2012 OPC Easter Climbing Trip

Happy climber is the best climber in the world.

D1: Dublin-->Malaga, Spain.
Take train to Malaga Center. here's was a Dunnes Store 5mins from the train station. We were informed there would not be train to El Chorro because of Easter holiday. we tried to find a shuttle bus to El Chorro, but there was obvious none. we ended up deciding to take train to Alora and transfer by local or taxi. The trian system at Malaga is quite simple and punctual. The transpotation to Alora was about 40 minutes, and we tried to get a taxi to El Chorro after we arrived Malaga because there was obvious no bus to a forlorn village like El Chorro. The taxi from Alora to El Chorro was €28 for one car, and it turned out to be quite economical, especially when it took 30 minutes to go to El Chorro from Alora and you had over 10kg groceries in hands. The hostel that OPC chose was absolutely lovely. the bunkhouse was comfy, the kitchen was equipped with gas stoves, and there was even a swimming pool with slacking across it. 

Thanks to Janette and Martin, we had Spanish paella for dinner on the first nit at El Chorro. 

D1: 

Not official climbing day yet. Today we only do basic climb to get us used to outdoor climbing and the rock in El Chorro. The first area we visited was Sector Castrojo in Fontales, 20 mins away from hostel, 5 mins from El Chorro train station. I finished three grade 5 routes here: Vas Pisando Huevos, But One, and Slipped in. Vas Pisando Huevos was a medium length easy route with an anchor under a roof. The other routes shared the same anchor. The bulging surface could make the climber fell lightly exposed. Later on, I watched Davis leading a 7a+ route, Little Brown Baby. It's a shame Davis was stuck at the crux about 15m above, but it's definitely a noble try. 

Little Brown Baby, 7a+

In the afternoon, we moved to another sector in Fontales region, Los Albercones. This is a cool area because you can see not only the dam but the train scudding below you when you climb. Unfortunately, it started to rain when we arrive there so we decided to go to the pub at train station and have a pint first. what can be better than having a pint of San Miguel (€2.5/0.5l) on at a little Spanish train station on Sunday afternoon? The rain stopped when everyone was relaxed enough so. we went back to Los Albercones. Under Davis high recommendation, everyone wanted to try Putifero, a 30m long fabulous 5+ route, but I turned my attention to Stanage Girls, my first record 6a route in my climbing career. Patrick said 'Satagne Girls' means 'beautiful girls' in Spanish(mixed with English, of course). the first 2 bolts were not hard to reach. actually, this was not a very hard route, but I felt the energy in my arms was almost drained after 4 or 5 bolts. Some medium crimps mixed with some flakes did me felt tired and exposed to the fear of missing the grip. It's surprising to discover it was not hard to find proper places for stepping on this route. If my stamina was better, I could definitely have on sighted it, but I still took in for twice. the was a small ledge shaped like lotus cups with several holes proper for fingers to fit in. It was just interesting to switch hands at this point because it was slightly open, while I could pinch it at the same time. the anchor of Satagne Girls was close to a cactus tree. I have to confess I did think about grabbing the cactus because it looked just solid enough and easy to hold. Voila, the first recorded 6a route! 

Stanage Girls, 6a

Patrick was in charge of preparing dinner that night, and I volunteered to make a tortilla for side dish. Of course I screwed it up, but I still believe the failure resulted from the crappy frying pan in the hostel! 

D2: El Caminito del Rey!!!

We headed for Cotos Medios Los Cotos, today. To reach the spot in the valley, we had to pass the gorge first, and it meant we were going to set our feet on El Caminito del Rey, the most famous hiking trail at El Chorro (or even in Spain)! Basically, we just followed the the trail until we reached a green bridge, and the start for El Caminito del Rey lay just beneath it. In a nut shell, El Caminito del Rey is the path relic when the Spanish King visited the El Chorro dam. Different from a standard hiking trail, it is more like a wasted walkway. After years of natural erosion and lack of maintenance, the whole path is now composed of three things: rusty iron bars, broken pavement, and the sheerly bolted wires as the last defense of visitors' security. The 'entrance' of El Caminito del Rey is right under the green bridge, and it started with a few iron bars. Frightened? It's just the beginning! Holding the iron bars, we had to clip in out cow tails into the wires and mind the bars under our steps. Anyone could become a hanged puppet 100 meters above the ground with a simple slip of the feet. Martin and Janette chatted a lot along the fearful traverse, and it was really a good strategy because that eased us of nervousness and made us relieved of the fear of falling off into the gorge. The traverse was succeeded by a 20 meter climb back the the deserted walkway, and, of course, there's no protection along this climb. It's just a trial of courage and your trust in yourself. After we made it back to the wasted walkway, everything became simple: via Ferrata to the end. Everything was amusing and the scenic view relieved us of how dreadful it actually was, and smiles began to present themselves on everyone. 

On El Caminito del Rey, you just have to pay attention to three things: rusty bolts, broken and unsupported pavement, and the unexpected gust. snapping of the shutter and people's light-hearted chat were the things we heard all the way on Camino. after passing the bridge connecting the gorge, we saw the valley spread in front of us, as if it welcomed us with the greatest passion and hospitality. On the opposite cliff face, you can see train running through the tunnels, and the gorgeous mountain stood on the left side with the most spectacular colors and austere posture. Descending to the bottom of the gorge and Crossing the river, we climbed up and walked along the railway. Our destination today, Cotos Medios, was right in front of us. Costos Medios was a huge slab on the right side of the tunnel, like a gigantic blackboard for us to write our climbing stories on it. Different from the routes we had the day before, routes at Costos Medios were less steep, while there were not easier because of the tricky crimps and pumpy length. Jerome and I chose Invernal (5+) as our first route today. Based on my flimsy confidence of sending a 6a yesterday, I guess I can master all the lower grade routes, while I was proven wrong. The beginning of Invernal was composed of several bouldering moves with some slopes, layback, and slight overhang. I gazed at the route for a few minutes and I realized I was unable to handle the first few steps so I asked Jerome if he could lead this one. It feels so bad when you understand the challenge is just above your limits, though you have great passion and ambition on it. Although Jerome had done this one last year, it's obvious Invernal surprised him again. The well-polished slopers in the beginning frustrated Jerome, and he had to do it all over again. Not until I top-roped it later I understood how tricky it could have been with the shinning polished foothold. The second bolt perplexed Jerome even more because it was just the second bolt and there was 2 short runners left there. The reason was simple: the next bolt was 6 meters a way, and the climber would definitely kiss the ground if he can not conquer the continuous crimps and slabs. Jerome struggled for a while and he told me his brain was 'messed' and told the plan to abseil down if there were 3 deserted runners at the 2nd bolt. Jerome is a warrior and a good climber, so he chose to continue after thinking over it, 2 minutes later. I have to say that Jerome, like a writhing caterpillar, climbed slowly up because he had to think where to go and pay much attention to the treacherous crimps at the same time. 

Jerome topped it, and of course I had no nerve to lead it so I shamelessly asked for top-roping it. When I set my right foot on the polished sloper, an unstoppable slip naturally came with it and I timidly climbed down right away. "I cannot do it," I confessed because I thought it's too insecure to do it. However, there's no concern about safety, especially when I was belayed by Jerome so I decided to try it one more time. "At least there's no regret," though I. Thanks to the bouldering practice at OPC wall for the last few weeks, I was more used to static movement and I successfully pass the first bolt by clinging to a small ledge. I think this route is evaluated as 5+ definitely because of the beginning movement. The following climb to the top was not very tenuous, while it took much attention for small crimps and thing crags on the slab. An important lesson I learned today was the trust in feet and the rock, a subtle commitment between self and the speechless Nature. Limestone is superb for rocking climbing because of its steadiness and absolutely good friction. 

Gary assays Invernal, 5+

Davis recommended a fabulous 4+ route, Number One, right in the corner of the area. It is a beautiful smooth slab with a thin crag sprawling all the way to the top. With the experience of Invernal, the route was more like a review for climbing with crimps and polished footholds on an even less steep slope. Maybe because it's easier, I felt confident and sense of satisfaction on Number One and topped it without much difficulty. 

An sudden shower forced us to stop our climbing assignment. We had to hide in a tunnel in order to pack all the gear. It may not be wise to go back via Caminito, especially when it's slippery after rain. So, our climbing trip, starting with a scary via Ferrata and succeeded by a few short climbs, was going to end with a race with Spanish train. We decided to walk back through train tunnels. Davis told us some stories about how people got hit by train in the tunnel. Although it's just an easy walk along the rail, everybody was kind of worried about the train, paying extra attention to any vibration of the rails or the siren from far away. Fortunately, there was no train on our way back, and this day ended with nice easy strolling back to hostel. 

p.s.: Martin made very good carbonara pasta with tuna and sweet corn. 

D3:

Shite, it rained that day. Jerome, Martin and I took a nice walk to Poema Cave where you can find many long routes and routes harder than 7a+ there. The weather cleared up in the afternoon so we went back to Los Albercones to do some exercise. I laid hands on Putiferio (5+) as my touchstone for climbing ability. Putiferio was not a hard route, but I felt energy in the arms was drained in a short time. Probably because of the long walk in the morning, and I did feel fatigued for it. But a true climber has no excuse! I missed the OS of Putiferio and I was really mad about myself. Frustrated, annoyed, perplexed and regretful, I didn’t want to talk to anyone but just thought about what problem I might have. This was a really bad day for me, and I swore for vengeance. 

Poema Cave

Putiferio, 5+

D4: (Am I ready for 6a+?) 

After the frustrating climb yesterday, I decided to challenge myself. We went to Sector Suiza, Escalera Arabe, for multi-pitch today. The primary plan was to climb a 120m multi-pitch route, Rogelio (4+, combined by 4 thirty meter routes), but we were informed the guide book was wrong so we changed our plan a little bit. The weather was really cloudy and the windy weather forced us to put jackets on. The first one we did was Los Timbales (4), a top 50 route. There were several 4 and 5 grade routes here so we met several groups, even a guided one. Los Timbales was majorly composed of slabs, and it was a good warm up and practice for increasing confidence in limestone at El Chorro. You won't expect difficulty in a grade 4 route, but the little route goes under a bush, and it made much fun on the way up. 

We intended to do a 5+ route, Cafe, as the warm-up before we started the multi-pitch, but the area from route 13-20 was closed and fenced because of some endangered fauna there. Jerome and I thus chose Three Dishes Menu (5), the route on the edge of closed area to warm up. The route was simple, and I have to say it's actually quite amusing to climb this route because I saw some beautiful flowers in the crags on my way up. 

After the appetizers, the entrée, Chilona (6a+) was served, and it was really hard to swallow. Chilona is a 3-pitched route combined with 4, 6a+, and a 6a route as finish. Although the 42 meter length is nothing compared to the 120 meters of Rogelio, but the 6a/+ sections were way more challenging. I start leading the grade 4 pitch, and it was a brilliant pitch with slabs in diagonal lines and really good view. The only thing I have to complaint is the anchor was bolted behind a boulder so that I could hardly found it. Jerome took over the second pitch, the hardest part. Climbing is determined by 3 aspects: power, technique, and mental strength. The second pitch ahead of Jerome was the one more about mental strength. To start the pitch, he had to climb over a small ledge which was not very challenging. The 3 bolts in the beginning were not hard to reach at all, while the situation totally changed from the fourth one. To clip in the 4th bolt, he had to climb over a small arête first, and this movement brings much exposure, especially when the first 3 bolts were more or less hidden in a thing chimney. Of course Jerome was not defeated by the fourth bolt, but the fifth one was really nasty. He stopped there for more than 5 minutes and looked back at me with a helpless smile. If I had had marked experience in climbing a 6a route, I would have volunteered to lead it, but I only told Jerome to take his time. Faced with this seemingly insurmountable crux, he gave up, and the plan was he went lower and ascend from the face on left side, without proper protection. To be more specific, he soloed about 20 meters to the anchor of the second pitch. I admired his courage because I would never try soloing any unknown route, even though it may 'look easy.' 

Jerome reached the anchor safely, and I was in charge of reclaiming all the draws on the wall. The first draws were not hard to get to,while since the fourth one the real story began. I came to the crux which just defeated Jerome and I got stuck there as well. Although I could just give up and shamelessly ask Jerome to 'pull me up,' but there was no second solution for seconding people: finish it! The route, after a series of crag and slab, came to a complete blank. Especially after the grade 4 start, it looked comparatively more confusing. There was a very open corner on the left side, and it was obviously no chance of doing side-pull on it, and the tiny V-shaped pinch thus became the key point. It was clear that pinching the hold was the crux, while it was located on a smooth bulging face, with many tufa sediment particles on it. It was difficult because there was no obvious handhold even though I could pinch the little thing because there was no way for the next step. The second problem was there was no proper place for stepping. No wonder Jerome was stuck there! It’s way too exposing for leading climbing. What I did was pinch the V hold and smear on the tufa particles. Surprisingly the particles was extraordinarily fricative, and I used both hands to crimp the 2 sides of 'V' and reach out to the hold on the further right side. This was the key movement that frustrated him from keep trying. If Jerome did not belay me for the top, I thought I could not have done it, either. 

Jerome looked crestfallen after nerve-racking solo, and he refused to try any more route for that day. I went to another area, Sector Sergio at Escalera Arabe. By the time I arrived there, Janette had set up draws on a 30-meter long 6a route, Sergio y Antonio, a 3-star route. I confess I have forgotten the details about this route but I remember the cloudy sky cleared up when I almost reached the top. When the golden sunshine spread all over the valley below me, and I, after feeling chilly for the whole day, felt the warmth directly from the sun imbued into my shivering limbs. That's probably the first time I feel being watched over when I am climbing. What's more, I felt much more confident after top-roping the 6a+ section on Chilona. I didn't even feel tired after climbing all day. Maybe it's a signal which means I am ready to move to next level. 

D5:
We split into two groups today. Jerome and Gary went to Fontales area, and Janette, Patrick, Martin and I headed back to Sector Suiza to try the remaining 6a/+ routes. To warm up, Martin and I went to the further part of Sector Suiza to start with a 5+ route, Tiramisu. I lead it with ease, and I didn't feel it a 5+ at all. The guidebook says many routes in El Chorro are overrated, and I thought Tiramisu may only be 4+ or even at a lower grade. Because Janette was leading another 6a route, Mas que in carreta, so I decided to dare my limits and try the 6b route adjacent to it, Dos tetas tiran (6b, 17m). Dos tetas tiran started with along a thing crag, and it turned to the face on the left at a pocket hold. The pocket hold was interesting because it could be used for positive pull and a backward pull, though it allowed only 3 fingers at the same time. With the help of the pocket, I easily reached a side-pull crimp and passed the crux. The last 5 meters to the top was just like walking on stairs. Voila! My first recorded 6b route, though I thought it might just be a low 6a+ route. After passing the crux, I was so excited because I know I could definitely finish it so I could not help but patting the wall. After finishing the 6b route, I felt as energetic as a lion and of course I felt capable of finishing another 6a route. Mas que un carreta (6a/+, 16m) was the classic route of the day. Janette kept screaming when she was doing this one because there were several very exposing moves. The crux of this route was a 4 meter traverse after passing the second bolt. I understood why Janette was screaming because she had to grab a small pinch hold and switched hand on it while she traversed with tiny footholds. This move needed very good balance and some audacity. However, probably because I am taller, I saw there was a big pocket with a cup hold on the right side. It's actually easier if she just climbed slightly higher and do switch at the open pocket and dyno to a flake on right side. It's actually less riskier than using the small pinch and traverse. Though Janette said Mas que un carreta is more difficult than the 6b route, I still fell they are both on 6a+ level, just one is higher. 

Anyway, with the confidence of finishing two 6a routes, I rushed to Sector Sergio to see what more could I did there. The whole Escalera Arabe area was packed that day, Janette and Patrick took the 6a route, Blobby Right, which I intended to do in the beginning so I 'had to' do Blobby Left (6a+, left to a prominent tufa blob) instead. Actually, I forget the details about Blobby Left. All I remembered was the movements on Blobby Left were quite smooth and I stood on the big tufa blob before I topped it. Maybe it's just another over-rated route, I thought. 

The climax of today was Yo y mi resaca (5+, 30m, 3 stars), the route right next to Blobby Left. There were 2 groups ahead of me, so I couldn't even wait when it's finally my turn. There was no distinguished crux on this route. The difficulty was evenly distributes to the route, and the 30 meters length did burn all your energy as long as you know how to rest. When I topped the route, the sun came out and the feeling of being watched over came to me again. The sunshine was churned in the reflection of the hydro-power plant faraway, an the broken tingling light looked like millions of silver fish fluttering in the water. The whole valley behind/below me was in different layers of colors, and the forest was interwoven by light green, yellow, brown, and dark green belts. There were many eagles around El Chorro, I could see the eagle spread its wing wide open, as wide as the sky, right before me. I told Martin if this route were in the village, I would happy to climb this route for breakfast every morning. Personally speaking, I thought this was the classic route in El Chorro. 

D6: 

Carpe diem! To save time for climbing on our last day in Spain, we went to the areas we visited on the first day. I picked the route that Janette and Patrick did last time. Un monton de chatarra (6a, 35m, top 50 route). This route has a high fist bolt, and it turns from a crag to climb along the face. The most trickiest thing about this route is there were many newly bolted route around so I was confused by all the bolts. Because the rope was not long enough and I didn't bring enough draws, I retreated at the top anchor of another route, 5 meters below the anchor of Un monton de chatarra. 

A 6a route was a necessary warm-up under a chilly morning like that. The confusion at Un monton de chatarra made me decide to vent all my energy and crave for climbing on Luna (6a+, 28m, 3-star). It’s a beautiful line starts with a high first bolt and turns from a thin chimney to a open face on the left side. Luna gave a familiar feeling about Yo y mi resaca: very smooth moves with slabs and crimps. Although Janette warned me it’s technical around the top, I didn’t feel much difficulty on my way to the top, and I did not feel pumpy either. Generally speaking, Luna is a must-climb route in this area because it provides a fantastic view over the El Chorro dam and the refreshing feeling along the way up. 

Luna, 6a+

Patrick had to leave us early, so we all went to train station and had an afternoon pint to see him of. After that, we returned to Los Albercones to see what could be the period of this awesome climbing trip. I belayed Martin on Stanage Girls (6a). It’s amazing a beginner and climb at least 6a+ after 6 days. I was considering whether to captrure El Vuelo de los peluos (6a+, 17m) or Gabi (6a, 30m) for my final prize in this climbing hunt. I had seen El Vuelo de los peluos on Day3 when we came back for Putifero, and I thought the crux was a little bit beyond my control. I stood in front of El Vuelo de los peluos again and considered about the crux over. Due to the time pressure, I decied to try Gabi first and El Vuelo de los peluos later if I had enough time. “Gabi is just a 6a route,” thought I, “and I would finish it fast and start El Vuelo de los peluos.” 

Gabi, once again, proved the guidebook could cheat. Everything went well on Gabi, smooth moves and very nice crags with proper rest point, until I came to the crux. “What the Fxxx?” Faced with a blank face in front of me. On the left side, a series of chalk marks highlighting several very polished holds with a huge backward pull shaped like a bell; on the right side, very crude ledges without any marks, while they showed no distinct features for route. I was totally confused and had to ask for take in (shite, my OS...). Martin said I try the wrong way, but I thought the left should be the right direction to go, not just because of the white marks, but because of the feeling of continuity as well. Anyway, I wanted to go left and try the big backward pull and polished holds. They looked really challenging. I clang to a small hold and reached out to the big bell and tried to readjust my body into an awkward position: standing on a tiny smearing hold, I lay rightward to let go my left leg so that it could reach a thin 5mm crag around my waist. After regaining balance from this slipping position, I was totally stuck there: my left palm was in the bell shell, while my right hand cling to a very polished open hold. It was definitely a 6a route when this holds was still positive. Climbers can just pinch them or do some more daring moves on these holds. However, it’s really hard to get balance on these slippery and open holds now. I fell at the cruz for 4 or 5 time, and with every fall, a sense of anger grew with my humiliation. “It’s just a 6a, a 6a! How can I not on-sight it?” I felt a little bit scared for the first fall, but I just became angry and came with more violent moves after every fall. Blind anger helps sometimes, especially when it outruns the fear to height and the sense of loss. Finally, with my whole strength, I pulled myself up on a sloper and clang to a tiny pinch with my left hand and reached out for another sloper. When I was hang on the edge, I though the whole world was slipping among my fingers,and I would definitely take a fall for 5-7 meters. I hate the feeling of falling so I endeavored to find a sweet spot of balancing on the edge. Fortunately, I didn’t let go and I conquered the sloppy moves. Gabi was awarded to me, and I felt I had been a champion for a moment.

Gabi, 6a

crux of Gabi

Janette redpointing Gabi

It was late when I came down from Gabi, and there was no tim left for assaying El Vuelo de los peluos. Nevertheless, I felt proud of myself because I had learned something at the transient moments. Stronger I felt, and I could finally tell others “I am a climber.” I checked the online evaluation for Gabi later, and most people think it should be a 6b route because of the polished faces.

I want to show my greatest appreciation to Davis, Gary and Jerome for organizing such an amazing trip and for being very good climbing partners in the trip; Janette, Patrick and Martin for being nice climbing and food group partners; last but not the least, the OPC! Thanks for giving me the chance to go to such a splendid climbing town like El Chorro.