#alicante-rock-climbing

Alicante Rock Climbing - Pared Negra

Alicante Rock Climbing

This winter here in Spain continues to be considerably unsettled. Another storm is now battering large parts of the country. Here in Costa Blanca we aren’t feeling the full force of these storms, but they are causing the weather to be troublesome. Wet and windy has been the norm this season. Not at all what is to be expected in this part of Spain.

This all means much less climbing has been possible. But there have been some good days, no, some great days actually.

Yesterday was one such day. I ventured south to Orihuela to meet with Rainer and Anne who were both keen to climb a route called Espolon de la Pared Negra on the impressive Pared Negra crags.

When we met up it was cold and overcast. But no wind and the forecast was good. So we set off on the short walk in to the base of the crag. There were already a few climbing teams on the routes.

It’s been 10 years since I climbed this route, but finding the start was nice and easy, the name is scratched into the rock. We sorted ropes and gear and I set off up pitch 1 of 4. A fine pitch with nice moves, good rock, and enough bolts to make it feel quite safe. The rock on this crag is a little rougher than what is on the crags further north, this is nice for grip, but not so nice on skin.

Rainer and Anne cruised up pitch 1 too and we reconvened at a spacious ledge. Another team shared this with us for a while, but even with 6 of us there was plenty of space. I observed the other team on our next pitch and it looked quite tricky. When it was my turn to climb I realised it was indeed quite difficult. Not what I was expecting for an f5 pitch. This was a long pitch too but did give some of the best climbing on the route. Especially so near the top of the pitch where a big corner gave simply wonderful moves that led to a fine and spacious belay ledge.

Anne set off first on this pitch and it was clear she was settling in to the climbing rather well. Yes there were a couple of wobbles, but considering the difficulty she absolutely nailed this pitch. Rainer soon followed and for the most part also cruised it. Just one little blip where a snug rope was called for, but soon enough he was back in control and in cruise mode.

We then tackled the fairly easy pitch 3, more like an f4/+ that was a breeze for us all. This took us to the base of a big groove system. There were some excellent views across the big walls from here and we could see another team just a few metres to our right.

#espolon-de-la-pared-negra

Alicante Rock Climbing - Pitch 2

Pitch 4 was to provide the crux. This was a big pitch, around 45m and sustained at about 5+ and only very spaced protection. So a serious pitch. The groove provided the start and was a nice warm up for the main event above. Soon the groove veered left and led us onto open walls with delightful rock. A long, rising traverse followed and brought us to a big recess.

From here we could go left or right, I choose left as it looked fun. Hmmm, it was jolly steep that’s for sure. With a lot of rope drag by this point, pulling through the overlaps proved to be hard going. I was a little concerned about how the others would cope with this steep finish. Thankfully there was no need to worry.

Anne cruised the pitch despite being pretty tired by now. And whilst Rainer did ask for some assistance from the rope, I convinced him he wouldn’t need it and I was right, which we were both pleased about.

Top of the route and now time for a picnic and to put our comfy shoes back on. Bliss.

Then for the descent, which begins with a via ferrata style cable so route finding is easy. This eventually leads to some scrambling and 2 abseils. All straightforward and we were back at the base of the crag in no time at all.

All pleasantly tired and happy to have shared a wonderful day in the mountains and playing with ropes. What a joy.

We are here in Costa Blanca for just a few more days, then it’s back to the Lake District and hopefully lots of fun days in the mountains, valleys, crags, and gorges with lots of lovely people.

For more about what we offer in the Lakes please do check out our activity page here.

And for adventurous days out in the Costa Blanca mountains please check out the multi-activity guide I wrote on behalf of Cicerone - Mountain Adventures Costa Blanca

Thanks for reading

Mark

#pared-negra-crags-alicante