Whilst Kate has been holding the fort and working hard here in the Lakes, I managed another short spell out in Spain.

The first few days was spent meeting up with friends and checking out more of this amazing adventure playground. We found some fantastic places for canyoning, sport climbing, and trad climbing.

Checking out venues in advance of taking our customers has always been a policy for us whenever possible, and one of the reasons for this is that information from guidebooks or online sources isn't always correct, and this can lead to problems and become time intense. An example of this came on this visit whilst descending the 'Barranco del Lliset del Salt' near the mountain village of Tarbena.
We found the place easy enough and the first abseil was as described, all's well then, well no not really. The second abseil was due to be 22m, so I deployed a 55m rope that should more than cover it. We couldn't see the route down due to a huge roof we would go over, this led to a free hanging abseil, I was constantly looking for the anchors but they didn't exist and the end of the rope was getting ever nearer!! About 3 metres from the end of rope I stopped, had a final look for the anchors and thought about plan 'b' & 'c'! Prussiking back up the rope was quite unappealing and may have led to severe rope wear as it ran over the roof, so I asked Ann who was still above, to deploy the other rope and use it's full 55m length in order to reach the bottom (this meant an unretrievable abseil set up). Ann could then safely descend and I was then able to switch onto the other rope and continue my descent in safety, pulling my ropes down at the same time. A quick run around to the top and we were able to retrieve all our abandoned gear and rope, so nothing lost.

Definitely a lesson learnt and will choose to use both ropes in future if the descent cannot be seen, no matter what the information says!
This is a very good, fairly short adventure through dramatic scenery and it's one I would certainly recommend. Starting and finishing in the village of Tarbena means the activity can be finished off with coffee & cake whilst sitting in the sun in the town square.

The next canyon of the trip was to be Barranco de les Viudes (the widow maker)!!
This was also near the village of Tarbena. The approach description was close to non-existent, but with a little searching we soon found it and made our way down. Access was super easy, less than 5 minutes from the parking place.
The abseils were mostly short, with just one of around 20m, but the scenery made the descent well worth while and a huge bonus came as we exited the canyon, we stumbled upon a recently developed sport climbing crag, oh yes!
This crag is situated in a beautiful location amongst Olive & Almond terraces (bancales) and looks into the top of the Bolulla canyon. We climbed a few routes here, all were very good, some were brilliant. Grade range is from 4+ up to probably high 7's maybe even some 8's - well they certainly looked mega tough.

We then spent a couple of days exploring the various crags below the vast Segaria ridge. Starting with Barranco buttress, we climbed at least one new route here. Further rightwards are much larger buttresses and we took a look at these too, we found a mix of good rock and proper 'horror show' quality rock with many holds snapping! This definitely added a big 'A' to our adventure climbing that day. The scope for new routes and very adventurous climbing here is huge, but some loose rock needs trundling first to make things a little safer.

On Sunday I drove inland to the pretty Guadalest valley where I was meeting Soo & John. They had been on a walking holiday based in Benimantell. Having enjoyed a full itinerary of mountain walks, they were both feeling like a day of rest before getting to grips with Spanish limestone.
Monday was a little damp, but we still managed a morning of climbing before being chased off the crags by rain. Thankfully the rain chased us into a seaside restaurant for a delicious lunch. The rain abated and we took a walk along the promenade for a closer look at El Penon de Ifach and the climbing it offers.

Tuesday brought much improved weather so we headed back to Toix to continue the rock climbing. Soo & John led 4 or 5 routes each during the morning. We then spent the afternoon at the Morro Falqui sea cliffs a little to the north of Calpe. Firstly climbing the fun 'Coming Out' route, then having a go on a couple of much harder climbs. We wrapped the afternoon up with an explore of the nearby sea caves.

By Wednesday the sun was back to working overtime again. We headed slightly inland to the Echo valley crags. 3 routes led by both Soo & John and a nice chilled out morning enjoyed by all.
After lunch we headed back to Toix for a multi-pitch climb. We started on a route called 'Maria', this leads into 'Anna' which took us to the top of the crag in a total of 3 pitches. Although the grades for each pitch are quite low, some of the moves felt rather tricky. A multi-pitch stacked abseil descent rounded the day off nicely.

Beautiful views, warm sunshine, excellent climbing, some great adventures, new lessons learnt, and all amongst lovely company. Thanks to Miguel, Mila, Ann, Soo, and John. Hopefully see you all again before too long.

Mark
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It's been a real pleasure to introduce Andzelika & Eugene to the amazing activities on offer here on the Costa Blanca.
The week began with a single pitch sport climbing session on the Echo valley crags followed by an afternoon in the nearby canyon for an introduction to the world of canyoning, Costa Blanca style. This makes for a lovely introduction to the area, has constantly beautiful views, and finishes on a summit looking out to sea, perfect or what.

Our second day out together was somewhat more 'full on' with a descent of the finest canyon in the area, Barranco Del Infierno. The scenery in this place is quite magnificent and has to be seen to be believed. Starting from the mountain village of Fleix we walk on good trails to reach the start. About 10 abseils and 2 via ferrata sections complete the descent amongst ever more inspiring scenery. An epic day always to be remembered.

After such a long day out in the barranco, day 3 was to be a little shorter, with less walking, but no less excitement. The Ponoch mountain lurks behind the seaside resort of Benidorm and is home to a 500m rock face, the largest in the area. On this rock face is installed a Via Ferrata of around 230m and this was todays objective.
It's steep, strenuous, and a heads for heights helps rather a lot with this one. Is it scary, yes. Does the adrenaline pump, yes. Is it loads of fun, yes. Is there a huge sense of achievement at the top, yes.
We have found Via Ferrata to be very popular and widely enjoyed. It's a great workout too.
Once at the top, there's a multi-stage abseil descent for which we used a stacked abseil system for additional safety.

By day 4 muscles were aching a little more so we opted for a relaxing day cragging at Murla crag in the Jalon valley. We ticked 5 routes and spent a fair bit of time enjoying the view of the almond blossom down in the valley bottom.

Day 5 (Thursday) started with just a splash of rain, thankfully not enough to wet the crags. We had a visit to Cala Testos via the canyon descent. Brand new ropes have now been fitted here to aid descent / ascent to the beach. Then it was time for a fun climb. 'Coming Out' a 4+ route on the nearby Morro Falqui crags offers something a little different. Climbing into a cave before emerging through a hole and out onto level ground, brilliant fun.

Day 6 was another cragging day. This time at nearby Toix crags. Here we climbed 8 routes from grade 3 - 5+. This is a really lovely setting above the sea and Mascarat gorge.

Before heading home on Saturday Andzelika & Eugene headed off to the Jalon market to find some bargains and momentos of their visit to the area.

And all too soon, the aeroplane comes to take people home. All we can say is, come back soon.

Thanks for visiting us Andzelika & Eugene, and thanks to Kate, Kim, Ann, and Joe for help and company throughout the week.

Below are a few photos from the week:

Mark

Two years ago we welcomed Edd to Spain for a fairly last minute introductory rock climbing holiday. Each day we climbed a lot and generally had loads of fun. Last December Edd was back, this time with his sisters and friends. Needless to say we were delighted by this and much fun was had. The theme was still rock climbing, but canyoning and scrambling were enjoyed too.
This December the team were back for more. All now climbing really well and leading trad routes back in the UK, I knew the itinerary was going to need to be pretty special so got to work on making plans for great mountain adventures.

Day 1: Arriving around lunchtime, there wasn't much time for climbing, but we did squeeze in a visit to the local Toix crags and this proved to be a perfect warm up for the holiday.

Day 2: We visited Font d'Axia crags in the Jalon valley area. A lovely quiet crag with loads of great routes from 4 - 7a, so a good range. Everyone climbed loads despite the heat of the sun wilting us at times. And even the 7a saw an attempt!
During the day we looked at multi-pitch climbing skills too, in preparation for a sea cliff adventure tomorrow. Everyone led climbs today and much improvement seen by all. Awesome day!

Day 3: A serious undertaking today, we were heading to the Morro Falqui sea cliffs near Teulada. Our sights set on the 6 pitch 'Sonjannika' which climbs the full length of this impressive cliff. A canyon descent starts the day, then a short scramble to reach the base of the route. With 6 of us on the route, careful time management was crucial for safety and success, thankfully everyone worked hard to keep the day flowing smoothly. I climbed with Jules who was fab company all day. We all met up on the big ledge above pitch 4, here we enjoyed lunch overlooking the sea :-)
As with many brilliant routes, the best is saved until last, and pitch 6 doesn't disappoint. Long and with several tricky sections and a traverse to finish the pitch off, this is excellent in every way. There were a fair few tentative moments on that final traverse, but everyone kept their cool and climbed it well, often finishing to applause from those already at the top. A big and awesome day.

Day 4: An easier day today, with a visit to Jalon market during the morning to buy some Christmas gifts to take back home. During the afternoon we headed for the beach at Les Rotes. Here we swam in the warm sea and enjoyed some beach bouldering. A nice restful day.

Day 5: Another 'full-on' day. We began with a long Via Ferrata on Ponoch. This brought many smiles and much laughter all round. The weather wasn't being so kind today though, with cloud swirling around us for much of the ascent, although this did add to the atmosphere. The clouds cleared briefly when we were at the top and this provided us with big views of the mountain and surroundings. A multi-stage abseil took us easily back to the base.
During the afternoon we went cragging in the nearby Echo valley. With everyone going so well, we almost climbed the whole crag out during our fairly short visit, top effort.

Day 6: Bernia ridge traverse - big day out! An early-ish start for this one saw us walking in before the sun had warmed the air, this allowed a speedy start. We geared up at the 'Forat' then began our ascent to the ridge. A few nerves amongst the team today, especially so once the scale and location start to register! Once on the ridge we were in the sun and pleasantly warm. Movement along the crest soon came naturally to all, and the exposure soon a normal part of the day. Still, concentration levels stayed very high throughout for everyone, big space below the feet tends to have that effect!
We cruised the ridge, the abseils, the climbing section, and then to the descent. Scree run fun, why not? This is a super rapid way to loose height on the northern side of the ridge. Within only about 50m everyone was looking comfortable with the terrain and much laughter could be heard, for this is brilliant fun.
We made it back to base in time for coffees, cake, and beer at the Bernia restaurant. Another awesome day.

Day 7: Yesterday had been a long mountaineering day, and muscles ached a little this morning. So our plan to go cragging to Gandia fit the bill perfectly. The sun was out again, the rock warm, the routes fantastic. Everyone climbed the worm hole route of 'Pequeno Saltemontes' which is so much fun, and made even more so if your name is Lauren or Edd ;-)
This very much became a day of consolidating leading skills for most, with both Jules & Nicola really excelling and ticking loads of routes on the lead. We almost had to drag ourselves away at the end of the day, still so much to do here.

Day 8: Last day for the team and a trip to Aventador crag. This is home to a short and very steep Via Ferrata and that's what we started with. The weather was overcast and cold when we arrived, but thankfully this soon changed to blue skies and sunshine :-)
Jules enjoyed the Via Ferrata so much she went up it again, taking Kate with her. Nice one.
A fine selection of routes were climbed on the main crag, a little multi-pitch action too, and a quality 6a lead for Lauren. Nicola & Edd spent time placing trad gear to help plug the gaps between the bolts. This is a good way to become proficient at this and carries less risk, win win.

Where did the time go, why do you have to go, we'll miss you all so much

Big thanks to: Edd, Lauren, Jules, Nicola, and Richard - an absolute pleasure