8 min 09. 03. 26
I have never been a winter person. Snow, cold, lots of layers of clothes, no outdoor climbing? Brrr…. nope. In December 2016 the cheapest flight was to Malta. I had been there once but not climbing, so quick research if they have any sport routes at all. Turned out they have. Quite a lot actually. Climbing in Malta was love at first climb.
Since then I always wanted to come back and discover more and more. Who thought I will be lucky enough to move here and be part of a group of the strongest climbers on the island. After 2 years on the island, still not finished with the more than 25 crags. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced climber, the Maltese crags will last you for a long time. There are more than 2000 routes on the island - DWS, sport climbing, multi pitch, boulder, trad. They are working on their new printed guide book, which is not an easy task, because the local climbers are opening new routes almost every month.
If you are spending some time on the island you can not avoid Jeff - one of the locals who has been a big part of the maltese climbing scene since almost the beginning. Jeffrey is one of the most knowledgeable, nicest person I have ever met. I always loved to listen to stories about the early climbing days, so I took the opportunity and asked. You can read about it below. If you get motivated (I’m pretty sure you will!) reach out to us when you come to visit our beautiful climbing paradise.
Please introduce yourself. Who are you, how, why and when did you start climbing?
My name is Jeffrey Camilleri, I was born on the island of Malta and started climbing pretty much as a result of not really fitting in much in other sports I tried I guess. The awareness of what climbing is all about took quite some years. The gathering up of info all happened through successive waves of different events. Having no local climbing shops, no internet and no one in my circle of friends that ever heard of the local possibilities, it was no easy thing to tune in and gain the necessary knowledge as a teenager to even start. I am sure the first call was thanks to a particular weird book I stumbled upon while looking around in a local library. Master of Rock (Biography of John Gill) was a dive into a realm that I knew resonated so well with what I was looking for and needed. In combination with another book titled Face Climbing from the same library. I was hooked and determined to figure out a way to pursue this activity. Sooner or later my brother, while having a BBQ with friends under a small cliff nearby, he spotted rope pieces hanging from an overhang similar to those in the books. After telling me, I had to go explore the area. Having the book and the first challenge ahead, what was missing was getting hold of some equipment and a partner to belay me. Luckily my dad was a partner in this crazy journey, so I was only missing the equipment. After reading the book several times, I had enough knowledge to do a DIY harness made from a used conveyer belt and a copper buckle backed up on the waist by a rope loop. A soft sailing rope and soft rubbered gym shoes made complete my first climbing equipment. In 1998 when I was around 20 years old, after 12 tries I managed to top rope send Boxer (6c/7a).
Tell me more about the early Maltese climbing scene!
A year or so after top roping with my DIY equipment I happened to meet 2 foreign climbers in coloured Lycra tights top roping in Ghar Lapsi. I asked them how they got their equipment and they pointed me to a shop in Sicily that sells it. In 1999 I discovered that one of the first outdoor shops is only stocking one brand of climbing shoes and proper equipment. Sooner or later I find out others are also doing climbing but the trend was only to climb on trad gear using the occasional ‘’taboo bolt’’ only when it gets really hard. Local limit seemed to be a long sea cliff slab named Continuation wall and the overhangs at my local crag with insitu rope pieces and the occasional bolt left by some British climbers. Two British climbers - who visited Malta on a yearly basis - showed me how to bolt and trad climb at the same time. From there was no turning back. Trad climbing but placing one or two bolts only if it’s really really necessary was the ethics to abide by the following years. The articles of the British magazine called ‘’On the Edge’’ I received monthly by post just helped keep the fire stoked when motivation and will got grim. The author was no other but the powerhouse half Maltese climber or gozitan to be precise Stevie Haston. He was not fazed by not following norms or established beliefs. (Stevie still lives in Gozo and keeps opening new routes making the author of this interview cry with the run-outs in some of his routes - Amy). Main crags at this time were sea cliffs like Red Wall and Fomm ir-Rih. Mainlands were Wied Babu, Ghar Lapsi, Victoria lines and Mgarr ix-Xini in Gozo. E5 6a (means 6c+ in French grade) and E6 6b (7b+) was where most routes would end as local limits in difficulty. Stevies’ routes including the first 8’s on Gozo were mostly all climbed under the radar as they were just some training to kill time while visiting relatives in Gozo. While on Malta years later the bolting of the Crossing - 8a happened. I had already put rope slings on this crazy roof to slowly discover it. Having 7b as current level climbing, bolting this dream line and climbing it was a long shot. Then John Moulding decided to bolt the upper part and would end up doing multiple trips to Malta until he sent it. Suddenly we had a few 8s around and quite a lot of 7b-s but barely any routes in the 7c grade. When many Spanish people moved to Malta to live and work for a while, during the recession of 2010, this all changed. The discovering of Mellieha cave and the re-discovering of other sleepy crags like Irdum Irxaw (also called Mistra) and Smoothies cave combined with the fanatic enthusiasm of the Spanish, myself and a few other locals left no stone unturned. Plenty of 7c-s got opened and many climbers got stronger quickly.
As to date there are over 1000 sport routes on Malta and Gozo with 8c-s climbed and 9a/+ as projects. Still plenty of route potential on big steep sea cliffs on bullet hard limestone.
How many of your quickdraws do you think are around Malta and Gozo? How many routes did you bolt? Do you have any memorable bolting story?
I bolted around 140 routes, not including the re-bolting ones which if so, would approach 200. Hard to tell how many draws I left around. All steep roofs have a bunch of quickdraws on. Usually every steep cave has 6 or more. I think of Mellieha, Ghar Lapsi, Smoothies cave, The wave and some other vertical crags may have 300, then another 100 on Gozo probably. During a DWS session around Gozo, we discovered this massive sea cliff. We went back to see if there was any climbable line there. On my abseil, I found amazingly climbable pitches with perfect ledges as stops. The others on the other hand ended up on a blank wall. They needed quite some time to get back to the top of the cliff. After a few visits, we ended up with a beautiful 4 pitch long multipitch called White Wings. Highly recommended route with harder start and easier ending. P1 7a+/b, P2 6c+, P3 5a and then P4 5b.
When did you publish the first climbing guide book?
Sport Climbing on Malta and Gozo first edition guidebook was published in 2013 by Stevie Haston, Simon Alden and me. We are currently working on a new version, which is a slow process. Hard to keep up, when we have new routes almost every month.
Favourite crag in Malta? Favourite route?
Tough question. All the local crags have their pros and cons. When the weather is rough my go to choice is Melliehe cave. If I have a full day, I like to go to Mgarr ix-Xini in Gozo. If I only have a couple of hours after work I visit The Wave with lamps. My favourite route is my first 8a The Crossing. It’s a line through the largest roof of the largest cave at Ghar Lapsi. An impressive route from the early 90s.
Where else did you climb during your climbing career? Do you have a favourite? What’s your dream destination?
I climbed mostly in Europe, most of the time in Spain. Also in South America, Yosemite and some surrounding crags like Red Rocks and Joshua Tree. I can say most crags in Spain and Sardinia are favourites. A dream destination has to be Rocklands, South Africa, but Malta and Gozo are not short of exotic routes either. Just waiting to be explored and enjoyed.
Do you see many foreign climbers in Malta? Are there actually more climbers from abroad than locals? Where would you suggest they should climb more? Gozo or Malta?
The mix of locals and foreign climbers is pretty much equal even if at times foreign climbers surpass the locals with their presence in the most popular crags. Any visiting climber should be aware that the best quality and quantity of vertical climbing is situated on Gozo. Crags like the valley of Mgarr ix-Xini offer nearly every style of climbing imaginable within 5 minutes of walking distance. (True story! Xini has more than 100 routes and knowing Steve there will be more before the end of the year - Amy). On the other hand Malta has also excellent climbing inside overhanging steep caves and roofs on tufas and pockets. Most of them overlook the Mediterranean sea with breathtaking views. So, any climber who is looking for technical climbing and balancy footwork should explore and check out the routes on Gozo. Those who prefer large holds, steep overhangs and like knee bars should visit the caves on Malta and if they think these places are not challenging enough they can take a descent into the Underworld on Gozo. (Pack light! You have to abseil first, which means on the way up you have to climb a 6a with your stuff - Amy)
What do you think about the Maltese climbing future? How do you see the future of the sport in your country?
The outdoor scene looks bright. With over 1000 sport routes, easy access to quality DWS routes in the summer, the opportunity to improve is always present. Climbing in Malta will definitely catch up with ascents in the 9th grade and beyond within a few years. As for the next generation, it’s a much more difficult question. Climbing in general is not so well known in Malta yet. While most European countries have multiple gyms and history with some kind of climbing, Malta's first boulder gym just opened 3 years ago. Let’s hope that in the near future climbing will be more and more popular and kids won't stay just in the gyms.
It was a pleasure to listen to your stories about the early Maltese scene and thank you for your endless patience and time to answer my never ending questions.
Author note: However Malta is small and maybe not a top destination for most of the climbers, but believe me it’s worth a try. You can find routes from 4a until 8c, vertical dance moves and overhanging challenges. Despite of your climbing grades we are welcoming everybody. Just swing by at Mellieha Cave on a Sunday and you will definitely have a couple of new friends.
Many thanks to Inigo Taylor and Suhail Kakpori for the photos provided.
