CUENCA

With an extra day off this weekend, we were quite keen to explore a new crag somewhere a bit further afield. And after seeing some photos of Cuenca in a couple of magazines recently it seemed like an ideal time to check it out...

The climbing

The overall conclusion was that the climbing was pretty mixed. There's A LOT of rock here, but being one of Spain's oldest climbing areas, some of the easy access sectors have suffered from the worst the early developers could throw at them. Chipped and drilled routes, battered rock due to the amount of traffic, and plenty of sika thrown about to create new routes or try and repair old ones. Add to that the crowds flocking from Madrid, Valencia and Toledo every weekend, and the often lazy and unimaginative nature of most of those climbers, meaning that the closest sectors to the parking spots were a pretty unpleasant place to be at times.

Having said all that, by the end of the weekend we'd discovered some of the less popular crags and found quite a few gems among the mediocrity. And all in all we both had a pretty awesome time climbing-wise and finished the weekend with trashed skin and tired arms.

Highlights for me were:

- 'Tirando de Visa' (7b) at sector Bolo
- 'El golfo' and 'La guarra' (6b+) at sector Alfar - two low grade classics
- 'Capitan Trueno' (7a) at Alfar - photos of this route inspired the trip but a 7am(!) start was needed to actually get on it before the crowds!
- 'Tetas y cerveza' (7b) at Alfar - probably the best route I did the whole weekend. Had a bit of everything and no chipping, drilling or sika in sight!

Early morning mist clearing from the Jucar gorge - home to the majority of the Cuenca climbing.

Sector Alfar, above the road and quirky antique shop - about as easy access as it gets!

Tash on the Cuenca classic - 'La Guarra' (F6c) at sector Alfar. A stunning route.

One of the inspiring harder routes (to come back for?) - 'Public Enemy' (F8a+/b) at sector Martin Alhaja.

Breakfast by the river after an early morning session to avoid the crowds.

The worst of Cuenca - an entirely manufactured route!

Not a bad set up for a rock house!

The city

As a UNESCO World Heritage Site I guess we should have expected it to be pretty, but I don't think we were quite prepared for how beautiful the city is and how stunning the position of the old part, between the two gorges, actually is. We went for a wander round one afternoon after climbing, not really expecting much, and were amazed by the old fortified buildings built into the rock and hanging houses. And another thing that was really striking is how well set up the city seemed for people to get out into the gorges and go walking, cycling, kayaking and climbing along the river. Maybe the addition of the stunning autumn colours in the valleys had something to do with it, but by the end of the weekend we were both really taken with the city and its surroundings. Anyway I'll let the photos speak for themselves...

Autumnal colours along the banks of the river.

Good river for kayaking / canoeing too.

Morning mist in the Jucar gorge.

The old fortified part of the city.

The old town on the hill overlooking the newer part down below.

Colourful houses in Cuenca.

Cuenca's gothic cathedral - facade was rebuilt in 1902 after the old one crumbled.

Puente de San Pablo connecting the old town with the San Pablo convent across the Huecar gorge.

The 15th Century 'Casas Colgadas' - hanging houses over the Huecar gorge.

The hanging houses lit up in the evening.

Jucar gorge lit up at night, with the old town on left and new town in the distance.

The conclusion

Living in Catalunya, with probably the highest concentration of world-class sport climbing anywhere on the planet, I think we're a bit spoilt nowadays. And anywhere new that we go is bound to be compared with the likes of Siurana, Margalef, Terradets, Rodellar etc etc. Which is pretty unfair to be honest. I'm really glad we went to Cuenca to check it out, and the climbing definitely grew on me through the weekend. Plus the city itself is something special - well worth a visit in its own right. Would I drive 5 hours away from Catalunya to climb there again?...I'm not so sure.