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By Chris, January 4, 2011 7:04 am

This years Christmas and New year break was superb and we all enjoyed oodles of gorgeous food, nice wine and fantastic company despite most of it being French.  A massive thank you or perhaps  a super grand merci beaucoup to Marina and Gabriel for again being fabulous hosts… as always they made me feel very welcome in their home.  There was a dump of fresh snow when we arrived which got the snowboarding  off to a flying start and the conditions were so good that even Alex and Yannis decided to ditch the skis and go mono for half a day!  That’s the board Dave, not the brow!  Videos of this will follow shortly but unfortunately there aren’t as many falls as I’d like because they both actually did very well.   The same can’t be said about me though because this year I took the term Christmas break a bit too literally.   I got over excited on Boxing days fresh snow and cracked a couple of ribs trying a front side 180 of a massive (tiny)  jump.  But that’s a good thing isn’t it..  pain is just weakness leaving the body right?  Happy new year everyone!

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By Chris, December 13, 2010 8:15 pm

Sierra De Toix is described in the guide book as one of the main reasons to go sport climbing in Spain and I have to say I wasn’t disappointed!  My dad and I did almost every climb in the small Oueste section which were short and easy routes but the good rock and fantastic setting provided an idyllic day of sun, sea and perfect climbing.  The incredible views even inspired my dad to start leading and he cruised La roja quatro (3) and then made El endo (4) look even easier!  My leads included Presto (5+) which I think was a little hard for the grade. My favourite for the day was Energico (6a+) and was the steepest route I’ve ever led.  The true angle wasn’t apparent until I was lowered off a good two metres away from the base of the route!  I think this is my new happy place

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By Chris, December 13, 2010 6:44 pm

Enough of the crags already! I came to Spain for something a little bigger and today I got it!  Diedros Magicos (magic corner) is an awesome 5 pitch 6a/e1 trad route but it was only really a 5+/hvs today because we didn’t do the last pitch.  This was partly because it got surprisingly cold as we got higher but mostly because I lead the 5+ pitch of an adjoining route instead of the 4 that took us to the bottom of our intended line.  This didn’t matter though because Diedros Magicos is brilliant, particularly the first two pitches which are steep and exposed lay backs all the way but on great holds and with good gear.  It’s difficult to be sure but I think I prefere the limestone climbing here to the granite slabs i’m used to in Ailefroide.  It’s generally much steeper but at the same time far less stressful due to the positive holds.. even the trad routes here feel more like sport than some easier bolted slabs I’ve done on granite.   Dad also came along for a drive today and took some very very long distance shots of the mountain, if you zoom in really close on the last picture you can play where’s Wally.  Again, thanks need to go to Ron and Fi for the great photography and an even better day climbing.. more can be found at Rons Blog.

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By Chris, December 13, 2010 5:09 pm

We were meant to go to Toix (Alex says Toiks not Twax) today but strong winds at the coast sent us inland to Montesa instead.  It was about a two hour drive from the villa but was definitely worth it, it’s a really nice crag but particularly friendly for those who have trained indoors.  The routes can be steep at times but the holds are plentiful, positive and grippy!  Todays leads are Epiliano dels collons 5+, PicPic 5+, Elo Die del vent 5+, Diedre Guay 5+, Insubmissio 6a, Pepemite 6a+ and Que Morro 6a.  Dad climbed all of the fives and had a go at the first half of Pepemite… again, not bad for a spectator!  There’s a prize for anyone who can guess what I was saying in the picture below.

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By Chris, November 23, 2010 3:11 pm

So much for all of Spain being bolted, most of the better routes are actually trad which offers an interesting variety… to be fair though the rock here is far from smooth and featureless so there’s usually plenty of gear.  Today we climbed (guided by Ron and Fi again) the 4 pitch 120 metre “Un Rincon de Placa” (4+/hard very severe) which I/google can’t really translate very well.  It’s perhaps “blank corner”, or maybe “slabby corner” – who knows?  My Spanish speaking girlfriend certainly doesn’t!  I led the third pitch without too much trouble but my nerves made it feel a little harder than 4+.  We were down quite early so we spent the rest of the day cragging at Monsters of Rock wall over on Castillo Lower, leads here include the steeper but juggier routes Wham and George Michael, both at 5+.  My Dad was at a loose end today so decided to test out his 48x zoom camera and his newly acquired photography skills.

These are a couple of Rons pics, more can be found on his site www.winternet.co.uk when he gets back.