Whilst i'd climbed todays chosen route recently, for Kate this was all new, and scary!
Parle is a classic of the Costa Blanca, 60m of sublime rock climbing in the wildest setting of any 6a+ I can think of.
We arrived at the top of the climb at a very leisurely 12pm - well it is Christmas day. There was a couple of climbers about to abseil in, they said a further 4 climbers were already down there on the route. A busy day then.
So we sat and enjoyed lunch whilst watching these guys commit to the rather scary abseil. There were also some climbers on the final pitch, so plenty going on to keep us entertained while waiting our turn.
Then our turn came. With an abseil rope already in place, we were quick to descend, stepping over the edge into the void that is 'The Pirates of the Caribbean' cave is a special moment. Committing and scary, but also a huge amount of fun. Wow what a place this is!
With lots of climbers on the route above us, we took our time, fully immersing ourselves in the epic surroundings, and sunbathing. It has been a hot day 🙂
The climbing is beautiful, 3 pitches of top quality rock and moves to match anything i've ever climbed. We steadily cruised up the route, all too soon topping out into a very welcome cooling breeze by the belay anchors.
Christmas cake at the top to celebrate a lovely day by the seaside before the easy stroll back to the road.
If Carlsberg did climbs......
Merry Christmas & a Happy new year to all
Mark & Kate
