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Cresta del Maigmo

31/12/2020

Kate enjoying the fine positions along the ridge

Well what a strange year 2020 has been. This time last year I'm sure none of us could have imagined what lay in store. It's certainly been a rollercoaster ride for us, with many ups and downs. It does feel good to be at the closing day of the year, we hope for much better times ahead, for everyone.

Typically, we have been trying to get out in the mountains as much as possible. Yesterday that involved exploring the Cresta del Maigmo ridge climb. This lies between the towns of Castalla and Agost, a little inland from Alicante. The mountains here are very quiet, empty in fact, despite their dramatic beauty.

Our planned route proved to be very accessible, only a 10 minute walk to reach the first rocks. We then had around 700 metres of increasingly exposed ridge to climb and scramble over. Due to the exposed nature of the terrain we remained roped for much of the route. As is normal for mountaineering routes, there are a few loose rocks here and there, but the majority of the ridge was nice and solid, giving brilliant scrambling throughout. Views in all directions are fabulous, with a mix of dense pine woodland, mountain, and Alicante city in the distance.

At a maximum grade of IV and mostly nearer to III, this makes for a good first ridge climb. There are plenty of escape options and it would be easy to vary the route to make easier / harder as desired.

The descent route proved quite tricky, although it is possible to take a regular walking path to the 'Balcon de Alicante', which would be longer but more straightforward.
Our chosen descent involved a steep gully, exposed traversing, and scree chutes. It all added to the adventure and we wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Happy New Year everyone. Thanks so much for checking out our blog and thanks too for all your good company out on the hills, in the gorges, and on the crags. We are very much looking forward to seeing you all during 2021 :-)

Mark & Kate

The ridge as seen from the roadside

#mountaineering-days-spain-and-lake-district

Wrapped up warm to keep the chilly wind at bay

Back at base after another fine adventure

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Barranco del Curt O Pas de Bandolers

26/12/2020

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Neil descending through the V-groove

Today we managed to have a big adventure, exploring an area just below the mighty Bernia ridge. I think it was. couple of years ago now that Neil mentioned fancying a look at this canyon lying deep in the hillside. With many other things going on it has taken until now for us to get around to having a look.

The wait has been worth it. Well, with a name like 'Pass of the Bandits' this was always going to be a bit special.

Not sure what any of the canyon would be like, we wanted to start right at the top. Doing this involved crossing some unpleasantly sharp and rough terrain, but all in the name of research, so worth it.
The initial descent was okay, but no more than that and thereafter followed a walk of around 700 metres, some of this was pretty sharp too. Knowing this, we would miss out the initial section in future as it is very easy to join after abseil number 2.

5 more abseils followed, each being through more dramatic rock architecture than the last. It feels like a laser has cut through the rock to create this amazing V-groove. The final abseil is the longest at almost 50m and leads to the base of a huge scree slope. This forms the start of the fun return route.

All 5 of us out today know the Sierra de Bernia well, but this was a first into this canyon and we all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. A quiet, wild, landscape with staggeringly beautiful rock scenery. Being able to interact with such a wilderness is such a privilege.

If you're planning a trip to the Costa Blanca and looking for an adventure, we can help make that happen. It may be a canyon you'd like to try, or maybe some rock climbing, a via ferrata, mountain running/walking, or a ridge scramble.

We realise it may not be this winter, but we are in the area every winter season, so remember us for next year too.

All the best
Mark

The final and longest abseil

Looking back at the walls we descended

Steve & Lucy tackling the return scramble

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Costa Blanca Climbs - new guidebook

23/12/2020

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The newly published guidebook

This is a short review of the newly published guidebook 'Costa Blanca Climbs' by Roberto Lopez.

The important thing to realise is, this is a sport climbing guidebook. There is no trad / semi-sport climbing featured. So if looking for bolted routes in the Costa Blanca region, read on.....

It doesn't take long to realise this is a very well researched guide, with a huge range of crags contained within its 655 pages. Below I've listed a few good points and not so good points.

Pros:
Excellent photos - there really is some outstanding photography that is sure to inspire the reader to get out on the crags.
Well laid out - it isn't uncommon for locally produced guides to be less well thought out and difficult to navigate. Not so here, it's a breeze. I'm very familiar with the Rockfax format and this has a similar feel.
Well researched - as mentioned above, Roberto has clearly put in the time and effort to bring together a very fine and useable book. Plenty photos of local climbers in action too.
The quality of materials and production appears to be high, feels like it will last well.

Written by a local climber and available for sale in local climbing retailers. So buying this will directly contribute to the local climbing economy.
An extensive volume, with 655 pages. Think Bible size ;-)

Cons:
Big and heavy - 655 pages does mean this thing is heavy! Too big for taking to the crag, more of a coffee table read and take photos on a mobile to take to the crag.
I find the aerial photography for topos a little confusing. It may be I'm simply not used to this. Virtually every crag has a drone topo, feels a bit over the top (no pun intended).
Approach times are very optimistic - maybe they are based on running times! 15 minutes to the top of Magical Mystery Tour for example. That isn't going to happen, it's more like 25 minutes and that's for those who know the way.
Lack of multi-pitch - there are a few multi-pitch routes featured, but not many and those that are tend to be in the higher grades, think 6c and upwards apart from the exception of Morro Falqui. This is a shame as there is so much multi-pitch in the lower & mid grades.
No trad - yes it is a sport climbing guide, of course there's no trad climbing featured. Still this feels sad, as magnificent mountains like Puig Campana and Ponoch (Ponoig) are completely absent as a result. These are the 2 most amazing climbing areas in the region and are world class (they even offer sport climbing). In my opinion they should have been included, even if only a few routes.
Lots of excellent crags/or parts of crags are missing. These tend to be crags offering low-mid grade climbs.

Who is this guide for?
Visiting climbers operating at 6b+ and above looking for purely bolted routes and predominantly single pitch. This is where the guide excels. And it really does excel, let that be clear.
For those operating up to 6a+ and / or wanting some multi-pitch and trad, the Rockfax guide offers more, even if it is a few years old now.

Thanks for reading, I hope it's been helpful.

Merry Christmas everyone, hope it's a good one despite the strangeness of the year.

Mark

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Exploring the canyons of Costa Blanca

9/12/2020

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Exploring the Cucales barranco

For a while I'd been put off visiting the Barranco Cucales due to the need of a car shuttle to make it viable. Well, after some further research, I realised that this was simply not necessary. In fact, it would be more awkward with a car shuttle between start and finishing points.

So today, along with Steve and Rob, we set off in search of the entrance. Thanks to a handy gadget Rob had we were on the scent straightaway. Then it was just a case of follow the cairns towards the riverbed.

A number of straightforward abseils took us through increasingly impressive terrain. Almost all the abseil stations have been recently re-bolted with 2 bolts, this was very reassuring. The main event was a 23m abseil through a slot with staggering rock formations.

The canyon began to open out and soon we located a tiny path leading up to the access track, only about 5 minutes walk back to the parking area.
All we saw all day were birds of prey out looking for food and a solitary farmer tending to an Olive grove (well, we didn't actually see the farmer, but could hear the chainsaw)!

Around 11 abseils in a tranquil environment with quaint villages nearby and Benicadell ridge as backdrop. This is definitely a place we'll visit again.

For more information or if looking for a guided day in Spain or the Lakes District please do get in touch.

Thanks for reading

Mark

Steve marvelling at the scenery

Benicadell ridge looms large behind the mountain top village of Catamarruch

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Bernia Ridge

3/12/2020

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The wonderfully sinuous Bernia ridge

It's been quite a while since our last blog post. I suppose it hasn't felt appropriate, given the restrictions the UK has been placed under leading to a general lack of ability to travel.
I've been back in Spain since late October and Kate arrived a few weeks later. I'll firstly talk a little about how the journeys were for both of us, as quite a few people have been in touch for general advice on this.
I travelled here before restrictions on travel were in place in either Spain or the UK, so had no issues, the journey was like any other really (well, apart from some technical issues with a newly bought bike rack, but that's another story).
For Kate, there was more anxiety as travel restrictions were back on here in Spain and lockdown number two loomed in. the UK. The Guardia Civil (national police force) here are not to be messed with, they have a reputation for being harsh and are generally feared by the locals. So best steer clear. Easier said than done when the government announce travel restrictions and a ferry is already booked. Kate went for it anyway. Ensuring the car was well fuelled up before leaving the UK meant only one brief stop between Santander and Jesus Pobre. There were no road blocks and thankfully she was not stopped and checked by the Police, so the journey was completely incident free, phew!
Still, it was far from an ideal situation and not what we had wished for. Stress levels were certainly high. Currently the restrictions here have eased markedly and travel is straightforward, although of course it's best to check the official channels if planning a trip to Spain, or anywhere else for that matter. For those who use Facebook, there's a very useful page operated by Police officers called N-332. Up to date information can be found out easily on there.

Now back to the adventure stuff.
We have been taking it easy here and being extra careful in order to reduce any risk of injury, just like at home during the summer. But there have been some fantastic days out had. A big climb on the Puig Campana a few weeks ago, some via ferratas, mountain runs, lots of cycling, and days out with the camera trying to capture the perfect shots for my forthcoming guidebook 'Costa Blanca Mountain Adventures' - due to be published about this time next year.
And this week a traverse over the Bernia ridge with a couple of climber friends. This time was a little different though. A friend had suggested an alternative starting point that was much further East. I have always shied away from this idea as plenty have simply become lost in the sea of rock. But thought it worth a go with the additional information I had gleaned.

In short, it was well worth the extra effort. What an amazing adventure. Whilst it would be fine to nip up to the East summit from the regular starting col, a better way is to go through the tunnel under the ridge and walk towards the coast before meeting the ridge above some vegetated slopes. Once on the rocky crest a few red blobs of paint mark the way. There are a couple of additional abseils, although it would be feasible to down climb these if confident / competent on the terrain.
We caught up with a group of 5 once on the main ridge. Some rather odd rope tricks were being employed, so we decided it best to get ahead of them asap. As we were flying along this was easy. We reached the descent col and had a quick chat about whether to carry on to the main summit or not, but all feeling tired and the interesting sections now behind us, the decision was unanimous, let's go down here and be back in the valley in time for coffee and cake.

We really hope some of you can make it abroad for some sunshine this winter. If visiting the Costa Blanca and wanting advice about current logistics and restrictions, please feel free to get in touch. We can give advice about mountain routes too and will be happy to arrange days out in the mountains during your visit.

Thanks for reading, I'll be sure not to leave it so long again until my next post.

Best wishes all

Mark & Kate

Arriving at the Eastern end of the Bernia ridge

Descending from the East summit

Along the crest of Bernia

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Cresta del Maigmo

Barranco del Curt O Pas de Bandolers

Costa Blanca Climbs - new guidebook

Exploring the canyons of Costa Blanca

Bernia Ridge

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