A Malta Climbing Club is being set up an an umbrella association for the growing number of Maltese rock climbing enthusiasts.

The club is being set up on the initiative of Simon Alden and comes as a logical follow-up to the conquering of Mt Everest by three Maltese climbers.

Mr Alden, a climber of over 30 years experience, said that although Malta does not have mountains, it has some excellent climbing routes.

"What matters most is not height, but the difficulty of the climb. We have some excellent climbing routes such as Wied Babu, Ghar Lapsi, the Victoria Lines, Mgarr Ix-Xini, Dwejra and Wied Iz-Zurrieq, and foreign climbers really enjoy themselves when they come here," he said.

"Malta has an advantage in that it is small and climbers can try more than one route on the same day."

Climbing is not a new sport in Malta, with the first book on climbing routes in Malta having been published way back in 1949 by mountaineer Showell Styles and Progress Press.

Mr Alden said the various climbers' groups in Malta were fragmented and needed some kind of direction. An umbrella organisation could look into issues such as safety, ethics, standards, certification, training and promotion of the sport,including exchange visits and trips abroad.

The founding meeting will be held on Friday at 6 p.m. at the German Maltese Circle.

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