Saturday
On Tuesday this week I was climbing with no top on and worried about it getting too hot. Today it was -1° on leaving the house and -4° driving up the hill. Originally we were planning to go up to Raco de Missa (Montsant) but as soon as we got outside and hit the icy air it was clear this would have been a mistake (despite it being glorious wall to wall sunshine). So a quick change of plan and we were on our way to Siurana instead, in search of a sheltered suntrap.
Destination: Two sectors that I hadn't been to before called Can Parasit and La Planxa ("the iron" - see pic to see why it's called this!) for a day of easy on-sight mileage. First stop Can Parasit on a mission to tick the crag between us. I did all the routes 6c+ and above, and Tash (tried) to do the sub-6c routes. She started well, on-sighting a 6a and 6a+ but got shut down right at the very end of an awesome 6b+ where the wall steepened up. We then moved on to La Planxa where I did a very nice short but explosive 7b+ and a 7a+ rising traverse along the edge of the boulder. I was quite pleased with the 7b+ on-sight, as there was no chalk to follow and the pockets were quite dirty - which makes a big difference on something so short and bouldery.
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| 'Intercity' (F7b+) on the La Planxa block at Siurana. Well named - it means 'the iron'! |
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| Some Spanish girl climbing 'El tiempo se ha reido de los que no han venido' (F6c) as we were walking back to the car. |
We bumped into Mac & Holly walking back to the car so went for a brew in their van to catch up and end a very nice sunny but cold day.
Routes ticked:-
Cara Estaca 7a
El pupes 7a
Montazer al Zaidi 6c+
Ma mola molt 6c+
Libertarias 7a
Mr. Muss 7a
El caganer del ruc 7a
Kagarro malababa 6b+
Intercity 7b+
Tupac Amaru 7a+
Sunday
Today we went to another new sector; this time one of the Arboli crags called Mas d'en Rei. It was bitterly cold again walking in (despite blue skies) thanks to an icy wind.
After walking around in circles for a while at the old farmhouse trying to find the path dropping down, we finally found the right one and headed down into the trees. It's always a bit worrying going to brand new sectors like this when you can't see the place until you arrive, especially when there's a bit of a walk in. When we arrived at the start of the crag we were a little disappointed to say the least. The rock was a bit vegetated, dirty and broken and none of the best looking lines were bolted. Plus it wasn't very sheltered so it felt damn cold, even in the sun.
So we were pretty close to just opting for a token route and then leaving. But there was one more little sector hidden round the corner, separate from the rest, which held a glimmer of hope. After a bit of bush-whacking through some pretty nasty brambles we arrived at what looked like an outcast from Siurana - a small but awesome looking wall with some really nice clean lines up it. And to top it off, it was a total suntrap - perfect! I warmed up on a good, steep, but slightly dirty sandbag 7a crack - it felt like very hard work to start the day with and I got a bit more pumped than I'd have liked (but things always feel a grade or two harder with no chalk or tickmarks, and when the rock's a bit dirty) I left the rope up for Tash to top-rope on for the rest of the day - she had quite a few goes up it but it was a little too steep and bouldery for her, although she got pretty pumped trying!
Next up was a fantastic 7b up the centre of the wall. Brilliant thin cracks and flakes linking between some horizontal breaks - really nice climbing, and I was pleasantly surprised at how clean the rock was, given how little traffic this crag obviously gets (we didn't see a single person the whole day and there was no chalk on any of the routes!) Then came another brilliant 7b+ on the extreme right of the wall, starting with some nice technical vert climbing leading to a steeper wall and finishing up a perfect jamming crack! The final route turned out to be another total sandbag. I tried for the O/S, but after going up and down at the crux a dozen times I just couldn't figure out how to do it and sagged onto the rope. It's either lost a hold or two, or it's badly graded. Even after the low crux moves, which felt desperate once I'd actually worked out the best way, it wasn't all over. But the route was such good quality that I was psyched to give it another go, despite feeling pretty tired by this point. After a rest belaying Tash, I managed to redpoint it first go (although it was a bit of a fight at the second crux). It felt like hard and bouldery 7c, but it's difficult to tell when there's no chalk and the rock's dusty. Equally, I could have just been more tired than I thought - who knows?
By now we were both knackered and the late afternoon sunshine was starting to go off the wall so we headed home for thai curry & christmas cake :-)
Today we went to another new sector; this time one of the Arboli crags called Mas d'en Rei. It was bitterly cold again walking in (despite blue skies) thanks to an icy wind.
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| Tash walking in along the ridge with great views down to Reus and the coast. |
After walking around in circles for a while at the old farmhouse trying to find the path dropping down, we finally found the right one and headed down into the trees. It's always a bit worrying going to brand new sectors like this when you can't see the place until you arrive, especially when there's a bit of a walk in. When we arrived at the start of the crag we were a little disappointed to say the least. The rock was a bit vegetated, dirty and broken and none of the best looking lines were bolted. Plus it wasn't very sheltered so it felt damn cold, even in the sun.
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| Tash underneath the left-hand side of the crag - it looks better in this photo than it actually was! |
So we were pretty close to just opting for a token route and then leaving. But there was one more little sector hidden round the corner, separate from the rest, which held a glimmer of hope. After a bit of bush-whacking through some pretty nasty brambles we arrived at what looked like an outcast from Siurana - a small but awesome looking wall with some really nice clean lines up it. And to top it off, it was a total suntrap - perfect! I warmed up on a good, steep, but slightly dirty sandbag 7a crack - it felt like very hard work to start the day with and I got a bit more pumped than I'd have liked (but things always feel a grade or two harder with no chalk or tickmarks, and when the rock's a bit dirty) I left the rope up for Tash to top-rope on for the rest of the day - she had quite a few goes up it but it was a little too steep and bouldery for her, although she got pretty pumped trying!
Next up was a fantastic 7b up the centre of the wall. Brilliant thin cracks and flakes linking between some horizontal breaks - really nice climbing, and I was pleasantly surprised at how clean the rock was, given how little traffic this crag obviously gets (we didn't see a single person the whole day and there was no chalk on any of the routes!) Then came another brilliant 7b+ on the extreme right of the wall, starting with some nice technical vert climbing leading to a steeper wall and finishing up a perfect jamming crack! The final route turned out to be another total sandbag. I tried for the O/S, but after going up and down at the crux a dozen times I just couldn't figure out how to do it and sagged onto the rope. It's either lost a hold or two, or it's badly graded. Even after the low crux moves, which felt desperate once I'd actually worked out the best way, it wasn't all over. But the route was such good quality that I was psyched to give it another go, despite feeling pretty tired by this point. After a rest belaying Tash, I managed to redpoint it first go (although it was a bit of a fight at the second crux). It felt like hard and bouldery 7c, but it's difficult to tell when there's no chalk and the rock's dusty. Equally, I could have just been more tired than I thought - who knows?
By now we were both knackered and the late afternoon sunshine was starting to go off the wall so we headed home for thai curry & christmas cake :-)
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| Lazing in the sunshine between routes (the best bit of the crag is just round the corner out of sight) |
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