Medveja

Istria, HR

Wide valley of Lovranska draga, which ends in the sea at Medveja, is another natural pearl of the region, at first sight rich with excellent walls, which seem hard to access. This is mostly true, but it didn‘t stop local climbers from Rijeka, who with the help from climbers from Pazin and Pula created first routes here. Today, this is a crag with the hardest routes in the region and a concentration of 7s and 8s, all of which are spectacular: mostly on overhangs and tufas, endurance based, continuous and full of innovative moves and cruxes. For all better climbers this is an absolute pilgrimage destination, with plenty of room for more. The first to bolt here were locals and climbers from Rijeka, Pazin and Pula around 2008, who first made the lower sector Mali Jože with the first route RiRock, which kick started the revolution. Climbers with drills came from all sides: Varaždin, Zagreb, Italy. The biggest leap was made by bolting the magnificent Knezgrad, where Italians with Andrea Polo left their mark. Soon after, the first Croatian 9a fell: in 2011 Klemen Bečan climbed the Polo brothers project, the Core, which was later downgraded to 8c+ by Andrea Polo. But we didn‘t wait too long for the next 9a. During climbing of Vicious Circle in Mišja, Adam Ondra visited Medveja, where he onsighted Lovranska droga (8a) as a warmup, which was just an introduction to the on sight ascents of Outdoorfingerspiele (8c) and the Core (8c+). Ondra even thought that The Core was easier, but he admitted, that he probably missed the best beta for it. Still, the highlight of the day was an ascent in More (meaning „the sea“ in Croatian - so don‘t pronounce it the English way), a proper 9a, which is still unrepeated. A day in Ondra‘s life - a lifetime dream for everybody else.
CRAG STATISTICS
71
Routes
3569
meters climbed
188
Zlags
7a+
average grade

J F M A M J J A S O N D

Family friendly
Very safe
Rain safe
Parking
Vertical
Overhanging
Roof
Exposition
260 m.
5 min.

GALLERY