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Mountaineering day on Puig Campana: Aristoteles & Pepsi Crest

12/2/2020

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#puig-campana-costa-blanca
Late afternoon shadows and moonrise
Last week we had another fun adventure on the mighty Puig Campana. Climbing any route on here is Going to feel big and take a while, most likely all day. We decided to string together two routes and have a bit of an explore of the mountain whilst we were there.
The walls here are big, no, massive. What Costa Blanca is so well known for is the excellent and varied 'Sport climbing'. Venture away from these easy access and well bolted venues and walk up into the mountains to see a whole different perspective. The Costa Blanca has so much more on offer, and those willing to dust off the trad gear are in for a treat.

We have climbed on most of the big mountains in the region, but it is Puig Campana which keeps drawing us back. Maybe it is the iconic look and feel of it, as a mountain should be. Or maybe the juxtaposition with Benidorm, which is quite surreal. Could it just be the top quality climbing and strong natural lines. Most likely it's a bit of all these. Anyway, we love the place.

Having climbed 'Aristoteles' a few times now and always enjoying it, I was keen to extend the climbing and find a better descent than that offered by 'Aristoteles'. So me and Neil set off to link this route with 'The Pepsi Crest' which is another 4 pitches at about the same grade, so think UK Hard Severe but with a few bolts / tat here and there.

We climbed Aristoteles quickly and efficiently, in maybe only 7 very long pitches. Neil Kindly showed me a harder variation pitch from the halfway ledge. This proved to be a wonderful pitch and well worth doing. After a short abseil into the descent notch at t he top of Aristoteles, Neil led the initial pitch of Pepsi Crest. The route was marked with threads so easy to find our way. This pitch gave about 20m of good climbing then a scramble/walk led to a bolted belay.
The next pitch wandered around rather too much, so I cursed the rope drag! But did include a sensational climb on a very narrow arete. Neil led through and up to a spacious belay which was bolted.
A few more metres of climbing remained and I led this, again up a narrow arete leading to a pine tree at the top of a small gully. Neil then took the ropes around and up to the top of the huge pinnacle to finish things off on a high. This was now over scrambling terrain, although it was certainly easier to stay roped for it.

The views and exposure were pretty special, with sheer walls heading down into the descent gully and the massive South-West face towering over us. Wow this is a big mountain!!
A bolted abseil station at the top of the gully led us into rather bushy territory and a further abseil brought us safely to ground level. Walking and easy scrambling was all that remained, as well as plenty of looking around to scope out future adventures on these mega walls.

Aristoteles is a really good first big mountain route as it offers an easy escape half way up. So if time is running short it is easy to run away. With 2x60m ropes the abseil descent is straightforward too. Adding The Pepsi Crest is another matter. Route finding is a little more tricky, the rock is generally less solid, and the abseil descent has the potential to give plenty of problems.

We climbed about 470m in total, so a fairly long way. On the route for about 5 hours, add in approach and descent brought the total time to around 8 hours or thereabouts. This was taking it easy, but we also had the advantage of knowing the initial 370m pretty well.

Big thanks to Neil for joining me on this adventure.

Mark

#guided-climbing-costa-blanca-spain
Neil arriving at the top of Aristoteles
#puig-campana-climbing
The rather dramatic descent gully
#mountaineering-course-costa-blanca
The final scramble back to base. Part of our route forms the skyline
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Puig Campana - Roldan's Notch

18/1/2020

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#mountaineering-puig-campana
South face of Puig Campana
The South East summit of Puig Campana
 
Upon seeing the huge Roldan’s Notch on the Puig Campana during my first visit to the Costa Blanca, it was firmly on the ‘to-do’ list to pay it a visit. Anyone even remotely interested in mountains will know why as soon as they see it.
Firstly, the Puig Campana is the most dramatic and shapely mountain in the region, although not quite the highest, that accolade goes to Aitana, its neighbour. Puig Campana, or just ‘The Puch’ as many refer to it, has masses of fantastic rock climbing to offer, and these aren’t little climbs, but generally in the 200m+ category with one route in particular taking in around 1650m of actual climbing as it weaves an intricate route from the very base to the southeast summit.
We’ve done a few routes on these massive faces, and there is still lots more for us to explore on this mountain. This week we added another route to the ‘done that’ list. The Edwards Finish to Espolon Central. This route covers around 500m of ground including some fantastic scrambling terrain as well as 3 fine pitches of climbing at around VS. On previous visitis to the top of the main climbs we’ve always been either too tired or it’s been a little too late in the day to continue and get this route done.
So that all changed this week, as we hatched a plan to stand on the southeast summit and more importantly, stand in Roldan’s Notch – if you’ve seen the notch you’ll just know, if you haven’t please do have a Google of it – the absolutely massive gash in the top of the mountain. This is just a wow place, I was struggling for words and still am.
 
So what was the route like?
The Edwards Finish – Very Severe
We started from the top of Espolon Central and scrambled over pinnacles for about 200m. These took us to very exposed terrain and for this reason we roped up and moved together in Alpine style. The pinnacles could be avoided on the right, but this would be missing the point, on mountain routes it’s the positions that make the day, so get in the best ones, always. Towards the end of this scrambling section, the exposure became quite breath taking, I think possibly the most exposed place I have ever been, and there have been quite a few!
Now for the climbing. An easy but wildly exposed pitch to start and takes us up to a big chock stone. The next pitch tackled a clean wall of fine rock before following a blunt rib, this was difficult to follow. The final climbing pitch was another good one, up a wall at about 4a/b to easier ground and a levelling. From here onwards we soloed up to the southeast summit and took our first close up glimpse into the mystical notch, wow! It was actually a bit scary and certainly very humbling to be so small in such a massive feature.
An easy path led us into the notch and at last we stood at the base of it, dwarfed and insignificant, but feeling pretty amazing.
Looking inland we spied the Castellets ridge, which was far below and looked tiny, as did the crags of Sella. Only the massive walls on El Divino and Aitana looked at all impressive from up here.
During our descent we happened upon a bivi spot which looked really nice. 1 abseil of 25m took us onto easier terrain leading into the big gully which we joined for the epic descent.
 
What a day, they don’t get as good as this very often. Big thanks to Neil for joining me on this adventure.
​
Mark 

#the-edwards-finish-espolon-central
Neil on the initial pinnacles
#roldan's-notch-puig-campana
Roldan's Notch
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Fell running, Mountaineering, Scrambling, or Sky running....

2/5/2019

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#sky-running-lake-district
Looking back to Mickledon and Langdale
Since entering (and somehow finishing) the 21km mountain race at L'Ocaive in Pedreguer, Spain, I've been running a bit more often again. Mostly these runs have been on good trails and undulating rather than mountainous and it's been fun...I think!
We're really lucky where we live there are great walks and runs from the doorstep and a couple that have become regular for me are a circuit of Loughrigg (sometimes including the summit), and Wansfell Pike. Whilst Wansfell Pike is loads steeper, I think it's overall an easy run because I have to walk most of the steep uphills. Stretching the legs on the grassy slopes heading back down towards Windermere is a delight and pretty easy on the knees with all that soft grass.

There's been a few trips into Langdale too, to try combining scrambling with running and this has been fun. Stickle Ghyll scramble quickly gains height then over to Tarn crag for a fun grade 3 route followed by a run over grassy slopes to Stickle tarn to link up with the classic Jack's Rake to the top of Pavey Ark. This is such a brilliant route whether walking or running.
What I have found is that fell shoes that are good on grass and mud are completely rubbish on rock and treacherous on wet rock. I'm sure there's a shoes out there that can cope with both, but hey, this sort of footwear can be mighty expensive and due to being so light, doesn't last long.
So today I approached things differently, taking 2 pairs of footwear. A dedicated fell running shoe, the Mud Claw from Inov 8 - these are unbelievably good on wet grass / mud and feel super secure. In my backpack were a pair of 5.10 Tennies with the stickiest rubber around. The combination worked a treat and I'll definitely be doing this again.

Starting from The Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in Langdale I ran along the wide track through Mickleden and across the bottom of Rossett Ghyll before ascending to Angle tarn. Once at Angle tarn I knew the bulk of ascent was behind me and relaxed into a steady pace to Esk Hause. A few walkers were enjoying a break in the shelter there. I continued on to the Hause proper and descended on the Western side of The Tongue, following Calfcove Gill. This was pretty rough and what I should have done was descend on the Eastern side of The Tongue where there is a better path. Never mind, at least this allowed me quick access onto my chosen scramble.

Cockley Pike Ridge - one of the longest continuous scrambles in the Lake District and the setting alone should merit 3 stars. Set high above Upper Eskdale and The Great Moss, with views over to Scafell, Slight Side, Esk Pike, and Crinkle Crags, it's pretty fantastic.
I changed into the 5.10's and set off. This scramble is a mix of broken rocks and small buttresses, it's easy to vary the route to make it more difficult or easier. Today I stuck with some midway ground, so felt about grade 1. By now it was raining quite a lot and freezing cold in the breeze (well I only had shorts & T-shirt on)! Without rushing but going at a steady and controlled pace it was about 25 minutes to reach the top. Over too quickly for sure, but I had covered a big distance in that short time, apparently about 300m of height gain. My legs were trying to tell me this but I hadn't been listening!!

The scramble terminates at a big cairn by the summit of Ill Crag. At 930m above sea level it's one of the big Lakeland tops. By now the mist was think and the rain persistent, so pretty chilly. I did a quick shoe change and considered putting a lightweight jacket on, but didn't bother. Then it was a dash across the plateau to find the main path back to Esk Hause. Back in fell shoes and being initially off-path felt hugely insecure and I did take a tumble. Thankfully, once on the well used path leading to/from Scafell Pike the rocks are cleaner and offer more traction, so no more falls.

The run back to Langdale was pleasant, easy, and fast. Oh and loads of fun. The weather improved too, with blue sky making a reappearance.

So was this a fell running, mountaineering, scrambling, or sky running day? I'm not sure, but if only able to pick one I suppose it has to be mountaineering. That's certainly what it felt like.

For guided walks, scrambles, rock climbing, abseiling, gorge scrambling, and a host of other activities please do give us a call to discuss your plans. We're always happy to offer advice and guidance, and simply happy to chat about the Lakes and share what we know with you.

Thanks for reading

Mark   


#trail-running-lake-district
Upper Eskdale from Cockley Pike Ridge
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