[comPiler]

From the furnace into the freezer...
10 October 2011, 10:46 am

Last weekend's short evening bouldering session whet my appetite and reminded me how nice it can be to simplify climbing to its purest form sometimes. No ropes, no gear, no belaying, no faff, no stress! So with the promise of cooler temperatures up in the Pyrenees yet again we returned to Cavallers this weekend. Friday night saw yet another serious accident on the N240 Reus - Lleida road in EXACTLY the same place as last Friday. Last week it was a car that managed to end up on its roof and this Friday a full head-on collision. Is it just coincidence that it happens at the junction where the group of prostitutes wait for business - people rubber necking - or is it a bad junction? Either way, it's the third serious accident we've seen on that same stretch of road in the last six times of driving it. Why are the Spanish such terrible and impatient drivers?!

We arrived at Cavallers on Friday evening to snow showers, and Saturday morning they continued. We'd hoped it'd be cooler up there, but not snowing!! Thankfully, a few cups of tea and some porridge later the sun came out and it warmed up to pretty ideal bouldering conditions. Cool and with good friction but not too hot in the sun. And it remained that way for the rest of the weekend :-) We did loads of amazing problems - most of which I have no idea of the name or grade - but it was just nice to explore the valley and climb whatever looked good, until skin and muscles couldn't take any more - a bit like the first time I went to Font!

Here's a selection of some of the highlights:-

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Recent snowfall on the tops and a bitterly cold wind...[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]...nice easy wall...[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]...very good highball arete with a tricky start...[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td][the highball arete climbed on its right-hand side][/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]...nice problem down by the river...grade unknown...[/td][/tr]

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'Golden Gay' - cool traverse given font 7b+ in some videos and 7a+ in others - more like 6c+!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Tash happy to have topped out - really nice sit-start on right arete[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Tash getting harassed by the horses while trying to boulder! They liked nibbling the mat![/td][/tr]

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Really aesthetic slopey arete problem in the meadow? - given font 7a+/b in one video.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Very satisfying latching the final slopey boss hold[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]...more unknown problems...[/td][/tr]

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Fun 6c dyno from awkward crouch-start?

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The highlight of the weekend was this amazing steep nose/prow hidden among the scree above the road. 'X men' - given font 7a+[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]...a great way to top off a fantastic weekend![/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

The force is returning...hopefully!
14 October 2011, 7:54 am

We've been out a few times this week and I'm actually starting to feel some kind of climbing ability returning...albeit quite slowly!

We had a well-deserved holiday this Wednesday ;-) and for a change of scenery decided to head down to Pinell de Brai for some morning shade there. I'd originally planned to return to the cave sector - the main event here - but when we arrived there were some guys climbing at sector Al.la and the routes they were on looked really good so we got a bit sidetracked and didn't actually make it up to the cave in the end. After warming up on some 6b's and a couple of awesome 7a+'s, I then managed to onsight a really bouldery 7b+. This is my first 'difficult' route since getting back to Spain and it felt nice to be able to pull reasonably hard again. I guess it must have been soft if I managed to get up it first go, but I was pretty happy with that all the same! I followed it up with a superb 6c+ up at Parvulari Strep sector - although the crux on that was avoiding the crack where a bat was hiding from the sun! Never seen one so close up before - cute little guy he was.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Bat in the crack![/td][/tr]

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Today (Thursday) we went up to Siurana and returned to El Pati. This is one sector where I've spent A LOT of time, and I've pretty much climbed everything of any worth up to 8b+ there. The one route I hadn't been on before was a 7c just right of Viagraman, so I had planned to project this today. After warming up on Viagraman though I thought 'why not' and tried for the onsight. It was thin and technical, and I got totally wrong-handed on the crux but somehow managed to get up it by the skin of my teeth. Another surprising onsight success!

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

Magaluf action
18 October 2011, 9:40 am

This weekend we were over in Margalef to meet up with Dave?, Paul & Sarah who are out on a van trip here in Catalunya.

Saturday, still looking for shade, we went to Finestra and after warming up I managed to finish off an old project - 'Morphos' (F7c+). I'd been on this a few times before but always at the end of the day when I was tired so I'd never had enough beans to finish it off. Today it felt like a formality, which was nice! Buoyed up by this tick I decided to put another route to bed. 'Deja vu', again 7c+, was another route I'd been on and come close to but never finished. Luckily today was the day, so now I'm one more route down at Finestra.

Meantime, Paul ticked off one of the superb 7b's on the left-hand side too easily so I sandbagged him on a 7a+ to set him back a bit! The hard bit was at the bottom but his bad technique meant he also found the top quite stiff too. Dunno what he was messing about at! Dave impressively sketched his way up a slabby 7a+ at the end of the day, having sat in his pink chair eating all day. Maybe that's the way to climb hard! ;-)

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Fat Dave shaking his way up 'Coraje al Forao' (F7a+) at Finestra, Margalef.[/td][/tr]

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On Sunday we started off at Culample 4, where some new stuff has appeared in the guide since the last time we were there. After warming up on some new 7a's - one good and one not so - the crowds turned up and it was like Crewe station, with every route being climbed or queued for! So we abandoned ship and headed across the valley to Can Dit Gros. I did a brilliant 7c+ ('Bona minyona') second go. Despite having quite a sustained sequence on small pockets and edges it felt easier than the ones I did yesterday, so maybe only 7c? I don't know. Either way a good route.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Man on 'Bona minyona' (F7c+) at Can Dit Gros, Margalef.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Checking out the Laboratory routes.[/td][/tr]

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Monday morning we warmed up at Can Verdures, and then I had yet another play on 'Esau directa' (8a+) over at Cova Soleiada. This route I've been trying on and off for the last few years but always forget the best sequence and find it desperate even when I do work out what to do! Today was no different and putting the draws in felt hard enough, with sore skin and not helped by the ridiculous humidity, so I sacked it off.

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

Parasiempre allargada
19 October 2011, 12:21 pm

Not very exciting, but today we went back to Mont-roig. I managed the extension to Parasiempre. The guide gives it Font 7C but it can't possibly be this? - it maybe adds a grade or so onto the original problem so 7B/+ ish. It's been so long since I've bouldered on any confirmed problems in more established areas so I honestly have no idea. Whatever grade, it's a great problem. I'm just pleased to feel some progress from a few weeks ago when I was struggling on the original 7a+ start.



Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

A new Pati project...
20 October 2011, 2:03 pm

As per the title, we went up to El Pati in Siurana today to meet Dave and Javier. Tash was considering projecting the other good 7a here (Ay Mamiti) so I agreed to try and get a ?project there so we could both work them at the same time. As I've now done pretty much every route at El Pati (8b+ and down anyway) there was limited choice! But I had my eye on an 8b called 'Pati pa mi'. So after warming up putting the draws in Ay Mamiti for Tash, I went up my route bolt to bolt. It was pretty baltic and my fingers and toes didn't really warm up the whole way, but with the help of Dave's clip stick I managed to get up it and did all the moves first go. It turned out to be way easier than I'd expected with good rests both before and after the short crux section so it seems like a goer! New project for Ali...psyched!!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Dave trying his hardest to blend in with the rock on 'El Prado del Rey' (F7b+) at El Pati.[/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

Worth the gamble!
23 October 2011, 6:06 pm

After originally planning to go up north this weekend, the Friday forecast didn't inspire confidence so we left it until Saturday morning to make the final decision. The forecasts were still predicting a little rain here on Saturday? afternoon and a lot more on Sunday, but significantly less rain over in Margalef. And with tips still a little tender from Thursday's crimpy session Margalef was the more appealing option climbing-wise so that was decision made. In the end it was sunny the whole weekend and the rain didn't materialise until we were driving back this afternoon and Siurana was hidden in a cloud of ming - good decision!

Saturday we went to Ca la Marta and conditions were perfect in the shade - shorts and T-shirt for climbing and down jacket for belaying. Plus we had the crag pretty much to ourselves the whole day :-)After warming up on some nice little 6b's on the right-hand side I put the draws in the project for the day - 'Twist as Lola' (8a). I'd been on this once before last April but the day I tried it the tufa was wet and it was ridiculously humid so I didn't even bother with a redpoint. Today it felt like a completely different route and after the bouldery crux at the bottom it was just a steady tick. So with that done sooner than expected I finished off the day with a few 7a & 7b onsights. Tash pulled out all the stops on her final go of the day and managed a really short and bouldery 7a - good effort! We celebrated with a nice cup of black tea (I forgot to bring any milk!).

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The reservoir and pic-nic pontoon back in April with Ca la Marta crag in the background (note the water level!)[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The pontoon left high and dry this weekend![/td][/tr]

[/table]?Sunday breakfast wasn't as appetising as usual - cereal with water instead of milk (not recommended) and a cup of black tea! Thankfully the climbing was a bit more succesful. Tash wanted to go back to Can dit Gros to lead the 7a she top-roped last weekend so I got on the 7c+ to the right of the one I did last week. It turned out to be just as good, with a hard undercut start on small pockets then good crimps leading to the easier slightly overhanging wall above - done 2nd go! Tash then crushed her route, despite bleeding on all the holds from a sliced finger, and I ticked the final route at this sector - a brand new 7b+. So we don't need to come back here again!

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

Don't listen to Dave!
25 October 2011, 2:22 pm

After a night and day of heavy rain? yesterday we were all set to head up to Siurana this morning when I got a text from Dave - "Rained a lot last night...still big puddles in car park...no wind at all...will rock be dry?".

Anywhere else and I probably wouldn't have bothered driving up, but El Pati being the most unpredictable crag on Earth, where the amount of rain often has no correlation with the dryness and conditions of the crag, we decided to chance it. Plus the forecast for later in the week is atrocious so it may have been the only chance we got...

Warming up on 'Viagraman' it soon became apparent that conditions were absolutely mint. Rock completely dry and no hint of the all too common 'Pati paste', when the humidity condenses down onto the holds, making climbing a pretty unpleasant experience. Today it felt like all the holds had been jet-washed clean and you couldn't fail to climb whatever you wanted! And that's how it happened. After one go up the project to get the draws in I had a rest belaying Tash and then ticked it the next. 'Pati pa mi' (F8b) first redpoint and third go up it. I guess it must be soft at the grade, although everyone on the font of knowledge that is 8a.nu takes 8b for it. It breaks down into maybe a 7c up to a good rest then a hard & runout sequence on small crimps up to an amazing shakeout and finishes with a technical ~7a. It certainly took significantly less effort than 'De aqui a la luna y volver' at L'Aparador so maybe that is 8b after all (what I thought at the time to be honest). Or maybe I'm going much better than back in May? Who knows. What a great route anyway.

The moral of the story: Don't listen to Dave!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Paul setting off on 'Gato lerdo' (F7b+)[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Getting into the crux moves on 'Gato lerdo'[/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

Mont-roig progress finally...
26 October 2011, 12:52 pm

Again, not the most interesting post but I finally made progress on the MUCH harder right-hand version of the prow at Mont-roig. This problem can be started in two separate places but the hard climbing really starts from a big jug about halfway along the prow, so that's where I've been working it from. I worked out all the individual moves and then managed to do it from the jug in two halves. It's going to be hard I think, but the moves are brilliant and despite sharing the same start and finish to Parasiempre it feels like a completely different problem. I'm psyched to go back and try linking it from the start...

Not a great video - more for me to remember the moves?.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Oh, and here's a photo to show how close the bouldering is to home (pink arrow!)[/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

CUENCA
2 November 2011, 11:13 am

With an extra day off this weekend, we were quite keen to explore a new crag somewhere a bit further afield. And after seeing some photos of Cuenca in a couple of magazines recently it seemed like an ideal time to check it out...

The climbing?

The overall conclusion was that the climbing was pretty mixed. There's A LOT of rock here, but being one of Spain's oldest climbing areas, some of the easy access sectors have suffered from the worst the early developers could throw at them. Chipped and drilled routes, battered rock due to the amount of traffic, and plenty of sika thrown about to create new routes or try and repair old ones. Add to that the crowds flocking from Madrid, Valencia and Toledo every weekend, and the often lazy and unimaginative nature of most of those climbers, meaning that the closest sectors to the parking spots were a pretty unpleasant place to be at times.

Having said all that, by the end of the weekend we'd discovered some of the less popular crags and found quite a few gems among the mediocrity. And all in all we both had a pretty awesome time climbing-wise and finished the weekend with trashed skin and tired arms.

Highlights for me were:

- 'Tirando de Visa' (7b) at sector Bolo

- 'El golfo' and 'La guarra' (6b+) at sector Alfar - two low grade classics

- 'Capitan Trueno' (7a) at Alfar - photos of this route inspired the trip but a 7am(!) start was needed to actually get on it before the crowds!

- 'Tetas y cerveza' (7b) at Alfar - probably the best route I did the whole weekend. Had a bit of everything and no chipping, drilling or sika in sight!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Early morning mist clearing from the Jucar gorge - home to the majority of the Cuenca climbing.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Sector Alfar, above the road and quirky antique shop - about as easy access as it gets![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Tash on the Cuenca classic - 'La Guarra' (F6c) at sector Alfar. A stunning route.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]One of the inspiring harder routes (to come back for?) - 'Public Enemy' (F8a+/b) at sector Martin Alhaja.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Breakfast by the river after an early morning session to avoid the crowds.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The worst of Cuenca - an entirely manufactured route![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Not a bad set up for a rock house![/td][/tr]

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The city

As a UNESCO World Heritage Site I guess we should have expected it to be pretty, but I don't think we were quite prepared for how beautiful the city is and how stunning the position of the old part, between the two gorges, actually is. We went for a wander round one afternoon after climbing, not really expecting much, and were amazed by the old fortified buildings built into the rock and hanging houses. And another thing that was really striking is how well set up the city seemed for people to get out into the gorges and go walking, cycling, kayaking and climbing along the river. Maybe the addition of the stunning autumn colours in the valleys had something to do with it, but by the end of the weekend we were both really taken with the city and its surroundings. Anyway I'll let the photos speak for themselves...

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Autumnal colours along the banks of the river.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Good river for kayaking / canoeing too.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Morning mist in the Jucar gorge.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The old fortified part of the city.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The old town on the hill overlooking the newer part down below.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Colourful houses in Cuenca.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Cuenca's gothic cathedral - facade was rebuilt in 1902 after the old one crumbled.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Puente de San Pablo connecting the old town with the San Pablo convent across the Huecar gorge.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The 15th Century 'Casas Colgadas' - hanging houses over the Huecar gorge.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The hanging houses lit up in the evening.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Jucar gorge lit up at night, with the old town on left and new town in the distance.[/td][/tr]

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The conclusion

Living in Catalunya, with probably the highest concentration of world-class sport climbing anywhere on the planet, I think we're a bit spoilt nowadays. And anywhere new that we go is bound to be compared with the likes of Siurana, Margalef, Terradets, Rodellar etc etc. Which is pretty unfair to be honest. I'm really glad we went to Cuenca to check it out, and the climbing definitely grew on me through the weekend. Plus the city itself is something special - well worth a visit in its own right. Would I drive 5 hours away from Catalunya to climb there again?...I'm not so sure.

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

Wetness and a few Mont-roig sessions...
7 November 2011, 12:36 pm

The weather's been a bit poor since we got back from Cuenca. It's rained? to some degree more or less every day, so I haven't been massively psyched to make the trip over the hill. Saturday we nipped out for a short bouldering session at Mont-roig, when I managed to link the 'Contracorriente' project from the jugs in the middle of the prow to the end (what I was trying in the last video). But I was way too tired to then link it from the true start.

Today we went up again, but after more rain overnight and no wind to dry the rock off some of the crucial slopers on the prow were a bit damp so I couldn't repeat what I did on Saturday, despite some determined and quite painful attempts! I then had a play on 'Virus' (7c), which comes directly out from the back of the cave, but couldn't do the final two moves. Definitely a good one to persevere with, in order to develop some pure power! Then finished off by repeating the Parasiempre extension, which I was quite pleased with as it felt pretty steady. A sure sign of some progress...hopefully!

The forecast shows an improvement in the weather this week so looks like we'll be out again soon...

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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500th belay from Tash!
11 November 2011, 9:40 am

Not exactly true? as there'll be loads of climbs I haven't recorded, but according to my logbook on UKC it was our 500th climb together this Tuesday. And what with her birthday on Saturday it'll have to be a double celebration. Or not!

Anyway the route in question was 'Twin Turbo' (7c) at L'Aparador in Siurana. I tried this over a month ago as one of my first routes after the long summer break but couldn't even do the crux moves. Today, after warming up, I tried it putting the draws in but fell from the final hard move through the crux. I wasn't surprised at failing but was quite pleased at how much easier it felt than last time. Anyway I lowered to the ground and did it next go, so ground-up I guess? On the way down I worked a few of the crux moves on the 7c+ next door but lost a lot of skin in the process, but that's ready for a redpoint next time we go up there.

We checked out the neighbouring crags of La Covassa and La Capella afterwards, where there's been a load of development since the new guide was published, especially at Covassa. A new sector seems to have been discovered on the right-hand side, following some gardening and ivy removal, which looks very good. No grades or names known so a trip to the campsite bar is required.

Yesterday (Thursday), we returned to Mont-roig for a bouldering session to try and top up the power levels. I was keen to have a go at linking the project right from the start, but instead failed to even repeat the link I did last Saturday. I initially thought this problem was impossible, but then made quite fast progress linking the individual moves so thought "it's not too bad after all". Now i'm back to my original thinking. Maybe not impossible but certainly very hard. The 7c grade might be justified for this one. We'll see...

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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Hijacked: Team Psyche hit the esoterica!
12 November 2011, 10:28 pm

The original plan for today was to meet Dave, Paul & Sarah up at El Falcó. But having climbed virtually every route on the main face and fearing the weekend crowds I thought I'd treat the visitors to some local esoterica instead ;-)

So we ended up at a different Arbolí sector - Forat del Serratell. This place I'd checked out quite a long time ago but had never actually climbed at. Today was the day.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Energy levels were high; you could just smell the psyche.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]A hive of activity. Dave in particular was raving about the place. In fact, he only managed the one route - this crag has that intimidation factor so rare on 15m high cliffs.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Seriously though, the crag was actually much better than first impressions suggested and well worth a day.

Tash here on one of many attempts at the starting moves of a brilliant 6c 'Grüner herbst'.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Dutch climber Jorgus van Daamieenan on the highly praised 'Harissa' (7a).[/td][/tr]

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I was on a mission to climb every half-decent route at the crag and succeeded with all the onsights up to 7b - the highlight of these was the above route 'Harissa'. The rock on the two harder routes at the crag (both 7c) didn't lend itself to on-sighting very well, being completely chalkless and very complex with loads of small holds all over the place. After a short-lived on-sight go at one of them (falling off the crux trying to use the obvious-looking two-finger pocket that turned out to be worse than the half-pad mono just next to it that you actually had to pull on!), I managed it 2nd go. I got on the other 7c right at the end of the day when I was tired. This one felt even harder, with loads of quite powerful moves off small painful pockets, sidepulls and crimps. I worked out the sequence but was too tired for a redpoint. Not sure I'd go back to the crag just for this route, but maybe if I'm passing. Good to climb at another new sector though.

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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Masboquera crag exploration
13 November 2011, 10:58 pm

After a bit too much birthday wine last night we weren't exactly jumping out of bed to go climbing so opted for a little bit of late afternoon crag exploration down near Masboquera. After passing the vomit-inducing waste water pipe from the village we got down into the dry river bed where, amazingly, we found a few bolted lines.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Tash at the base of one of the awe-inspiring lines on the way to the main crag.

Yes, it really has been developed. 2 bolts and then the lower-off![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The main objective for the day: the crag near Masboquera that we'd seen on a previous exploratory day.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Up close it was as impressive as I'd thought, with some superb ~30m lines on very good quality rock. Sadly there was only one easy route following a crack line, with a couple of bolts in place at half-height presumably for a belay. Apart from that there was no sign of any development. Unfortunately actually getting onto the decent rock on the RH side looked like it'd be a challenge due to the lower ivy-covered wall up to the ledge - maybe the reason it hasn't been bolted?[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Left-hand side of the wall.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Rock igloo on the road to Masriudoms. Finally got round to checking it out today.[/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

Making the best of the British weather
20 November 2011, 9:20 am

Since the torrential rain all day Monday and Tuesday the weather's been a bit frustrating this week. Forecasts have predicted rain most days which hasn't really ended up coming to anything - I guess that's a good thing?! Nevertheless we've managed to get out, and probably more than usual, as every day it was a case of 'making the most of it before the rain comes'.

Wednesday we stupidly opted for a 'quick drying' crag - La Riba - but underestimated the normally trickling river, which had become a completely impassable raging torrent.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Dry crag. Wet river![/td][/tr]

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We salvaged the day after a long detour to end up at La Mussara, which was a little too hot in the sun so shredded my tips on some crimpy wall climbs. Highlight of the day was a superb 7b called 'Noni' - a burly start on rock and features not dissimilar to the middle bit of Malham cove.

Thursday we were up at Siurana, where there were still plenty of wet streaks about. We opted for a new esoteric sector - Grau de la Covassa - up on the Siuranella cliffs. Turned out to be quite good. I had a go up a hard 7c+ there named 'Via del Cugat'. Had a decent redpoint on it but need to go back and finish it off.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Wetness at sector Solarium - route is 'Total Insanity' 8a.[/td][/tr]

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Friday was another morning spent failing on the major project at Mont-roig. I still haven't managed to repeat the link I did a few weeks ago - not sure if this is to do with the dampness there's been every time since or if I'm getting weaker. Hope it's just the former! Anyway I did manage to do something new there - 'Atog allargada', given font 7a+ in the guide but I've learnt not to believe anything written in that! Felt the same as 'Parasiempre' extension so probably 7b/+ ish. Will be good to get to Font again in April to get a feel for how bouldering grades actually work again!

Not a huge amount of new climbing on it but thought I'd record it anyway.?

?Saturday it was supposed to rain again but as per usual it didn't really come to anything and there was even bright sunshine in the morning!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Autumn colours in the Priorat vineyards. Montsant in the background.[/td][/tr]

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Dave, Paul & Sarah were planning to go to Montsant so we headed up to Raco de Missa to meet them. Turns out they only had the old Rockfax guide which has the most inaccurate approach description ever written. So they arrived just as we had to leave at 3pm - in fact, Dave didn't actually get there until we'd left, after a 3hr hike around the hills trying to find the crag! We had a decent day's climbing before the drizzle came, though were both tired from the previous three days. I managed to fill in a few gaps, on-sighting some superb low 7's that I'd overlooked previously.

Anyway, the latest long term forecast shows just a few more days of bad weather then it looks to be finally settling down to what we're more used to at this time of year - cold, crisp blue sky days perfect for crushing in the sun. Fingers crossed it turns out to be accurate...

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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The bad weather breaks...
24 November 2011, 11:38 pm

After a few weeks of ?pretty mixed weather, where we had to make the most of dry days between rain instead of planning rest days for the less sunny days as is more usual here, the weather finally seems to have settled. It reminded me of the many damp days snatched between periods of extended rain that used to frustrate me in the UK, and I didn't like it!

Anyway, the first day out last week, Wednesday, we actually left a perfect sunny Montbrio and drove up the hill and ended up in the lingering mist at Arboli. With it being a shorter day we went to the roadside crags of Can Simiro and Can Mansa. Despite it being in the clag the rock was dry and temperatures were good for climbing - not exactly 'sticky damp', but not bad conditions.

I on-sighted the remaining decent climbs here, including:

A qui ejaculada, deu ajuda 7aEls impresentables (variant) 7b+Poker d'alho 7b+Alambrado sea dios 7b+L'avi 7b+

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Can Simiro in the mist.[/td][/tr]

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Thursday we went up to Siurana and returned to Grau de la Covassa, where the rock elsewhere was a lot drier - as you can see in the photo of Herbolari below - but surprisingly the rock around the cave where we were was quite damp.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Sector Herbolari - drier than last week.[/td][/tr]

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After warming up on a good but run out 6b+ I on-sighted a fantastic 7c (Crosta Daurada) and then surprised myself by ticking Via del Cugat (7c+) which I'd been on last week, despite a lot of the 'salty' holds in the roof being very wet. A great route at a nice esoteric sector. [I've since heard from Pete that on this same day there were 28 cars parked at the Fontscaldes parking areas - where you access the popular crags like El Pati, Primavera, Siuranella etc from - and we were the only ones climbing at our sector!]

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Grau de la Covassa - well worth a visit! Both these routes are amazing. [/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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Cogullons
28 November 2011, 1:33 pm

One place that we've been meaning to go for a long time is the remotest place described in the old Costa Daurada guide - Cogullons, and in particular the Mola Roquerola crag. Although it turned out not to be as remote as they made out, being only a steep 45min walk from Farena village, the description of it as 'beautiful bulging white, pocketed waves of bullet hard limestone perched on a convenient raised ledge system...with magnificent views' was very true!

With a perfect forecast for the weekend we arranged to meet Pete up there and also decided to pack the tent and some food and stay up for a few days.

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Looking up to the crag from Farena village.[/td][/tr]

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On arrival at the crag it was hot - amazing at the end of November that I was regretting bringing my shorts to the crag! The routes were largely short, powerful, pocket pulling affairs of a similar style to Margalef but without the chalk to guide you! Consequently some of the onsights felt quite stiff. The crag was amazing though, and deserves far more recognition and traffic than it gets. Given that from January - June climbing here is bird banned and then from June - October it's too hot to climb, leaving only two viable months for climbing, it's amazing that it was so quiet. Especially when Siurana, Margalef and the like are often horrendously busy these days.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Tash on 'Situaditis' (F6b)[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]'Roella Blanca' (F7c)

Best route of the weekend and one of the best I've done in a long time, with some pretty unique jug hauling on the upper wall.

Worth a visit to the crag just for this one route![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The amazingly juggy upper wall of 'Roella Blanca' (7c)[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The view looking out from Mola Roquerola.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Tash enjoying the last of the evening sunshine.[/td][/tr]

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???????

Tash underneath the incredible wall with 'Tonica per tutti' (7b) and Roella Blanca (7c) - some of the longest routes at the crag and a slightly different style to the rest. Beautiful light - shame there was no-one else at the crag climbing.

???????

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Sunrise from the crag - not a bad start to the day![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]One of the old dwellings along the base of the crag. [/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Convenience camping - belay from the tent?[/td][/tr]

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Sunday was a more productive day climbing-wise, with slightly cooler temperatures thanks to a nice breeze. We were on the go virtually non-stop from 10am - 4pm, before sore fingers and tired arms made us call it a day.

I managed on-sights of:

Nefertiti 6c

Mandinga bolinga 7a

Cagada rock 7b

Bondage 7b+

and redpoints of:

Tonica per tutti 7b (which I blew the onsight of the day before)

Penitenciagite 7c+

All of which were superb. Added to 'Roella Blanca' (7c) and 'Matute' (7a) from the previous day it was a fairly productive weekend and nice to get a few decent pics of me climbing for a change - thanks Pete!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The incredible wave of perfect pocketed rock with the routes 'Bondage' (7b+) and 'Penitenciagite' (7c+) on.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Sunday there were actually other people climbing at the crag!

Here on the steep, powerful start of 'Cagada rock' (7b).[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]'Paella mixta' (7c)[/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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A bit of history at La Riba
29 November 2011, 10:19 pm



After our failed attempt to climb at La Riba last week due to the water level we made it across today!

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Sector Xina[/td][/tr]

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?We went to a new sector? up above the main cliff (sector Xina), where most of the harder routes are concentrated. This sector is particularly interesting as it was home to a few of the very first climbing competitions in 1988-9 when the likes of Jerry Moffatt, Simon Nadin, Ron Kauk et al competed. Some of the old legends! By the sounds of it the comps were held partly on the rock, where a few routes were manufactured for use, and partly on artificial walls. So many of the harder routes here have some chipped and drilled holds to remove obvious cruxes and create more continuously sustained routes. Despite the abuse of the rock the routes were actually really good, and it was quite interesting to think about the history of the place and the people who had been on these routes so long ago.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Photo from the 1988 competition! ©mrjonathanr from ukbouldering.com

This climber is on the route 'Jocs de llit' (F7c), one of the ones I did today.[/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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"Lost" sector at Mont-ral
1 December 2011, 10:57 pm

?Today we ventured to one of the slightly more esoteric sectors of Mont-ral - Paret del Grevol. Tucked away in a narrow corridor behind one of the most classic sunny sectors, and accessed by a few 'via ferrata' rungs, it seemed like a bit of a lost crag - but one which I'd walked past many times before but never noticed. Which is amazing given that a lot of the routes were up to 40m in length!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The corridor with the imposing Paret del Grevol sector on the right and Per Dins on the left.

A bit of a dingy belay spot, but once on the routes it was all forgotten! Slightly 'dusty' feeling on the lower half and definitely needs more traffic but the rock quality was just brilliant.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]'La potencia de l'eunuc' (6c+) - my warm up for today and a total classic on amazing rock (40m long!).

Check the 'old-skool' stripey vest and leggings! Photo from the guide.[/td][/tr]

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After the warm-up I managed to on-sight the route I'd come here to try - L'insubmis (7c+). The low crux involved pulling on some tiny tiny credit card skin-shredding edges through a bulge, and once I'd done that first go I sure as hell wasn't going to repeat it, so I fought on to the top! But 35m of thin and technical climbing with a few decent rests thrown in does not equal speedy climbing so Tash had to endure over an hour of belaying down in the darkness! ;-)

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]L'insubmis (F7c+) at Paret del Grevol, Mont-ral.

Again, photo from the guide and check the short shorts![/td][/tr]

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I finished off with a few easier on-sights - 'Crisol' (7a+) and 'Acebicidio' (7a), and the day was done. Definitely psyched for a return here in the near future, as I spotted plenty of other good routes and sectors in the vicinity.

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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Montsant Marathon Part I: El Libro
3 December 2011, 8:24 pm

This week's Montsant marathon began with some low level cloud and a very murky start down in Cornudella. True to form, though, after the walk-in we ended up in bright sunshine looking down on a spectacular sea of cloud in the valley below.





The destination for today was 'El Libro' - a huge open book corner, and one of the most striking and recognisable features along the Montsant range as you drive on the road between Cornudella and Morera far below. This crag has to be among the least frequented of all the Montsant crags, due to its long approach (1hr) and more complicated access, but it is also without doubt THE most spectacularly positioned of them all!



 

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Most of the routes start from this very narrow ledge system bisecting the enormous plumb vertical walls of "the book", with a huge drop almost straight down to the road a looong way down - exposure guaranteed![/td][/tr]

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We started on the right-hand side of the crag, where the routes start from 'relative' terra firma. I say relative because you're still stepping off a ledge hundreds of metres above the valley floor, but the ledge is significantly wider here than further round! I did a 6b+ and 7b here before moving round to the left-hand side where the ledge narrows.

The routes were, on the whole, very good quality. If they were at Raco de Missa or another more classic sector they'd be chalked, clean, and incredibly popular. But as it is, with the more involved approach I wouldn't be surprised if they'd seen only a handful of ascents. And, like with Cogullons last weekend, with it being bird banned for half the year and summer too hot there's only a very short window when it's possible to climb here. As a result the routes felt very 'new', with some scrittly rock and lots of dust/dirt that gets washed down in places from above, giving the rock its characteristic grey and brown streaked appearance.

I had to clean a superb 7a+ crack line (El gordinflon) as I went, including a bit of gardening where the grass had grown back towards the top - right where the crux was! On the way down I cleaned up some holds on a 7c to the right (very much needed!), tick-marked a few holds and tried a few of the moves. After Tash had top-roped the 7a+ I managed to tick my route first go. Another absolute classic on perfect rock. It just needs some more traffic to keep it clean!!!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]'La listilla' (F7c) - El Libro, Montsant.

Not exactly a 'redpoint' but I can't claim the onsight either...then again who cares when the climbing & positions are as good as this![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Scrambling over the block on the way out from the crag.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The end of a good Montsant day![/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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Montsant Marathon Part II: Barrots & Carrasclet
4 December 2011, 8:21 pm

The second instalment in the Montsant ?Marathon was another beautiful sunny day split between Barrots and Carrasclet. We met up with Pete & Àngels, as Pete was keen to get a few crag shots with people actually in them!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Tash on 'Per amor a l'art' (6a+) at Carrasclets.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]'El monstruo del Arbo-ness L3' (7a) - not bad positions![/td][/tr]

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I then got back on an 8a at Carrasclets that I'd tried last November called 'Ciática'. This route is so different from most routes at Montsant, with a whole mix of styles and very few pockets, but last time I was on it I just couldn't touch it - this is what I wrote in my logbook:

"A brilliant route, but NOT 8a. Steady start on solid finger locks up the initial crack to a rest. Then 3 bolts worth of climbing which I could barely do any moves of, up to a good pocket. From here fairly steady but nice technical climbing to the top on amazing small flakes & rugosities. Must have lost crucial holds around the crux section (rock scars evident), as this is the first '8a' in about 4 years that I haven't been able to do a move first go on, never mind 10m worth of climbing!"

Today was much more succesful and I managed to work out the moves fairly easily. Not sure if I was just being useless last time or if I'm significantly stronger this year. Either way I had a couple of decent redpoints but frustratingly fell both times on the last of the hard moves on the crux section. From here there's still a lot of climbing to the top but it's more sustained and less cruxy. The second time I managed to pull straight back on and go to the top so hopefully next time it'll go - progress from last year anyway! I have a habit of saying this at the moment, but it's one of the best routes I've ever been on. Really interesting climbing up a truly stunning piece of rock.

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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Montsant Marathon Part III: Return to El Libro
6 December 2011, 10:51 pm



Today we revisited El Libro. Added to the ever-present exposure of starting from the narrow ledge, today it was blowing a gale so it was even more atmospheric than normal! A little chilly in the wind for belaying but pretty ideal climbing temps.

I started on the right-hand side again and did the only remaining 'easy' route - a 7a crackline ('La bulle') which looked quite dirty from below but actually turned out to be clean, totally solid, and with incredible climbing laybacking the crack all 30m to the top.

After this we moved over to the left again and I put the draws in the 7a+ for Tash to top-rope. My aim for the day was an 8a+ starting from just about the most exposed point of the ledge system and heading straight up the wall above. Given how dusty some of the routes were and how hard the 7c felt the other day I was expecting to find it hard going but, after the thin & crimpy start which took a while to work out, the rest was just fairly steady pulls between good pockets and edges. So, after belaying Tash on her route, I managed to do it next go without too much sketching. It felt in control, but a bit more pumpy and sustained than I'd expected in the top half where it steepens up. 'El sentido de la vida' (8a+) - highly recommended!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Big crag, small climber - me on 'El sentido de la vida' (8a+) at El Libro, Montsant.[/td][/tr]

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I finished off the day with a bit more of a fight by on-sighting a 7b+ on the extreme left side ('El niño). It went up a filthy blue streak with fresh crozzly tufa rock, which obviously takes all the run-off from above, so I was cleaning as I went and groping blindly for hidden pockets, edges etc as all the dirt went in my eyes. The joys of esoteric on-sighting! Again though, cleaned up and it would be a classic.

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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Montsant Marathon Part IV: Return to Carrasclets
8 December 2011, 10:22 pm

After a bit more posing for photos for Pete at Falconera? sector this morning, he headed off elsewhere and we went up, along the ledges, and back down again to Carrasclets. In contrast to Tuesday there was virtually no breeze today and it was pretty sweaty in the sun. Can't complain too much though when you hear about the snow and gales in the UK!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Tash enjoying the sunshine on 'Cafe con leche con mas cafe' (6b+) at Falconera.[/td][/tr]

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I then got straight on 'Ciática' and after putting the draws in did it next go. On redpoint the top half felt a lot more sustained than I was expecting and it's definitely droppable well after the crux section where I fell off last weekend. Grade-wise it felt harder than the 8a+ at El Libro from the other day and given my failure on it this time last year it may be more 8a+ than 8a? Either way it's one of Montsant's hidden gems - get to it!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Reaching the sinker pocket at the end of the initial crux section on 'Ciática' (F8a/+?) - still a long way to go though![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The upper pockety wall of 'Ciática' - more what you expect from Montsant.[/td][/tr]

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After ticking the main aim I finished off with a few 7a onsights over at the main Carrasclets Inferior sector in the warm afternoon sunshine. Magic!

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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Montsant Marathon Part V: El Sobreàtic
10 December 2011, 6:37 pm

Destination for today was yet another new (to me) sector, El Sobreàtic, which is round the corner from Carrasclets Superior. We've been trying to make the effort to get to some of these sectors at the moment, as they're bird banned after xmas. The day started with a typical Montsant cloud inversion but, as ever, we popped out above the murk to a crag bathed in sunshine, and it was pretty hot again!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]El Sobreàtic - perfect overhanging sheet of pockets. Sandbag city though![/td][/tr]

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I'm still struggling to get rid of a lingering cold and woke up this morning feeling like someone had strangled me in the night. On top of that I felt heavy on the warm-up so opted for a day of onsight mileage. It would have been nice to get a bit more mileage in before getting pumped out of my mind though! All the routes were brilliant - classic Montsant - but pretty short, steep and sustained, and either due to my incompetence or lack of any chalk they felt hard! Plus quite a few of them had nasty run-outs to the first bolt. Still, I managed a handful of 7a - 7a+ routes and got incredibly pumped many times before skin was too sore to carry on.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Not bad views out from the crag![/td][/tr]

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Driving back from the crag and struggling to even spot the sector we'd been climbing at just brought home how much rock there is up at Montsant.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]One very small section of Montsant. Spot the red box (the crag we were at today). The routes at this tiny sector are still 25-30m long![/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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Montsant Marathon Part VI: Enderrocada
11 December 2011, 7:41 pm

Last time we visited Enderrocada I wasn't sure what state the access track? was in so we had a 1h45 walk to get there! I couldn't face that again, especially with the days quite short now, and the track turned out to be not as bad as expected so it was a mere 30mins of off-roading from the Cartoixa monastery today!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The usual cloud in the valley below Montsant - today we weren't quite high enough to escape :-([/td][/tr]

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Today the cloud rose up from the valley mid morning to engulf us on arrival and we were in and out of it all day. At some points in beautiful sunshine and other times completely surrounded by a cold, damp mist.

My aim for today was an 8a called 'La xurreria'. For anyone who's spent any time in Spain you'll know what churros are - long, thin Spanish style doughnuts normally bought from a trailer in town (a xurreria in Catalan).



So the route is pretty well named given that it's another unique one for Montsant in that it's continuous drainpipe tufas for the whole length. As far as I know, the only tufa routes at Montsant are the three or four at this sector.

Today confirmed what I already knew; I'm not good at climbing pure tufas. Especially 45° overhanging ones! Good to work your weaknesses though.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]'La xurreria' (F8a) - Enderrocada, Montsant.[/td][/tr]

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Being only 20m long, this route is short, powerful and felt damn hard! It consists mainly of 3d tufa wrestling, which isn't exactly my forté, but second time up it I managed to find some decent knee bars to allow a few shake-outs, but the crux comes right at the end where the tufa runs out. Here there are two or three moves linking the end of the tufa to a good jug via a few crozzly crimps which feel absolutely desperate, and it took me quite a while to work out a decent sequence. By the time I had though, my skin was thin and I was completely powered out. It's hard to imagine being able to do the moves after all the steep, powerful climbing that comes before. Still, it's an incredible route and there's only one more potential weekend before the crag is bird banned so no prizes for guessing where we'll be next weekend!

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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Fighting the lurgy at Mont-ral...
13 December 2011, 10:09 pm

Unfortunately the cold lives on. Not the temperatures (it was actually pretty warm today!), but the one inside me and so I woke up feeling like death and was very close to sacking it off. But the sun was shining, and I still can't bear to waste a sunny day! Plus I can't really complain too much, as Pete turned up to meet us looking far worse than I felt! It seems like everyone's got a cold at the moment.

Mont-ral was the plan, but some of the less well travelled sectors down at Lo Maset de Paisan where there's an amazing overhanging knife-edged prow called 'Trinxalaire', as well as some great 6's and low 7's on perfect rock. The prow is one of the most unique and prominent lines I think I've seen on limestone, with great rock and some really strange pockets on the left of the arete. Without these it would be impossible, as the rest of the rock is so smooth and unfeatured - see photo below. Anyway, after putting the draws in and quickly working out the moves I had a redpoint go, but hadn't really warmed up enough so got a bad flash pump and fell. After a bit of a rest belaying Tash on a superb-looking 6c ('L'oru i el moru') I had another go and this time I was better warmed up so managed to finish it off. Despite its short length (only 22m) it's super steep and really pumpy but a fantastic route - well worth a visit to the crag just for this. Having said that, every route I've done here has been good and I finished the day with another quality 7a!

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Tash lanking her way up 'L'oru i el moru' (6c) at L'Androna, Mont-ral.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]'Trinxalaire' (7c+) at Can Tonada, Mont-ral.[/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya