Back to the Ariege - sixteen months on

Roquefixade Castle - one of the nicer days

Three and a bit months after leaving the UK we rolled back into the Pyrenees, almost a year and a half since we last passed through on our way to Croatia. It is always good to be back as it is great area with loads to do and usually - except in the skiing season - really quiet. The two surviving cats (Tiger and Zen) we pleased to see us - or at least the lady who controls 'the white box' and were happy to be inside during the unseasonably weather that greeted us.

Snow plodding at Col du Puymorens

Sun Rock at Genat

We have arrived in a cold and unsettles spell as happens in the mountains, with occasional frosts interspersed with rainy spells - usually at night, which is leaving the crags a bit damp and manky. I am four routes short of 500 for the year, it would be nice to tick those last few before the year is out! 

New Year is approaching soon - we need to find somewhere to go that won't be full of noisy revellers - I actually slept in the car one year!

Back in the Groove

Our house - back left - catching a bit of sun

 Colin had almost four weeks climbing with us, we got a heap of stuff done despite some mixed weather, but soon enough his time was up and we packed him off north with a car load of food and a following wind.

We spent a few more days at Avrieux getting use to the peace and quiet (did I mention Colin had a horrendous hacking, every few minutes for the whole of his month-long stay) and doing a few routes to keep ticking over. 

Then we move around to the opposite side of the Ecrins to Venosc in the deep-incised valley running up to La Berarde. It is a stunning part of the world, amongst the high peaks but the valley doesn't get much sun in the winter and the climbing turned out to be a bit random. We enjoyed our stay there but were happy to move on again to the Vercors. 

St Christophe

The next stop was in the hills above Grenoble, a nice pad and some pleasant routes on a clutch of minor crags, then it was on to Buis-les-Baronnies in Provence. It is a few years since we have been here (and c40 since my first visit). It was 5C warmer down in the lowlands and the climbing in the area is great, I think we may be here for a while.

Cruising with Mr Blow

Autumn in the Briançonaise - gorgeous

 Colin duly arrive after a 15 hour epic drive from the Channel, though heavy rain most of the way, finally grounding his car by dropping it off a hidden a kerb in Briançon, a couple of miles from the pad. We went out to find him, the recovery truck was already in the act of lifting the car back onto the road - and relieving Colin of €150! 

Ailefroide granite

It rained for the first couple of days - how inevitable is that - we managed to squeeze in a damp trip up the Via Ferrata at the Rocher de Bez? 

Then things perked up nicely and we have since climbed on a whole variety of crags, in great conditions with very few people about. 

Just one week to go and the peace and quiet will descend again and we will have to make plans.

Back to Brianç0n

Mont Blanc from 60 miles away

After two weeks in Austria we crossed into Italy (via the Stevio Pass - that's another story) for a few days on the granite of Mello, then over the border again to the Maurienne Valley in France for a couple of weeks. It is an area we like a lot, quite high, so cool, some decent climbing and always so quiet.

The Maurienne, nice round here

There is lots going on in the area with road closures and works associated with the 58km tunnel under the area which is going to link Lyon and Turin in about 10 years - they have only been on with it since 2002!

Then it was time to head over the Galibier Pass - great views - and down to Briançon, another area we really like. Colin is coming out from the UK next week so climbing will be done - 50+ years since we first climbed together at Brimham rocks.

Austria almost Autumn

Climbing at Oberried - nice

 The drive from Rotterdam to Austria was as unpleasant as expected with horrendous traffic and pouring rain, but we made it after two days on the road. Ten days in and it has been as pleasant as we were hoping. We are stopping in the small hamlet of Burgstein on a jutting shoulder above the main Öetztal valley. The place is a busy working farm with lots of cattle (and kids) so a bit smelly and occasionally noisy but otherwise very pleasant.

Most places are still very warm but up at 4,500' the days have been warm (low/mid 20s) and the nights have been superbly cool at 10/12C - perfect sleeping conditions. Everywhere is still very busy - hopefully the start of September will see a change as Europeans push off back to work

We have climbed, hiked, explored and chilled - all in all, a great start to our extended trip. Another week here then onwards towards France and the autumn.

In the Starting Blocks

Mucky weather across Europe

It in nine weeks since we got back from Croatia and it has definitely felt like kicking out heels waiting for the autumn to come. We have had three trips away, a couple of weeks in the Yorkshire Dales, ten days at Rhyl on the North Wales coast and six days above Holmfirth, just sixteen miles from home. All were very pleasant, but it made us realise that the flat in Sheffield is certainly a quiet place to be - no tractors, seagulls, cows or sheep waking us at the crack of dawn.

 Anyway it is mid-August and we decided it is time to go - ferry Hull to Rotterdam this evening and onwards to Germany and then Austria. The forecast looks pretty poor for our travelling days but much better beyond 

Then we have our 180 day French Visa to look forward to - bring it on :-)

Biding Our Time

The road goes on - and we must follow if we can

 It must be approaching six weeks since we left Croatia to sit out the summer in the UK. We have had a couple of very pleasant trips away, a couple of weeks in the Yorkshire Dales and a nine day visit to North Wales. Colin came along for part of both trips so we manage to get a good amount of climbing done, often on crags new to me, which is always a plus.

Noggin (HVS 5a) at Noggarth - somewhere new

Perhaps the biggest development has been that we finally got round to submitting our application for a 180 day French Visa. We went over to Manchester to pass the paperwork over and two weeks later got the call to go back for our passports, we were pleased to see that they contained a big shiny visa covering the period from September to March - YES! 

In other news, the UK has just broken its all time temperature record (39.1C) as I write this in a rather steamy Rhyl.

We had hope to get up to Lofoten in August, but with Covid rampant yet again and utter chaos at UK airports we are not so sure if it is a good idea - time will tell.

Back to Croatia

Rovinj from across the bay

Two weeks in the UK was more enough for us - cheap flights to Pula in Croatia and Colin keen to travel clinched it - all booked and a few days later we were back in Rovinj. Colin only had one week, he had to be back for cat sitting, so we climbed seven days on the trot - that hasn't happened for a long time - it was great to be back in the groove.After dropping him back at the airport we kicked back, explored Pula and Rovinj and generally took it easy. 

While we have been away Eastern Grit Mk IV (530bpages) has been published - this is the book that started my relationship with Alan James 21 years ago - a life changing episode.

Turkish Delight

 As our time in Schengen approaches the 90 day limit (thanks once again to the Brexiteers) we had a choice, head back to the UK or pop across the 15 miles of water to Turkey for a few weeks - not really a choice at all tbh. From Kalymnos caught the catamaran to Kos, had a night in a nice (****) hotel then jumped on the early boat to Bodrum. 

Spring in Turkey

Initially we booked a week in Bodrum just to unwind and assess our options - we could fly back to the UK from here, Kos or Rhodes fairly easily.The town is always so busy, but the pad is central, well insulated against the noise and has superb air conditioning and wifi - all a man needs!

Lake Bafa - all mod cons

After a week we moved up the coast to the small town of Akbuk which gave us the chance to have a look at the ancient town of Heraklia on the shore of Lake Bafa  - truly astounding spot and with a huge mountain of granite right behind it with zero climbing on it.

Back to Kaly - one more time

Kasteli Chapel and windy weather

We booked to fly into Kalymnos directly from Athens, the flight was on time but it didn't land as the north wind was too strong - seven hours after leaving Tina's Apts we had covered about two km! That is the second time it has happened - there won't be a third! We rebooked a later flight and rolled into Kos about ten at night - and stopped in Mastichari - much better to get the morning ferry and arrive in good order.

Topo Variations

Asphodel and greenery

Two weeks in and the island has been REALLY quiet but with Easter a week away the place is coming alive as folks trickle in. The weather hasn't been great - often windy and grey, with a hot, stuffy southerly which I find particularly oppressive.

I have droned quite a few of the cliffs for substantial update of the RockFax App due out sometime soon, with a lot of new stuff in it, and plenty of great new cragshots.

Once again our Schengen time is nearly up and we aren't ready to return to the UK so Turkey beckons - the Exchange Rate has shot through the sky - hopefully the place should be even cheaper this time around!

 

Southwards to Kyparissi- Serious Arctic

Day Five and the sun came out

After a very pleasant month in Leonidio, we headed south to the tiny village of Kyparissi, one and a half hours (15 miles as the crow flies!) away. We visited the place briefly five years ago and we struck by the tranquillity compared to the busy hubbub of Leonidio. The only fly in the ointment was the weather forecast which was predicting a spell of five days of dirty weather with snow and sub-zero temperatures. It turned out that the forecast was pretty much spot on and although it only got down to 4C the surrounding mountains had a white coat.

Seaside houses

Fortunately our rather smart AirBnB house is warm, and waterproof and everyday we managed to grab a break in the weather and get out for an explore of the area - though climbing was deffo off the menu.

I have had a whole heap of work to be get on with, especially a major update of the Kalymnos App so I haven't had any trouble keeping occupied. 

The only question is - where next?

The wild access road to Kyparissi

Leonidio Reprise #3

The Red Cliffs above Leonidio

We first visited Leonidio in October/November 2017. The plan was to escape the crowds that flock to Kalymnos in the Autumn and to try somewhere new. We picked up Colin and Andy at Athens airport and drove the steady three hours to the small harbour village of Sampatiki - our base for a week or so. We headed into town for shopping and got the first clue we weren't alone - there were over 50 vehicles parked up under Mad Wall. It turns out it was half-term over much of Europe and a good % of the Continents' climbers had the same thoughts as us. We climbed of course but it was a bit of a struggle, finding both parking and free routes on occasions. The time we spent at Kyparissi and Nafplio were much pleasanter.

A lovely pad in town - complete with friendly cat

A year later we spent a couple of weeks touring the Peloponnese and didn't see another climber until we rolled into Leonidio. This time we were greeted by a thunderstorm and a lightning strike that cut the power to the town for 36 hours - no heating, no internet, and after a few hours, no water as the pumps weren't working - not a great start.

Sherri wasn't mad keen on a third attempt but after our Schengen induced Cyprus sojourn we needed somewhere to spend a few weeks, with a decent amount of climbing - and Leonidio came to mind. After a few cold and snow days at Frygani we rolled into town and were pleasantly surprised, the place had a much more friendly vibe than we remembered and it wasn't too busy. The nights were still cold - around 7C but the days were about perfect - I suspect we can suffer a month here :-)

Cyprus - Still Here

Winter sun in Cyprus

Eight and a half weeks later and we are still on Cyprus. We completed our time outside Schengen a couple of weeks ago, and are eligible for the next ninety day run within the block. Normally we would have pushed off sharpish, with Leonidio the current most likely destination. We have dallied because of the Omicron Variant sweeping across the world, it seemed safer to sit it out here - where we don't interact much with people and where society seems very sensible in their handing of the current restrictions.

The weather has been cool and unsettled for a couple of weeks with day time temperatures about 12C and nights down to 7C - though it still seems to be one of the warmest places in Europe - they have even had snow in Kalymnos.

Stormy weather

I have continued to climb once or twice a week and explore the local area plus further afield. We even had a short break over in the east, a lovely pad in the resort of Protaras close to the Cape Greko climbing area. It turned out that we were virtually the only people in town - everything was shut up for the winter - so much for the plan of eating out a couple of times!

Flights booked for Athens next week - Leonidio bound for a month or so - back on the road again :-)