Weekend Shooting

The amazing spring weather continues, as does the galloping round to get all the required photographs for the up-coming volumes. It started Friday with a trip down to Willersley with Graham and Dan - the crag was bone dry and even catching the evening sun. Dan dispatched Great Corner then we move along to Cucumber Groove.
Next it was over to Harborough - Sara had just arrived and we tootled up to find Colin who had beaten us there by ten minutes.
It was a glorious evening and the crag was deserted, some pleasant banter and a clutch of routes, and of course the requist photographs. Then back to Willersley to collect the A team and a pint at Beeley on the way home - very pleasant!

There and Back again

That's that then! Four months away and now it is back to the more mundane world of work - mind you the weather is nice! The hottest day of the year so far and a large, jolly team headed to Staden Quarry, a few others were already there as it is an ideal venue on sultry days.
Most of the classics were ticked in good style and on the way home we stopped at the Red Lion, Litton for a pint in the evening sun - summer has arrived!

Easter in Ariege - the reprise

Colin arrived (and Graham was dropped of - seamless organisation!) at Carcasonne, and through sunny at the airport, in the hills it was still a bit unsettled. We checked into base then decided to head for a couple of hours sport at Arabaux, a small but pleasant limestone crag only fifteen minutes drive from the pad. Eight excellent routes later it was back for a wind-down and an evening meal.
As it turned out it was a good job we did the routes as the next two days were wet and cold, with temeratures around five degrees and snow well down the hillside.
Good Friday was better - a good Friday in fact, so we headed for Sinsat, where we did three fine routes, kicking of with the two pitch outing of ** (5b+, 6a+) quality rock. Then it was the the three pitch classic of Skull Groove (4c,5b,5c) with polished rock and a few damp streaks adding to the fun. The final route was th 35m pitch of ** a sustained and tough 6a+. There was only one other team on the cliff and the outward views were superb. We headed back to the car as big clouds towered overhead and hailstones bounced - time for home!

Vive la Difference!

The steady eight hour drive from the Blanca wasn't quite the chore we had feared, with clear roads and good weather. The Pyrenees were snowy and impressive, and by the time we arrived at Ariege the temperature had dropped to 7 degrees and there was drizzle in the air - we were in a new and different place! Despite the forecast it dawned bright and clear with a good covering of snow on the tops. We headed into the hills and abandoned the car at the end of the cleared road, a steady hour and half plug through the snow led us to a couple of cabins in the woods.
We saw several skiers, a few snow-shoers, and most bizarrely a guy on a dog sled being pulled by six huskies - weird!

Summer's a coming

Looks like it might be time to head north - its warming up and starting to get busy - all very strange. A walk along the Denia sea front revealed families on the beach, people in the sea and even the ubiquitous beach umbrellas starting to go up - mind you it was the weekend!

Me and my big mouth - two days of cool cloudy weather with some heavy showers during the night - looks like our trip will end as it started.Hope we get acouple more days' sunshine. Either way we are headed for Ariege at the weekend - bet its cool up there!

Falles Week

Another week and another Festival (only joking) - Falles is the big Valencian shindig, competing teams build statues, some on an amazing scale, they get judged by the Great and the Good then they all get burnt (falles = torches) right in the middle of town, in reverse order of merit. The final torching takes place at two in the morning - with the fire brigade dousing the houses that surround the bonfire. Brass bands, loads of (very) loud fireworks, market stalls - a merry kind of mayhem!

Time Flies

Its been a while since I posted, but we have been busy. There are only a couple of weeks left now! Dave Gregory has been and gone again (for the second time) and I have been working flat-out on a new departure with RockFax, all too be revealed very soon.
We have been climbing again, back to Montesa (I was 'spotted' again - have to stop putting my photo in the guides!) and at Alcalali (doubled up with a water-bottle filling trip). We hiked up to the Cova de Agua on the Montgo, a cave that has been used as a water supply since at least Roman times, there is even an original Latin inscription up there.
We have also spent some time exploring the coast around Javia, onshore winds have pumped up some big waves, there were even surfers out there. It looks like another potential DWS venue.
This week is the Fallas festival in Denia, it starts with fireworks, then competing factions build huge statues of wood, clay and papiermache judged by the local dignitaries. After various competitions (and more fireworks) they are burnt in reverse order - all accompanied by yet more fireworks, and concluding at two in the morning, sounds like it might be fun!