The MRCC was founded by a group of dedicated local climbers and has emerged as the organisation responsible for the development of the sport of rock climbing in the Maltese Islands.

 

The club dedicates its efforts towards a defined set of activities:

• training and mentoring of new participants in the sport
• establishment of bolting or no-bolting policies for each crag
• maintenance of access, pathways, cleanliness and the natural environment of popular crags
• installation of bolts, lower-offs and other safety equipment in situ on designated crags
• keeping a comprehensive national database of established and new climbs
• exploration and development of new climbing areas

 

Training and Mentoring of Beginners

The club members engage in informal training and mentoring of new participants to the sport by inviting them to join their usual weekly outings to the crags. Over the last 15 years, the club has initiated a large number of newcomers, many of whom have become active climbers, helping to take out beginners themselves once they have acquired the necessary skills. The arrangement is cooperative and mutually rewarding.

Aside from this, the club regularly organises beginner's days aimed at initiating a group of people to the sport during a dedicated activity for this purpose. This is an organised event with an adequate number of experienced belayers and ropes set up for the number of participants.  The group is given instructions on how to behave at the crag to ensure safety for the participants and minimal damage to the environment. They are allocated to climbs of successively increasing grades of difficulty and mentored throughout their ascents. All refuse brought into the crag environment is carried out after the activity.

See the News/Events section of this website for pictures and reports from recent beginner's activities.

 

Establishment of Bolting and no-bolting Policies for each Crag

Bolting can be a contentious issue. There are ethical and environmental considerations, aside from the obvious safety issues that must be weighed carefully before a decision is taken to place bolts on a climb. 

Climbing in Malta developed along the British ethic, which until the end of the '90s meant that the local climbing community was very much opposed to bolting Maltese crags. Eventually, around the turn of the century, a movement to provide bolted climbs and crags emerged among the new generation of climbers. Despite this, it was felt that Malta could develop a unique climbing environment where some crags would be bolted, providing facilities for climbers who prefer this method of protection, while others were left as wilderness crags, where only trad climbing is allowed and skilled trad climbers can practice their version of the sport in pristine environments.

The leading lights in the local climbing community around the year 2005 got together and established a bolting ethic for the Maltese islands, which is published in Malta Rock Climbing - The Comprehensive Guide www.maltaclimbingguide.com

Once the decision had been taken that some crags would be bolted and others would be left free of bolts, the next great hurdle was to obtain funding for the bolts (which are technically rated safety equipment made of stainless steel and which are fixed permanently into the rock), and the skills and manpower to fix them in. The then Minister for Tourism, the Hon Dr. Francis Zammit Dimech was approached by Andrew Warrington. He quickly grasped the value in developing crags on Malta as an attraction to a new target audience and made his recommendation. After lengthy negotiations with the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), funding was confirmed. In a joint project that has been running since 2006, the MTA provided the hardware while the MRCC provided the skills and manpower to purchase, install and maintain bolted climbs in predefined areas of the islands. This is an ongoing project spread over many crags on Malta and Gozo.

 

How to become a member of the MRCC 

Membership of the club is free of charge. To become a member, just send your name, contact details and information about your climbing experience (if any) to info@maltaclimbingguide.com. 

To register new climbs in our database, please send a full description, including location, grade, height, name and access to info@maltaclimbingguide.com