Christmas in the Spanish Pyrenees and a review of Red Chili's Voltage (2017 model)

Retirement is so good. It's just a pity that Elaine is still working. So we were really looking forward to the Christmas holiday, climbing in the sun and, at last, using my Red Chili Voltage shoes on real rock, until I got agonizing toothache just a couple of days before she finished school. A couple of trips to the dentist, a course of antibiotics and several painkillers delayed our departure for a few days.

We eventually got away to Spain, where we climbed in the sun at Fosado and Oncins Paradise, near Ainsa in the Pyrenees. It was a good excuse to stay at our favourite campsite again (Camping Bielsa). However we were disappointed to find our next objective, Alquézar, completely engulfed in fog. So we moved on to Masriudoms, where it was desperately windy. So we came home early and went to the climbing walls (Art Bloc and Bloc Party) to do some more training.

Camping Bielsa, our favourite campsite.

Verdict: 

Fosado was really nice, despite some chossy rock at the base of most routes, the climbing was very good and on generally good holds, including tufas. However there was nothing harder than 7c to try. We found it very hard to locate the crag on the first day as there was fog everywhere. However it was surreal to climb above a sea of cloud in the winter sun. Grades were spot on, not easy.

Luckily Fosado was above the fog the first day.

Elaine on "De las buenas la mejor", 7a+.

Alain from Toulouse on "No me seas Guevon", 7b.

Oncins Paradise was a bit disappointing. The long walk (45 mins) obviously puts a lot of people off going, so there was little chalk to follow and the routes felt very new and a bit snappy. Also the climbing is generally fingery and generally vertical in nature. The grades are tough. The setting was very beautiful though, so it's worth a visit.

Oncins Paradise.

Trying to get out of the sun at Oncins Paradise.

Art Bloc: Still as good as ever, we find the bouldering really fun and similar to climbing outdoors. Many thanks to the bloc setters, they do a great job.

Bloc Party: Getting better and improving all the time. Since the last comp there have been many more blocs to try, and the style has become much more varied. However there still need to be more blocs, especially reds and violets; there are lots of very easy and lots of very hard blocs. 

Red Chili Voltage (2017 model): These get a definite big thumbs up from me. I'd been using them indoors for a couple of weeks with very satisfying results, so I was excited at the prospect of trying them outdoors. On the crag they proved to be perfect, in fact they were the only climbing shoes I wore during the trip. They are extremely light, really versatile and provide a very snug, precise and sensitive fit. They are very well designed and, as you'd expect from a German company, they are really well made too. I like the two velcro strap fastenings, coupled with the two pull-on heel loops, which means they are easy to put on and take off quickly. The aggressive toe shape is perhaps the best that I've come across in 45 years of climbing; as a result the Voltage is fantastic when clawing on small edges on steep rock. At the same time they are very comfortable and cope easily with smears. I also like the lightweight stretchy material that's used under the velcro straps, which is a massive improvement on some other shoes. The heel fits snugly and precisely too, allowing radical heel-hooking with relative ease. The two part sole is made from Vibram XS Grip rubber, which is perfectly sticky enough and found on most climbing shoes these days. And there's more; the Voltage looks really cool too. Thanks Red Chili for letting me try them out.

To see a video of Stefan Glowacz introducing the 2019 model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiRQyOtwG_U