Usually I post a blog with what's been going on and leave it at that.

This one will be different, as i'll be including a route description for Aristotles on the Puig Campana.

We've climbed a few routes on this magnificent mountain and so far none have disappointed as far as mountain 'trad' climbing goes. Think, big exposure, route finding complications, long days, long descents, and loose rock.

From a small parking area above Font de Moli (and opposite the new helicopter landing site), a 20 minute walk along good tracks leads to the base of the wall. Follow the Rockfax guidebook description as for Aguja Encantada area. They suggest the walk will take 1 hour, but unless you get lost along the way or walk very, very slowly, it won't, think more 20 minutes, 30 as a max.

The wall, which is actually a huge pillar, is a seriously impressive place with numerous inspiring climbs, often on excellent rock.

Aristotles starts to the right of the main face, at the base of an arete. The name is marked in red at the base (Arist).

Pitch 1: Follow the rib until another can be climbed on the right (3).

Pitch 2: Climb the grey slabs until a large terrace is reached, bolt belay (3).

Pitch 3: Traverse right around the corner for about 4m then straight up to belay on another good ledge (3).

Pitch 4: Climb blocky flakes, trending slightly right at first, and passing the occasional thread / peg along the way. A large, orange roof can be seen on the right of a large & vegetated recess. Bolt belay (4).

Pitch 5: Continue up fine grey slabs until after a few metres a fine ridge is reached, follow this to a huge terrace (3).

This is a good place for lunch.

Also, if needs be, it's possible to escape from here. From the far right end of the terrace (looking inwards), it's easy to scramble into the Los Lobos canyon and across this to the base of Espolon Central.

Pitch 6: At the far right end of the large terrace lies a gully. Climb this easily for about 15 metres until broken ground can be joined on the left, trend left here to the foot of a dramatic corner and bolt belay (2).

Pitch 7: Climb the splendid corner via the pocketed slab on its right, following a few pegs along the way. Belay on good threads (in-situ Jan 2015) at the top of the corner (4+). 

Pitch 8: From the belay head left passing a peg on your way to the skyline ridge. Continue along the ridge taking in the fine positions and belay from chockstones / nuts (4).

Pitch 9: Continue along the arete, following occasional fixed gear and belay again on threads after about 25m (3+).

Pitch 10: more of the same only in even better positions. The full scale of the wall now reveals itself and views of the walls on the main bulk of Puig Campana also reveal more of themselves, spectacular. Reach old bolt belays after about 30m (3+).

Descent:
We had limited information about how to descend so were somewhat nervous at this point!

However, there is a fairly straightforward way off into the Los Lobos canyon (towards the main bulk of the Puig).

Abseil 1: From the old bolt belay - 10m into the notch.
Abseil 2: From the notch a good chain link bolt belay leads towards the Los Lobos canyon - 35m.
Abseil 3: From the small ledge and still high above the canyon, use old pegs (back up is necessary / possible) to abseil into the canyon - 45m to fan palms and ledges.

Scramble leftwards (looking out) towards the Espolon Central area, and up onto a subsidiary ridge. From here locate threads (in-situ threads Jan 2015).
Abseil 4: <10m abseil into the main gully.

From here scramble leftwards towards the base of Espolon Central to locate the main paths back to the road.

Photos:
1) Evening sun on the Puig Campana. Our route is the left arete.
2) Pitch 7 of Aristotles - the fine and dramatic corner pitch.
3) Kate at the top of the route.
4) Views to Aitana, Divino, and Castellets ridge from pitch 8.

Needless to say we had a fabulous day on our favorite mountain in the region. The weather was kinder than expected, with fairly warm temps most of the time and bright sunshine all day.

There were two other teams on the mountain today, both on the classic 'Espolon Central'. One team retreated via abseil whilst the others cracked on to the top. Conditions certainly were good for the big routes today.

With good climbing, far reaching views of mountain and sea, this is a place to savour and savour some more.

Big thanks to Kate for joining me on this adventure.
And this really was an adventure, we didn't know the outcome or how we would retreat down the mountain after the ascent. Hence the above description so that hopefully future teams can enjoy the benefit of foresight. 

Since our last blog post there's been quite a change in the weather here on the Costa Blanca. Temperatures are now only just into double figures, there's been a day of heavy rain (much needed), and a breeze blows most days making it feel cold.

That said, we've still been in t-shirts for a fair amount of time and out of the wind it's still very pleasant.

Over the weekend (17th & 18th), we enjoyed a couple of walks. First up was the Penyo Molero. This is part of the Sierra Aitana range and one of the bigger peaks in the area at 1308 metres. The air was very clear and we were able to enjoy views as far away as Ibiza island! The trails were always good and mostly straightforward to follow. A few days later and the very same peaks are snow covered!!!

The second walk was from the mountain village of Fleix and included visits to 3 canyons (Infierno, Llidoners, and Racons). The route followed a slightly shorter alternative to the full circuit of Barranco del Infierno and having now done both routes i'd recommend this shorter option more. There's more diversity packed in better landscapes, and less steps (they do go on).

Shock horror, on Monday of this week it rained heavily all day and night. Loads of snow fell on the high mountains too. We were due a rest day and this was to be it.

By Tuesday the weather was back on track again, not warm and sunny to start with, but dry.
We headed North to Gandia crags for some rock climbing. Neither of us had been to this crag before and much of the climbing on offer seemed too difficult for our liking.
However, the sheltered and southerly aspect appealed for today so let's give it a go.

We had a great time here, with loads of routes at all grades there's something for everyone. All routes were well bolted, some of the rock is showing signs of heavy use though and the polish is creeping in. The tunnel route followed by a traverse over the cave area was particularly memorable and takes in terrain not normally encountered on a grade 5 route. Seek this one out if you go.
The sun was soon warming the crag and by the time we were leaving (after many finger busting routes) the evening sun cast its spell, lighting the rock beautifully.
Although about an hour from our Calpe base, we'll definitely be coming back to Gandia.

Wednesday we had plans for a big day on El Penon de Ifach, climbing one of the fine multi-pitch adventure routes. However, my fingers were now feeling very sore so we thought better of it and instead ticked just a few routes on the Toix crags. Probably should have rested, but the sun was out again so climbing it was. Fingers even worse by the evening, no climbing  tomorrow.

Today we walked on the Sierra Helada. This small range runs between the resorts of Benidorm and Albir. I say small, it's bigger than it looks.
We followed very good tracks all the way to the summit, which is full of aerials. We then continued towards Benidorm in order to gain a better view of the dramatic cliffs below. These sea cliffs are up to 400 metres high and appear to be  Sandstone and Limestone. There is rock climbing on these cliffs, we haven't done any here yet, but hope to on our next visit.
After our walk to the main summit, we extended the day with a trip to the lighthouse. This is an easy stroll of about 2.5km each way from the car park and worth every step.


Photos:
Top = Kate on the summit of Penyo Molero
Bottom = climbing at Gandia crag  

The huge rock faces of the Pleasure Domes have for some time drawn me to the upper reaches of the Val de Gulabdar. But until now I hadn't walked amongst these amazing cliffs. They make up some of the rockier areas of Sierra Aitana and provide an impressive backdrop to anyone venturing into the area, viewed as they can be from miles away.

Our walk that day was very easy going, following excellent trails through a mixture of pine forest and scrub. Only being around 4 hours in duration means this is a doable itinerary during a half day. 

A highlight was finding what is sure to be an excellent and very exciting ridge scramble (see photo at top of page), which is easy to reach in half an hour, and will be challenging and exhilarating. Can't wait to get it done.

During the walk that day, we found another fine looking ridge across the valley, close to the crags in Val de Gulabdar. Having previously eyed this one up and dismissing it, it was refreshing to see it from a different angle and realising it had potential.

So the following day our walk took us over to Echo valley and to the twin peaks behind Aran de Batistot crags. Preliminary recce's showed yet more potential, with an easy peak on the left (as walking uphill) providing brilliant views of the Pleasure Domes, and the peak on the right having a knife edge ridge for almost the entire length.
I managed to traverse this ridge for some time, but stopped short of the very exposed sections, preferring a rope for that! We'll be back, but for sure this is a winner of a ridge for anyone looking for exciting mountain challenges in a beautiful place.

It's not all been walking of late. We returned to the Morro Falqui sea cliffs near Moraira. This time was for single pitch climbing rather than the amazing sea cliff experience of Sonjannika.
Starting with a very easy but absolutely brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable route, we did a mix of caving and climbing to emerge from the depths of the crag out into bright sunshine once again. In case it's of interest, the route is called 'Coming out'.
We then climbed a couple more routes at the crag, but neither are to be recommended, being on suspect rock and being wildly under-graded.

Kate hadn't yet been to Font d'Axia crags in the Jalon valley area, so we had an afternoon there. Afternoon being the sunny time at this crag, so go before lunchtime if in search of shade, or after lunch if in search of sun. We were looking for sun.

All the routes we did were really good and worthwhile. The highlight though, was climbing a route I had been keen to do previously but had run out of time, called 'The future's bright' it's at the top of my current abilities at 6b+. Even with the sun feeling like it would melt us, we both managed an ascent of this fine route, with me leading it with just a short rest.

Font d'Axia does often get busy at the weekends, but midweek can be a good bet for solitude. We had both sectors of the crag to ourselves :-)

Today we drove inland to the village of Montesa. Home of a fine church, castle, and a lovely crag of compact rock.
The crag had been recommended to us by friends, and we're really happy they did so. It's a great place with loads of varied routes on what feels like a Limestone / Sandstone mix.
Beware though, the rock here is very tough on the fingers!!

Still big blues skies on the Costa Blanca. With one of the finest climates to be found anywhere in the world, what's not to like about a climbing or multi-activity holiday here.

Signing out for now.

Mark

After a couple of days back on the Toix cliffs, include an ascent of the fine route of Cilber and the Ridge following on from this. We were back in search of more and a change of scene.

Along with Kate, Leanne, Kim, and Jenny, we set off for the Moraig sea cliffs just a short drive from Calpe. Here lie a handful of single pitch routes and a few multi-pitch offerings. With the team we had, our ideal day consisted of a mid-grade multi-pitch climb and Sonjannika - a 6 pitch route of around 170 metres - fit the bill perfectly. And all above a glistening sea.

I climbed with Kate & Leanne, whilst Kim & Jenny stayed hot on our heels all the way to the top.

Climbing as a group of 3 takes more planning than when there's just 2 people and alternate leading is happening. So I well and truly had my 'work' hat on to keep on top of the rope-work and stance management side of things, allowing Kate & Leanne to enjoy the route to the full, whilst still being very involved in the stance logistics and safety.

To arrive at the base of this cliff requires a canyon descent, so the adventure begins well before the climbing does. For those with plenty time to spare, a beautiful beach lies at the bottom of the canyon, well worth a visit before or after the climb, or as a trip out in its own right.

Once on the climb, every pitch provides plenty of interest and keeps the climber focused all the time. There are bolts for protection, but thankfully these have been relatively sparingly placed, so it's not always an easy clip-up climb, in fact far from it.

A cave belay is possibly the highlight (or maybe stepping out of it with 100 metres of air between you and the sea), but in truth, it's hard to pin down the best bit, it's all so good. The setting above the sea, the super sharp Limestone, the technical moves, the rock quality, the long pitches, all just brilliant.


Photo 1: Kim on the way to the cave belay
Photo 2: Kim about to top out on the climb
Show just a few of the amazing positions experienced on this route.

For a few years now we've been itching to traverse an amazing ridge-line that lies between the Puig Campana and El Divino. Although the ridge is dwarfed by these much large mountains, it has a striking nature to it, a castellated knife-edge ridge!

So that's the appeal for us.

A complete traverse is a multi-day expedition, so it was a 'best of' we were aiming for. El Realet summits one, two, and three with all that involves.

A leisurely start, only leaving Calpe at 9am we we're maybe being optimistically lazy with our timings, but the real threat of be-nightment added to the sense of adventure. The quick dash over to Finestrat and a car shuttle saw us actually set off on the path around 10.30am, no worries.

The initial section was very straightforward, even a little disappointing. It took us to El Realet one, our first summit. From here we began to gain a grasp of what lay ahead. Lots and lots of very exposed climbing over knife-edge ridge, plenty of loose blocks and vegetation that most certainly bites back! Brilliant.

Once on the castellated section of narrow ridge the climbing was straightforward, so it was possible to fully enjoy the amazing positions it was taking us to. This is almost certainly the narrowest ridge i've yet to traverse, they really are't joking when the words 'knife-edge' are used, it is. Had this continued for hours we would have been even happier, but all good things come to an end, and so the ridge widened, a little.

We arrived at El Realet two, complete with the ruins of what I can only imagine would have been a lookout post in times gone by. An abseil then lead to more narrow sections of ridge, more fun times, and another abseil. This marked the final fun section. Now it was all about descent, and with more abseil stations to find and time marching on all too quickly, our focus soon switched to moving rapidly & safely to ensure we made it back before night-fall.

Thankfully our descent was indeed rapid and without any problem, so we arrived back in plenty time, phew!

Big thanks to Kate for climbing this with me. And to Kim & Jenny for coming along too.
  

Photos:
Above shows the narrow sections between El Realet one & two
Below 1: Kate on the narrowing ridge
Below 2: Looking back to El Realet one. Look carefully to spot climbers Kim & Jenny
Below 3: Kim on the initial easy section of ridge. This is straightforward rock scrambling.
Below 4: selfie after a long day out

After doing a fair amount of research about this canyon, today we decided to give it a go!

The Barranco del Parent on the South side of the Bernia ridge is a newly equipped canyon with an open aspect. With easy access from the coast, a short walk in & out and a relatively non-serious setting it was ticking all the right boxes.

Straight away the fun began, with abseil after abseil through the marmot landscape created by many years of weathering. Unlike some of the other canyons in the area, this has an open and sunny aspect and offers views out to the coast almost all the way.

A really lovely place to be, well equipped where it needed to be and a perfect start to the adventures of 2015.

Thanks to Kate for joining me on this one.