Fiesta!
Well, that was a pretty good trip by any standards – 4 days of sport climbing in top Spanish venues and the main aim of Fiesta de los Biceps getting a good honest Welsh Crushing! This route has been on my wish list for a good few years and had aquired fairly epic qualities in my mind, thankfully the reality proved to be more amenable… But still quite scary! Nice to see that Britain’s greatest also felt it a worthy route (see Steve McClure thoughts here)
I would agree with Steve’s grade rating – I have seen the steep 6th pitch given variously 6c+ and 7a, but i’m sure off the deck it wouldn’t rate more than 6b+. It is however, very steep and very exposed and it’s fair to say I was shitting it! How those holds stay put i’ll never know – many are roughly the size and shape of rugby balls, supported by just the point at one end. There’s no option other than just yarding on them, telling yourself that everyone else has done the same.
This is the view looking up at the route with Alun finishing the first pitch – pretty well chalked line as you can see!
This is me seconding the fifth pitch (I think):
And nearing the belay…
Alun looking pleased with himself!
The next photo is the super steep pitch near the top… We suddenly felt a bit dumb for not bringing any pruissiks! The other climber in the photo is Max (or PJ?), friends of Alun’s from Barcelona who were climbing a route that crossed ours and finished with a F7b roof at the top of the Visera:
Alun’s comment: Look at the rope below me – there was hardly a breath of wind on the day, and yet that rope is hanging free, 10s of metres away from the cliff! That’s how steep it was. Also, what Jo politely doesn’t mention was that, upon starting to second him up this pitch, my left arm cramped completely and just locked up involuntarily! After a couple of minutes of mild panic where I thought I would have to climb the pitch with one arm, the blood started flowing into my cold muscles and things got better. I still had to dog my up to the belay though – a clean ascent of La Fiesta still awaits me. Jo, of course, had no such troubles, so at least Team 8amyarse got the tick!
Unfortunately, back at Rodellar base camp, our big-number ambitions had to be shelved for another year as the rain came pouring down… one day I will climb at Las Ventanas but this time we had to settle for Siurana, no great hardship in the scheme of things! We ended up totally trashed with shredded skin and, despite both of us onsighting/flashing 7b and onsighting a hatful of 7as, for our efforts we were rewarded with a display that confirmed (as if it were needed) that we reside well and truly in the realms of bumbly-punterdom: this is a photo of Max casually cruising a F8b, first redpoint… Bastard!
No success at Siurana
Me (in the blue shirt) on El Prado del Rey, Siurana
This weekend was a puente weekend, (bank holiday on the tuesday) and so I spent four days down in Siurana with Lau and PJ, and also with Gert (another Belgian friend in Barcelona) and his mate Jof (also from Belgium). The weather was spectacular, cold air but warm sunshine, perfect winter sun climbing conditions.
Siurana is undoubtedly one of the world’s very best sport climbing destinations. The latest guidebook, out just a few weeks ago, lists over 600 routes, and in the intro states that only about 15% of the crags have been developed. Amazing. It is very inspiring but can also be intimidating; almost all the routes are 30m+ and make you work for your tick. The climbing is mostly power-endurance on super-sharp crimps, which leaves you fingertips trashed after a few days.
Anyway, I had a great time on the trip but unfortunately didn’t really tick anything harder than the warm-up routes. My goal was to try to redpoint a 7b+, which would be the hardest grade I’ve ever climbed. So on Sunday I worked a route called El Prado del Rey (”The Kings Garden”) at sector El Patí (see the photo above). It is great route with the difficulty escalating along with the height – it starts off around 6c-ish, then goes through a 7a-ish section, then a 7b-ish mini-crux, then a half-rest before the main crux at about 25 metres. On tuesday I got pretty close to ticking it, making it through to the half-rest, but I wasn’t able to recover well-enough and so didn’t have the strength to latch the crucial crimp on the crux. Close, but no cigar.
So I’m disappointed but also pleased; 7b+ with one fall is not bad going especially as its the first one I’ve really tried. And the trip was great fun. Lau was climbing well and PJ had a particularly good trip, with 7b onsight and almost 7b+ flash (same route I was working), unfortunately he fell from the crux (he is human after all!).
Anyway now it’s time to rest and watch climbing films before getting back to Gelida and see if I can tick 7b+ before Christmas!
Edit: Here’s a nice picture PJ took of me high on Haber Pedido Muerte, a very long 6c-ish route at Arbolí.
Resting up for Siurana
At the moment I’m sat in a hotel room in Graz, Austria, after a couple of days of European project meetings and conference presentations. In a way this is good as it gives me enforced rest from climbing. Eric Horst recommends a full week’s rest before a climbing trip, as it lets your body recover completely and gives a bit more time for any niggling injuries to heal. I trust Horst’s advice as it was reading his book that gave me the initial motivation to try to push my grade, and eventually led to me climbing E4 and, eventually E5. (And hopefully 8a! Or at least 7c).
Last Sunday I went up to the Fuixarda and swung around the tunnel for a couple of hours and was feeling pretty strong, but afterwards my muscles were really aching, which is probably a good thing. Now I’m recovered and relaxing with free food and drink (yum) although I feel bad that I broke my beer moratorium and had several weissbiers a couple of nights ago. Well I am in Austria!
So tomorrow I head home, Lau arrives on Friday, and then Saturday morning we head down to Siurana. The latest edition of Escalar has an article on a newish sector called Siuranella, which is chock full of 6s and 7s. Sounds perfect, I can’t wait!
Escalar issue 65 cover