One down...not many left to go!

Not much to say about today really, and I'm not sure whether to feel pleased or disappointed.

It was very cloudy up towards the hills but sunny down on the coast so we opted for Masriudoms again, hoping that the rain from Friday hadn't caused too much seepage. The crag was still bone dry, so we were worrying for nothing!

Everything went to plan - I warmed up, put the draws in the lower half of 'Los rancios de la aldea' and left some draws in the mid-height belay to collect on the way past. Then had a bit of a rest belaying Tash on ATP and chatting to Karin & Steve. Then I climbed the route first go. The lower half felt pretty steady, so I'm pleased about that - if I compare it to how hard it felt a year or two ago when I was trying it. I managed to rest and de-pump at the chains of the lower half, and then the climbing on the top half just felt like a case of keeping it together to the end (even the scary crux cross-through didn't feel too bad) so I'm pleased about that too - nice to know I haven't lost all my stamina! The climbing was just as good as I remember, and the whole route makes for easily one of the best and longest routes at the crag.

But lowering down I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. As much as I wanted to get it done, I also didn't want to tick another route off the 'to-do' list, as I'm running out of new stuff to do there too quickly - I wish there were 10 more routes just like it! I only have one more extension to do in the main area (Ricacera 8a+) and then the rest start off the ledge on the right, which is a bit more of a pain to get to, up the fixed ropes. There were draws in the 8a 'Tango Ferez' today which did look good so maybe I'll get on that next time?

 


Steve Crowe on the crux starting moves of 'Ricacera' (F8a)

 

I belayed Tash on ATP and got some shots of Steve on 'Ricacera', before it was time to go.






 




Try to spot Steve on the extension to 'Ricacera' (F8a+) - another HUGE route!! Today's route for me follows the pink dots to a belay below a roof about 10m out of shot!
Half-height belay marked with the big dot :-)