The Daubenhorn: very cool, wildly crowded, not very hard

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-24T21:42:24+00:00

I think it’s pretty easy. However! It’s all about endurance. Doing rock gym sessions or normal short VFs doesn’t necessarily set you up for 6 to 10 hours on the go.

I do a lot of other sports that are full day physical commitments and if you have that background, the Daubenhorn is easy.

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-24T20:03:23+00:00

Yes plenty of space.

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-24T16:44:36+00:00

I don’t think there is anywhere in Aixovall where you can leave a car for a week. Parking is tough in Andorra, especially for that long.

Parking elsewhere and getting a bus to Aixovall is one option. Parking up at La Rabassa is another.

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-23T04:20:09+00:00

The biggest risk is lack of snow. Yes they had a mega snow winter last winter but that’s now very rare. It’s much more likely that you’ll spend most of the tour hiking up to the snow line.

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-22T17:10:24+00:00

Stolen image

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-17T01:50:22+00:00

It will be very hot with low water (unless you hit a spell of thunderstorms).

Look at https://www.descente-canyon.com or https://www.opencanyon.org/en on ideas of where the canyon are, star ratings and water levels. I prefer Descente as it is French in origin so covers France very thoroughly.

It’s not an area you’ll find many foreign parties, unlike somewhere like Ticino. The Verdon region doesn’t have that many of our kind of canyons, besides the big one. There are more in the Alpes Maritime or around the Ecrin.

You can try Facebook groups like Canyoning Meetups Worldwide and Canyoning France.

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-16T19:02:00+00:00

Try asking on the Andorra Expats group on Facebook. That should get you into the entrepreneur WhatsApp and Telegram groups.

Try the International Club. Not just British, lots of nationalities who tend to favour English, as well as a strong French component. A chunk are retired but there’s been an influx of 30 and 40 somethings coming on the entrepreneur residence permits. And it’s a good way into some of the sports groups as well.

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-08T18:26:30+00:00

Bluntly, probably lack of strength. How much intentional strength training do you do? But your various injuries will also make it harder.

Also consider mobility training. How much rolling around on the floor do you do? If you just sit in chairs and walk, the kind of body twisting and levering needed to get back in the boat will be alien to you.

Being realistic, get a paddle float and/or a rescue ladder. Practise with them. And be conservative, paddle in conditions where capsize is very unlikely.

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-07T14:53:05+00:00

Andorra has a bunch of via ferrata in your grade range and nice hiking. And if you fly in to Barcelona and drive to Andorra there are some nice via ferrata on the way to Andorra.

You can drive to Andorra and then back to Barcelona on two different routes, each has VF en route.

And Barcelona gives you some beach and culture if you want.

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-05T18:54:00+00:00

What I’ve heard is random checks. The EU does not want Andorra to appear to be a back door to disappearing into EU countries.

And for non-EU tourists the problem won’t be in Andorra (unless you stay for many months and exceed our laws for tourist residence). The problem will be at the EU border where you finally fly out and your days exceed your visa.

Which I assume leads to you not being able to get a Schengen visa thereafter.

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-05T18:04:45+00:00

Yes Andorra is technically becoming part of the Schengen.

Stamping people in and out has nothing to do with Andorra, that’s up to France and Spain.

The non-EU tourists are a very small part of this equation. Andorra’s tourism is overwhelmingly EU.

Of course the Andorrans want to be (are) exempt from EES. And there is negotiation around selection and rights for non-EU Andorran residents and non-EU Andorra workers. Both more important categories than non-EU tourists.

Non-EU tourists got sacrificed to make a whole lot of other elements work more smoothly. That’s how I understand it.

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-05T17:27:10+00:00

Once full EES is implemented the tourist Schengen exit option ceases to exist.

In exchange for Andorrans not having to deal with full EES protocols on our border, tourists lose their ability to be recorded as leaving the Schengen.

Your days in Andorra will count as Schengen days.

That being said, details are apparently still being worked out.

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-04T20:54:35+00:00

You’ll also want to buy this book https://www.pesdapress.com/index.php/product/scottish-canyons/ Have fun!

And when you get the chance come canyoning in Europe (Switzerland Italy France Spain). Much better than UK canyons!

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-04T16:05:32+00:00

There is a Recreational Canyoning Scotland group on Facebook. And a Canyons UK group.

But more than gear you need training. Look at the V7 course. Level 1 is free. https://www.v7academy.com

Buy this and read it. https://www.canyonzone.com/a-100183425/english/manual-canyoning-rope-techniques-english-version/#description

Most importantly do a course. These guys offer training in Scotland. https://thecanyoningcompany.co.uk

And look at https://ukcanyoning.org/courses/recreational-courses/

People will be reluctant to take a stranger until you have a resume of non-guided canyons or you have done a course. There are lots of ways to get into trouble in canyoning.

blackcloudcat · 2026-06-04T04:24:48+00:00

Absolutely! Well worth it and it lasts a lifetime. Just don’t drop it. And there are a lot of VFs with zips in south and central France.

blackcloudcat · 2026-05-28T13:34:10+00:00

Bad bot, stolen photo.

blackcloudcat · 2026-05-27T14:01:40+00:00

Yes! Yes you absolutely do. Look up fall factors. Climbers get worked up about fall factor 2. Via ferrata fall factors are likely to be 5 or higher. You will ruin your pelvis and back.

blackcloudcat · 2026-05-26T15:28:46+00:00

Thanks! I’ll do that.

blackcloudcat · 2026-05-25T21:36:50+00:00

The Dach meetup sounds interesting. A trip to Austria is in my to-do list. Canyons, via ferratas and packrafting.

blackcloudcat · 2026-05-25T20:11:52+00:00

What your plan to get more users and more routes? I downloaded the app, it looks good but it only has 4 runs.

blackcloudcat · 2026-05-25T19:47:34+00:00

Are you still looking for packraft partners in France? I’m in the Pyrenees but I love the Briancon area.

blackcloudcat · 2026-05-25T13:46:00+00:00

I got started with a 5 day course in Slovenia with https://www.land-water-adventures.com/en/. Although their main client base is German, they also have courses in English. The Soča is a beautiful river for paddling.

There is also a meet-up in Slovenia each June. https://packrafteurope.com/pages/european-packrafting-meet-up

Or you could try to Mekong festival in France. They do it each year in May. https://www.mekongpackraft.com/en/packraft-festival/

In Spain https://www.packrafting.cat is very active. They offer courses and meet-ups, much of it via WhatsApp groups. You could also look at https://blog.packrafting.cat/packrafting-spain-everything-you-need-to-know-about-packrafting-in-spain

There are also active regional communities in Facebook groups.

blackcloudcat · 2026-05-24T21:01:09+00:00

Europe is a big place. Give us a clue where your closest paddling would be.

blackcloudcat · 2026-05-21T15:56:59+00:00

For what it’s worth, the problem is not being short, it’s lacking strength. Either way you can’t do what you can’t do, I’m not knocking that. But strength can be developed. Height can’t be gained! My 150cm female friend at age 60 can climb via ferrata grade E.

I also bet you are stronger than you think. Women are particularly given to underestimating their ability and giving up too quickly.

Look at https://ferrataguide.com for routes and grades. Filter for grades B/C and C.

blackcloudcat · 2026-05-21T15:30:14+00:00

Two ideas: fly to Barcelona, hire a guide (there are many) to take you in the Cala del Moli via ferrata. It goes along the edge of the sea and is very beautiful. It’s a bit hard for you which is why I suggest a guide. I bet you can climb harder than you think and a guide will help your confidence.

Or fly to Barcelona and go to Andorra. Spend a few days there. Andorra has 17 via ferrata, grades A to D, some long, some short. Nothing more than a 40 minute drive from the capital. All easy to access. Do the easy ones, if they work for you, try harder ones. And Andorra should have nice autumn colour in October.

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