[comPiler]

Xurreria & last orders at Barrots
18 December 2011, 6:25 pm

After a few more rest days than usual this week, to get rid of my lingering ?cold and also grow a bit of skin back, the weekend started with the planned return to L'Enderrocada, but thankfully without the mist this time. My aim for the day was ticked a bit quicker than predicted - done 1st go today, despite getting a bad flash pump after failing to warm up properly yet again (there's a theme developing here!). I was quite surprised at how much easier it felt today though - the beer towel gaffa taped round my leg definitely helped to make the most of the kneebars! 'La Xurreria' (8a) - a great route and worth a visit to the sector just for this!

So with that out of the way I could relax and ticked off a superb 7c (Ácido Galáctico) and 7a+.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Another shot of 'La Xurreria' (8a) at L'Enderrocada[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Raco de Missa area of Montsant on the way back.[/td][/tr]

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Sunday was a lot colder, with a strong breeze and plenty of cloud around, so warming up and staying warm proved a bit challenging - first hot aches of the winter! In hindsight it wasn't the best choice for the conditions but being the last opportunity to go to some of the Montsant bird banned areas we went up to do a combination of Falconera and Barrots Inferior. These are all the routes you walk past on the way up to bigger things off the Barrots Superior ledge, but every single one of them was surprisingly excellent. And thankfully the cloud had disappeared by midday so the afternoon was perfect climbing temps. I onsighted eight routes, including all the decent 7s and a few 6s at the two sectors. Not much to come back for here now, except I did have another gawp at the amazing-looking 'Els intocables' - a 110m 4 pitch 7c+ climbing straight up the middle of the biggest face at Montsant (La Falconera) - maybe next Autumn?

That'll be the last time we climb on the bird banned stuff this year, so I'm looking forward to more Montsant exploration after xmas on the unrestricted stuff. Plenty of rock to go at :-)

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Falconera sector (L), Barrots Inferior (R), and the line of 'Els intocables'. All of which look tiny. I assure you they're not![/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

Last climb of the year in Catalunya
20 December 2011, 10:15 pm

Due to the fact that we have loads of stuff to sort out before our trip back to the UK and then to Jordan, today was the last climb in Spain this year. A bit of a shame, as the weather this week is set to continue as it has been for the last month or so now (i.e. mint!). Cold, crisp, and pretty much wall to wall sunshine like it normally is in the run up to Christmas!

We went back to La Riba and sector Xina again, where we were surprised to find some guys already climbing. And then even more surprised when another group turned up mid morning - this place is normally dead!

I made a bit more of an effort to warm up today, by going up the 7a TWICE to get the blood flowing (well, one and a half times to be exact!). I'm sure that's what Dave Mac recommends for a good quality warm-up before onsighting at your limit ;-) Surprisingly this still didn't work, as my fingers turned to ice and stopped functioning about two thirds of the way up the 7c+ 'Durruti column'. I was quite pleased to get well into the crux section and about two moves from the final jugs, before I just couldn't open my hands any more and dropped off. Annoying. Next go it felt  fine, despite having quite cold fingers again. I don't mind failing on an onsight if you read the route badly or just get too pumped to carry on, but to blow it due to frozen fingers or not being warmed up is just stupid. Well, you live and learn I guess (or not in my case!!!)

 

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]A guy on the classic 'Vendetta' (7c) at sector Xina.[/td][/tr]

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So the next time we climb will be in desert land in Jordan just after xmas. Hopefully it'll be warm enough to get some decent long routes done...

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

Wadi Rum
13 January 2012, 9:44 am

After a fleeting trip back to the UK for Christmas we then headed on to Jordan. 3 trains, 1 tube, 1 plane, 1 bus, and 5 taxi rides later we arrived in Wadi Rum village!The first few days we spent just exploring and climbing within walking distance of the village.

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The mosque from which the 4.45am wake-up call came every morning![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Rum village seen from 'Inferno'.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]'Inferno' on the Jebel Rum East face towers.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The halfway ledge on 'Inferno'.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The stunning continuous crack line of 'Lionheart'.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Final ab, just before an afternoon shower arrived - the only day of rain on the trip.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Abu Aina bedouin camps.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Lone tree in Rum.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Jebel Rum East Face from the campsite.[/td][/tr]

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After a few days in the village getting used to the sometimes suspect sandstone, we ventured out for our first proper excursion into the desert and away from the squalid village. We decided to walk round to the other side of the Jebel Um Ishrin massif, to attempt 'Jihad/La Guerre Sainte' - a huge multipitch sport route on N Nassrani which seems to be fast becoming a world classic of its type. It turned out to be only 1h30 of fairly flat walking through stunning scenery to get to the base of the route, so not really worth getting a jeep round unless you want to do it the same day.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]"La Guerre Sainte" topo.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Me dumping the gear at the base of the route ready for an early start the next day - big wall![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Convenience camping.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Evening light over the desert.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]7am 1st Jan 2012 - nice way to start the new year on 'La Guerre Sainte'!

The wall was mostly sound rock, and the climbing excellent on big sandstone 'tufas', sidepulls and flakes, but it took a bit of faith sometimes to yard on the holds.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Pitch 5 (F7b) - the first hard one on the route. Excellent crimpy climbing on thin iron plate edges![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Pitch 7 (F6c) - dubbed the "Climb or go home" pitch. Very well named! 6 bolts/threads in ~45m of climbing, most of which were clumped together at the start and end of the pitch giving one HUGE runout in the middle.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The view looking out from high up on the wall!

The route is certainly deserving of its reputation, for the length, positions and quality of climbing and in my opinion the only thing preventing it from surpassing 'Fiesta de los Biceps' as the best multipitch sport route in the world was the rock quality....and the fact that it felt a long way from being a true sport route!!![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]On the way back down. The ab descent was pretty time consuming as it was blowing a gale so we had to coil the ropes and unfurl on each ab to prevent them tangling and snagging on the minefield of crisps and flakes. Because of this we opted to just go to the end of the 'proper' climbing at the top of the headwall and not the summit. A shame, but with the short days and long descent we were pushing it to get down before dark.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Rope faff on the descent![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Safely down and watching the sunrise next day from camp 2.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Luxury accomodation in Rum![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]On the way into Rakabat canyon to explore.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Maze of canyons and corridors through the mountain.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Big place![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Spanish guy on pitch 1 of the classic 'Beauty'.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Obviously wasn't a hard worker! (note shotgun cartridge)[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Nabataean ruined temple below Jebel Rum ~ First Century BC[/td][/tr]

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Our second excursion was to Barrah Canyon, but this time with a jeep.

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]On the way to Barrah canyon[/td][/tr]

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First day we did the route 'Rumeurs de la pluie' up the striking open book corner to the left of Merlin's Wand, which had some fun 3D climbing up the 'offwidth' (which you don't actually offwidth).

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Next day I was keen to get to a summit, so we went up the route 'Ocean Slabs' on Jebel Barrah E summit.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]'Merlin's wand' - THE classic route of the area.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]On 'Merlin's Wand' - Surprisingly worth the hype and only 3hrs up and down. Pretty cold in the shade though.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Last camels in Rum...next stop Petra![/td][/tr]

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After an amazing time in Wadi Rum, we had the obligatory stop in Petra on our way back up north to the airport. Two days of history lessons. Normally I'm not too bothered by things like this, but you can't help being blown away by the scale of this place and the vision to carve whole houses, temples, tombs and monuments out of solid rock. Not to mention the amount of work involved.

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]'The Monastery' - second most famous building in Petra and well worth the walk up.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The Royal tombs (from L-R the Palace, Corinthian, Silk, and Urn tombs)[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Not known as the rose-red city for nothing![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Palace tomb again[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Pottery at the Urn tomb.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The Siq - pretty spectacular entrance to Petra![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Alone at the 'Treasury' - it pays to get up early![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The theatre - seating painstakingly carved out of the rock![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The 'Treasury' facade.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The 'Street of Facades'[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Amazing rock houses - some with two or three storeys![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]First trip to Jordan over...it won't be the last![/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[slackline]

  Think I might have to take a trip to Wadi Rum at some point in the next few years, looks stunning.

[ali k]

The climbing is pretty straightforward, maybe 6a-b?, but you would want it to be well below your limit to feel comfortable I think. The wall is quite gripping in general (it feels more like a long alpine route than a true multipitch sport route like Fiesta - every hold needs testing!), and the rock on this "Go home" pitch doesn't lend itself to gear (bolts or otherwise), it being very soft and friable (more so than the rest!). So I wouldn't rely on being able to get anything in between the bolts/thread, at least nothing you'd want to fall or hang on!

Unless you plan to bivi on top, the main limiting factor though is moving fast enough to get down before dark so even if you planned to dog the cruxes you'd want to be able to climb 6b-6c+ quickly. Plus the rock, especially in the middle pitches, is a total minefield of flakes, nobbles, and crisps which are just waiting to snag your ropes on the way down. And the wind picked up when we were descending (our tent blew away!) so I had to coil the ropes at every belay and unfurl on each ab to try and avoid problems with snagging as much as possible, which was a slooow process! We had a few minor snags but nothing too bad but I remember feeling very relieved to get down safely with ropes intact. Then I'm a sport climbing pussy these days!

Amazing route though, and deserves its growing reputation!

[Teaboy]

Jordan! Jeez how many more places am I going to have to add to the Love-to-go-but-unlikely-ever-to-do-so list? Looks ace, are there any other classic multi pitch sport routes of a slightly easier and better bolted nature?

[comPiler]

January round-up
31 January 2012, 10:29 am

After a pretty amazing start to the new year in the deserts of Jordan, the remainder of January has been a bit slow on the climbing front. A combination of lingering colds, lots of things to plan and organise for the coming year, but above all pretty low levels of motivation, has meant a total of only 5 days out climbing this month (compared to 18 days in October last year and 15 in November).

After a bit of time off proper climbing (5 weeks this time - multi-pitch ledge shuffling in Rum doesn't count!) I always find it hard to get back into it. Then when you do go out it's inevitably a pretty humbling experience being weak, heavy and unfit! It's easy to get into a cycle of climbing badly, which reduces motivation levels, so you go out less, then inevitably climb worse the next time, and so on.

Anyway, we've had a few good but fairly chilled days out over the last couple of weeks at Montsant, Masriudoms, Mont-ral, Siurana, and also finally checked out the crags at Vilanova de Prades. The last few days out I've finally seen the psyche returning and I even did a few pull ups at the end of the session today for training!

Plus it's only nine weeks and counting 'til I go to Font at Easter so I better get training....

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Capçanes crag - over the other side of Llaberia, which we checked out a few weeks ago.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Capçanes again - plenty of nice looking tufa routes.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Above Llaberia (the area near Santa Marina)[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Vilanova de Prades - main camping area. Worth a day, but not sure I'll be rushing back in a hurry.

I did two decent routes here, which are worth a visit (Cronologia 7a, and Baya de oro 7b). The others were pretty short and distinctly average.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The 'easy classic' of Equinoxe (6b). Photogenic, but neither easy nor very classic![/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

El Cogul
4 February 2012, 8:28 pm

The ?arctic conditions have made their way down as far as us, and with the temperatures predicted not to get above 2-3° we decided bouldering was a better way to keep warm! Driving to the crag it was well below zero but out of the wind and in the sun it was actually quite good temps on the rock. Last time I went to El Cogul (in May of all months!) it was a little on the warm side! Not surprising given that it all faces south. So that time I didn't get much done and didn't explore very far. Today the conditions were ideal and we went to an amazing outlying area, with some very cool and aesthetic boulders. Nothing too hard done, but everything I did do was amazing quality and loads to come back for.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]6b+ in the Els Camps sector[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Another 6b+ in the Els Camps area[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Slopey 6c in El Turonet

The little prow on the left is a really good guppy 6b+ from a sit start[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Brilliant 7a starting from deep under the roof[/td][/tr]

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You'll have to tilt your head or screen to see, but the highlight of the day was this awesome 7a(?) sit start? via the two eye pockets.

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[Neil F]

Not seen this before.

What a great blog, Ali (the bouldering post notwithstanding...!).

Neil

[comPiler]

Contracorriente allargada...finally!
21 February 2012, 3:15 pm

After still not much climbing recently?, struggling with motivation and feeling weak and all the other excuses I'm able to come up with, I was quite surprised to repeat the second half of my long-term Mont-roig project last week. Probably thanks to the mint conditions, making the slopers feel usable finally, but I still couldn't manage it from the start. So today I went back and succeeded in finishing it off. Quite surprising really, considering I'm not climbing at all well at the moment, so maybe it's not as hard as I'd first thought. Guidebook grade of font 7c, but I have no idea if this is accurate or not. The other grades in Mont-roig are all over the place, so it could be anything really!

Whatever grade, it's an incredible problem. One of the most satisfying I think I've done, in terms of the process from start to finish, the ace line following the prow all the way, and the quality of moves. Mont-roig isn't exactly a destination in its own right, having only a handful of decent problems, but this one and also Parasiempre (font 7a+?) are well worth a day for anyone in the area wanting a break from sport climbing.

Contracorriente allargada (font 7c?)?. Sorry for the swearing Mum!

Here's another video of a great 7a from El Cogul a few weeks ago.



Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

February round-up
11 March 2012, 6:23 pm

The climbing still hasn't really kicked off this year, and having just dusted off my tennis racquet and also bought a new mountain bike it looks like it's going to stay on the back burner for a while longer!

Despite a few good trips to El Cogul and managing to do my long-term bouldering project at Mont-roig this month, my usual enthusiasm for climbing just hasn't been there recently. The only other highlights have been a decent day ticking off some of the new routes at Grau dels Masets Abaix in Siurana, and also a cool multipitch route at the extreme left hand end of La Mussara (sector Itaca).



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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Abbing down the superb 2nd pitch on 'Daima' (6c, 7a+, 7a, 7a+) at Sector Itaca, La Mussara - it's bigger than it looks here![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Nice traverse line - Arboli boulders[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Cool overhanging ramp thing at Arboli[/td][/tr]

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But all the while the weather has been quite simply superb....more or less wall to wall sunshine every day since Christmas! I was getting more and more frustrated at my lack of activity and also trying to force my climbing psyche to return, which just isn't right. So after a day of bushwhacking/climbing around Mont-ral, when I was actually getting more psyched by some of the awesome looking tracks around that area that you can see from the top of the routes, the decision was made...we left early and I went bike shopping!

And the first few rides out have been stunning. Surpassing my expectations even. It turns out that the Prades area, with its network of footpaths, forest and farm tracks criss-crossing the hills and crags, is actually as good for biking as it is for climbing...

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Sick gnarly off (tarmac) roading duuude. The old Montsant haunts in the background from when I was a climber![/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

Good times in Font
10 April 2012, 11:46 am

Back from a superb week in Font. Good weather, good company, excellent gite, food, beer....happy days!

I wasn't as weak as I'd expected to be after several months of no climbing and I managed quite a few quality 7s at some of the more esoteric areas. I haven't been to Font for about four years and thought I'd exhausted most of the decent low 7s, but in reality there's a whole lot more to go at! And visiting the outlying areas we got a false sense of how quiet the forest was. We rarely shared the boulders with other groups and it wasn't until we popped in to Isatis for a few hours that you realise quite how manic it can be at the most popular crags at Easter.

Highlights for me were:-

- flashing 'Big Jim' (6c) at Petit Bois - contender for the best problem in Font.- 'Peter Pan' (7b/+) at Rocher du Mauvais Passage - well named and "Font in a nutshell"!- 'Le Calice' (7a) at Restant du Long Rocher.- 'Matador' (7a+) at Elephant nord - horror stories of Darren smashing his ankle on this a few years ago almost put me off but it turned out fine.- 'La fissure de droite' (7a) at Rocher d'Avon - not often you climb a strong line like this bouldering.- 'Megalight' (7b) at Rocher St. Germain. Sloper to sloper dyno at a superb peaceful crag.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Over the pyrenees...[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Font light...[/td][/tr]

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Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

La Riba without a rope
14 May 2012, 11:14 am

Since getting back from Font I've still mostly been biking, but on the climbing front I've been much more psyched for bouldering than routes. Unfortunately Catalunya isn't really known as a bouldering destination. In terms of sport climbing it's world class, but the bouldering is pretty limited. Thankfully there are one or two spots to head to, but it's a bit snowy in Cavallers and a bit hot in El Cogul at the moment, so when Pete reminded me about the stuff at La Riba I decided to have another look. I'd been once before a couple of years ago but I remember not really rating it and certainly didn't consider it worth going back to. Anyway, since the first re-visit about 3 weeks ago I've been back several times and done most of the easier classics and also have a few projects on the go. It's fair to say I quite like the place!

Here's my first attempt at an edited film, featuring one morning's circuit there. Only done with my compact camera so not exactly HD footage!



Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

Another video effort
21 May 2012, 10:25 pm

Nothing new, but here's a video of what was my long-term project at Mont-roig finally edited together.



Source: Climbing in Catalunya

[comPiler]

Summer hols, getting hitched & honeymoon!
24 October 2012, 10:14 am

Not much climbing to report from the last 5 months, as other things have taken precedence (mainly getting married and going to Canada for our honeymoon). Now that we're back in Spain and the temps are dropping then hopefully I'll be able to get back into it.

Just a few photos from the summer to follow, including some from Squamish (although not many action shots as we were mainly in the shade).

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Traverse of the entire Montsant ridge in the saddle back in June.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Some cool single track along the top.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Then some walking and wild camping in the Pyrenees.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]And a trip to PortAventura to check out the new Shambhala ride.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Before it was time to head back to the UK, via the Padirac cave and Dordogne chateaus, in time for the wedding...[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Hitched.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]And then on to Vancouver for the honeymoon...[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]6 day sea kayaking trip off the north end of Vancouver Island, with a couple of nights either end in this lodge.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Then down to Victoria where the salmon were running.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]And to the Rockies for a few weeks. Moraine Lake.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Trainspotting.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]First bear sighting. Young black.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Canadian pests...cute though! Columbian Ground Squirrels were everywhere.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Classic Rockies - Peyto Lake.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]North Saskatchewan river valley.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Yoho NP - Lake O'Hara.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Then a brief stop in Whistler.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Before final destination Squamish for a week.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]1st summit of the Chief from the 2nd.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]First day climbing in about 3 months - bouldering to get the guns moving.

I managed the three classic V4s (Superfly, Easy in an Easy Chair, Sloppy Poppy) and Viper (V5).[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]And some bigger stuff (here Sunblessed 5.10b at Solarium).

Highlights were some great easy access cragging at the Smoke Bluffs. Flying Circus (5.10a), Smoke Bluff Connection (5.10a), Partners in Crime (5.11a), Centre Street & Supervalue (5.10c).

And of course the mega-classic Exasperator (5.10c) didn't disappoint.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The Grand Wall via Apron Strings/Mercy Me start. Good route with some amazing pitches but a few too many bolts. And not good with a single set of cams with no big ones![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Probably my favourite route from the trip. The Great Game (5.10d) on "the Squaw".[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Another black bear in the Smoke Bluffs park early in the morning.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Then back over the Rockies to the UK for nephew's birthday before returning to Spain.

Six and a half weeks in Canada and only three half days of rain...sun blessed![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Back to biking in the Pyrenees.[/td][/tr]

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Hopefully the next blog might even have some climbing in it!

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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End of year round-up
21 December 2012, 9:03 am

With the summer heat lasting well into mid-October it was mostly biking after we returned to Spain, with a few great trips up to the Pyrenees.





Finally at the very end of October it started cooling down and I got back into climbing with a visit to Cubells, though it was a pretty humbling experience mainly climbing mid 6's and failing to on-sight 7a.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Cubells.[/td][/tr]

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In mid-November the rally came to town - first time I've been and it won't be the last!

from Ali K on Vimeo.

Slowly but surely from mid November onwards with a combination of bouldering, training at the wall and more regular visits out to the crags, the power started to trickle back into my arms!

from Ali K on Vimeo. Classic El Cogul problem.

And the publication of Pete's new guide to the area prompted visits to some new crags - mainly Llaberia, where the amount of virgin rock is truly astounding. And in the last few weeks it has seemed like we were the only climbers in Tarragona - every sector we've been to we were literally the only ones there! I dread to think what Siurana's been like during the same period.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Sector Al Lao Bacalao/Plaza les Coles at Llaberia. Home to only a handful of routes. All top quality so far.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]'Rififi au Tour de France' (7a+) at Cal Carboner, Llaberia.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Heatwave in December - waiting for the shade to come![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]'La Reina de las Columnas' (8a) - THE best route I've done in ages, and probably one of the best of its grade in Tarragona. Amazing double drainpipe tufas.[/td][/tr]

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Now looking forward to a week off over xmas to grow some skin back before 10 days over New Year in the Tremp area - Bruixes here we come!

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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The year so far...
25 January 2013, 11:28 am

So the new year didn't exactly start as planned! After the best part of 5 months off climbing over the summer I was really psyched to be getting some fitness back before the christmas break. It felt good to have projects again and get out climbing at every opportunity; especially as the weather was so good. And I was very keen to keep the momentum going after a short break and feasting in the UK...

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Casa Mauri - home over New Year.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Santa Engracia.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]View south from Santa Engracia with the usual morning cloud inversion.[/td][/tr]

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The new year trip to Santa Engracia in the pre-Pyrenees started well, with a visit to Collegats sector Cine (like a mini Riglos). After this we had a day at Vilanova de Meia, which didn't quite go as planned. The aim was to get on 'Fase Terminal' - a classic 250m 7b - but to cut a long story short we got a bit lost, thought we were on the wrong route, abbed off, did a different route, only to find out we'd been on the right route in the first place. Oh well, one to go back for.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]'Musical Expres' - consolation prize after getting lost on plan A.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]View from the top.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The next few days were spent getting beasted at Les Bruixes.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Before a snowy rest day up in the Aiguestortes National Park.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Estany Gran d'Amitges - frozen (hopefully).[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Then disaster struck - back at Bruixes I managed to dislocate my shoulder.

Lots of drugs, a general anaesthetic, and 9 hours in hospital saw my arm back in its socket![/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]The usual 3 week immobilization in sling was prescribed (followed by months of rehab!). And with the christmas heatwave continuing it was a good time for beer and sunbathing.[/td][/tr]

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[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Training one-armers. In Tash's fetching purple buffalo ;-)[/td][/tr]

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PROGRESS SINCE THEN HAS BEEN:-

- 5 days after dislocation - first unassisted shower!- 7 days after dislocation - arm came out of the sling, apart from when walking.- 10 days after dislocation - arm out of sling permanently.- 20 days after dislocation - FIRST CLIMB!! Top-roped a 6c+ at Masriudoms a few times and then led it. Was very tempted to continue up the 7c extension but was told in no uncertain terms that I was being ridiculous. Still, considering the arm's supposed to be in a sling I'm pretty happy with the progress so far. Rotator cuff strengthening here we go...

Source: Climbing in Catalunya

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Progress...
22 February 2013, 12:21 pm



Three weeks post-dislocation I did my first climb. It was a F6c+ at Masriudoms, which I top-roped a few times and then led. I was pretty happy with that, but it was a route I'd done literally hundreds of times before, either as a warm-up or to start the extensions that continue above. So I knew the route inside and out, knew that it had no awkward moves that would affect my then delicate shoulder. It was a good sign, and gave me a boost. I was a bit worried I'd overdone it and pushed too early but, in fact, the day after climbing my shoulder actually felt better. Less achy and more flexible. Again, a good sign. But I wasn't kidding myself that it meant that much. The real test would come when I started doing unknown routes again, with more awkward movements.

The next week we started getting out more regularly, but I was sticking to low 6's, and combining it with stretches and some very light rotator cuff exercises with a theraband.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]My new friend. Macho pink theraband (yes, the lightest resistance you can get!)[/td][/tr]

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The first sign of real progress came with a weekend trip up north to Ager. I managed to onsight 9 routes above 7a, including one 7b. However, following that weekend my shoulder was quite sore and clunky - maybe a sign I'd pushed it too far?

After that I eased off the climbing a little bit and concentrated on the stretches and theraband exercises. Progress with mobility and pain reduction was sporadic, and at times felt like it was going backwards. I found some new stretches to do though which seemed to help a lot, and that week managed to redpoint a 7b+ at La Mussara. The following week was much the same and I did another two 7b+'s. One in Siurana and the other at Llaberia. However, all the time it felt like my shoulder wasn't progressing as well as I'd like and I just couldn't trust my arm to stay in place. I had to be incredibly careful not to make any dynamic moves and it was seriously limiting me.

[tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]Blossom with the Llaberia cliffs behind.[/td][/tr]

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Yesterday seemed like a real milestone though. I woke up without as much of the usual shoulder stiffness. Pulling back the covers wasn't as painful as it normally was, and going through my morning stretching routine it felt like my shoulder had gained in strength significantly overnight. We headed up to Siurana and to sector Can Gans Dionis. My aim was to have a look at a 7c+ that I'd been saving the onsight on for years. In my current state I've decided to stop being so precious and just get some of the shorter, more bouldery old-school 7c/+ routes at Siurana ticked that I've been saving for the onsight. In hindsight this turned out to be a good choice of route. I would never have onsighted it. Flashed maybe, but onsight never. The climbing was just so unobvious.

Getting the draws in took well over an hour as I repeatedly flailed on several thin sections, especially in the top half. I finally reached the belay with sore feet and very little skin remaining, but at least I'd managed all the moves. I left the rope in, just intending to top-rope it and try to link some sections. After a long rest though I decided I'd be better on the sharp end and gave it a go. Despite messing up in a number of places and getting myself completely wrong-handed at one point I surprised myself by scraping my way up it first redpoint.

So F7c+ done exactly 7 weeks post-dislocation. All hail the theraband!

Source: Climbing in Catalunya