The Climbing

I’ve tried to write a couple of blogs, the first was during a period of very heavy rain when we were confined to the van and bars of Albarracin. It had a pretty negative and whinge ring to it. It’s now been sunny for a week and so things are looking very positive. We’ve come up to our first months anniversary of sleeping in the van and Steve still hasn’t fulfilled his promise of spending most the trip bivied out.

What I wanted to write about was the climbing. There is a lot of stuff to climb here.

To start with are the roofs, there are so many roofs to yard your way across, but usually the problem is the top out, I regularly flash the 7B roofs and then get spanked pulling through the slopey mantel. There are plenty of 30 to 40 degree overhangs on positive crimps, slopers and rails, all require maximum body tension. Every move your feet swing out and are then forced back onto the rock. We have worked through almost all the 7A’s to 7B+ here, but are cut short at the 7C’s. There are plenty of 7C’s, but often they are hideous mantels, or crazy campus moves. There is almost nothing in the style of the 7B’s which we are climbing so well on. There are plenty of 8A’s which we have made massive progress on, but we just aren’t strong enough yet in our core and back to achieve the massive throws which almost always make the crux.

Steep Walls

Another technique you quickly master here is the foot cam; with so many horizontal crack and pockets, often at the start of the problem you place your foot in the hole and torque it, taking weight of your hands which crucially let you hold those small crimps and slopers. At times these can be a bit unnerving with a high foot cam and poor holds which if you ripped off would leave your leg stuck in and then probably broken. To prevent this you often need a very close spot and I’ve had to catch Steve in my arms a few times.

Sick Mantels

With less than a week left we are frantically trying to finish off projects. Steve who has spent most of the month complaining of poor skin and often cutting short our sessions on the rock has found a new wind and is pushing for his fourth day in a row climbing. I have a line which I am certain will go, but so far has eluded me and am resting up for a big effort tomorrow. Fingers crossed the rain holds off and we can finish those final problems.

Ticking on by

Time goes slowly in the Van, Steve hasn’t yet ventured outside to bivy yet and so the van still feels a little cramped at night. The weather is sporadic, no sooner are you in your t-shirt then the wind makes you put your sweater back on. We seem to get two good days of climbing, then a rest day then it either rains or snows. We woke up the other day psyched for a day on rock to find everything covered in snow and the stuff still pouring from the sky. But things dry quickly and we are normally back climbing the next day.The Belgium's trying to top out a highball, the next day one broke their ankle trying it.
Easter brought the hordes to Albarracin, but the relentless rain soon drove most away, they creep back when it gets a bit sunnier, but not in the droves we were predicted. In Albarracin Easter is bit of a festival and they march their statues of various Saints and the guy on the cross through the streets with a group of drummers dressed in bright purple cassocks. We took this opportunity to get something to eat. Everything is Tapas based, unless of course you can understand the menus, I’ve only got as far as Bocodillos on that one. And everything Tapas based will have both a bit of pig and Olive oil in it. Even if its stewed beef in Olive oil, it will still have some bacon in it. Or mushrooms and beans in Olive oil, you can be guaranteed some bacon. But trying all the little dishes over a cold beer for an hour wasn’t a bad way to spend the evening and then finished off with chocolate cake.
The Snow Arrives
The climbing is still going well and the strenuous nature of the many roofs and overhangs is leaving us very sore the next day and always in need of more rest. We’ve found some amazing lines and got stuck into a couple of 8A projects which will hopefully be done this trip. Sometimes the climbing can be frustrating as we have the assistance of probably the worst guidebook ever produced. ‘Bouldertopo Espana’ by the Roker brothers must be the most poorly researched guide of all times. While there topo and directions are pretty good and you can always find the boulder whether they have given the boulder the right grade, name of both is very rare. Often they just give a 6/7? For the grade, what does that mean? The locals have great fun writing in the correct grades and names for us. It’s a shame that there isn’t another guide available otherwise this one would go straight in the bin.
Me Climbing Well on a 7B
Hopefully the rain will hold off so we can get a second day of climbing and it was be even more amazing if it was sunny on a rest day so we could actually wash and dry some clothes.