Trains 'n Boats 'n Planes

The month on Kalymnos was great, but the escape was confounded by a strong northerly that blew for 5 days - and is still blowing apparently - so no ferries were running. Then I remembered the high-speed catamaran that runs a daily service from Kaly to Rhodes and sails in wilder weather and so we got away. The flight back to Stansted cost €22 each which is amazing which ever way you look at it. Stansted was a real culture shock - we queued for 30+ minutes at passport control, 20 gates wide and hundreds (thousands?) of people waiting to get into the UK.
A brisk five minutes saw us in the Radisson - another culture shock  - and all a bit posh, I wasn't really sure they would let us in. An early flight to Carcassone (£20 each) then John and Anne whisked us back to Chez Arran - the circle was closed.
Thursday and a quick six routes on Auzat in mint spring conditions - it is great to be back!

The Good Life

We usually arrival in Kalymnos in late September; the cliffs are rammed, it is hot (25C+) and everywhere has the feeling of a desert as is hasn't rained for five months. The place is fully open for business: restaurants,  shops, scooter hire and apartments giving the place has a real holiday resort feel about it. Many folks love it like this but were are more ambivalent - though the snorkelling in the warm Aegean is brilliant.
Being here in the spring has been a really pleasant surprise; it has been a bit showery on occasions, but pleasantly warm, very quiet and remarkably green and flowery. The cliffs are drier than I was expecting - bone dry in most cases. Easter week was a bit busy but nothing like the 'high season' - I think it may become our favourite time of year to be here.
As ever the climbing is superb, I ticked my 1000th route here last week, and the locals are like long lost friends - a great spot to escape the tail-end of the grotty northern winter.

This Sceptered Isle

Ariège > Barcelona > Kos > Kalymnos; the travelling was as easy as ever. Great to be back, it is green and remarkably quiet, we were the only team on Sea Breeze/Pocket Wall yesterday, we thought it might be busy but it is obvious the rush hasn't started yet. The couple of week in Sicily means I still have a bit of rock fitness and thick skin, it was a nice change from the more usual September scenario of extreme heat/humidity, crowds and sore digits!

The weather in the UK looks appalling - even worse than normal - which makes the warm breeze, lapping waves and dry rock a double treat.
Thursday 28th March - not surprisingly quite a few folks have started to arrive - though it is still very quiet compared to 'peak season'. We popped out between the showers(!) and I logged my 1000th climb on Kalymnos (which includes 528 different routes) might be some kind of a record!
Thursday 4th April - a big thunderstorm yesterday allowed the hoards to sneak in under the radar - today was glorious, but were about 75 scooters below Arhi/Ghost Kitchen/Katarina - lots of pale skin and excited people - but they will all be going home soon!

Sampling Sicily

 Two weeks in Sicily meeting a bunch of 'the Grumpies' from Sheffield seemed like a fair idea. We found we could fly cheaply from Girona, an easy three hours from Chez Arran, and there was a spare cabin available on the San Vito camp-site so it was all systems go. Car Rentals UK sorted us a complimentary vehicle with their usual efficiency and the 1st afternoon we ticked 5 easy routes.

In the event it was a great trip, there are around 450 routes within walking distance of the camp-site, the setting is lovely in a really wild corner of Sicily. The place was busier than we were expecting - having imagined it might have been completely deserted in late Feb/early March. The weather was a teeny bit unsettled, though we only actually lost one day through rain. Generally temperatures were fine, the crags dry quickly, access takes minutes from the accommodation, and as the cliffs face west, afternoons climbing were pure pleasure

From the road the cliffs look a bit scrappy, but the climbing was excellent almost without exception, the routes of all grades tend to be steep and the bolting is encouraging. Many of the pitches are very long and a bit on the sharp side - the norm for Med limestone I guess.


In summary - a great spot that deserves to become popular, the combination of sea-side setting, the great climbing, the easy accommodation and superb accessibility sure take some beating. There are 'only' around 600 routes in the area at the  moment - compared to Kalymnos's 1700 - but that is a great starter.
Top marks to Jim and Scott Titt plus all the other equippers have done us a great service.

NOTE: we discovered that a few of the glued-in bolt runners and a few of the 'pig's tail' lower-offs had a bit of rotational movement (1-2mm) in them - slightly worrying when this are single point anchors. I e-mail Jim about this, they are aware of the issue and have a fix, though interestingly they tried to remove one of the 'loose' lower-offs and failed despite exerting an outward force of 6000kg on it - so it sounds like they are actually fine!

New Routes, New Venues

Whilst we have been at ChezArran John has been disappearing off, and coming back late, working on a new route somewhere not far from home. A couple of days ago he asked if I wanted to go along to get involved with the 1st Ascent so I though hey-ho. Little did I know that the route was going to be called Le Trog and started in the back of one of the huge caves that riddle the area, or that it hadn't been cleaned yet.
The ascent was 'interesting', the 1st pitch (F6a) was a huge slabby corner, with a smattering of loose rock, draped with million year old cobwebs and completely smothered in fine dust. The 2nd pitch (F6b+) climbed a long wet groove and technical slab but at least there was some light there. The final pitch to the exit hole was a long diagonal to the crux moves  right at the top (F7a apparently - I declined to follow). A brilliant effort by John and once clean it might even become quite popular - though either way, I won't be going up there again!

A little video by Ben Lear of our escapade: "Le Trog" is rather neat.
    
Next Monday we are away to Sicily for a couple of weeks to meet a big jolly(?) team of the Sheffield Grumpies - looks like a great venue, lots of routes, decent spread of grades and a lovely setting. I am just hoping there isn't too much in the way of dust, loose rock and climbing in the dark!

Winter

Tarascon sur Ariège hasn't been a bad place to spend the winter - surrounded by the glittering snowy peaks of the high Pyrenees. According to local sources it has been the 'worst' winter for quite a few years though seen through eyes that have seen too many UK ones it has been pretty pleasant really. There have been a couple of short wet periods but we have managed to get out almost everyday. In less than two weeks we should be meeting a team from Sheffield in Sicily to sample another rapidly rising sun-rock venue - Bring it On!

The new Costa Blanca guide has been published around a week early - 1st reports are very positive - job well done by all involved!

Rockin' in the Free World

We have had a bit of an unsettled spell (much better than the UK though) so more snow-shoeing was in order with some fantastic conditions on offer - apparently two metres of snow have fallen on the upper slopes at Ax - and there is more on the way!

Left: snow-shoeing in perfect conditions at Ax les Thermes

Then things perked up nicely for the end of the month - it was a balmy 17C on the 1st of February which was a treat.

We have arranged to meet a jolly team from Sheffield in Sicily later this month, the guidebook has arrive (looks great with loads to go at) the flights and accommodation are organised; they are opening the campsite just for us! Now it is just a matter of getting a bit fitter to make the most of the visit - three days out on the local crags and a session on the bouldering wall have hopefully laid a small foundation.

Right: Mint conditions at Auzat

The Blanca guidebook should be printed in a couple of weeks - our biggest book ever. It has been out of  print for a good few months and the Spanish winter sun/rock season is in full swing - so lets hope it starts flying off the shelves. The Ariège guide appears to have been well received - even by the locals - which is nice.