hangovers and overhangs

And so we have returned (almost on time, no missing planes this time!) after having got to Valencia airport ridiculously early and spending several hours sat outside playing cards on my DMM Courier bag, which was extremely useful both as hand luggage and when out climbing! To be honest, after the start was so eventful, the rest of the trip seemed a little tame, with climbing every day and beautiful weather on all but the first and last days!

Albarracin is still fairly new, but a wonderful bouldering spot with many easy comparisons to Fontainebleau. We were actually camping at an altitude higher than Snowdon's Peak, as we were deep in the heart of the Iberian mountains so as a consequence, the nights were pretty cold. For anyone making the trip, i would thoroughly recommend a down jacket (my Rab Neutrino Endurance did a sublime job) and a nice warm sleeping bag. As for the boulders themselves, they were too numerous to count, still with many sleepy projects for local climbers or those willing to walk.

We did take a slightly softer option on this trip and decided to camp on a site, as there is no camping in the forest. There is only one site that i know of in the area, but with a small shop (that sells gas) and a bar, not to mention running water and hot showers, we were glad we did.

So, the boulders! Similarly again to font, the area is split in into different areas and the eBloc bouldering guide was very clear and useful. All told, we managed to visit six different areas and I managed a total of 66 problems! More photos will follow shortly.

Unlike the boulderers promised land in France, the boulders in Albarracin are strewn within several big gorges, and we did wonder at the possibility of trad climbing. For those crazy enough to try this, bare in mind that the rock is still quite loose in places. The other major difference are the hideously steep roofs but with big pockets, there are problems of many varying grades. There are often climbers from all over Europe there too, so extra pads are often available, as i found out on a brilliant 20ft fall onto my backside. However, if you see a crazy Englishman making tea at the bottom of the boulder, it's probably me... Thank you Jetboil!


So, the trip was a huge success and i would thoroughly recommend a visit from all. Although a little more expensive than Font, it was a nice welcome change, working parts of body and mind that otherwise wouldn't have been challenged.

planes, trains and miniature disasters

I left work early on Monday afternoon at 3 o'clock, giddy as a schoolboy, picked up my first travelling companion, Stu, from the Pen Y Gwyrd (a famous local hotel where he works) and departed for the week.

Destination: Albarracin, one of the top ten bouldering spots in the world, according to the 8a Yearbook. My last trip was an adventurous drive down to Font, returning in almost one hit, so I was super-psyched to be heading abroad again. We started with a drive down to see an old friend in Birmingham, with a quick nights sleep, before the wonders of public transport down to London to meet our other boulderer and our plane...

Things had gone a little wrong already, as my new credit card and replacement debit card hadn't arrived in time and the guy we were supposed to be meeting in Valencia was now in Switzerland but we perservered and dropped the car at my parents house before heading for our bus...

It didn't turn up. As cheap as the Megabus may be, ladies and gents, make sure it's collecting you from the right place! Then again, we did have to run through the middle of Birmingham City Centre carrying two large bouldering mats stuffed with all our kit! However our location turned out to be handy as i now realised that i had left my third and final bank card in my car in Brum and Stu's credit card now wouldn't work. We did manage to withdraw 150 euros from my bank but as we quickly jumped tried to jump on the train, it proved quite difficult to convince the sullen-faced Brummie behind the counter to accept these. Somehow, we managed to muster enough Sterling and were on our way again.

Now Stu is one of those rare people these days who does not own a mobile phone and half way to London my own phone managed to die. Things were not looking up, especially as we were now going be cutting it a little fine. Off the train at Euston, onto a tube, off at Victoria, run through the middle of the station knocking into as few distubed Londoners as possible (about 17) and onto another train to Gatwick. All three of us together now, we started to worry about the timing but soon decided we could do nothing but hope for the best.

We ran from the platform, through more Londoners with one particular coming out with a little "Ouch" as I stormed past as quickly as i could, before realising we still had to get to the other side of the airport. With seconds ticking away in our heads, we quickly dived (almost literally) onto a shuttle bus. Willing it to go faster, we got off at the correct terminal, ran through Gatwick to the Easyjet check in desk...

You may now be wondering where i write this; maybe a little internet cafe in Valencia, perhaps a friendly campsite in the heart of the Iberian Mountains. It pains me so dearly to say that Easyjet aren't all that easy if you are as little as five minutes late and i write this from a small flat in Dalston, London. A further two trains and two buses, not to mention a further £40 each, we were forced to admit defeat and return to Steffi's house for the night, albeit with hot food, hot showers and a roof. Our new flight leaves at 10am on Wednesday and we will not be late.

I will try and keep you posted throughout the week, from Spain hopefully. Photos (mainly of public transport) will follow.

As promised more pictures are now ere. Just a couple of pix to give a taste of the uberamazingocityness of the Bugaboos.......Enjoy.

The view from Picgeon Tower. Pigeon Feathers in the foreground and The Howser Towers in the background. If this doesn't get you psyched there's something wrong. Seriously wrong.

Left; Tim au chevel on the knife edge ridge section of pigeon tower. Right; The author on the glacier apporaching Pigeon spire with Bugaboo Spire in the background.

Trip Report: Costa Blanca Day 7

'Costa Blanca' (6b+/6c) on the Penon de Ifach provided a fitting finale to our trip - 7 pitches of limestone glory on an outstanding rock feature. Steve, a long term resident at the Orange House, recommended it to us claiming that if every pitch were on a single pitch crag then they'd all be absolute classics! Seems rather fortunate that they're all on top of oneanother really...

Anyhow, I'll be putting together a little summary/ survival guide for aspiring visitors to the area over the next few days as well as uploading photos as soon as I can find that USB cable!!

Costa Blanca Trip Report: Day 5 and 6

Experimenting with George Smith inspired 'heel-toe jiggery pokery' on Parabolica Spherique), Gandia (7a+)

Just had two fantastic days climbing single pitch rock - a welcome change of pace!

Gandia stole the show, Spanish sports climbing at its best: steep, wild, juggy, and totally outrageous! Although the crag has a great number of three-star 7's, it also has some incredible 6's and should be on the itintery of anyone visiting the area. Of particular interest was El Sol (6b) that rated as one of the best routes of its grade that I have ever climbed: huge holds, interesting features, and utterly classic!

A superb 6a+ at Gandia - large holds, fantastic steepness, and great fun!!

My personal highlight was climbing Parabolica Spherique (7a+) where I legitimately used my first ever heel toe above my head whilst on route - madness...

Happy after the successful fourth redpoint attempt!

Today we climbed at Pena Roja and Alcalia. The two crags complement eachother perfectly as one gets the morning sun where the other has it in afternoon/evening. Pena Roja had a 6b on-par with El Sol at Gandia - Lliberpool had equally superb sustained climbing on never-ending pockets, the only downside was the polish.

La Belle (7b) at Pena Roja - reckon I may have been in with a chance with this route if I'd had enough skin left on my fingertips!!

A personal high point for me was climbing 'Le Baton' as it was my first 7b, despite feeling wrecked from 6 days climbing I managed it on my second attempt - this now means that in the last month I've managed to climb Grade V Winter in Wales, E5 on rock (the day before I left for Costa Blanca), and now 7b Sport. All I've got to do now is complete my V8 project and I'll be like a poor mans version of Dave McLeod!!

One day to go....

Rob

Trip Report: Costa Blanca Day 3 and 4

The wild abseil into 'The Magical Mystery Tour' - home of the infamous E10 2a ladders!!!

Had two great days in contrasting environments: yesterday we headed over to the sea cliffs at Sierra de Toix and linked up 'The Magical Mystery Tour' into 'Journey to Xanadu' into 'Rowland's Promised Land' wheras today we were up on the hillside at Puig Campana onceagian going link up crazy with 'Via Julia' - 'Espolon Central' - 'Rowland's Finish' - we are yet to arrive back before the onset of darkness.












Journey to Xanadu/ Rowlands Promised both felt pleasantly adventurous - ample quantities of commitment (there is ALOT of traversing) and guano, coupled with a crux late on in the route make it a memorable outing. Worth mentioning that the main 6b pitch has a few bolts on it (not mentioned in the guidebook) and the double bolt belay now has two resin staples.

Via Julia etc... made for a 3 star outing on a superb mountain. Onceagain on the note of bolts, two have appeared on the 6a pitch on Via Julia (one by a bomber thread) and many of the belays on Espelon Central now have double bolt anchors. Our only criticism to date of the Rockfax Costa Blanca guide is in the vagueness of the description of the descent from Puig Campana, its quite intricate! We made it to the summit thinking we were almost there, but its a good way down to the abseil point and involves a lot more traversing left-wards than suggested.
Anyhow, the plan for the next three days is to climb as much single pitch rock as possible - no sea cliffs, no mountains - we just want some light hearted accessibility!!

Rob

Trip Report: Costa Blanca Day 2

We thought it apt to start off our Costa Blanca Trip with a visit to Sella - the most extensive area in the region.

Although it has a reputation for polished rock we were, by and large, phenomenally impressed by the general lack of it! Granted, the start of the three star classic 'Marion' is a little worse for wear, but that was probably the worst we encountered.

Looking down pitch 3 of the classic 'Marion'

Sella has a wide selection of climbs throughout the grades, from 4's and 5's all the way up to the high 8's... it would suffice to say that we didn't explore the latter end of the spectrum! Furthermore, it gets a good quantity of both sun and shade so it is an ideal crag for both summer and winter.

Another fantastic looking area we didn't even get to touch - it gets the evening sun and has some 3 star 6 and 7 multi-pitch outings

Here are a few routes we particularly enjoyed:

• El Gran Coscorron (6a+) - Competition Slab - Fantastic water worn features: thin, technical, and sustained
• Kashba (6c+) - Techo del Rhio - Not as soft for the grade as they suggest!! Steep and bugly tomfoolery, great fun!
• El Torronet (5+) - Techo del Rhio - Our first route in Costa Blanca, contained satisfyingly large holds from beginning to end!
  

Rob

Trip Report: Costa Blanca Day 1

I'm going to be posting a day-by-day (ish) blog during my trip to Costa Blanca, thought it may be something different...

Just arrived at the Orange House in Finestrat - weather is perfect: not too warm, not too cold. More importantly it isn't a) raining or b) snowing. The plan of attack is to visit Sella tomorrow - I'm a first timer to the Costa Blanca region so there are one or two routes to have a bash at!!

Rob

Trip Report: Craig y Forwen

Above: John Maskell celebrating access to Craig y Forwen by cutting loose of the classic 'Mojo' E1 5b


By Rob Greenwood

Climbing on Craig y Forwen has been banned for the past 20 years - it would suffice to say that it was a place I thought I would never climb...

But due to the efforts of the BMC climbers are once again allowed to visit this magnificent crag; however, it cannot be over-emphasised that parking on the verges of Isallt Road is NOT ALLOWED and that in doing so could endanger future access. Mr Webb, the owner of the caravan park below the crag, is still not content with the access arrangements and if approached by him simply be polite - Craig y Forwen is not his property and climbers have the right to be there. Nonetheless, while at the crag please be courteous and discreet - there is no point in angering him or giving him reason to cause trouble for climbers at Craig y Forwen.

The soaring corner of 'Softly, Softly' (Severe) and overhanging crack of Little Neb (HVS 5b)
Sam Underhill seconding Softly, Softy - note the foliage, earth, and dust!!

Anyhow, the crag (as mentioned before) is looking spectacular and there is a real feeling of excitement amongst the people climbing there - 20 years is a long time!!!

While there we climbed:

• Softly, Softly (Severe) - Great line and well cleared of ivy but still a lot of dust around
• Flue (VS 4b) - Superb condition and a great crack climb
• Fidos Redemption (HVS 5a) - Clean and superb, particularly the upper arete
• Mojo (E1 5b) - Clean (and totally outrageous) first roof pitch, second pitch could do with a clean. We finished up the Freedom (E2) which arguably provided alternative.
• Great Wall - Threads have been replaced but have been removed (by persons unknown), still the absolute classic it was years ago!

Stunning views from a stunning crag

The BMC Approach/ Parking Guidelines are:

To get to the agreed parking spot, drive along the Isallt Rd. below the escarpment, passing Plas Newydd Caravan Park.
At 2 km beyond the caravan park, follow the road as it bends to the right to pass a Chapel on the right. At the following T-junction, turn right and proceed along Dolwen Rd. for approximately 200m until a sharp right turn along Trawscoed Rd. Pass along Trawscoed Rd. for approximately 900m (the last 100m are quite rough) until a sharp right hand hairpin with two gates on the left. Go through the metal gate and park on the grass either side of the farmers track/North Wales Footpath. The field quickly drops away towards the crag, so take care not to park too far down the slope.

Jon Maskell starting out on the crux moves of Mojo (E1 5b)


Accessing the crag from the agreed parking is easy and convenient - walk from down the inclined field and head for a stile in the right hand corner. This will take you directly into the left hand sections of the crag.

Also, for a temporary guidebook please visit:
http://www.climbers-club.co.uk/downloads/forwyn_lr.pdf

Alternatively send us an email (mail@joe-brown.com) and we'll give you all the updates we can!!!

Trip Report: Moroccon Anti Atlas

By Chris Watkins

I’d heard all the stories; sun, acres of golden quartzite rock, a liberal dashing of Berber culture, topped off with seemingly never ending pots of mint tea and all of it just a short flight away. Needless to say I didn’t take much convincing.

Lower Eagle Crag home of the exceptionally fine“Pink Lady”

We opted for an Autumn trip, which after spring seemed to be the best time to go. Although very arid after the long hot North African summer we found the weather to be hot and predominately dry, with just the odd isolated shower or thunder storm. Another unexpected bonus was we had the whole valley to ourselves and didn’t see any other climbers for the entire duration of our stay.

Toby Van Pooss on “Space Walk” Crag W Tifghlte

We found cheap flights to Marrakesh with Thompson (£180) hired a car (£300ish) and after 6 hours of surprisingly amenable driving we arrived at the local campsite run by the larger than life Omar. Providing you’ve brought with you a fat thermarest - as there is no grass, the site is safe, cheap and friendly and the climate perfect for sleeping out under the stars. That said hotels are pretty cheap and woulsave you bringing camping gear. We did opt for a night at the Amandiers hotel above the town mid-trip for a comfy bed, cold beer and swimming pool you know the deal.

Hotel Les Amandiers

Toby checking out the new routes book first, and drinking beer second

Although there is a reasonable amount of information available to the climbing around Tafraoute, namely “Climbing in the Moroccan Anti-Atlas” by Claude Davis, “The Rock Climbing Atlas to South Western Europe and Morocco” and various websites, in particular Steve Broadbent’s Oxford Uni climbing club site, the best sources are the new routes books behind the reception at the Amandiers hotel. We spent most evenings researching crags and studying the very useful sketch map. A digital camera is useful to photograph topos, descriptions and maps for future reference, just make sure you’ve got a battery charger to keep your camera topped up or you may have to rely on just your memory if it dies mid-route! Be warned.



Kelly and Toby Van Pooss enjoying the shade on Ksar rock

Once armed with all this information we found the crags easy to find on the whole. The more recently “developed” northern Jebel y Kest region is now served by tarmac roads which has removed some of the fun but also some of the off-road antics as well. But still be prepared to drive up to an hour and a half to some of the crags plus walk in time.


Top picture - Toby on the final pinnacle of the excellent “Barbi”, crag Yazult
Equipment

In terms of hardware we found a fairly standard uk multi-pitch rack ample the kind you might take to Gogarth.

• up to two sets of wires including small ones

• be more generous with cams, again small ones were useful and the camalot 3 got plenty of use

• a few mid size hexes

• dozen long quick draws

• abseil tat and a few maillons, any insitu tat is usually well uv damaged

• Skinny slings for threads

• Helmet and chalk

Other than that a pair of ropes 50m should be sufficient, a multi-pitch sac for water, shoes etc (we found trainers fine for the approaches and lighter than boots to carry), comfy rockshoes, binoculars for scoping lines and finally your multi-pitch head.


Having now climbed in the Anti-Atlas I am honestly glad to have spent recent years climbing on mountain rock in Wales. The skills of route finding and dealing with loose rock, extricating yourselves safely off routes and the general steadiness on lead are highly useful lessons to have learned and will stand you in good stead.

I feel like the experience has been a really useful one. I hadn’t fully appreciated how routes change over time with the passage of hands and feet, how the loose holds are slowly removed, the time worn process of gear placements constantly being improved and made to be more obvious. I feel like the Atlas climbing experience is more pure in certain respects. There is loose rock, the tell-tale signs of previous ascents more subtle or non-existent and he fact of not necessarily having a blow by blow account of where to go make the experience more intense and therefore more exciting and ultimately more enjoyable.

Take care and take a flight sometime you won’t be disappointed! If anyone wants any further information feel free to email or contact at Joe Browns.

Trip Report: Lundy (Sept 2008)

TRIP REVIEW : LUNDY (SEPT 2008)

Katrina Spinney on the first pitch of Satans Slip (E1 5a)

The pilgrimage to Lundy was a journey I'd wanted to make for quite some time... However, rumours about the need to book years in advance and limited campsite spaces always made me think "it'll be too late - I'll go next year".

Year after year I kept thinking this until now - my first piece of advice...
"IGNORE THE 'FULLY BOOKED' MYTH"
One phone call to the Lundy Shore Office is all it takes!


Left: MS Oldenburg


Right: The North Lighthouse




We kicked straight off with the classic Devils Slide (HS) and Satans Slip (E1 5a). It was obvious that the weather forecast was against us so we had to make the most of the warm/ dry conditions; however, being first-timers we'd put our climbing gear in the hold and therefore had to wait hours in order to get all the necessaries together - this leads to my second piece of advice...
"TAKE ALL YOUR CLIMBING GEAR AS HAND LUGGAGE!"
I think we'd have managed Albion (VS 4c) if we'd done this...


The Devils Slide - one outrageous bit of rock

Despite the island being relentlessly pummelled by storms we managed a few of the classics - Double Diamond, Shamrock, Indy 500, Venus Flytrap - and a some esoteric gems - Stuka on the Beufort Buttress and Margin on the Headline Promontory stood out in particular.



Above: The gritstone-esq Margin (VS 4c)


Two views of the Flying Buttress:

Left: Katrina Spinney on Double Diamond (HVS 5a)

Right: Dan McManus on The Cuillinan (E5 6a)

However... the centre stage of Lundy isn't the crags - its the Marisco Tavern. The amount of time spent in the tavern is proportionately related to the amount of rainfall. In our case this meant a lot of scrabble, chess, and compulsive guidebook reading.

Anyhow, despite the unrelenting rain, wind, and high seas I found* Lundy was simply an incredible place to be. Three miles long, one mile wide, and stuck out in - what feels like - the middle of the ocean, there is a tremendous feeling of being somewhere special. I am undoubtedly booking a trip next year...

(*note: not all others found this...in fact some found rather the opposite...)


Above: Es Tressider and Sam Underhill trying to find a cure for cabin fever

Trip Report - North Devon (May 2008)

TRIP REVIEW : NORTH DEVON/ CORNWALL COAST

Katrina Spinney on Midnight Cowboy, Baggy Point


The sandstone slabs at Baggy Point were our first stop-off point on our trip down to Lands End. For those that haven't been, 'Baggy' is a slab climbers paradise with excellent friction and exciting, yet somewhat detatched, topouts! The classic of the crag - Midnight Cowboy (pictured above) - follows the striking line of overlaps in the centre of The Promontary (or is it Long Rock... they swapped names a few years ago and I never remember which is which?!?). Anyhow, for added entertainment do the Kinkyboots start: a VS that requires the leader to 'fall' across a zawn to reach the starting holds - outrageous!!!

Above Left: The Promontary (or is it Long Rock?)
Below Left: Long Rock (or is it the Promontary!?!)

The North and Middle Fin at Lower Sharpnose
(a climber can just about be spotted belaying on the 'bunny-ears' at the top of Lunakhod on the left)

Next on the list was Lower Sharpnose, home to some of the most incredible and unique rock architecture in Britain. These surreal fins of rock are nomore than a few metres wide, ye reach up to 30m in height.

The Middle Fin
Home to Break on Through, Pacemaker, Fay, and Coronary Country (just to name a few of the classics...)

While there we climbed Lunakhod (HVS) which we found to have quite a detached feel to it and a little disappointing for a 3 star route. However, this was not the case with Out of the Blue (E2/3) which contained nothing but immaculate rock and positive holds - a real must! My main objective was to climb Pat Littlejohn's masterpiece Fay (E4/5), but due to a combination of a) rotton pegs b) rapidly diminishing stamina and c) a certain unwillingness to test the aforementioned beuties I ended up resting once. Disappointing, but an incredible route in an equally incredible place...

Carn Gowla is arguably one of Britain's premier sea-cliffs but somehow escapes the limelight. This could partly be attributed to the high levels of commitment, seriousness, and loose rock, but apart from these 'minor' factors it is a formiddable cliff for those of an adventurous nature. Unfortunately we only got to climb one route as it was overcast and forecast to rain.

However, the route in question - Rainbow Games (E2 5b) - was worth all the effort! It climbs the centre of an implausably looking honeycombe wall (picture above right) on what are possibly the largest holds you'll ever use. The rock is remeniscient of Red Walls/ Mousetrap Zawn at South Stack Gogarth and many of the holds, although huge, feel about 4mm thick and a little 'snappy'. Nonetheless, a stunning single pitch climb that is non-tidal and is unlikely to have people cueing to do it!!!