Video: Upskill Climbing Camp 2010 - Rodellar

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Rodellar 2010 - Trip Report 5 (Bikini, Pince Sans Rire, El Delfin)

On the rest day it was decided that the other celebrated Rodellar pasttime should be engaged in - namely, canyoning. Best described as "a huge waterpark made by nature", I'll let the pics do the talking.

Canyoning in Rodellar comes highly recommended by the Upskill crash test dummies!

And then all too soon the final day of climbing was upon us. And with it the realisation that, hell, there's a bunch of routes the guys did not want to leave Rodellar without bagging. It happens every camp. The final day is a day of madness, desperation, flappers. I call it project clean-up day.

After yesterday's canyoning adventure, I might have been forgiven for thinking that the team would be smashed, but for perhaps the first time, everyone was awake and at breakfast before me. Coffee was on, they were keen.

First point of call was Bikini sector for some obligatory warm-ups. You might take it as a measure of someone's level of tiredness, that they tied in like this... (can you spot the error?)

Surely you've seen it. If not, read on for the answer *

In this case, not a life-threatening error, however, a perfect demonstration as to why we do our cross checks and verbalisation! Safety first, people! We're in climbing for a good time and a long time!  
* Answer: Rope not fed through leg loops!

Warm-up's done, let's jet. Projects were looming at Pince Sane Rire (translation: tongue-in-cheek) so we blitzed up the scree before the Saturday crowds arrived. I got all three projects drawed up in minutes, and it was go time. May on Ciao Bambino 6b (20), Kirsty on Los Hermanos Peruanos 6b+ (21) and Kirill on Esclava Laboral 6c+ (22/23). Results from the matches below:

May Pang vs Ciao Bambino

Round 1: Huge fall from the final mantle move. So close.

Round 2: Fall at half height.

Ciao Bambino declared winner of this bout.

Kirsty Kitto vs Los Hermanos Peruanos

Round 1: Fall after the last bolt.

Round 2: Fall after the last bolt.

Round 3: Fall after the last bolt.

Los Hermanos Peruanos declared winner of this bout.

Kirill Talanine vs Esclava Laboral 6c+
Round 1: Shock! Esclava Laboral is knocked out!
Kirill Talanine declared winner!

And for his redpoint of Esclava Laboral, Kirill receives this...

...and a championship belt.

Ordinarily after an afternoon of projecting, we might shuffle off home. But noooooo! This was project clean-up day and there was more cleaning to be done. So off to El Delfin it was.

By this stage, Kirsty had decided that the only thing that would keep her together was tape.

Kirsty had unfinished business with the 6b+ (21) Tú Aquí No Has Venido a Escalar. And even with the assistance of tape and three valiant attempts, it was not to be. Bugger! One to come back for!

Tú Aquí No Has Venido a Escalar 6b+ (21)

Kirill was already glorying in his hardest lead to date earlier in the day, so anything now was icing. As it turned out, he ended up one hanging the fiercely overhanging Bis a Bis 7a (23) on lead. A pretty big improvement from the guy who was projecting 6a+ (19) on the first day!

And May. What can we say? The project was the unnamed 6a+ (19) on the left side of the arch which she'd been on before on two different days. This route had a particularly long and balancy reach move crux, with runout climbing above. On her first burn, she slumped off the crux and things weren't looking good for a takedown. On the second try however, she climbed well up to the crux, set up for the long reach, static-ed up most of the way to the rail, then unleashed a small pop, stuck the finger edge with one hand and began to barndoor off. Immediately the ground crew went into action yelling "Hold on! Hold on! Venga Venga! A Muerte (to the death!)!!!" Somehow she managed to edge a couple of fingers deeper, and reel back her body into position. She ticked. Glorious battle, sweet victory. While technically not her hardest tick of the trip, it was the biggest battle. And to finish it up as the light was fading on the final day - perfection.

Stoked!

Well, all good things must come to an end, and we have just dropped the crew back to their hotels in Barcelona where they'll be variously heading home, or continuing their climbing adventures.

Thank you, dear reader, for joining us on our Rodellar adventure. I hope this might have provided a bit of psyche and motivation for you to go out and attack your climbing goals.  Go try something really hard. It's good for the soul.

16 years on, and still loving climbing with a passion. Seriously, how good is this sport?

--Lee Cujes

Rodellar 2010 - Trip Report 4 (El Camino, El Delfin, L'Ecole, Pince Sans Rire)

Day seven of climbing. This aint some namby-pamby climbing camp where you do five days of climbing. You barely get used to the rock on a five day trip. Not only that, because it's five days, you don't want to rest, so you peak on day two, and then get more and more tired and your climbing generally gets worse as the trip progresses. Nooo! Our Upskill camps go for two weeks, with rest scheduled so you can actually keep improving and climbing 100% for the whole time.

The morning of day seven was spent at our now familiar haunt of El Camino where we all had projects, and a lot more routes to tick. At the start of the trip, Bugs Bunny 6a+ (19) was a project for everyone. Today - a warm up lap route. There's big changes evident in everyone's climbing. A lot more confidence. After warm up's, Kirsty and Sam traded burn for burn on their joint project Futuras Promesas 6c (22). Sam is looking pretty close, falling at the second last bolt. Kirsty was also looking solid until managing to open a couple of deep holes in her fingers. She's pretty tough though and doesn't seem too phased.

The coach's couch.

May and Kirill were, and I quote, "intrigued" by Knuff 6b. And they both found Knuff quite tough :) Both took burns and sorted beta for a future send. While some snacks were had, I did a quick run up Estampida 7b (25) and Where's Wally 6c+ (22/23) which wasn't much easier than the 7b.

The uber arch of El Delfin played host to the afternoon's festivities. We'd been here before and there was unfinshed business.

May had a date with the unnamed 6a+ (19) on the left side of the arch. It's got a tricky long move off a half pad undercling pinch. Great for someone of May's diminuitive stature! She fired that move, and hesitantly moved into the runout section above. Every move she made upwards, I knew she was thinking about the increasing size of the potential fall. By the time she got to the next bolt she was shaking. She got the quickdraw on the bolt, hesitated, grabbed a hold out left, then immediately the hand snapped back like a snake and grabbed the quickdraw - then immediately let go! But the damage was done. She was rattled and knew she'd fluffed it with the almost unconcious grab of the draw. Oh well! We can't be perfect all the time. Mental toughness takes time to build.

Kirsty was inspired by the route too and managed to read the crux well and make it through, only to fall on the easier but pumpier climbing above. Second go, she nailed it.

Kirill had a good afternoon. There's an imposing route which traverses the vertical to slightly overhanging wall above the arch in a curving line. It's graded weirdly - 6a/b (18/20). Why not just call it 19? Anyhoo, cool line no doubt. On his first shot, he pumped off a long reach move, but had no such issues on the second try.

Kirill celebrates his send! :)

He was keen to try one of Rodellar's most popular steep 7a's (23) Bis a Bis, so I put up a toprope. It's a crazy cool route. Imagine a climb 25m long which gets gradually more steep as you climb. The crux is at about mid-height on a bulge, and the upper third is like climbing on protruding jugs the size and shape of shoeboxes on their ends. HUGE holds and lots of air. On getting down from the route, Kirill's arms were looking the worse for wear. He loved it though!

After a small break to let the pump subside, he managed to flash the varied wall route on the right of the arch Tu aqui no has venido a escalar 6b+ (21) (translation: You have not come here to climb). That right there is another equal hardest flash. Sweet! Kirsty managed a one hang of the same route. It'll go!

And on the eighth day, they awoke and God said "Let them be tired". And they were. No rest for the wicked though (until the rest day), so we ambled off to a new sector L'Ecole (School) which hosts some pretty good slabby warm-ups graded in the 5-6a (16-18) bracket. Perfect to stretch out tired muscles.

We picked side by side routes which happened to share the top couple of bolts and anchor, so we had a series of "race to the chains" events where the climbers would battle it out up the routes and whoever got to the top steep section first would get right of way and the other person would have to wait. The highlight was May flashing the L'Ecole A 6a (18) which is her first flash of that grade. Tidy!

Over breakfast, we'd had a group discussion about steep rock tactics. You know the stuff - creative resting, pacing, body positions. So it was only right that the arvo was spent at Pince Sans Rire where all the routes on offer tilt the climber back. Steepness baby!

May on Ciao Bambino 6b (20)

May had been on the steep corner Ciao Bambino 6b (20) before, but this time she was committed to the lead. A couple of burns on this steep route didn't yield a tick, but did yield some falls and one extremely exhausted girl. 

Still smiling!

The K's decided to maintain team solidity and enter self destruction mode. The anvils they would smash themselves against were Los Hermanos Peruanos 6b+ (21) for Kirsty and the steeeeeeep Esclava Laboral 6c+ (22/23) for Kirill. Kirsty did three burns and fell on the same move after the last bolt on each shot! It was a powerful throw off an undercling - burly! End of day proclamation: "I'm rooted!" Kirill upped the ante with four burns on his route and became so smashed that he began referring to himself in the third person. "Kirill tired now! Kirill arms no work!"

Kirill making his arms not work.

Not one to shirk work, I do some training laps at the cliff.

I shall therefore proclaim this afternoon MAKE MASSIVE CLIMBER DESTROY!

Rodellar 2010 - Trip Report 3 (Bikini, El Delfin, La Fuente, Criminal Tango)

Ahh, the infamous rest day. Kirsty, May and Kirill had heard about a nice day hike. Just a few hours. Good-o. See ya guys, have a nice walk. Seven hours later, three broken bodies trudge up the stairs of the Upskill apartment with tales of endless scree slopes and spiky bushes. Glad I stayed at home. Must say, I'm not a fan of hiking unless it leads to a supercrag. Here's a couple pics from the adventure...

Kirill points the way

Walking the endless ridgeline

The next morning was a crisp one, and saw us down on Bikini sector by the river for our warm-ups. Routes to go down included Bikini, Para Ti and El Guitarrista, all 6a (18). The sector has a bit of polish, but some of the routes on the right side of the wall are the coolest easy routes around featuring deeply incut letterbox pockets.

Kirill dispatches the namesake of the sector, Bikini 6a (18)

Earlier in the morning, our group discussion had centered around redpoint headspace versus onsight headspace and why falling is vital to improvement in sport climbing. The afternoon therefore was PROJECT TIME!!, so we headed up to the famous arch, El Delfin. Kirill had been studying the guidebook and had picked a likely looking project (El Gatera 7a/23) which started on one side of the arch and climbed through to the other side. Wow!

The namesake of the sector, El Delfin 7c+ (28). I had a quick flash attempt and fell on the final moves. Darn!

Kirill was psyched for La Gatera 7a (23), so started up and made it about four bolts into the overhanging, traversing arch before succumming to the pump. Switching to redpoint mode (i.e. learning and refining), he managed to go bolt to bolt and put all of the gear on. That's what you want on your first shot. Get the gear on, find the rests, learn the route.

Kirsty was also psyched for steep tufas so got on for a lash, working out most of the route except the weird and awkward exit moves through a slot. It's weird, you'll have to look at the pic.

La Gatera 7a (23). Kirill climbing. Photo approved clothing FAIL.
The route climbs through the slot you can see at the top of the roof.

A couple of burns were had by the two K's, and it was up to me to retrieve the draws. Chop chop draw monkey! The initial section was fine until I reached the slot. There, regardless of my kneebar ability, I could find no truly elegant solution. But I was not falling off a 7a in front of the team. Solution? Burrow and grunt. Helmet jam, arm-bar, chimney, knees, it was all happening. I reverted to a trad-climbing troglodyte. It was ugly. I defy someone to show me an easy and elegant way to climb that slot! At least I provided ample entertainment for the crew. Deary me! :)

While all that was happening, Sam and May were sampling the more sane 6a to 6b routes on the other side of the arch.

May on the strangely graded 6a/b route which traverses the edge of Delfin arch.

Day six of climbing began with a discussion of the effect of anxiety in climbing, strategies to control it, and the importance of building mental toughness. The group was keen to revisit some routes which had proved a challenge on day one, a week prior. So we blitzed down to La Fuente and where, after some warm-ups, the sendage commenced.

May cleaned up her earlier proj La Raton 6a+ (19)
"I've made more progress in the last couple of days than I have in the last couple of years!"

Kirsty techs out the blank crux section of El Raton 6a+ (19) for the tick. Bueno

El Raton 6a+ (19) is a great technical wall climb where the crux involves commiting the feet to terrible, polished smears while the hands paw at poor pockets, all the while edging upwards to a distant good sidepull. Owing to how insecure it feels, it's a commiting lead! Hats off to the girls who fired it with confidence.

Kirill cleaned up the Unnamed 6b+ (21) which Kirsty also cleanly led. This route has a steepening section using opposing sidepulls, so you need to have good body position to make it work. Foot placement is key. Great to see such success on this. Before leaving the area, Kirill sussed the beta, and then ticked off La Maldicion 6b (20) on Furia Latina. Great morning all round!

After lunch by the water and scene of Kirill's DWS traverse (dissapointingly without splashdown), we shot up to Criminal Tango. This sector hosts the most popular 6b+ (21) in Rodellar and after looking at Roxy la Palmera it's not hard to see why. This is the biggest tufa ride at the grade in Rodellar. Overhanging, huge holds and crazy 3D climbing. The top section has a single, huge tufa which sits about two feet proud of the wall like a giant Amazonian boa-constrictor. The best way to climb this is to throw a leg over and slap your way up it while yelling "YEEHAR!!!"

Kirill was going well on the onsight when he hit the big snake up top. As he edged up the fearsome beast he started shaking. It's runout up there, especially from the last bolt to the anchors. "Watch him May, here we go." I could see the possibility for a huge winger. Kirill was gibbering and you could just tell how pumped he was laying off and trying to get into a position to clip the anchors, about five metres out from the last bolt. Just when I thought he was off for sure, he transferred from the straddle position to the left side of the tufa and jammed his whole body against it for a rest. YES!! Pull rope, clip, collapse. Awesome!

Kirill firing in the clip on the lower section of Roxy la Palmera 6b+ (21) on his successful onsight.

Time for some R+R for the team. Three more climbing days remain. Limestone - be afraid!

La Raton 6a+ (19)

La Raton 6a+ (19)

Rodellar 2010 - Trip Report 2 (Pince Sans Rire, El Camino)

Our "rest" day included adventures such as hiking through the canyon, visiting quaint churches on the top of hills that were locked, scoping sectors not yet visited, and for myself, an epic getting lost on the way to La Pincenetta sector (ordinarily a 1hr 15min approach) and having no option but to swim down a canyon. Freezing and a bit scary!

At least there was a nice sunset as I walked back soaking wet.
You can see the Gran Boveda, one of the "big 3" killer Rodellar sectors in this pic.

We all slept well.

Day three dawned overcast and the paving stones were wet outside the apartment. It had rained overnight. The tufas would continue to be wet. No problem though, as our sector for the day was the left side of Pince Sans Rire.

Kirsty on Ciao Bambino 6b (20)

Some of us top roped La Alimana de Ocana 6b (20) to warm up. This is the easiest route on this pretty difficult sector, so a quick top rope is nice for a no stress warm-up. May really enjoyed the route and thought it might be a go-er for a lead.

May on La Alimana de Ocana 6b (20)

After dialling the moves, she was ready for attempt number one. This resulted in a struggle through the mid-height bulge and a fall. Great! Why great? No yells of take, no grabbing the draw. 100% commitment to the move, a throw, and a nice clean fall. For someone struggling with their "falling demons" this is a big leap forward.

For someone struggling with their "falling demons" this is a big leap forward.

The positive energy from this fed straight into her second attempt, and after doing a huge throw, missing the hold and falling back onto a jug (but not the rope), only to power-yell and go though on the second try was just great to see. She was fierce! Result? A clean tick, and a new hardest lead climb! Bring it on!

May's gold star. Not bad for day three! Gold star not redeemable for cash.

May spent the rest of the day with an un-wipe-offable grin, and proceeded to ride the wave, with several burns on the classic, steep power-haul Los Hermanos Peruanos 6b+ (21).

May sussing the moves on Los Hermanos Peruanos 6b+ (21)

Kirsty also had a big day. The small rails at the top of La Alimana de Ocana 6b (20) were giving her curry! She had four solid burns throughout the day, working sequences and taking some good falls in the process. This is sport climbing!

Kirsty takes flight.
"I've taken more falls in the last three days than in the last six months!"

Kirill also had a successful day. After sending La Alimana de Ocana 6b (20), we thought he might be a bit tired, but he then went on to flash the 5m overhanging Los Hermanos Peruanos 6b+ (21). His equial hardest flash! This, from the self-confessed "not good at overhangs" guy who's only been climbing a year and a half. And to make it a clean sweep, the corner route Ciao Bambino 6b (20) also got redpointed.

Kirill contemplates the capping roof on Ciao Bambino 6b (20) before pulling through for the send.

Day four dawned bright, clear, cold and windy. El Camino it is! The left side of the wall has some great routes in the grades we're chasing. I am happy to report team ticks of the nemesis route from day two, Bugs Bunny 6a+ (19). Everyone finished it off in style. Then without hesitation, on to harder things.

Sam and Kirsty have found a new project in the tough tufa blob route Future Promesas 6c (22)

How cool is this guy?

If only Elmer Fudd was as lucky. Kirsty waves goodbye to Bugs Bunny 6a+ (19).

Kirsty samples Para Mis Amigos 6a+ (19)

It's a nice view across the canyon to Nuit De Temps sector. There's some 40m pitches here!

Ordinarily you'd only climb for the morning at El Camino as it goes into the sun after lunch, but today, with the cold wind it was actually nice to climb in the sun. The team decided to stay and press on with their projects. Kirsty and and Sam worked Future Promesas 6c (22) until their skin was done for the day. May went to work on Para Mis Amigos 6a+ (19) and found a very challenging reachy crux. Kirill went for the flash attempt on Felipe el Hermoso 6c (22) and got his nose touching the anchors but was too pumped to clip. Argh! A second try yielded a similar result and a fall I managed to snag on film. I happened to be filming Sam, and Kirill came flying off and basically flew across the frame. Sam didn't even notice. That's focus. Third try and it was in the bag. Nice Kirill!

That night there were some tired bodies in need of a rest day. However a day hike is on the cards. Some rest day!

Weather is clear and crisp for the next week. Things are just getting better and better. Stay tuned!

Rodellar 2010 - Trip Report 1 (La Fuente, El Camino, Furia Latina)

Hey Hey!

Welcome to the Rodellar 2010 Upskill Climbing Camp. New places, new faces! The aim? Heaps of super enjoyable limestone, learning, improvement. Have a holiday, go home with skills! I've been waiting for this one for a while :)

So, Rodellar! What are we talking here? North east Spain, three hours from Barcelona. Limestone. 400 climbs. Lots of tufas, lots of very impressive steep routes!

Rodellar as marked. Sport climbing centre of the universe.

Our willing team members for this foray into steepness are Kirsty, Kirill and May from Queensland and ACT in Australia, and they join me (Lee) and Sam for two weeks of pushing limestone limits. We picked them up a few days ago in Barcelona and buzzed back up the highway in the Citroen Berlingo (the car that is like a spanish mullet, car up front, van in the back).

The first walk in through the village of Rodellar never fails to impress.

Upskill HQ for this camp is in one of the nicest apartments in Rodellar. Four bedrooms, big kitchen, flat screen, all the mod cons. We roll deluxe. Dirtbagging? I think not!

Yeah, this goes alright!

 After settling in, we sat down to a great first dinner of roast chicken, pumpkin and walnut salad, smashed potatoes and other goodies. Sam is pulling out all the stops on the menu.

Day one of climbing saw us head to La Fuente which is a great sector for cleaning out the cobwebs and getting some ticks under the harness. 18 routes, slabs, 5 to 6b+ (16 - 21) on very solid limestone peppered with deep pockets. Every route has something to recommend it.

The TEAM get their first taste of Rodellar limestone. Go team!

May has laser focus on Los Jumbis, La Fuente sector.

One of my faves on the sector, Ta Fiole Con Tonica. May leading. The amazing cave in the background has some impressive Dani Andrada 9a roof routes.

Kirill highsteps on Que Pasa Oues, Zagal. La Fuente.

How nice is that for a backdrop? The water really is that green!

Highlights from the day was Sam crushing an unnamed 6b+ (21) she'd tried previously, Kirill projecting the same and taking some air (yeah yeah!), Kirsty leading the intricate and tricky El Raton 6a+ (19) and May leading Ardilla 6a (18), possibly the best on the wall?

We climbed until about 7:45pm and at the end of the day, we all had at least five or six routes in the bag. Don't you love Spain?

That night it rained. And hard! And as we'd planned to eat out at the nice Kalandraka refugio, there was some walking involved. Through the torrent. Not a problem for those with Gore-Tex and umbrellas. But me? Well, I had to make my own Gore-Tex.

I'll stay dry, let me tell you! Later: "Holy shiiiiittttt"

Day two we woke to dryness and sunshine. Perfect! Group discussion topic was the importance of the climber-belayer bond and what it means to be a top notch belayer. You're not just there to hold the rope and look bored.

El Camino was the sector for the morning. This is a sweeping concave wall of blocky orange limestone. 30 routes between 5 and 7b+ (16 - 26). Very popular with the punters, but we mostly had it to ourselves which was a welcome bonus.

 Que Majete 5 (about 16-17) was our warm-up route. Technical and slippery down low!

Kirsty samples the horizontals on Que Majete, El Camino. Almost like the Blue Mountains!

Alright WTF!? Who's the wise guy??

Kirsty takes a big whipper off the classic Bugs Bunny 6a+ (19). Great soft catch practice. You can see by looking at the sweep of the wall that El Camino is steep!

May cranks the initial overhang of Bugs Bunny 6a+ (19)

The techno section of Bugs took its share of scalps today. Kirill negotiates the trickery.

Some good falls were had by all, which is a desirable for our group, as all are focused on improving mental toughness, tenacity and banishing fear of falling. It's an issue for most climbers, so it's good to acknowledge it and tackle it head on.

The afternoon saw us at Furia Latina sector (aka Furious Latina Pasta) down on the river. The route of choice was Bolskan 6b (20). Kirsty bravely racked up for the onsight and did super well through the bouldering opening crux. A bizarre mantle over a roof foiled the onsight, but a second shot and it was in the bag. Nice! Not to be outdone, Kirill utilised his patented high step to rock-over the roof and flash the route. Top effort!

The walk out was just a little slower than usual as Sam implemented a blackberry collection competition. Blackberries grow wild all around the cliffs and on the menu for desert was pear and blackberry crumble with whipped cream. I just finished mine - yum!!

They're everywhere!

See you soon for installment #2 :)