East or West - Which is Best?

Orpierre - busy, busy, busy

Good old Auzat

 After the delights of the granite heaven of Mello  we headed to Orpierre for a few days via a single night in Argentierre-la-Besse and a two crag day just to pass the time on.
Oprierre was generally quiet though the day before we arrived they had 120 students stopping at the campsite we use - thankfully the owner forewarned us.
Then is was a six hour push back to Chez Arran and the Ariege, five and a half months since we checked out. We soon settled into the usual routine of climbing hiking and taking White Cat to the vets! He(she) had a nasty open sore on her head and with his(her) history the vet thought it best to removed it. Four days on she is doing OK.

White Cat in her happy place

I spent a very productive few days finish off a series of crags I have been working on for a while for the Rockfax App - an Ariege update, Santorini (from a few years ago) Mello and all the new routes at Orpierre that aren't in our current guidebook.
And suddenly it is that time again, if all goes well we will be in Manchester this evening to meet Colin and Antalya (Turkey) late tomorrow.

Italian Lakes and Mountains

Our Mobile Home at Arco

High above Lake Garda

 After a great 10 days in the Dolomites we headed south and east with the intention of being in the Ariege in about three weeks time. I was keen on visiting a couple of Italian venues we climbed at many years ago and never manage to get back too - the famous spots of Arco and Mello.

Lake above Mello

Arco was first, we booked a mobile home in the small village of Pietramurata, a few miles north of the buzzing towns of Arco and Riva del Garda - late September but very much holiday season in the main towns. Despite this, the campsite was pretty much deserted - just how we like it.

Superb granite - Mello

After 10 days exploring the Arco cliffs it was on to the fabulous Mello - I visited the valley for a single day 16 years ago and still recalled the great atmosphere - it was time for a rematch.
We stopped in the heart of the valley in a great apartment in San Martino - a super-tranquil spot. The sun only hits the village for four hours a day at this time of year - mid-winter must be a bit grim up here.
The climbing is on superb granite though the best crag - the huge boulder of the Sasso Remenno - is a victim of its own quality and accessibility - it was packed every time we visited, mostly with groups of school kids. We worked around them and got some great climbs done and did some hiking in the deserted mountains.