Spring Carbon Footprinting
After a very hectic couple of months working hard and moving house I have been feeling very stressed out and run down. Good form training and on Sabotage has again slipped from my fingers. I was therefore glad to get back to Catalonia for a climbing holiday but understood that my ambitions would not be met. Without much of a plan I headed back to Siurana with Dave Macleod hoping for some inspiration.
Climber Tackling the crack of El Logurin on the middle right of Campigi Pugi.
On the first day back on Campigi Pugi I had play on El Membre F8c (a route with a particularly powerful crux) hoping it would suit me. My fears of not training enough seemed to be confirmed as I struggled to do the moves. Both of us decided we were a bit Siurana’d out so decided to check out the Margalef valleys a 40min drive away at the other side of the Monsant range. Mr Tweedley’s recommendation was a good one and we found plenty of hard routes to try. On are arrival to Margalef we headed straight to the Laboratori Cave. This didn’t disappoint and held several steep well chalked routes. After a scan at a topo we were happy to find out they were all F8b+/c, so jumped right on. I decided to try a F8b+ called A la Puta Rue, the left hand solution to the cave. Dave tried Darwin Dixit F8c. My initial impression was however poor and I binned it. Again I felt weak and got sore skin, a common problem at the start of a foreign trip.
The steepest section of sector Laboratori, Margalef contains loads of steep roadside F7-F8’s.
The next day we explored the southern valley and were quite impressed. The mid crag above the road looked superb and had a range of F7c-8a’s all tackling well pocketed steep (and importantly solid) limestone conglomerate. Knowing my own stamina weaknesses I decided to try a shorter F7c+ (15m). This I managed 3rd RP after another rest day fighting a chain pump on the final moves. Later that day we returned to the Laboratori where Dave managed the F8c first RP (that day) and even chalked up off the crux mono!!! He then went on to OS his first F8a, before casually finishing the day by dispensing the F8b+ first RP.
Dogging A La Puta Rue F8b+, Laboratori, Margalef. (Pic Dave Macleod Col)
After getting Daves beta for the F8b+ I decided to come back for another go. Surprisingly I managed all the moves with out too much fuss which goes to show the difference a bit of beta makes. By the end of the week I could do it in overlapping halves and even had a few RP’s but sadly time ran out and it was time to leave again. I also wasn’t convinced on Daves soft grading recommendation. On the last day at Siurana I tried the F8a+ on the boulder under sector Espero Primevera. This I found suited me very well with a nippy little crux reaching for a 2 finger press. After loads of RP I finally pulled through the crux but the bat wings popped out on the top wall and I couldn’t finish it. After I finished my minor tantrum I gave Dave a quick belay before catching the fight home.
The trip has again opened my eyes to how much my climbing improves with more stimulus. I’m now going to try and train three times a week and get out more at weekends! I now understand just how much work its going to take to complete my own projects. I just hope that my lifestyle is stable enough now that I can maintain these training sessions.