Well Tash is away this wknd, driving her car back to the UK and my psyche levels are quite low for some reason. So after a lie-in this morning, I finally made it up to Cornudella to meet Xav about 11.30am. Normally I'd be psyched to go to Margalef or Montsant at the weekend, as these are places I can't really get to in the week. But today, despite it being really warm and sunny again, I just couldn't be bothered with the walk-in and opted for an easy access sector in Siurana. We purposely chose a sector out of the main areas and somewhere that's normally quiet, to avoid the weekend crowds - L'Herbolari.
But first I wanted to check out a very small sector that I'd never been to called El Dau, with only two routes (actually it's just a big limestone boulder teetering on the edge above the red sandstone band). They were both really short and bouldery and complete sandbags at the grades (supposedly only 6c and 7a+!). But at least I can tick this crag off the to-do list!
When we arrived at L'Herbolari the crag was quite busy already, with people on most of the easy routes. But soon it just became a circus, as three or four more groups turned up with dogs and kids in tow. The space at the bottom of the routes is quite small, due to the trees coming close to the rock, so everyone was sandwiched in really close together. The dogs were fighting and barking. The kids were screaming and crying. And the adults were shouting to each other, despite being stood only a few metres apart (normal behaviour in Spain!). Thankfully they were only climbing the easy routes so it wasn't a problem for me and apart from not being able to hear Xav when he was climbing due to the noise, it was quite amusing to watch the commotion.
After almost failing to on-sight the 7a+ on the boulder I was a bit worried about how I'd get on for the rest of the day, so did an easier route to get rid of the flash pump. 'Hansel y Gretel' (F6c) turned out to be one of the best routes of the grade in Siurana - 35 metres and total class all the way, starting with some crack laybacking and then arete laybacking just before the top (it feels like you only use your left hand all the way!). The added bonus was that the route is slightly separate from the main sector so it was nice to get away from the ruckus.
After the 6c I did another fantastic route round to the left of the main sector following a shallow groove - Trifàssic de Mascaró (F7b). I was feeling well recovered by now and the 7b felt very steady, so decided to try and on-sight one of the two 7c+'s on the same front face. There was another guy on the best looking one so I had to settle for the left-hand route. The crux was pulling over a steep bulge on sharp and painful pockets reminiscent of Margalef, finishing with a hard pull on a mono. But luckily for me there was only one way to do the sequence so I didn't have to think about the moves; only pull! A nice route despite the sharp pockets.
By this point I was feeling pretty tired so decided to call it a day. After lacking psyche this morning it turned out to be quite a good day. And I managed to get a few half decent photos of the guys on some of the easier routes:
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| Great positions overlooking the Pantá de Siurana on 'Maria Lluisa' (F6a+) |
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