Magaluf action

This weekend we were over in Margalef to meet up with Dave, Paul & Sarah who are out on a van trip here in Catalunya.

Saturday, still looking for shade, we went to Finestra and after warming up I managed to finish off an old project - 'Morphos' (F7c+). I'd been on this a few times before but always at the end of the day when I was tired so I'd never had enough beans to finish it off. Today it felt like a formality, which was nice! Buoyed up by this tick I decided to put another route to bed. 'Deja vu', again 7c+, was another route I'd been on and come close to but never finished. Luckily today was the day, so now I'm one more route down at Finestra.

Meantime, Paul ticked off one of the superb 7b's on the left-hand side too easily so I sandbagged him on a 7a+ to set him back a bit! The hard bit was at the bottom but his bad technique meant he also found the top quite stiff too. Dunno what he was messing about at! Dave impressively sketched his way up a slabby 7a+ at the end of the day, having sat in his pink chair eating all day. Maybe that's the way to climb hard! ;-)

Fat Dave shaking his way up 'Coraje al Forao' (F7a+) at Finestra, Margalef.

On Sunday we started off at Culample 4, where some new stuff has appeared in the guide since the last time we were there. After warming up on some new 7a's - one good and one not so - the crowds turned up and it was like Crewe station, with every route being climbed or queued for! So we abandoned ship and headed across the valley to Can Dit Gros. Here Tash managed to repeat a 6c+ on lead second go, plus top-roping a 7a clean first go - a sign of the force returning for her! I did a brilliant 7c+ ('Bona minyona') second go. Despite having quite a sustained sequence on small pockets and edges it felt easier than the ones I did yesterday, so maybe only 7c? I don't know. Either way a good route.

Man on 'Bona minyona' (F7c+) at Can Dit Gros, Margalef.

Checking out the Laboratory routes.

Monday morning we warmed up at Can Verdures, and Tash onsighted three 6b+'s in a row which she was pleased with. After this I had yet another play on 'Esau directa' (8a+) over at Cova Soleiada. This route I've been trying on and off for the last few years but always forget the best sequence and find it desperate even when I do work out what to do! Today was no different and putting the draws in felt hard enough, with sore skin and not helped by the ridiculous humidity, so I sacked it off.