Okay no, I haven't sold my soul. No you will not see adverts for TNF popping up all over the blog. No I'm not being paid to endorse products.
What I am doing, is through work I've been given the chance to test a load of The North Face's product range. Some of the stuff is pretty solid and has been around the block a few times, some of it is pretty cutting edge kit, brand new releases and the like. They have even leant me a brand new HD action camera to get some awesome videos of the kit on test, which is always a fun thing to have!
Most of my reviews, videos and suchlike will be going directly onto the Blacks website, but some of the better ones, or the stuff I feel is more relevant to the site will also go up here.
So keep your eyes peeled. And who knows, more freebies could come my way, and maybe I do you guys all a favour and share the love...
Thursday, August 7
Saturday, August 2
Bouldering Abroad: Charlie and Tom in Iledia
This post was meant to go up many moons ago; this trip that Charlie and Tom took (without me, I'll add sans bitterness) was meant to be posted just after they got back. That was in April. August isn't too long to wait I suppose...
And with that, I hand you over to the ever charming Charlie.
We had settled on Sector Cine as our area of exploit for the days
climbing with excellent recommendations from the guidebook. Promising unique
rock formations that supposedly inspired Gaudi architecture in Barcelona we had
high hopes. Unfortunately we were to be disappointed. The walk in was
unnavigable with every turn seemingly herding us into a cul-de-sac of rotten,
overhanging mudstone. Upon attempting a “direct” approach over said overhang,
only to have a large section fall away, we thought that we should double back
and find another way. The “20 minute” walking had become a 1.5 hour mission.
Upon deciphering the maze of false tracks we reached the foot of the crag
slightly deflated. We roped up and I set off onto a V+.
The experience we had
had with the rock on our approach did little to inspire confidence in the bolt
placement let alone hand or foot. I called it quits 1 bolt from the chains just
below an overhang. Tom decided not to let my wetness quash his attempt and had
a go. With loud expletives he managed the move that I had wimped out of and
cleaned the route saving us from leaving equipment at the scene. After a few
more routes we
was closed due to avalanche risk.
This felt a little cautious as our trusty Fiat Panda’s thermometer was showing
27 degrees...we were scuppered. Having committed to the longer journey we had
no choice but to call this a “rest day” ate our packed lunch and made for home.
This at one point involved what is likely to be the
first use of a “tree hook” (the arboreal descendant of a heel hook). We spent
the rest of the afternoon pootling up 6a’s and V+’s and headed home for some
grub and packing :(
This was our first taste of outdoor sport climbing which is
remarkably different to those gritty trad offerings of the peak district. We
found that once we trusted the reliability of bolts and suppressed the terror
of re-threading the rope through the chains, we could start to really push our
grade without the nagging doubt in that marginal wire placement in a crumbly
crack. Lleida was a beautiful place with a huge range of routes for all
abilities (despite what the guide books would have you believe. I cannot
recommend it highly enough!
And with that, I hand you over to the ever charming Charlie.
Day 1
After a long drive the night before (mainly as a result of my
misplacing my driving license) Tom had negotiated the hair-raising hairpin
bends of the Pyrenean foothills. Our base was to be Santa Engracia 15km outside
of the nearest town of Tremp. This was an ideal launch site for our many
jollies in days to come.
We allowed
ourselves a lie in and didn’t get going much before 1pm. Usually this would
have been a source of frustration but, due to an excellent forecast and travel
weariness, there was no rush. Todays climbing was to be a gentle easing into
the week with a short mooch to El Niu, a sector in the Collegats Area. These
limestone slabs would provide the canvas for our grunting and inelegant
renditions. Neither of us could claim to be experienced sport climbers so there
were a number of disciplines that we needed to get our heads round, although
none of them would take us far beyond what we have acquired from our time in
the peaks and southern sandstone at home. The climbing was excellent with grades
ranging from IV+ to 7b. Good footwork being the key as hand holds were not always forthcoming. The crags orientation meant that we were provided
with shade from the heat of the afternoon sun and allowing shares in Nivea to
remain stable (I do not tan well). An evening of eating and guidebook
consultation followed.
Day 2
We had settled on Sector Cine as our area of exploit for the days
climbing with excellent recommendations from the guidebook. Promising unique
rock formations that supposedly inspired Gaudi architecture in Barcelona we had
high hopes. Unfortunately we were to be disappointed. The walk in was
unnavigable with every turn seemingly herding us into a cul-de-sac of rotten,
overhanging mudstone. Upon attempting a “direct” approach over said overhang,
only to have a large section fall away, we thought that we should double back
and find another way. The “20 minute” walking had become a 1.5 hour mission.
Upon deciphering the maze of false tracks we reached the foot of the crag
slightly deflated. We roped up and I set off onto a V+.
decided that we were “not having a nice time” and retreated to the
nearby El Niu where I massaged my bruised ego on some routes next to those we
had scaled the day before.
Day 3
We decided to make the long drive to Cavallers right into the
Pyrenees. Upon arrival we found that the road
Day 4
Having spoken to our host we took her advice and travelled south
near to the village of Camrasa where there is a huge climbing area right next
to a huge HEP dam. Keen to make up for lost time, we roped up outside the car
and set up off the first route on the Mercant Estil sector. The pocketed
limestone walls were a vast improvement on the fragile muddy conglomerate of El
Cine in Collegats, as was the 1 minute walk in. After a few successful climbs
we found ourself at the foot of “el dedo de Satan”. Due to its relatively
diminutive height we thought that this could be done.... Its a 7b+. We assured
ourselves that, with a top rope, there was no way we could fail. This was not
the case I managed the first 3 moves with Tom only 1 further before we decided
that perhaps this wasn’t “in our locker” This was a real eye opener at the
terrifying ability of those that can wriggle their way up 50 meter 9b’s. We tackled what was my
favourite route so far. Miss Linda (6a) was a 15m series of honeycombed rock
face which cemented this area as the best outdoor climbing experience I have
had.
Day 5
Undeterred by the abortive jolly to Cavallers we decided to make
another long drive to Coll de Nargo. We arrived at a crag called Gegants which
consisted of towering free standing spires which looked somewhat beyond our
grade. Never the less we toiled down a dirt road which was a bridge too far for
the mighty Panda. After a particularly european approach to parking (fuck it,
here will do) we continued on foot to find some good limestone climbing which
consisted of slabby sections with tough boulder like problems thrown in. This
was enjoyed with a bizarre backing track of incessant bleating of the sheep
heard grazing at the foot of the crag.
Day 6
Having has such a fantastic session on day 4 we decided to return to
Camarasa which would cap off the holiday. We moved ourself along the crag
around the routes we had previously scaled. As we tired the approach to the
routes became a little less serious which lead to many of, what Tom would refer
to as, “postures sexy”...
Summary
This was our first taste of outdoor sport climbing which is
remarkably different to those gritty trad offerings of the peak district. We
found that once we trusted the reliability of bolts and suppressed the terror
of re-threading the rope through the chains, we could start to really push our
grade without the nagging doubt in that marginal wire placement in a crumbly
crack. Lleida was a beautiful place with a huge range of routes for all
abilities (despite what the guide books would have you believe. I cannot
recommend it highly enough!
I would also recommend our accommodation which was very plush for
the tiny cost and comes with its own, very knowledgeable, host and mother of one
of the GB bouldering squad.
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