Greece is the word (again)

Had a blast of a week with my old mate Phil Davidson down here at the end of June, before we headed off to Greece again. We went to lots of quiet places and he was pretty impressed with the Gorges du Loup. It was just like old times and the banter was spot on. Thanks yer spaz, it was great to catch up.

Phil Davidson succumbs to sugar! (Photo by Elaine).

Phil on "Perfotactyl" (7a+) at Jurassic Park. (Photo by Elaine).

Unfortunately, it's been a very hot summer this year and Greece was no exception. Despite struggling with the heat, we managed to have a great time and spent a few weeks with Dave and Rhian Cross. We started off at Leonidio again and enjoyed climbing at Jupiter, Limeri and Elona. We also visited the over-hyped sectors of HADA and Crash of the Titans, which we found very disappointing and not really worth bothering with, in our opinion. We also found a lot of the grades in the new topo pretty stiff now; there certainly weren't any "holiday" grades. Whilst at Leonidio, we stayed in a really nice little studio ("Armenaki Apartments" run by the lovely Eugenia) in the idyllic seaside village of Sampatiki (just a few km north along the coast).

The Boss at the helm.

The idyllic port and beach at Sampatiki.

Ruff approves of our studio and balcony.

Armenaki Apartments in Sampatiki.

The reception area at Armenaki Apartments, Sampatiki. (Photo by Eugenia).

For us this was the highlight of sector HADA, Leonidio.

Dave Cross on "Gene Clark" (7a) at Jupiter, Leonidio. (Photos by Elaine).

You can get great coffee and croissants in Leonidio. (Photos by Elaine).

We then moved on to Lagada (just like last year) where conditions were much better and we met up with our lovely Greek friends Artemis and Kostas. Once again we were super happy to be able to do some great routes in Petsanes Cave and also down at Splithari too. Camping in the Cali down at the dry riverbed at Lagada has to be one of our favourite places.

Camping besides the dry riverbed at Lagada.

Perfect for camper vans. (Photo by Elaine).

We met up with Artemis and Kostas again (who we met at Pyli last year).

Dave Cross on the tricky "Nistikos Deipnos" (7a!) at Splithari, Lagada.

Dave Cross on the excellent "Stefanos Notios" (7c) at Splithari, Lagada.

Artemis on the technical "Sensi Seeds" (6b) at Splithari, Lagada.

3 photos of Stefanos on the brilliant "Master Yoda" (7c+) at Petsanes Cave, Lagada. (Photos by Elaine).

4 photos of the tricky sections on the superb "Fu Manchu" (8a) at Petsanes Cave, Lagada. (Photos by Elaine).

The really bold "Guernika" (8a) at Splithari, Lagada. Only 6 bolts in 35 metres make this quite scary indeed. (Photo by Dave).

2 photos showing how steep "Pull Up" (7c/7c+) is at Petsanes Cave, Lagada. (Photos by Artemis).

We finished off with two weeks at Pyli (another excellent summer venue) where we met up with Artemis and Kostas again. We also met Rob and Désirée, a really psyched Swiss couple who were bivvying on the remains of the old decking at the crag. Whilst there, we stayed in a great studio in Kanalia, about 15 km from the crag, which belonged to the family that own the excellent "Kanalion Gefsis" restaurant.

Chicken souvlaki and tsatsiki.

Courgette chips and garlic.

Baked aubergines and yoghurt.

Great food and ambiance at the Kanalion Gefsis restaurant. (Photos by Elaine).

Local grimpeuse on the classic "Dizzy Dolls" (7b+/7c) at Pyli.

 Désirée on "IRA" (6b!) at Pyli.

Roby on the classic "Anaconda" (7c+) at Pyli.

There's lots of different beers to try in Greece.

Back home it's still very hot and sweaty, although it's not stopping the young, keen locals from sending their projects at Déversé. We haven't been able to go to Jurassic Park or Cayenne because of the repair work to the tunnels and footpath (until the end of this year). No problem, luckily there's always Art Bloc, where there have been some big improvements to the 60 degree overhang and the salle d'anniversaire, and not forgetting loads of constantly changing blocs and air con too. Just perfect!

Back at Art Bloc on one of Bernard's "violets". (Photo by Elaine).

"A Climbing Life", a beautiful film made by Mathieu Henneteau

Not much really happening down here. I can't find anyone to climb with midweek, everybody is either away on holiday, working or revising for exams.

The crags are drying out nicely and we've been keeping fit for Elaine's imminent early retirement and our return to Greece this summer. Mostly we've been going to Art Bloc, Jurassic Park and Cayenne.

That reminds me, I haven't mentioned on this blog the excellent video (A Climbing Life) that Mathieu Henneteau (of H2M Images) made for us last year, showing the beautiful scenery in the Gorges du Loup and my favourite climb at Jurassic park (La Queue du Diplodocu, 8a+). It was great fun working with Mathieu, the filming took 2 days (1 day at the cliff and 1 day at our house). I had to go up the climb 3 times and Mathieu did a really thorough job with the editing, which took several months. The end result is amazing and it's now been seen by thousands of people around the world (no doubt it will lead to more climbers at our quiet cliff, but never mind). Thanks for a brilliant job and a wonderful souvenir, Mathieu. Chapeau! Here's the link for the video:

https://vimeo.com/310195153?fbclid=IwAR21xqJSC3bIBcdUqIq67D_vqvY19opBM3tBBdJnGUMGjQkBWwtc-289YoQ

Next week sees the arrival of my old climbing mate from the '80's; legend Phil Davidson. He's no longer one of the best climbers in the world but he's still cranking and having fun. I'm looking forward to showing him the crags and climbing with him again. Hopefully there'll be a "Loud and proud: Part 2" blog to follow soon.

Perfect Spring conditions in Rodellar

Ah, Rodellar. C'est le paradis.

Rodellar (tucked away at the end of the road in the Sierra de Guara National Park, in between Barbastro, Huesca and the Pyrenees in Aragon, Northern Spain) has to be one of the top places I've climbed anywhere in the world. Elaine and I had already been three times; twice in summer and once at Easter.

We've found summer too hot really, plus it's always very busy with climbers, canyoners and general tourists. Camp sites tend to be rammed and it's noisy when you're trying to get to sleep, the very friendly Spanish climbers (in the tent next door) have just come back from the bar and started cooking at 22h30 and they don't understand why you want to go to sleep at such an early hour. When you do get to the crag there's usually lots of crazy climbers' dogs running around all over your gear and intimidating your well-behaved, attached dog. Doesn't sound much fun, does it? But sometimes you just don't have a choice during school holidays so you just have to put up with it.

On the other hand, when we went at Easter it was much quieter and conditions were perfect for climbing. However, if it's been a wet winter, there will be lots of seepage, so best to go elsewhere.

Eddie and I made plans for a quick 2 week visit in March, without our lovely wives (Mandy was going to meet up with some of her family in Cypres and Elaine was busy working). I flew from Nice to Barcelona for next to nothing. Eddie picked me up and we stayed in one of Fina's (as in the climb called "Gracias Fina") excellent apartments at Valle Rodellar Apart Hotel, from where it's possible to walk to all the sectors. Once in Rodellar you don't need a car.

We were amazed how quiet the crags were and they were also totally dry. We were lucky to experience the best conditions (at this time of year) for a long time. The only problem was us! I'm almost 61 and Eddie's 57, so we're getting on a bit. The climbing at Rodellar is very steep and physical, the grades are tough (often total sandbags, eg "Ambicion Cero" at 7c+, "El Sepes" at 7c+/8a, plus all the routes that have lost holds at Surgencia that haven't been upgraded).

Anyway, we tried our best and had a fab time. Eddie did well to keep up with my 2 days on, 1 day off routine (though he refused to join me in a 4 days on stint at the end, well you just have to bite the bullet some times don't you?). Now, when will we be able to do it again, I wonder? There's so many king lines to do, I've got to go back again, some time......

Eddie and Gran Boveda.

Rodellar from Fina's terrace.

The climbing is very steep, lowering off El Sepes at Gran Boveda.

Sophie Milios Gibbens climbing "Bugs Bunny" (6a+) at El Camino.

Bob Stones climbing "Para mis amigos" (6a+) at El Camino.

Bob Stones climbing a technical 6a+ at Las Ventanas.

Laia from Lleida climbing her first Rodellar 7a (Vis a Vis at Las Ventanas). 

Eddie and the window of Mascun. Made in Mascun (7c+) climbs strenuously all the way across the cave.

El Delfin from the window of Mascun.

El Delfin, Las Ventanas.

See caption below.

Two views of the same section on the iconic El Delfin, 7c+.

John Lynch on the superb Acravita, 8a, Las Ventanas.

Strong, young climber on El Sepes (8a) at Gran Boveda.

Seriously strong climber almost on-sighting the seriously steep "No Bouchon Spirit" (7c+) at Las Ventanas.

The village from Gran Boveda.