After checking the weather for the umpteenth time last week and deliberating over where to go (Terradets or Vilanova de Meia multi-pitching, Bruixes sport etc), with the winter heatwave set to contine we finally decided on Riglos. So early Saturday morning (5.30am to be precise!) we set off. About half an hour into the journey and heading down onto the Lleida plains we hit the fog. Lleida is notorious for having horrible fogs which just sit over the entire plains for days on end and never lift....which is what we drove into! So driving slowly in the dark through the fog with about 50m visibility and with drizzle in the air we were wondering whether we'd made the right decision!!
Anyway about 20kms from Riglos and with the sun just coming up we finally emerged from the fog to an amazing sunrise. We quickly had breakfast in the car park and walked up to the base of El Pison, the tower we were going to climb that day (walking right past a dirty Spaniard just wiping his bum!!). We started climbing just as the sun was coming on the rock (~9.30am) and it started to warm up. We did the route 'Carnavalada' (F7a+) 300m - one of Leo's 'Asgard project' routes. Three nice easy pitches led to the crux 7a+ pitch. This was the only pitch on the route on the classic Riglos potato rock and it was superb. An almost totally smooth wall apart from these huge slopey potatoes sticking out occasionally that you had to yard between...fantastic!
 | | Tash on the first crux pitch up the 'potato patch' on Carnavalada - doesn't really show the steepness! |
 | | Me on the upper half of Carnavalada. |
The rest of the route was good and on really solid rock, climbing one of the big vertical channels to the top of the tower with occasional cruxes pulling through awkward bulges. It was amazing sitting facing out belaying Tash up and watching the Griffon vultures swooping past and circling in the updrafts.
 | | On top of El Pison tower with vultures circling and the snowy Pyrenees in the distance! |
Here's a video from the top of El Pison with the Griffon vultures for all you twitchers out there:-
 | | The final 60m free-hanging ab back to the ground |
The descent from the tower was easy enough, with some abseils and some scrambles down the gully with via ferrata cables. Only one hairy moment when two guys just topping out on the tower knocked some massive stones down which went ricocheting down the gully we were just about to go down!
We made it down about 4pm and wandered around getting some photos in the evening sunshine - still really warm even at 5pm!!
 | | Tash with El Pison tower |
 | | The Mallos de Riglos towering over the church and village |
 | | Tash looking at tomorrow's objective - the big steep tower on the right. |
We stayed in the refuge (totally empty so we got a 6 bed room with toilet, shower etc to ourselves for 16euros each - bargain)
Next day we were up early again and started climbing at 9am before the sun was on the rock - but already it was warm! This time we were heading up La Visera tower (of Fiesta de los Biceps fame). We did a combination route starting up 'Chinatown' (F6c+) but switching to 'De Naturaleza Salvaje' (F7a) after 5 pitches to join and finish up the last pitch of 'Fiesta'. This way we stuck as much as possible to the steep potato rock which is so fun to climb on. The first 6b+ pitch on the black Chinatown bolts was absolutely stunning - swinging out onto and climbing the arete on huge potatoes - has to be one of the best pitches in Riglos!!! It's hard to describe how unique and amazing climbing on this rock is - it looks so loose and unconsolidated from below but when you get on it the rock is just so solid with huge stones and boulders protruding from the mudstone. And so steep too so the exposure as you get higher is just crazy - looking hundreds of metres down between your legs into space to the floor below - awesome!!  | | Tash on the incredible 6b+ arete pitch of Chinatown!!! |
After pulling through the next short but seriously steep 6b+ roof pitch we split from Chinatown and headed out rightwards onto the steep pudding stone headwall. First an amazing pumpy 6c+ pitch (harder than anything on Fiesta!) and then another 7a to join Fiesta at the huge boulder belay (one of the most incredible belay positions ever, sat on a huge boulder sticking horizontally out from the wall with nothing but 250m of space below you!). By this point Tash had pretty much run out of steam and these last two pitches were a bit of a fight as she struggled on the steeper climbing and it turned into just an effort to reach the belay going from bolt to bolt. At one point she took a bit of a swing between bolts, much to the amusement of some onlookers!! But at least she made it eventually ;-) All that remained was the final 6a+ pitch of Fiesta to reach the top. All in all it made an incredible sustained expedition up the Visera tower - easily of comparable quality to Fiesta.  | | The end of the short and steep 6b+ roof pitch |
 | | The fantastic 7a pitch on 'De Naturaleza Salvaje' heading across to join Fiesta de los Biceps |
Again, we got down to the village about 4pm and set off back to Reus. And the icing on the cake was driving back and hitting the same fog on the outskirts of Lleida - it turned out that they'd been sitting underneath it all weekend :-)
 | | Mallos de Riglos with El Pison tower on the left and La Visera on the right - you can see the routes we did if you hold your mouse over the picture!! |
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Carnavalada - 300m - F6a+, 6a, 5+, 7a+, 6c+, 6c+, 6b
Chinatown / Salvaje combo - 250m - F6a+, 6a, 6c+, 6b+, 6b+, 6c+, 7a, 6a+
