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Fell running - to kick start the season

9/3/2022

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#fell-running-lake-district-guided-days
Running amongst the Langdale Pikes
Getting conditioned back to the Cumbrian weather and mountain environment is vital for us after our winter away. Almost every day I've ventured into the mountains for some form of activity, be it climbing, scrambling, walking, cycling, or running.
So a couple of these trips have been running. One more of a run/scramble, which if I'm honest is my favourite sort of run.

Setting out from the New Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale I followed the valley path linking with the Old Dungeon Ghyll before ascending up to Raven crag. Sometimes from here I'll scramble up Middlefell Buttress, but as I was in slightly floppier fell shoes and it was so cold, decided this wasn't a good idea today. So instead I took the grade 2 scramble up the right hand side of the crag. This has a few tricky steps but nothing difficult. Above is lots of easy and fun scrambling to reach the Gimmer path, some of this can be done at jogging pace. I then followed the Thorn crag scramble, this is a grade one rock spur and from the top of here a short run over to just below the summit of Loft crag allows the final and most interesting rocks to be followed up onto the summit. My plan from here was to run over to Pike O' Stickle and check out another scramble on there. However, the wind was blowing quite strong making it feel very cold, so I decided to cut it short and head over to the top of the Dungeon Ghyll and run down this path to regain the valley, stopping for one more scramble on Pike Howe along the way.
A short but top quality route with a wide variety of terrain.
For runners who are used to mountain terrain and can handle some exposure this route makes a great training ground for Sky-running events.

And my most recent run was much more of a run. Setting out from the village of Torver, near Coniston. I followed a web of excellent paths in search of Beacon Tarn. This is a remote and idyllic place with a Highland feel to it. Well I say remote, even on a weekday in early March there were a fair few walkers out enjoying the landscape. I spotted a Buzzard nearby - it had clearly noted my presence too - and watched as it came in to land atop a rocky outcrop. I fully expected it to fly away again as the path I was on took me a little closer, but no, it stayed, just watching. I stopped running, choosing to walk and be as quiet as possible so as not to startle. It is rare to come so close to a bird of prey and for all parties to feel okay with it, but I had the distinct feeling the Buzzard was indeed okay with me being there, albeit for a fleeting moment. I was maybe 25m away and just kept on my trajectory so as to cause her/him no bother.
Soon I was by Beacon Tarn, it shimmered in the afternoon sunlight, hinting of being warmer than it actually was. The setting is rugged and it makes for extremely good running along the undulating shoreline. I then turned away from the waters edge to ascend rough slopes to connect with the return route back to Torver. I didn't see another person until I was back on tarmac, bliss.
This was about a 12km run through fairly remote terrain that is tricky to navigate even though it never goes high. For Trail runners looking to make the transition to Fell running this would make a great start.

For more information about the Fell running we offer please check out this link

Thanks for reading

Mark 

​
#trail-running-in-the-lake-district
Pike O'Blisco and the Coniston fells from todays run
#coniston-fell-run
Beacon Tarn
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Duddon valley cragging

8/3/2022

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#guided-climbing-lake-disrict-wallowbarrow-crag
Stella conditions for climbing at Wallowbarrow
Having only recently returned from a winter in sunny Spain, I was a little apprehensive about climbing at the weekend, thinking it would be just too cold. Well thankfully the sun worked some magic, there was no wind, and we found rock that was actually warm to the touch. Oh, and it was dry :-)
Achieving this took some planning, but knowing the crags so well it was easy to narrow things down to just a few candidates. A South Lakes crag was also high on the priorities list and soon we settled for Wallowbarrow. Arriving at the farm it was still feeling positively baltic, but the farmer gave out plenty of encouragement. We actually chatted with him for well over half an hour, trying to learn a little more about the valley and farming & conservation. All this time was allowing the air temperature to rise a little and the sun to saunter on around onto the crag, warming the beautiful Lakeland rock.

We started off with a route called 'Bryanston' a 3 pitch VS. I had a coat, hat, and gloves on! The hat and gloves soon found their way into a pocket, thankfully not being required. The rock was warm and touching it a complete pleasure. Lakeland rock really is glorious. Solid, rough, textured and colourful. I have missed the Borrowdale volcanics and granite, such wonderful rock.

Next route was 'Malediction Direct' which is a 2 pitch VS and a little trickier, with steep moves leading off the 1st belay. And to finish we cruised up the beautiful slab of 'Digitation' VS. The 2nd pitch has got a little bit tougher now a foothold has broken off!
7 pitches of climbing filled our afternoon along with some sitting around gazing at the views, they are spectacular. Time for home as the sun sets, another fine day at the crag.

Thanks to Claire for a top day.

You may now be starting to think about a trip away to the Lakes. It is starting to warm up and Easter is now pretty close. We still have availability during the Easter period. If you'd like to try out some activities please get in touch and let's make a plan.

Mark 


​
#rock-climbing-course-duddon-valley-lake-district
Enjoying a multi-pitch climb in the Duddon valley
#duddon-valley-lake-district-rock-climbing
Good views :-)
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Espolon P.D.P - Redovan

15/2/2022

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#espolon-pdp-redovan
Name plaque at the base of the climb
It has always been the big routes that have given me most satisfaction, so my interest is forever turning towards the next long climb. During our winter stay in Costa Blanca, there have been multiple big days out on big crags, enjoying long routes of trad and sport climbing. Last week being a highlight when Espolon Central and the Edwards Finish were linked together in a single push.
Yesterday we headed south to the balmy flanks of Redovan, for a big multi-pitch sport route. Maybe 10 pitches, but we didn't have a proper topo and just a hand scribbled page of info, so weren't quite sure what we would get.
It turns out the info we had was perfect and we climbed 9 long pitches and linked these with 3 pitches of scrambling.

A short walk of only 15 minutes leads to the base of the route and a name plaque identifies the route and gives the grade. All the routes appeared to have this. Very helpful.
Often, multi-pitch sport will be sparsely bolted, but not this one. We had 21 quickdraws and were often using most of them on a pitch, most pitches were very long though. This eased route finding and took out any fear factor, making for a very stress free day out. 
Something else that is normal on these big routes is loose rock. Again, we hardly found any. Almost the whole route is on very solid limestone with lovely solution pockets that give technical climbing. Pitches 1, 2, 6, 7 were the hardest overall, but I'd say the climbing is sustained throughout.

By the time we were at the top of the climbing pitches, all 500m of it. There was still plenty of energy in the tank to scramble up to tick the nearby summit for 360' views of the flatlands fat below.

The descent walk was scramble at times, and care needed for most of the way. But it is very well marked with green and white paint.

All in all a really good day out and better climbing than either of us expected.
For anyone visiting the Costa Blanca and wanting a long multi-pitch route with climbing at no more than 6a, this is definitely worth a look.
Thanks to Neil for a top day out :-)

Mark


#climbing-espolon-pdp-redovan
Me and Neil part way up the route
#espolon-pdp-the-layback-crack-pitch
The steep start to pitch 7. This was a big pitch of over 60m
#costa-blanca-mountaineering-routes-redovan
Scrambling to the summit
#redovan-climbing-crag-and-via-ferrata
Redovan crag
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Epsolon Central and The Edwards Finish - Puig Campana

9/2/2022

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#espolon-central-and-the-edwards-finish-puig-campana
Topo showing most of the route
Over the last few weeks there's been some very big days out had here. Mountaineering days that have challenged us, left us feeling exhausted, taken us to amazing places, and given us new experiences. The very biggest of these days was on Monday of this week. My initial estimate of distance for the route was around 900m, but looking more closely, I now have it at more like 1000m (1km). To date this is by far the longest rock route I have done and it feels like a massive achievement.
Tony had been staying with us for a few days and we have been climbing and caving, generally being pretty adventurous and there's always a distant look in Tony's eyes, the telling signs of 'let's get out there and have an adventure'. Well we have certainly done that this week. I have pushed myself to the limit in the caves (underground is not a place I feel comfortable) and the climbing has been pretty epic too.

Our first climbing day saw us retreating from a big route on El Divino in Sella. Our next big route was more of a known for me, so I knew the rock quality and climbing were excellent. The mighty Puig Campana was the venue, Espolon Central and The Edwards Finish our not to shabby objective.
I have done both routes previously, but not in one continuous push, and it has been at the top of my tick-list for a while. Tony was very open to the idea, allowing me to get on and plan the climbing days.

We didn't make an early start, I think it was 9am when we set off on the approach. The cool of the morning being a delight to walk in. Soon I could here other climbers ahead, it turned out they were aiming for the same route as us. We opted for the 'quick start' around to the left, this covers easier terrain but is a little longer. 2 very long pitches got us up to the first big ledge in very quick time. We were now well ahead of the other climbers, a good start.
For most of Espolon Central we were swinging leads as the route meanders up the blunt arete in increasingly dramatic  positions. Much of the climbing is straightforward at about UK Severe, with a few cruxes at about HS 4b. We linked pitches as much as possible, so almost always doing long pitches close to rope length. For the upper pitches cloud came to join the party, this was quite unwelcome and made me nervous about continuing up The Edwards Finish as route finding would be more difficult in cloud.
At a couple of the belays we met with the other climbers and chatted a little, they were from Blanes, on the Costa Brava. It's always nice to share a belay with fellow climbers, chat about the route and just have some general banter.

At the top of Espolon Central the cloud was still with us. After a brief chat we choose to continue up The Edwards Finish. I felt fairly confident I'd remember the way even if the cloud remained. The initial scrambling soon turned quite serious and we roped up again, moving together over this Alpine type terrain. The first proper belay comes at the foot of a pinnacle, with a dramatic gully to the left (2nd photo). I hadn't taken any photos and thought now may be a good opportunity, it was.
The following pitch begins good but soon deteriorates as it merges into the big gully, thankfully the view makes up for the crap climbing. The next 2 pitches are far better and provide the crux of the climbing day. From the top of the gully the route goes left onto the steep wall and follows an arete via tricky moves to a good stance. Tony cruised this despite not really knowing where he was aiming for, top effort. The final pitch was similarly difficult and I took this one. Initially struggling to remember the way and thinking 'I'm sure it wasn't this hard' I soon got into a flow, placed some good gear and went for it. The rock quality remained excellent on all the steep sections but deteriorates once near the top and on easy ground.
Belaying from a massive block at the top of the route I breathed a sigh of relief. We had been short on time all the way and the threat of darkness loomed as we climbed higher. I had felt the stress of this the whole time and had often been unduly rushing as a result. But being stood at the top and knowing where we were and what was left to come I felt the tension start to fade, it was a good feeling.
A quick snack and drink then it was more scrambling / walking to reach the massive notch, yes that prominent one seen from Benidorm and beyond. A quick photo here then off to find the abseil point. The orange dots have been rubbed out, so this took a little longer than expected to find. Soon we were in the huge gully and on the home straight.

Arriving back at the roadside after dark, completely knackered but very very happy. A memorable day of epic proportions spent with a good friend. I think we could have both fallen asleep there and then.

Climbing is different things to different people. For me, it's all about the big routes in the mountains. Everything else is training. The longer the route the better. It doesn't have to be hard, but should feature some good rock, challenging route finding, and ideally a summit. 

Big thanks to Tony at IGuide Adventure for sharing these fab days out. 

Footnote: there's now been time to rest after all this activity, but I'm still exhausted, so please excuse punctuation and grammatical errors in the text, I haven't checked it ;-)


Thanks for reading
Mark


​
#puig-campana-the-edwards-finish
About to set off up The Edwards Finish
#climbing-puig-campana-espolon-central-edwards-finish
Me coiling the rope at the top of the climbing pitches. Scrambling from here leads to the top
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Puig Campana - Sin Nombre

5/2/2022

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#puig-campana-sin-nombre-topo
Sin Nombre
Last Tuesday me and Kim had a big day out on the most iconic mountain in the Alicante region, Puig Campana. We are both fairly familiar with the mountain having climbed a few routes and repeated them all too. Wanting a 'mountaineering' style day out, we naturally choose Puig Campana, but wanted to try a different route. The guidebook has been out of print for many years and route information can be difficult to come by. Two routes of interest were 'Sud Oeste Integral' and 'Sin Nombre'. Both similar grades (5) but we realised that we'd already climbed lots of the Sud Oeste Integral, so opted for Sin Nombre (No Name).

After some research we found a vague topo showing an outline of the 9 pitches. We had no description to accompany this. but felt happy this was enough. 
At a claimed 300m we decided an early start wasn't necessary, so set out from the parking area above Finestrat shortly after 10am and were touching rock by 11am. We were the only climbers on the mountain that day. A late start was to prove an oversight.
As the information we had was limited, I spent time during the approach walk trying to absorb as much information about the route as possible. It was in full view for most of the approach. I could visualise a lot of the climbing and where belays might be, what the 'big ledge' would be like and I also considered potential escape options.

Once on the route the rock felt good, great in fact. Pitch 1 gave really good climbing on sound rock. In fact, much of the climbing was great and on fantastic rock, albeit interspersed with a few hollow / wobbly blocks, typical of a big mountain route.
Pitch 3 gave the first really challenging climbing, but this was well protected so felt good and was interesting. A couple more long-is pitches rambled mostly rightwards, keeping to easier terrain before a final sweep left landed us on the massive mid-way ledge. This was quite different to how I'd imagined it, but spacious and comfortable all the same. It was actually so big, finding the continuation pitches proved a little tricky. We did and away we went again, up the left arete which gave impressive exposure. A hard section followed and I was by now feeling knackered, so asked Kim to take over the lead. She led this upper crux in fine style. The difficulties were now behind us, but more climbing followed, I think 2 long pitches of easy climbing / scrambling before we decided it was time to put the rope away. We had actually come slightly too high and needed to descent to reach the top of Espolon Central where our descent would start.

The original plan was to continue to the summit via The Edwards Finish (VS). Time was no longer on our side, it was already gone 5pm and we had a long way to go to get off the technical terrain. Cables have now been installed for much of the descent from Espolon Central, making retreat this way a little safer and significantly quicker.

We arrived back at the roadside shortly after dark, tired but happy.

Having climbed about 10 pitches and maybe 350m, with challenging route-finding the whole time and being the only climbers up there all day. We felt privileged to have been granted a safe passage up and most importantly back down. We didn't complete our objective to reach the notch high on the mountain, but that will always be secondary to a safe day.

The Puig Campana continues to be an inspiration and will no doubt draw climbers for many years to come. Most routes on there are mountaineering days with all that implies. Any climbers visiting the region on a Costa-clip-up holiday may want to have a look at this place for an alternative day. Expect long pitches, changeable weather, a long and technical descent, spaced protection and occasional loose rock. But what a brilliant adventure :-) 

Mark



#espolon-central-descent-route-puig-campana
Descent for Espolon central and other nearby routes
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Mountain skills and thrills - Ponoch

23/1/2022

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#ponoch-mountaineering-routes-costa-blanca
The massive wall of Ponoch
When wintering in Costa Blanca, which has become pretty standard for us over the last 10 years. We usually manage a few trips up the Ponoch via ferrata as it's a really good workout. A few times over recent years, I've extended this with a scramble all the way up onto the summit plateau, this is 100's of metres higher and adds so much to the day.

A couple of days ago some friends were heading to do the via ferrata and they hadn't experienced the continuation scramble. Kate was still to do this too. So we had a proper mountain day with a mix of steep via ferrata, ridge scrambling, and plateau navigating to reach the summit of Ponoch /Ponotx. 

The main face of Ponoch is around 500m high and steep all the way. The via ferrata follows a fine arete for about 250m to finish at a lower plateau. From here a ridge can be joined, initially this overlooks the massive south wall, so exposure is pretty biblical.
With some weaving around, an amenable way can be navigated all the way to the edge of the upper plateau. This is mountaineering terrain though, so care is required as loose rock is in abundance and straying off route would be serious.

From here a couple of choices of descent await. Firstly there's an abseil station about 10 minutes walk/scramble away. This is good if wanting a shorter walk and more technical rope-work. That wasn't on the menu today though, it was high and wild mountain terrain that was needed and this place delivers.
Just keep walking uphill, across rough limestone pavement, occasional cairns aid navigation, slightly! Enjoy the peace and serenity of this wild landscape, don't rush, stay quiet and look out for the Goats and maybe even Ibex.

Eventually the summit is reached and the views open up even more. Puig Campana; Aitana; Xanchet; Bernia; even Ibiza if the air is super clear. Good paths lead back to base from here. 

About 10km of ground covered with around 600m of steep, technical terrain mixed in. Along with harness and helmet, we used via ferrata lanyards, 30m of single rope, and a couple of 120cm slings on HMS screwgates. This is a minimum requirement for a roped party. A 60m rope would give the option of taking the abseil descent, or simply making retreat easier. 

This route along with many others will feature in our forthcoming book 'Costa Blanca Mountain Adventures' (Cicerone) and this will be available from September 2022 :-)

Thanks for reading
​Mark

​
#mountain-skills-days-ponoch-costa-blanca
Kate nearing the top of the scrambling terrain
#ponoch-summit-mountain-skills-costa-blanca
The vast plateau of Ponoch with the summit in the distance
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Mountaineering skills and some fine ridge scrambles

10/1/2022

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#bernia-ridge-traverse-costa-blanca-spain
Looking west along the Bernia ridge
Over the last few days I've spent a little more time on the local ridges here in Costa Blanca. The Bernia and Segaria ridges are places I know very well, having traversed both many times. Until this week I hadn't attempted the Bernia as a solo day, so decided to have a go at a quick, solo ascent.
There is a lot to consider before setting out onto a big ridge or any mountaineering environment, especially so if going solo.
Weather, gear, skill set, fitness, daylight hours, escape plan, who knows where I am. Just a few things to be considered.

With all of the above taken into account, I set off for an afternoon ascent of this wonderful ridge. There were a lot of walkers out enjoying the fine weather, I wandered if anyone would be up on the ridge. I moved fast, soon arriving at the tunnel through the base of the ridge and 10 minutes later I was up on the crest enjoying views down to the coast. The weather was perfect, no wind and completely clear. Now on the rocky terrain I slowed the pace so more considered movement could be employed, this is not a place for a slip!
Even with this slowing of pace, as I was solo so all obstacles could be tackled immediately, I covered ground much quicker than I had expected. Soon I was at a small abseil, so sorted the rope and after a thorough check whizzed down it. A few minutes later another abseil station was reached, this one being above a bigger drop and I knew the rope was going to be borderline long enough. The rope length turned out to be perfect. I had knotted the ends of the rope just in case it had been too short.
Lots more straightforward scrambling brought me to the main challenge of the day, a 4+ climb of about 25m. This is very well bolted and I had come prepared to aid the initial moves as the rock is very slippery. A lanyard and 2 quickdraws were enough to keep safety limits acceptable and me moving efficiently over this steep terrain. Clipping in the 'draws to a bolt and pulling on the 'draw gave me a huge advantage. Yes this could have been done without aid (and typically would be when using a rope), but a fall from this section is unthinkable and safety comes first. As the terrain eases once more a high point is reached, I de-harnessed at this point.

With the main difficulties behind me, I felt myself starting to relax a little more. This needed attention as when we loose focus we make mistakes. I switched the brain back on.
Dropping down onto the scree before the main summit of Bernia I now only had an easy scree path to descend before the tourist path would be reached. Until now I hadn't seen another person or animal since joining the ridge. Right in front of me stood a herd of Ibex, every one of them had their gaze fixed on me! I tried to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb them, but it was too late, they were already retreating. But 3 stayed much longer, perfectly still and focusing on my every move. Moments like this are such a privilege.

This had been a brilliant afternoon, with many mountaineering skills practiced.

Yesterday, a last minute change of plan put the nearby Segaria ridge into the picture. It is splittable into 3 sections so can be done in a short space of time. Perfect for an afternoon out.
Yesterday the weather wasn't so calm though. We had clear blue skies, but a strong north-westerly wind. A ridge scramble could be extra exciting. The Segaria isn't high, so I felt it to be a reasonable objective, I also approached with an open mind about turning back (always do this). The wind at Portet Beniarbeig - which is a big notch in the ridge - was pretty high, but to be expected given the terrain and wind direction, so this didn't deter me. But I did take some time to investigate the effects of the wind a little more. The small trees and shrubs up on the ridge were not being blown around, this was good news. Onwards.

Interesting scrambling leads out of the notch and up onto the exposed crest. Once on this it can be followed directly for much of the way. At times the wind was too strong on the very top, so I dropped slightly to the south side and was instantly given shelter. I was noticing an increase in wind speed as I progressed along the ridge. I was slightly concerned by this and adjusted my speed and stance to compensate. Very close to the end of the ridge is a short, exposed and difficult down-climb. This required total focus in order to get the sequence correct. I knew once I had descended this there would be an island of safety in the form of an abseil station. What I hadn't realised was quite how windy it would be at the abseil station!

22m to the ground and a big footpath, but it felt so much further. Even trying to take the rope out of my backpack required all my effort, the wind was that ferocious. Having eventually threaded the rope through the anchor, I began to coil it ready for a throw. Not quite sure why, but I took hand coils and cast them in the hope they may end up on the ground. No chance, I needed to fully engage the brain again and consider how best to get the ropes down. I tried a 'rope bomb' which is something like a big ball of rope. This didn't work either, in fact it made things worse as the rope made slightly more progress than before and just enough to allow it to become tangled. Oh joy.
With the ropes stuck and no amount of tugging would free them, I attached to the abseil rope, double checked everything and set off to fix the problem. Thankfully I was able to do this after only descending a couple of metres so ascending back up was easy.
I took some time to consider a variety of other methods for getting the rope down during extremely windy conditions, but also took time to look around my immediate surroundings. Actually I could abseil southwards rather than north, this would make all the problems go away.
Sometimes a solution is easier and closer than it seems, keep an open mind and a look out for it.

Minutes later I was off the ridge and out of the wind. A fun adventure with a final twist.

Mountaineering is an extremely rewarding pastime, but it does come with quite a helping of danger. Beware of this and be prepared. Build skills over years, and don't rush into things. Training courses and technical books are worth considering. We can arrange skills courses suitable for all levels and these are available from early March through to late November, based in the Lake District.
If looking for a technical book of all things mountaineering, the very best currently available is 'Down' by Andy Kirkpatrick.

Thanks for reading

Mark   
​

#bernia-ridge-traverse-scrambling-skills-course
Looking east along the Bernia - yes there's a safe way down that.
#segaria-ridge-traverse-costa-blanca
Segaria ridge - route finding can be quite challenging on here
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Happy New Year - and a little write up about some climbing on a very big sea stack

1/1/2022

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#the-peñon-of-calpe-rock-climbing-on-the-north-face
The glorious north face of El Peñon d-Ifach
Happy new year everyone. Thank you all so much for your support, we are super grateful :-)

It has been a year of pretty intense highs and lows, I'm sure that's the same for many folk out there. We'll keep this climbing related though, and that side of things has been ace. Whilst much of the UK suffered a rather wet summer season, the Lake District was much drier than usual, meaning mountain crags were climbable for many days over summer. We did our best to take advantage of this and did manage to climbing on the Esk Buttress and on the East Buttress of Scafell. Both very special places, really hope we can visit them more often.

We enjoyed a very busy summer and all through autumn too, having fun in the canyons and gorges, scrambling, climbing, abseiling, and many guided walks. Again, thank you all so much for joining us.

At the beginning of December, I escaped to Spain and Kate is due to join shortly. For a winter holiday and some personal development. Work here in Spain is on hold for us for now, whilst Brexit continues to unfold. We hope to be able to offer activities here again in the coming years, but for now the winter trips to Spain will be our holiday.

I like to keep busy though, even on holiday. The Cicerone guidebook I've been working on 'Costa Blanca Mountain Adventures' has now been submitted to the publishers so hopefully only a short way to go now before that's available to purchase. With that work complete, it has allowed for more climbing time on routes I may not normally be looking at. More difficult routes in some cases. And this brings me on to our final day of 2021. What to do for New Years eve, hmmmm.
Okay, let's go and climb a really hard (for me) route on The Peñon in Calpe. This venue was chosen as the weather is currently very warm so we needed a north facing crag in order not to melt. Only having climbed 1 route on the north face this seemed a good opportunity to try another. So we opted for 'Verde Esmeralda' an E2 / 6a+ multi-pitch climb.

In a nutshell, this route is fantastic and well worth climbing for anyone operating at HVS / 6b and possessing a high sense of adventure.

Verde Esmeralda - E2 / 6a+  100m
Start by the small cave just before the tunnel on the main path. 
Pitch 1: 30m 4+ Climb just left of the cave, battling though a small tree to reach a wide and impressive groove. Continue up this following a few fixed threads. A stance is reached about 10m below the obvious orange roof. Belay here.
Pitch 2: 10m 4+ Continue towards the big roof, trending right to reach a bolt on the lower lip, move right again and up to the bolted belay. This is a hanging belay, so worth getting as comfortable as possible.
Pitch 3: 20m 6a+ This pitch is fully bolted and the bolts are pretty close together for the hard moves. Make wild moves directly up from the belay (using your belayers shoulder helps), all on big jugs but the terrain is severely steep. Keep going and very soon the angle eases and the climbing becomes more enjoyable. Climb the slab trending slightly left to reach a more comfortable belay with a single large staple bolt.
Pitch 4: 30m 5 Move left from the belay into a bushy corner, climb the corner system above with provides delightful climbing. At a small ledge move right onto a slab with a couple of small red dots, follow this to a small pinnacle then make an awkward move to gain the upper slab. Clip the bolt above then move back down slightly and traverse left a couple of metres before going upward again to reach a comfortable ledge with bolt and peg belay.
Pitch 5: 10m 4 Go rightwards to gain a shallow groove and follow this to the top.

Descent: Ascend slightly then traverse via the easiest line until a rocky scree gully can be seen, descend into this and follow it down to the path. 

What an amazing way to round off the year. I hope you've all had a great start to 2022 and your year is filled with joy, positivity, and adventure.
Thanks for reading

Mark :-)
​

#climbing-course-ambleside-lake-district-multi-pitch
Kim arriving at the hanging stance below the crux pitch
#calpe-coastline-rock-climbing-on-el-penon-d-ifach
Views are every bit as good as the climbing
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Ponoch - Big wall climbing

21/12/2021

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#ponoch-rock-climbing-costa-blanca
The huge Sector Central face of Ponoch
Today we went for a big adventure on the largest crag in the region of Costa Blanca. Although not quite as high or as well known as neighbouring Puig Campana, this is without doubt the most impressive lump of rock in the region. Some routes are 500m+ and all are demanding undertakings, typically with big run-outs and hard climbing.

Having previously climbed the big classic 'Via Valencianos' E1/6a I was keen for more of what Ponoch has to offer but preferred a sport route to ease route finding. When I say 'sport route' what I mean is there are very sparingly placed bolts and equipped belays. That's to be expected on a crag as big as this.
So it was decided we would climb 'Viaje Espacial' a 6a/E1 with the final pitches having either no or very limited fixed gear. We didn't intend to bother with these pitches, but took a trad rack just in case.

Pitch 1 is the same as Valencianos so I knew this one but hadn't led it. I remember it having an interesting move about half way up. This took some working out but once beyond this it was a breeze to the belay on a massive ledge. A short walk right brought us to the base of the next pitch, also a 6a and fairly long at 45m. It tackled a wall directly and felt quite steady.
Pitch 3 headed rightwards and although was a lower grade pitch (5) it felt just as difficult, in fact all pitches felt pretty equal in terms of difficulty. A small belay ledge was reached and by now I was getting really hot from the exertion. I should have taken some time out for food and drink but for some reason decided not to. That was a mistake.

Pitch 4 was simply magnificent giving some of the best climbing I've done in quite some time. Very steep at times and always super exposed. However, by the time I reached the next belay ledge I was feeling wasted and knew I was becoming dehydrated and needed to act. So after a quick re-fuelling break we took the decision to head back down. We were only 1 pitch short of the top but it would have been foolish to continue. Thankfully I soon started to feel much better (top tip, always carry a Go Gel or similar with you) which was helpful as the abseil descent gave us some problem solving to deal with.

We used 2 guidebooks to get information about the route. Firstly the Rockfax Costa Blanca and this was complimented by the local guide 'Ponotx' by Manuel Bernabeu. If wanting to explore this mountain more, it is the local guide you'll be needing, it offers 100 routes, all are full days out. All will be memorable.

There are a few more routes on here I have my eye on, hopefully another will get ticked on this visit so watch this space. Back to some single pitch sport climbing tomorrow :-)

Thanks for reading and thanks to Kim for coming on this adventure with me.

Mark 
​
#climbing-course-ambleside-lake-district
Pitch 4 - this gave some incredible climbing
#el-frare-ponoch-climbing-costa-blanca
The fin of Agulla del Flare
#rock-climbing-course-lake-district-viaje-espacial-ponoch
Route name scratched at the top of pitch 1
#viaje-espacial-ponoch-topo
Topo of the route from the local guide by Manuel Bernabeu. Image copywright - Manuel Bernabeu
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Mollo de la Creu

17/12/2021

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#matterhorn-of-gandia-mollo-de-la-creu
The right hand ridge was our chosen route
On Tuesday we went in search of the mini Matterhorn of Gandia, properly known as Mollo de la Creu. A majestic peak rising from the fertile orange groves to stand sentinel over the nearby urban sprawl of Gandia, such a juxtaposition.

I had made one previous visit to the lower section of this crag and thought it to be not worth another visit. However, we later learned of a long and fully equipped route leading up to the summit via a beautiful ridge line. Well that's going to be worth a look for sure. So me, Kim, and Ann set off for an adventure, oh and what an adventure we had. A true adventure should have some uncertainty and an unknown outcome. This place delivered.

The climb is in two parts, the first section is the route I'd already climbed and I knew this wasn't going to be amazing. But the hope was it would lead to much better things. From the top of this section a short scramble brought us to the base of the ridge line. This looked amazing. I think we climbed it in 5 pitches and all were very long, and on two occasions I came close to running out of rope - we were using 60's too!!

The pitches were a nice mix of easier climbing / scrambling and some more testing moves to which kept us engaged. Route finding was mostly straightforward and all the difficult sections were well bolted. The easy sections had big run-outs.

We arrived on the summit at about 3pm and enjoyed a rest, some lunch, and the gorgeous views. The descent walk was due to be around 50 minutes and all looked pretty straightforward. If only! The red blobs of paint we were due to follow didn't materialise and the path we used, which initially seemed correct, was taking us in the wrong direction more and more. As we hadn't seen any other options for a way down, we stuck with this for a while longer, but then realised it would take us into the wrong valley. We had a sweep search for alternatives, but nothing reasonable was found and simply ploughing through vegetation in this part of the world is a really bad idea. It is very very sharp, yes I've learn that the hard way.
So we stuck to the good path heading into the wrong valley, we could see it would get us off the mountain and by now darkness wasn't too far away. As it turned out, the walk back to the car wasn't going to be too far, there was just a short section that may be a little off-piste. Well, about that sharp vegetation.......we had a few hundred metres of it to negotiate and this took an age. Multiple cut and trips later, much cursing, some occasional laughing at ourselves, and we emerged on the other side. Phew. 15 minutes later we were back at the motor. A little tired, full of thorns, but what a fantastic day out with two lovely friends.

It's not about the climbing. It's about the people, the places, and the adventure.

Thanks for reading and thanks to Kim and Ann for joining on this one :-)

Mark

​
#mollo-de-la-creu-gandia-mountaineering
Ann about to top out on the climb
#climbing-skills-course-ambleside
Kim taking over the belaying for a while to give me a rest :-)
#mountaineering-days-gandia-costa-blanca
Hmmm, I wonder why it's called the Mini Matterhorn
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