Made it up to the climbing today! Had a bit of a slow start, the mists rearing up their ugly white selves up and around us. Chill factor makes sleeping bags so much more comfy! After a decent breakfast and a cuppa hot chocolate we set off in good spirits and great sunshine, my top off in no time at all!
It turns out that the valleys round here in Lleida really are subject to thermal inversions. So while Ellie and I were freezing away at camp, climbers in our now local crag were doing their antics topless. Poo.
Going up in the sun was good. We saw vultures up near the cliff tops and heard thru VHOOMING wingbeats as they missed a thermal. Near the side of the mountain where our crag was, there was an imposing looking building, la Ermita de la Madre de Deu de Pedra, set up encroached on the living rock with a massive formation behind it in the shape of a cross. So, seeing as we had walked up with the heavy gear for two hours, a visit seemed obligatory. Pretty building. Amazing view. Climbing then!
Ellie had a great breakthrough today, despite her vertigo and a very very sore ankle she nailed a very subtle 6a+. This route started with a very generous slope that quickly got steeper, with slippery crimps and sharp one or two finger pockets. About halfway was a comfortable ledge and the entire rock changed to sharp jagged grippy vertical, awesome foothold, but painful for hands. It looked short from below, but proved well worth its 20 metres length. I love limestone.
The view from up there was impressive. Even from our belay spot (on a slope of hard rock) we had such beautiful sights to see. We saw the mist sneak up on the valley ever so stealthily, thin wisps of barely visible whiteness. Then BOOM! We were climbing above clouds!
Sunlight was scarce by then, so a very lovely couple that was climbing next to us offered a lift! They're awesome, Pablo and Agustina. We chattered away on the way down and they've been kind enough to write us down a whole bunch of climbing sites we need to visit. Yay! (NB. climbing zones are called escuelas, schools, in Spain). We had a couple of drinks and talked climbing, me being the official language ambassador :) turns out they've met Chris Sharma!
Can't wait to climb again, tomorrow we're back to pushing our grades, warm up on 6b, heat up till the rock kicks us back down. Confidence in rocks is BACK!
Adeu!
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