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   

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

Recently i've been thinking more and more about why I go rock climbing. Why venture onto precipitous cliffs, enter into  potentially dangerous situations, and climb big (or small) lumps of rock.
We'll no doubt all have slightly different answers to this. Of late i've spent time observing others more closely to understand their climbing needs.
I've found my answer, why do I climb. Yes, it's partly for the movement over rock, the satisfaction of climbing a route and reaching the top.
But there are overhelming factors to a fantastic day out on the rock:
1) The people we are with
2) The places we explore

Grades are simply unimportant, and it's repeated plenty times that the best climber is the one having the most fun. This is so true.  
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Todays route was on the Toix sea cliffs near Calpe. Magical Mystery Tour is a 5 pitch route with a max grade of 5. So the climbing is never particularly tricky, but there's so much more to this place than the climbing and I was reminded of that today. Sharing amazing experiences and places is what it's about, thank you Miguel & Mila for joining me on this today and sharing your enthusiasm for wild places.

Mark

It's been crazy busy here over this last week, with loads of guests and all of them making the most of the massive amount of rock climbing available nearby. The Toix ridge and Bernia ridge have both been ticked, nice one Joe & Seth. We've enjoyed some coastal cragging at Morro Falqui, had a lovely evening in the historic old town of Altea, ticked a load more routes at the nearby Alcalali crag and visited a newly developed sector on the Gandia crags.

A starting point for any visiting climber is a guidebook and Rockfax produce a very good one for Costa Blanca. For reasons of space, it's not possible for the publishers to include all the crags, so lots of excellent crags are missing and of course all the newly developed crags are missing too (there's plenty of these and plenty more in the pipeline).  
We've visited a few of these crags and always had great times, rarely seeing another climber and always enjoying fabulous views and sharp rock.
Today the crag was part of the Gandia crags and has a range of grades from 5 - 6c, we climbed 7 routes from 5 - 6b+, everyone of them well worth doing, giving superb climbing on sharp, well bolted rock.
We have about half a dozen more newly developed crags to visit over the coming weeks, so watch this space for more info on what we find.

A quiet night here in Llosa de Camacho, all guests have gone home, but more arrive tomorrow and we have lots more adventures in store.

Thanks to Liz, Leanne, Joe, Seth, Rachel, George, Ann, Mike, Vicky, and Edd for an amazing week :-)

​Mark & Kate
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​A change of pace for us today and a new (for us) climbing venue visited. Having been to have a look at the Guadalest crags a couple of years back, I’d since been keen to go back with climbing kit and do some routes and it all blended well for that to happen today.
I would climb with Susie who is wanting to get back on rock and enjoy the sensation of rock climbing. Kate & Rachel would climb together and tick off a few of the steeper routes on offer, and there’s so much on offer up here.
 
Me & Susie worked our way through 8 routes, all of which are to be recommended, all are green spot routes in the Rockfax Costa Blanca guide and located on the Penya Maura section of crag. Kate & Rachel started in the same area before moving over to the Penya l’Alcala crag. They also reported good things about the routes climbed. A thumbs up all round for Guadalest crag then. On top of good climbing here, the views are fantastic and include the Guadalest reservoir and the Cumbre de Aixorta mountains with their serrated rocky spires.
 
During the summer months the narrow streets of Guadalest fill up with tourists looking to pick up souvenirs of their holiday to Costa Blanca. Thankfully, during the cooler months it’s a much quieter village and the quaint streets and shops can be enjoyed to the full. Post climbing coffee overlooking the crags is not to be missed either, needless to say we indulged in some of this.
 
If visiting the Costa Blanca and looking for an escape from the coast, this place is well worth putting on the list.
 
If you’re looking for an action packed holiday or short break here in Spain, give us a call / email and let’s make it happen. Rock climbing, mountain walking, scrambling, canyoning, and via ferrata.
 
Thanks
 
Mark

Some down time for us now, before our next visitors arrive and more courses begin. What to do with the free time? Go exploring of course!
 
A warm up session at the local Alcalali crag for starters and ticking at least one new route.
Over the weekend we took the dramatic mountain road over the Col de Rates to Bolulla crag. This road is worth the drive all by itself and please make sure to take the time to stop at the café at the top. They serve amazing cakes, oh and the view is spectacular. Late afternoon is the best time for views. But don’t leave it too late, the café closes at 6pm!!
 
Bolulla crag had been on my list of places to visit for ages, so I was really pleased to be heading there. Access is easy, although parking is limited to around 3 or 4 vehicles. The approach up to the crag is a scramble rather than a walk, very steep and good fun. The base of the crag has a few trees that provide plenty of shade, the crag itself is exposed so can be quite breezy. The guidebook suggests the best feature of this crag is its outlook. I agree. Whilst the climbing is nice, the views are outstanding.
We climbed 4 long single pitch routes this afternoon. All were sustained and all worth doing, with ‘Tutl’ being the highlight for me.
 
Just a few days ago I traversed the Bernia ridge with Soo, however Kate hadn’t been over it for a few years now and was mad keen to go back! So on Sunday we headed over to Bernia for a rapid ascent of this brilliant ridge. I was focused on a quick traverse in order to help fitness, so kept pushing quite hard most of the way. This resulted in a 4 hour car to car time. The cloud came in a few times and shrouded the ridge, clearing for brief moments before smothering us again, this created wonderfully atmospheric conditions, a real treat.
At the climbing section we caught up with a solo climber. He was being sensible and using ‘roped solo’ techniques to protect the bolted section.
 
On the hillside behind our house in Llosa de Camacho, I have spotted a potential scrambling route up to the summit. I’ve been itching to check it out, so on Monday teamed up with Kate & Don to go have a look!
Walking from Llosa we followed good trails to L’Ocaive crag, from here the scramble leaves the ‘PR’ route, Kate & Don continued their walk whilst I began the bramble bash! A series of rocky steps provided good sport and thanks to the Wild Boar there are tracks between each buttress of rock. As is to be expected, there’s plenty loose rock up here, but also some wonderfully solid and sharp Limestone. As I neared the final buttress I could hear rustling in the nearby bushes, then they appeared, first about 10 of them, Wild Boar, then about another 10!!! All wanting to get away from me, much to my relief. But what a sight and so close by. I had been humming to myself and generally making a noise as I proceeded up the scramble and can recommend this as it’s better to disturb the Boar in advance of your arrival.
There appeared to be impenetrable vegetation ahead, but again thanks to the Boar a path led through this and soon onto the well marked PR trail. Soon meeting up with Kate & Don again for a return walk via L’Ocaive and home.
 
On Tuesday, along with our friend Ann, we had planned to visit the local crag of L’Ocaive, but low cloud was making everything feel damp. So instead we tried our local in a neighbouring valley and went to Covatelles crag. This was a first for us, having never been before. The rough track made for a challenging approach drive (well done Ann), but the walk in was nice and easy. The climbing felt hard for the grades and generally very steep. One route we climbed had a huge overhang at the start, this led to very pumped arms!! A bit of aid climbing was resorted to higher up the route, but we did it.
 
By Thursday our local crag, L’Ocaive was all dried out and looking mighty fine again. A session here saw us tick another 6 routes including the magnificent ‘Placa Mania’. When the sun is beating down, this crag is the perfect venue as it stays shady until about 3pm. So we were able to enjoy pleasant temperatures but still get some sun during the late afternoon. Thankfully no aid climbing today!
 
If you’re looking for an action packed holiday or short break here in Spain, give us a call / email and let’s make it happen. Rock climbing, mountain walking, scrambling, canyoning, and via ferrata.
 
Thanks
 
Mark