Last winter Wayne had booked to do this with us, but conditions didn't come good on the days we were both available. So rather than just going for it on a 'so so' day, we waited until yesterday. The wait was well worth it.
The whole ridge to ourselves, didn't even see any Goats this time. Dry rock, far reaching views inland as far as the Sierra Mariola and Serrella, and across the sea to Ibiza. About as good as it gets then.
We moved swiftly without any rushing. Without a cloud in sight there was no reason to be rushing anywhere, this is to be savoured, and we did. As Wayne is an extremely competent sport climber, projecting routes in the mid 7's we only used the rope for the abseils and 1 pitched section, all else was soloed.
Some may be wandering why such a competent climber would hire a guide for a relatively easy route? There are plenty of reasons, here are a few:
Route finding; reduced stress; help with kit prep; timings.
This is mountaineering after all and a world away from single pitch sport climbing. Mountains have loose rock in abundance and knowing the difference between solid and loose is pretty crucial on exposed mountain terrain.
Benightments are all too common in this area and usually avoidable. Poor prep, lack of planning, and inefficiency are usually the cause. A guide will hugely reduce the risk of this by having a well thought out plan and being efficient.
If thinking of bigger objectives during a visit to Costa Blanca and feeling a little unsure. Get in touch. We'll do our best to help and are very happy to simply share information if that's what you want. If wanting to hire a guide for the day, we can arrange that too.
After a fantastic time up on the ridge, we were back down at the road by 3pm.
Thanks for reading
Mark