Over the last few days we've been really busy at the small, but impressive Ambolo  crags of Javea.
I was there initially with an experienced 'route developer' Andy. He kindly gave me instruction on how to prepare and equip a route ready for climbing. This is a time consuming and expensive activity (top quality bolts don't come cheap). In the process, we cleaned and bolted a brand new rock climb which I later named 'So long Alan' in memory of my uncle.

A couple of days later I returned to Ambolo with Kate and our friend Miguel. By now we had a bag of marine grade bolts & hangers and all the tools needed to equip more routes.
There were 2 short routes I had in mind for starters. These would be straightforward, so a good place for us to 'cut our teeth' with bolting.
I installed the lower off (this bit is tricky) and from this was easily able to equip the rest of the route. I named this one 'Gwen' who had been with us on our previous visit and spotted the route.

Now for Miguel to have a go! He had spotted a nice looking rising traverse and very efficiently had this equipped in no time at all. His route is named 'Angel'.

All 3 routes are on the Sector Voodoo left hand crag and graded about f5 - but please let us know what you think if you go and climb any of them.

Today me & Kate returned to Ambolo to climb these new routes and a few others too.
We managed 8 routes in total and enjoyed all of them. The rock is super sharp, positive Limestone and excellent quality. The climbs are up to about 20m high and most have good / excellent protection.
In case this isn't enough, the approach walk is all of about 2 minutes and views out over the sea are spectacular. There is a small cove below the crags, so climbing can easily be combined with swimming or sunbathing.

There is at least one more line we'd like to develop at Ambolo, possibly more. But what's on offer at the moment makes a visit well worthwhile. 
 
If you'd like more information about this great crag or would like rock climbing guidance / instruction, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us anytime. We're more than happy to help.

Thanks for reading.

Happy New Year everyone!

​Mark
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There are certain things in life that bring us the shivers. For me, one of those things was a rock climbing route on the Sierra de Toix sea cliffs. I'd been very keen to climb this for ages, but until last winter the bolts were in a dangerously poor state, so it stayed in the back of my mind. Tales from friends who had ventured through the hole into the abyss were also enough to keep us away!
But when the bolts were replaced,there was no excuse, I just needed to find a willing and able partner (not always easy for a route with such a big reputation, this is not a 'costa clip up' style route).

Ann kindly agreed to join me. When she saw the abseil descent there may have been some meditation going on! Setting up the abseil is not straightforward as it's necessary to re-belay on a bolt hanging over the edge, this needs to be done whilst dangling above about 70m of air! Every abseil we set up we check and check again. This abseil was checked even more than usual, there is definitely a scare factor going on at this place!

Once on my way down the fun began. Amazing scenery, views out over the sea, peace and quiet, amazing rock architecture all around. Ann soon followed whilst I sorted the climbing rope and checked out the 1st pitch of the route.

Pitch 1: Trending left from the rock bridge on huge holds up the steep left wall, I forged a way up this, clipping the occasional bolt (there's not many) as I climbed. Soon I was standing on the rock bridge high above Ann and clipping into a belay station. That was all nice and straightforward, fun climbing.

Pitch 2: This became steeper, as it forged a way up heading slightly left from the belay. Holds were never obvious but were almost always very good. Bolts were very spaced again, perfect. A hand traverse rightwards leads to a hanging stance at the next belay station. This is apparently the crux pitch, but felt pretty easy. Looking down whilst taking in the rope, I noticed the exposure had built up rather a lot, absolutely fantastic!

Pitch 3: The real crux! Awkward moves off the belay stance lead to a left trending ledge system. This time the holds aren't so good, there's also more evidence of polish on the footholds. The further left I move the more the exposure builds, it's mind-blowingly amazing. I need to remember to focus on the climbing though, so only try to look at the view when next to a bolt, for this is no place for 'airtime'! All too quickly i've reached the top and am building the final belay. Ann cruising up to join me. We hang around a while longer to watch some friends finish off their climb, then we pack up and head for home.

Happy and satisfied at a climb well done.

Ace route, probably the best sport climb i've ever done.

Thanks Ann

Mark   

We've been out with friends a lot over the past few weeks. Sometimes looking at new places, checking out potential climbing routes, other times visiting old favourites.
Here we write about the old favourites. Sierra de Toix and Bernia ridge. These are part of the same huge lump of rock that stretches from the Western summit of Bernia all the way to Toix Este and into the sea.

Richie had been staying with us for a few days and unfortunately there'd been some cool & damp conditions, so we hadn't managed to fit in a lot of climbing. Thankfully the skies were blue for his final full day here. As wind speeds were still quite high, we needed to keep our objective realistic, so discounted the idea of going to Puig Campana. Instead we climbed Cilber at Toix. I'd forgotten just how good this route is. Richie led every pitch, with me & Ann following and generally enjoying a social time on the belays, it's so nice to climb as a team of 3.

With a very relaxed attitude this route and the abseil descent filled much of the afternoon. So we called it a day. Such a fun climb.

I was back at Toix again recently. This time with Kate & Leanne. We climbed Oma Sus, this is another route i'd not climbed for ages. It's brilliant, with a magnificent top pitch. The sun was lovely and warm today and the sky azure blue. After lunch we climbed Anto, a 2 pitch route with some tricky moves on the upper pitch.
As Leanne was due to fly back to the UK the following morning we finished up early and headed home. Another grand day at Toix.

​The Bernia ridge has become a regular trip for us. Being so close by and so iconic, we are often asked to take people over it. We are also sometimes asked if we get bored of repeating the same ridges and routes. The answer is most definitely not. We love doing these routes. The Bernia is an absolute classic.

Almost always I take the lead on the Bernia, but today we had a role reversal and Kate led the way (she knows the route better than she lets on too). This was great for me as I had more time to enjoy the views, explore the ridge a little more, look for other routes, and generally enjoy myself whilst Kate did all the work!  

​As is so often the case, we didn't see anyone else on the ridge all day. Wow, if this was in the UK it would be crawling with climbers everywhere!
We descended from the final col back to the Font and the Bernia restaurant.

Thanks to Kate, Leanne, Richie, Anna, Ann, and Kim :-)

Mark

Dos Hermanos - VS
The online guide / topo suggested this route to be 'the best at its grade in the area for mountain rock climbing'!
We'd suggest this information is a little out of date and some dramatic changes have taken place.

Occasionally I hear about the enchanted area around Sanchet, known as the 'haunted walls' & 'pleasure domes'. These huge rock walls are impressive and are a natural draw to any adventurous rock climber / mountaineer. They require more effort than the standard 'Costa clip up' type routes of Sella & Toix. The rewards could be high, but so too is the danger level. These walls are not well frequented, not well documented, have complex approaches and tricky route finding. But still they are a draw, the setting is possibly the best in the area, maybe the best i've ever been to.

A couple of years ago I climbed a new route on these crags 150 Jupiters and was blown away by the stunning setting and potential for more exploration and new routes.

I was joined by Anne, Anna, Richie, and Kim. All up for an adventure and wearing helmets!
The approach walk was easy and through pretty scenery, soon we arrived at the base of the initial tower (the 1st brother).  I'd already checked out this tower and had decided to by-pass, moving straight on to the big tower (big brother), a short scramble got us up there easy enough.

Geared up and ready to go, we climbed a 2 teams. Suddenly it was me leading the way, first on the route. That wasn't in the plan! Off I went, slow & steady, checking each hold and looking for gear placements. The others all happily chatting away at the base of the route. The further up I climbed the more disturbed I became, with most of the rock being loose and any protection placed also being in / on loose rock, this was not a happy place. The voices of my friends laughing and joking became a major distraction, even after warning them of the looseness they appeared oblivious to the dangers and my predicament (although i'm sure they weren't).

Fear began to creep in to my thoughts, I had to fight this off, won't help. Arriving at a large ledge there was a sigh of relieve, but alas this was brief, there was no protection and it was all crumbling around me!
After much searching and placing 4 anchors I felt safe enough to shout 'Safe'. Once the others began to climb they quickly realised what i'd been trying to say. This place is Scary, and that's with a capital 'S!

Kim led the next pitch, this time to a better belay ledge. She then continued up a corner crack. This looked great, but was actually very loose and had little protection. The potential for a big fall onto nasty ground was all too real. She managed to place a good wire and from that retreated back to the ledge. The others now joined us on this now rather busy belay ledge and it was decided we would all retreat.

An abseil of about 25m was set up off the side of the route. Guess what, this had plenty of falling rock on it too. With ropes running over sharp edges, and rock missiles everywhere, this was a very engaging descent with good teamwork required throughout!

With everyone safely off the route and only a small amount of gear abandoned, we stopped for lunch. All feeling relieved but glad to have tried.

Adventure is when we don't know the outcome. All too often we do know (or at least have a very good idea) the outcome. It would be easy to see this as a wasted day, when little was climbed and too much danger was seen. I don't think any of us walked away thinking that. I certainly didn't. A day such as this is an experience that will be remembered for ever. It will add to our bank of fortitude.

As an added bonus, we stumbled upon a wonderful slab of rock during the walk out. Some bolts already in place and some trad routes possible. We did a bit of both.

A good day :-)

Big thanks to my fellow adventurers today: Anne, Anna, Kim, and Richie.

Mark