time I went there I got to Salto del Lobo and turned back. There was no chain there then. I'd already been up Cruz de Juanar so used up too much time. I've been to the summit 4 times now and can't say I enjoy it in places.
I am amazed there are not more accidents. If you look online people say that its an easy walk and that they did it with their kids and dog and what is all the fuss about! I honestly wonder if there is some other way to get to the top that avoids the chain bits?
I’ve always wanted to go climbing there! But I’m always busy and it’s a long trip from where I live 😂 by the way, you are almost at 800 subscribers! Congratulations, I’ve always felt your videos needed more attention 🎉
Hello Gavin! So funny to find this video with me and Stina in it! Nice to meet you on the top, you did great!😀 (And thank you for calling me a teenager😉)
I did this in 2019, it says a 2 hour hike!! A nice family walk, i lost count how many times i was hanging off them chains! Then a storm hit just below the summit, great 12 hour day lol and loads of false summits!
I totally understand if someone doesn't want to go up the rest of the way. In Construction, if I would be working with a steep drop like that, I would be required to be hooked up to a safety harness! If I wouldn't, I would be sent home or if I do it again, then kicked off the job site! They're that serious.
I went up this 4 years ago, the route I took was nothing like that although I don't think we went all the way up on account of it getting dark. I also did the Caminito del Rey in 2004 before they ruined it, that was pretty special.
Where did you start your climb up La Concha from? The Istan side? I hear some people saying it was really easy and they take their 5 year olds up! The Caminito Del Rey of old was not for me!
@@GavCritchley We went up from the Refugio De Juanar side. Nice walk through olive groves before you get to the mountain. Don't get me wrong, it was quite a stiff hike, some places we were jumping up knee high rocks and it was steep but there was nothing exposed like on your route, just straight up and down really. It can't have been that tough, a Spanish couple passed us, literally running up it, obviously, that was their thing but still impressive. The Caminito trip was outright dangerous, just got there and cracked on with no safety gear...I was kinda peer pressured into it by the guy I went with, glad I did it though, one of the best things I've ever done.
@@bugginout_net It makes me wonder if I went the wrong way. I must have. I read about all these people doing it with 5 year olds and their dogs and there is NO WAY I would take kids up the route I did. I went from the Refugio De Juanar side too.
@@GavCritchley Well, however it went Gavin, you showed me a part of the mountain that I missed so thanks for showing me what it's like up there. I don't know about taking a 5 year old up there... I will say, I had lived down there for over a year and you do kind of get used to some of the sketchier terrain but I can't imagine your typical bucket and spade holiday family going up there with the kids 🤣Maybe the locals are used to it so it's less of a challenge?
@@GavCritchley Hi Gavin, it looks like you went up via pico salto lobo. That's definitely more extreme. Then you descended on the North side, regular route. Have you tried Pico Torrecilla or La Maroma?
I'd try the Istan route as the route I did was exceptionally difficult. I think the girls at the end came up from Istan. Also...it may be roasting in Marbella, but it will be freezing at the top. Take lots of water!
Wow! It looks hair raising! I was only just reading that a Finnish hiker fell and died on la concha just a few days ago (April 2024) in good dry weather conditions.
@@GavCritchley That's the one. I wonder which part he fell off. Like you I am hearing wide ranging information about La Concha from "it's easy, some fat birds (not my words, haha) I know did it easily" to "It's dangerous, you'll get vertigo".
@@donniet685 I wonder if there are two paths? The one I did was not for beginners or the inexperienced. If there is a chain supplied, its there for a reason. Not something I'd do again.
Thank you for sharing this video. This may actually save lives and/or prevent severe issues/accidents that people may encounter when embarking on this hike while left unaware of the dangerous hazards that this trail has in store... Definitely scrapped from my to-do list when visiting Marbella again during one of my regular visits, I'll stick to safer hiking & MTB trails like the one to Istán!
Definitely easier paths!
Oh my goodness! I’m going to have nightmares about that climb, Gavin…
I thought it was going to be a leisurely stroll, but the places where you had to hang onto chains were really unpleasant and unexpected. I don't have much of a head for heights either, so it was pretty distressing. You can hear it in my voice and language!
Bloody hell Gav that looked dodgy! If it wasn't for the chains I would've thought you weren't on the designated path! Fantastic views which made me wished I'd done it when there but that bit at the end is enough to put anybody off! Looking forward to your Caminito del Rey video 🤗
Brian I couldn't believe it either. The pathway is marked with small Yellow and White stripes painted onto rocks, so I knew I was in the right place. I can't believe there are not more accidents.
Caminito Del Rey was fantastic. I got the guided trip, lovely roads up there aren't they?
@@GavCritchley Yeah I enjoyed just about every road on the whole trip apart from the north part of Portugal down to Coimbra. I check TH-cam daily to await your next post 😆
Well done for doing it and getting back safely. The first time I went there I got to Salto del Lobo and turned back. There was no chain there then. I'd already been up Cruz de Juanar so used up too much time. I've been to the summit 4 times now and can't say I enjoy it in places.
I am amazed there are not more accidents. If you look online people say that its an easy walk and that they did it with their kids and dog and what is all the fuss about! I honestly wonder if there is some other way to get to the top that avoids the chain bits?
What a great documentary!!!
I’ve always wanted to go climbing there! But I’m always busy and it’s a long trip from where I live 😂 by the way, you are almost at 800 subscribers! Congratulations, I’ve always felt your videos needed more attention 🎉
Thank you! I really can't recommend this particular climb. I've done the Caminito Del Rey today, will post that one up tomorrow...do that one instead!
BY the way, as I was going down, there was a guy going up, with a cat. The cat was in a perspex box on his back....like a Pizza delivery box!
@@GavCritchley 😂😂😂 Special delivery! The cat must have wanted some excitement in its life!
Hello Gavin! So funny to find this video with me and Stina in it! Nice to meet you on the top, you did great!😀 (And thank you for calling me a teenager😉)
Oh thank you for getting in touch! You were so funny! Did you come up the same way as I did or did you come up from Istan?
@@GavCritchley We came the same way as you, have been climbing this mountain 4-5 times before, so we were prepared 🤩
I did this in 2019, it says a 2 hour hike!! A nice family walk, i lost count how many times i was hanging off them chains! Then a storm hit just below the summit, great 12 hour day lol and loads of false summits!
It’s terrifying isn’t it? How can they say it’s a family trip? I was sh*t scared!
I totally understand if someone doesn't want to go up the rest of the way. In Construction, if I would be working with a steep drop like that, I would be required to be hooked up to a safety harness! If I wouldn't, I would be sent home or if I do it again, then kicked off the job site! They're that serious.
I went up this 4 years ago, the route I took was nothing like that although I don't think we went all the way up on account of it getting dark. I also did the Caminito del Rey in 2004 before they ruined it, that was pretty special.
Where did you start your climb up La Concha from? The Istan side? I hear some people saying it was really easy and they take their 5 year olds up! The Caminito Del Rey of old was not for me!
@@GavCritchley We went up from the Refugio De Juanar side. Nice walk through olive groves before you get to the mountain. Don't get me wrong, it was quite a stiff hike, some places we were jumping up knee high rocks and it was steep but there was nothing exposed like on your route, just straight up and down really. It can't have been that tough, a Spanish couple passed us, literally running up it, obviously, that was their thing but still impressive. The Caminito trip was outright dangerous, just got there and cracked on with no safety gear...I was kinda peer pressured into it by the guy I went with, glad I did it though, one of the best things I've ever done.
@@bugginout_net It makes me wonder if I went the wrong way. I must have. I read about all these people doing it with 5 year olds and their dogs and there is NO WAY I would take kids up the route I did. I went from the Refugio De Juanar side too.
@@GavCritchley Well, however it went Gavin, you showed me a part of the mountain that I missed so thanks for showing me what it's like up there. I don't know about taking a 5 year old up there... I will say, I had lived down there for over a year and you do kind of get used to some of the sketchier terrain but I can't imagine your typical bucket and spade holiday family going up there with the kids 🤣Maybe the locals are used to it so it's less of a challenge?
@@GavCritchley Hi Gavin, it looks like you went up via pico salto lobo. That's definitely more extreme. Then you descended on the North side, regular route. Have you tried Pico Torrecilla or La Maroma?
What was the temperature like up there compared to at the bottom
Probably 5-8C cooler. Obviously not freezing as the Norwegian girls proved. You’d need a sweater definitely. Super windy.
Should I pick the Istan route or the other one ?
I'd try the Istan route as the route I did was exceptionally difficult. I think the girls at the end came up from Istan. Also...it may be roasting in Marbella, but it will be freezing at the top. Take lots of water!
@@GavCritchleywhat’s the return path from the Refugio route ? Do I just go back the same way I came ? What about the path is it clear?
@@NoahGamali The return is exactly the same as the outward climb. Have you watched the video?
Wow! It looks hair raising! I was only just reading that a Finnish hiker fell and died on la concha just a few days ago (April 2024) in good dry weather conditions.
You are kidding me? Oh let me go and find that.
www.surinenglish.com/malaga/marbella-san-pedro/hiker-reported-missing-marbellas-concha-mountain-found-20240415172808-nt.html#:~:text=The%20alarm%20was%20raised%20at,t%20return%20from%20his%20walk&text=The%20body%20of%20a%2048,the%20discovery%20to%20Europa%20Press.
@@GavCritchley That's the one. I wonder which part he fell off. Like you I am hearing wide ranging information about La Concha from "it's easy, some fat birds (not my words, haha) I know did it easily" to "It's dangerous, you'll get vertigo".
@@donniet685 I wonder if there are two paths? The one I did was not for beginners or the inexperienced. If there is a chain supplied, its there for a reason. Not something I'd do again.