Escaping the mist

Well we have left margaleff a few days ago as i was ill lucy wasnt feeling great and we had been stuck in low lying fog for a few days and it was generaly cold and damp and miserable, We decided to head to siurana or Arboli as they are both A few hundred metres higher than Margaleff, Having driven through fog for 45 minutes we arrived at the top of the Ridge which siurana is situated and blessed with a few minutes of sunshine before the fog rose up and obscured it. hopping for good weather in the morning we frequeneted the super nice refugio to bask in the warmth of the log fire and consume sickly hot chocolates.

Monring broke and brung with is a super cool inversion where the cloud level was below us giving the impression we were above a swirling white sea it stayed below us all day and again yesterday , although today it has finaly gone so heading back to margaleff in a few days to contiune crushing there (see photos for the inversion)

My stomach bug is much better now im climbing, not feeling achey and my feaver has gone, although having a super rich and spicy Curry a few days ago didnt help so plain food only for me the last few days.

Had a really good day today managed to onsight a super nice 35 metre 7B+ called "Muerte De la Sponsor" it features a fuper technicl crux on small crimps and super poor feet followed by some contiunous climbing into a rest then a Goey sprint from the last bolt to the chain. With the last move being a big slap from 2 poor holds to the finnishing Jug. once again i slapped and only just caught the edge of it with 2 fingers then ajusted and it was in the bag. Just before this i also onsighted a super fun 7B which started up a thin crack then headed into a steeper jugy section with a few spicy moves in the middle, I though that once i got the the end it was in the bag but alas a Tenuous Slabby section awaited me, 4 moves on sharp crozely crimps and bloind feet lead to the warming glow of te last few easy metres and the chains. All in all an amazing day

Stupid finger

Stupid injuries

Heya a little rant for my next post im afraid. Well after a rainy first night in margaleff and a rainy forcast for the next few days i decided to take advantage of a break in the weather to try and rush a few routes, and in rushing i didnt clean the mud off the front of my shoe and managed to slip off the first move of the first route i tried here the result is that i now have a hole in the ring finger of my right hand what a result, (see photo)

When in Albarracin i also managed to split 2 of my nails away from the finger which stings like hell for ages. This leads me to believe that the worst injuries on a climbing trip are the little annoying ones that really sting and hurt when you climb :( but really arnt that bad and dont get you any sympathy from anyone

boo

Bouldering in the sun

Hey all

Well were currently in sunny albarracin doing some bouldering, its super good here at the moment weather is about perfect being high teens low twenties durning the day so hot in sun but nice and cold in shade perfect for climbing hard. We had the first frost yesterday morning and its due to hit 0 over night tomorrow and the day after!!

We had a good first couple of days although a bit hot when we first got here, then were joined by Rosey and Tom for 4 days where we commenced crushing the boulders here, well tom did anyway what a machine he is.

Its been fun bouldering as a group its a lot more social and fun + allows you more time between each attempt so you rest more and as a result climb harder,

I had an interesting conversation with Tom about why we climb and what we get out of it and why we climb particular styles (Sport, Trad, Bouldering) this has made me think more about what i actualy enjoy and take from the climbing experiance as it was getting a bit stressfull and hard work over the last few weeks before we arrived here, My realiseation is that i Climb Primarily for Fun and to be outside. And that another thing that i really enjoy about the climbing is the problem solving element of it. Which in bouldering is working out a sequence for a short hard set of moves and in routes i really enjoy onsighting and having to make quick decissions when under pressure.

Lucy has been climbing super well and yesterday managed to fight her way up her First 6b in The psicokiller sector here then as if to back it up that she has now broken into that grade here she got a second one later in the day!!! what a star she is.

My finger has been coping ok with the harder climbing i just need to make sure that any problems with small left hand holds i avoid which i have been. although its a rest day tomorrow and my finger has swolen a bit today and feels fairly tender so its a well needed rest.

Plan for tomorrow is to head to the town where every wednesday there is a fresh fruit and veg market and stock up on some qualaty produce, i have also decided to put up a few blog posts with key details about some of the places we have visited with regards to parking/Sleeping, water, Food, Wifi etc maybe help some of you with arranging a trip in future, first one is going to be for here probably tomorrow when i get the camera out and take some photos.

Well a few shots of team bristol in action below hope you enjoy them, Spot the new prototype bouldering mat that rosey is using in one shot.



Tom crushing




Chilling



Crushing



Proto type bouldering mat



Lucy pulling hard



Jump

More riglos photos

Hey all

Got a few more photos from Riglos that i forgot about, Lucy took them when we were climbing it kinda give another perspective on the scale of hte towers.

First one we are approaching the end of the 3rd pitch so around 80m up

second one at the end of the 3rd pitch getting ready for the 4th


third photo, ruperts setting off on the start of the 4th pitch

Photos from riglos and fiesta de los biceps

 At the top of pitch 6

 Looking down from top of pitch 7

 The village from up high

 Rupert leading the final glory pitch in the sun

 Nearing the top

 The white line on the left is the line we took

 Almost there

 Top of the last pitch

 Down from the top

Succes