Afternoon sun over El Realet and Castellets
It's been a very busy time for us just now, with ridge after ridge, as well as walking and running routes, and exploring more of the brilliant 'trad' climbing Costa Blanca has to offer.
Almost to the day 4 years ago we traversed 'El Realet' ridge near Finestrat and until today we hadn't been back. Well, there are so many other fantastic ridges and climbs.
But today we made a return visit and it was great to re-live the excitement this knife edge scramble has to offer. Starting fairly easy at about grade 3 but it doesn't take long for the exposure to build up quite dramatically. This coupled with a few harder moves definitely means this one stays in the memory bank for a while.
We used a selection of techniques to allow us a speedy yet safe traverse, these included 'moving together', 'short-roping', and 'pitched climbing' all interspersed with short sections of soloing where appropriate.
We spent a little over 4 hours on the ridge. Long enough to soak up the atmosphere, but never long enough to be satisfied, for these places are truly amazing.
A couple of equipped abseils at the end of the ridge brought us down to easy ground and just a little bush-whacking to reach the road.
All in all a fantastic day out, thanks to Kate and Kim for joining.
For more information about these places or to arrange a guided day, please don't hesitate to get in touch. We'll help as much as we can.
Mark
Almost to the day 4 years ago we traversed 'El Realet' ridge near Finestrat and until today we hadn't been back. Well, there are so many other fantastic ridges and climbs.
But today we made a return visit and it was great to re-live the excitement this knife edge scramble has to offer. Starting fairly easy at about grade 3 but it doesn't take long for the exposure to build up quite dramatically. This coupled with a few harder moves definitely means this one stays in the memory bank for a while.
We used a selection of techniques to allow us a speedy yet safe traverse, these included 'moving together', 'short-roping', and 'pitched climbing' all interspersed with short sections of soloing where appropriate.
We spent a little over 4 hours on the ridge. Long enough to soak up the atmosphere, but never long enough to be satisfied, for these places are truly amazing.
A couple of equipped abseils at the end of the ridge brought us down to easy ground and just a little bush-whacking to reach the road.
All in all a fantastic day out, thanks to Kate and Kim for joining.
For more information about these places or to arrange a guided day, please don't hesitate to get in touch. We'll help as much as we can.
Mark
On the initial section of El Realet
The first of many very narrow and exposed sections of ridge
Back on easier but still very exposed terrain on this amazing ridge
