Time to pay another visit to this sector since big Dave, Tali & Miki have put up new routes.  Xavier & I chill out on Cicuta, 6a and Materia Fosca, 6a and then I try Tali’s new 6b+, Semprevivum to the left of Farigola.  It has a bouldery start and veers up left which I misread.  There’s a thin middle section and the whole route is quite sustained.  Worthwhile.

Now round to the far left of the sector, I like Miki’s Brain Storming, 6b+ (left) and Money For Nothing, 7a (right, shared anchor).  I need two tries to send the 7a which is super sharp and quite powerful, but really nice.  Maximum grip.

What else is new?  Bufa Bufa, 7b+ to the right of Trifasic,… Man, 7c+ in between the two 7c+ and Dave proposes 8a? for his long time coming Espeçies Envasores next to Cojón Prieto.  Good work from the usual suspects.

6a   6a   6b+  6b+   7a   7a

Too much wind to do much today, it was gusting hard nearly everywhere.  Paco, Chema, Martita & Cristian are braving it in the Herb Garden, we warm up on Romaní, 6b and then I’m trying my next 7b+, Aitxitxe Calamitate but with a blocky move on a bulge overhang up to the crack, I’m casting flies all be it without the waders.  There’s some beautiful moves on this strong route though, and it was a good job I took the clip-stick up with me instead of leaving it on a draw, because the wind made it feel even more exposed and difficult.  Definitely closer to 7c than 7b, I’ll retry this one too when conditions are better.

With the wind comes the cold, and I’m moving down the wall to keep in the sunlight, though Paco is falling off a 6b+ in the shade – brrrr!  So we do Azukiki, 6a and it’s nice, I just don’t know why it was stopped at 20mtrs when there’s another 20 above it.  Maybe I’ll have to get myself a drill…

6b   7b+   6a

Siurana was super crowded.  We had already planned on doing the rarely done multi-pitch trad routes at the right end of Herbolari, just before El Solarium.  I was also going to do the 2 pitches together (25+15mtrs), being as we had 60mtr double ropes.  Geared up with all my mothball-smelling friends and nuts, we do the easiest route on the the wall, Feina Bruta, 5, 5+ but the name should have warned me off it.  After the rain and the fact that there is rarely people climbing this route, it was dirty, muddy, overgrown and with dodgy protection.  I stop at the belay because of rope drag.

The second pitch however was a complete change – a pleasure to climb.  There was even a spit bolt at a ‘difficult’ move that had little feature to place passive protection.  After a nice 40mtr rappel down, we decide to shelve the other trad routes and do sport, but nearly all the routes were occupied.  As is typical with unprotected multipitch, the time wasted is remarkable.

We change to Can Aprop to do Kuki, 6a+ for a nice end to the relatively unproductive day.

5,5+   6a+

To warm up I do Romaní, 6b that Olga abandoned at the crux, then onto the new 7a+, Siutaghi which has been put up just to the right of the great Hansel i Gretel, 6c.  Nice, though with a block start, an onsight was thwarted when I pull down on a crimp and the whole thing crumbles away, throwing me off the wall and showering Jack my belayer, with rock dust and stones.  32mtrs with a really nice sequence in the middle – very worthwhile, though it needs more people on it to clean it up a little.

6b   7a+

3rd 7a redpoint… Yippee!

A nice little sector this, with still some projects on the back burner, I leap straight into a 30mtr 7a warm-up, Fisuterapía.  When I did this last week I flew past the crux first time, but then fell on the next section.  Every attempt after doing the same thing to get past the crux resulted in failure.  Same for this warm-up.  Left hand in the pocket, clip, right hand up in the vertical crack, right foot really high and pull up.  The problem was getting the feet higher and not coming up short for the left hand jug.  I top out and rethink my strategy while Fly shoots up a 6a+.

Second attempt and I decide to go for an intermediate left hand crimp to get feet higher and I get it.  It’s a bit of a block move, but I nailed it, and I lower down happy.  Dani, Rosa, Jordi & Monica are all trying various things.  Fly wants to nail Aquí Hi Ha Marro, 6c and as it’s a nice route I redpoint it again.  Dani looking strong, opens the other 7a, Cojón Prieto which I tried a while ago, and decide to get on it again.

Lacking in style somewhat, I get on top of the ledge for the last section.  Dani said he went left up top (pockets and the stiff ball from the name), which I remember as thin, overhanging and crap, so I go right for the sloper vertical crack, which is also thin and crap, but not so overhanging.  It was a good choice and I lower down super happy with another redpoint.

  

With a sweet taste in my mouth, I stop climbing for the day and take photos.  Here’s some of the Girona gang:  Dani (Fisuterapía), Jordi (Paquín), Rosa (Arrebato) & Dani (Paquín).

     

7a   7a   6c   7a   Photos

Looking to make amends for yesterday, we nip up to The Herb Garden.  Materia Fosca, 6a+ & Romaní, 6b to prepare for Fisuterapia, 7a.  I got past the crux nicely, had a rest, continued and plaff!  I guess I read the route wrong.  The previous climber – naughty boy, shouldn’t have chalked up the wrong hold.  Oh well, no harm done…

Next redpoint try, I fall at the crux, so lower down and restart it.  3rd try again falling at the crux, but thankfully getting the next bit right.  The lovely 35mtr Hansel & Gretel, 6c to wind down.  Time for some snack food to celebrate a frustrating, but enjoyable day:  Bar-B-Q pringles and a glass of vino…

6a+   6b   7a   7a   7a   6c   Photos

We kipped in Siurana and tried to get an early start before the sun got to fierce (El Solarium) but what with House music from our considerate neighbours, the full moon and the wildlife, we got to sleep late and rose very late.  After a not so quick coffee in Cornu, back to the crag and the sun had already arrived.  I had suggested El Solarium because on previous visits I had seen tell tale glints coming from the rock that led me to think that the trad routes had been bolted – no, only anchors and belays (with one odd bolt to protect a blank slab).  So it was no go… we had a 5 to start with at the end of the wall towards La Covassa, and El Lado Oscuro was nice, but new (dirty, breaking rock).  I spied a new route to its right but it looks difficult.  Friends of Eoin & Ric’s came and they did the 6c next to us, but we all had to recamp to L’Herbolari for accesible routes.

I managed to redpoint the 6b+ roof prob Arrebato that Rocteam sent nicely which left me floundering, having gone to far right.  Taking the direct line today got me up without a problem.  Eoin got his ass handed to him on a plate by Vía Del Paquín, 6b+ which must have felt like a hotplate with the sun on it.  Fortunately, it hazed up a bit and with semi cloud cover we were spared the worst of it.

Having seen one of the others climbing the face, and not wedged into the chimney like everybody else, I mopped up the difficult and ugly Leire, 5+ for want of a new route to do.  I feel sorry for the newbs that come here, try this route because it is the lowest rated and have to fight with it.  It was a difficult 5+.  With Azukiki, 6a we finished the day hot, thirsty and tired.  I hadn’t done much today, either.

5   6b+   5+   6a

Objective: El Pati, Viagraman, 7a

Early morning shade in El Pati was vanishing when we arrived at El Cargol next door to warm up on Fisura Del Cargol, 5+ then Purgandus Populus, 6a.  Then over to Viagraman, 7a.  The guidebook says it’s a soft touch 7a, and it’s been recommended to me, so with high hopes I thought I could kill two birds with one sending, 1st 7a onsight & encadenado.  Yeah, right.

That dream vanished after the 3rd clip (of 11).  First of all, it’s 30 meters long, which means pumpy,  though there are some great moves on it.  Second, there’s few places to recover strength as your pulling up over bulges, super long reaches and crap handholds.  It’s a nice route though, and this together with the next line Ay Mamita 7a will be welcome additions to my ticklist.

Back up to the Herb Garden to tick another pending route – the super duper Azukiki, 6a.  My only complaint – it’s not long enough.  Only one route left to try here now, and it’s a 7a+, so with two 7a worked and redpoints pending, this will have to wait.  Other routes ticked are the very nice Aquí Hi Ha Marro, 6c and Materia Fosca, 6a and Farigola, 6a.  Home super tired, I’ll be glad to go to work tomorrow for a rest.

5+   6a   7a   6a   6c   6a   6a

The number of pending routes dwindling at L’Herbolari (only 2 left to try) as today I topout 2 new routes – an onsight warm up on Calçotada Rebollenca, 5+ that is a bit strange, it’s super run out and frankly wierd (there’s an Ojo! in the guide book: 30 meters, only 6 bolts).  Marc flashes it and asks me about the nice Vía Del Paquín, 6b+ to its left.  As I have this onsighted from last visit, and being the gentleman I am, hand over the reins for him to onsight which he does.  I redpoint to clean it, this time going direct to the anchor on full left tiptoe to reach a right handhold at full stretch (last time I went left to get over the roof as Marc did today).  What a nice route.

Now Marc lets me open (how kind!) one of the 7s I have my eye on: Fisuterapia, 7a right next to the previously tried Cojón Prieto, 7a.  30 meters, 11 bolts and 3 cruxes.  1st crux: 2nd-4th bolt.  A sequence to get from a ledge at the start of an arrete onto the face then back again, heelhooking to shift body weight back over to the left, using super crap left hand holds with a half decent right hand sidepull.  A nice traverse using two deep twin pockets to the 2nd crux: the start of the long verticle crack (6th bolt) that runs nearly up to the anchors.  Overhanging (naturally) with crap feet and crap hands, thin horizontal crimps (I fell using the verticle crack) to get past the bulge.  A nice overhanging clamber up the juggy fissure to the last crux, a bare slab with one-knuckle two-finger pockets at best, and the thorn bush that’s taken up residence between the two 7s doesn’t help either.  After that job done, a 6b romp up 3 bolts to the anchor.  Nice!

The 2 untouched routes left are Azukiki, 6a+ and This School Pen, 7a+. There is a 5+, Leire but it’s a chimney and I don’t fancy it.

5+   6b+   7a

Early morning… we breakfast like champions at the camping and get to Ca La Isabel before the sun reaches.  I open Faraday, 5+ for Lola and she steams up it like a trooper.  Meanwhile, Miquel opens El Dit Del Gigant, (The Giant’s Finger) 6b aptly named for the mono-finger to get through the thin slab lower down.  A brutal overhanging roof to get past too, this is a difficult 6b flash.  Miquel then onsights a wonderful line, Diedre, 6c+ although fannying about a bit nearly missing one clip up top.  It’s that rock down bottom (cream/orange quality stuff, grey beige limestone up top).  Excellent line, and an excellent flash.

We break for lunch and a rest from the ever increasing heat.  After a pause (and time waiting for shade to smother L’Herbolari), we’re full of beans to get to the herb garden – There’s more routes for me to tick there.  After Jacob onsights the first route in a long line of crackers, Lola cleans it.  Neither have been here before and both will be coming back.  It’s my turn, and I choose the 6b+ Vía Del Paquín.  Wow, what nice climbing: up to the roof is very fine and crimpy, the big roof, then getting steadily easier up to a final slab roof to get over.  A nice onsight for me, flash for J.  Miquel has arrived, so we have a little more time to climb.  I open the unnamed _Project, 6a+ at the end of the first grey wall for Lola, thus leaving J first dibs on Aquí Hi Ha Marro, 6c.  Here we see him just falling a the crux. (Que cabrón!)

Miquel redpoints it as do I. Nice.  To Cornudella for a couple of cold ones, then dinner at a restaurant to round off a great weekend.

5+   6b   6c+  6b+   6a   6c