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!