Team Spain
Being a climbing bum is great fun, you go to some of the most beautiful places in the world, hang around with honest and interesting people and get to do cool things all day! Being stuck in the flat back in rainy England isn’t so much fun. Trying not to die of boredom seems to be my sole preservation. I have managed to survive by a combination of coffee in town, reading a massive biography of the revolutionary idealist Che Guevara, making bread and the odd trip to the climbing wall. So when my text plea to friends was answered by Adrian saying there was a possibility of a place in Jane’s hire car for a trip to Spain for a week. I was a dead cert!
Rodellar Village
Terradetts Multipitch
The trip was put together by Martin and a team of Southern Sandstone climbers, most of whom I had met at some point. Me and Jane where to fly from Bournemouth (which is actually really easy to get to from Guildford), hire a car and join them in Rodellar in the foot hills of the Pyrenees. This would have been a great plan if it hadn’t been raining for a week across the north of Spain, all the crags where soaked and the river which you have to cross to get to most of the climbing was a thundering torrent. As a result our stay was brief and we headed over to Terradetts further to the west. Although still damp the cliffs where much quicker drying and on our third day in Spain we explored some of the massive multipitch options. Jane and I opted for Smokin a 7 pitch 215 metre 6b route, the climbing was delicate to say the least and with some juicy run outs which really tested my nerves, I only really started to relax and enjoy the climbing once the crux pitch had been lead and we neared the top. I had to make a mental note to myself not to do multipitch for a while.
Castle in Terradetts Valley
Lake of Terradetts
Our accommodation was at cheap refuges which provide dorm accommodation and an evening meal, although nothing fancy it keeps you going and the beer and coffee is cheap. After our day of multipitch we travelled further afield to check out the new climbing area of Santa Linya, this area, slowly being made famous by the attention of some of the world’s top climbers is gradually being developed and is certainly an area to look out for in coming years, offering routes of all grades.
Fording rivers in Rodellar
I feel I need to inject a bit of excitement into this trip, but there is little to add. The areas we travelled through where of extraordinary natural beauty. Steep gorges, snow capped mountains, valleys with eagles and vultures circling beneath you. I hope my photos do the area justice. On our return to Rodellar the end of the week the rock had dried and river subsided. This village on top of a steep gorge boasts some of the hardest climbing in Spain on steep pocketed limestone. To access many of the crags we forded the freezing river, the longer fords numbed your feet. We stayed at a new refuge, being built by a dreadlocked Swiss guy, Kalandraka was aimed completely at the climbing market, by far the cheapest place we stayed it had a lively atmosphere. If you are heading in that direction please stop and check it out.
Enough of this little excursion, I wish I had more to add, but that’s the way some trips go.
