Week 48: project scouting

What I did:

After 2 long days of driving, I arrived in Chulilla! The day after I scouted one of the potential 8a's, Los Veteranos, and even gave it a quick go to check out the moves. I didn't warm up properly, and the moves in the crux felt hard.... but what's worse, my wrist was hurting quite a lot. I think this route will aggravate my injuries. The approach was also really rough on my hips, so I wasn't too excited about projecting this route anymore...

I tried Vejiga Vibratoria the next day, which didn't hurt my wrist that much at all. But.... it felt waaaay too hard for me. I'm too intimidated by this route to project it. The approach also was kinda rough on the hips... So I kept looking for a different project.

A route close to Vejiga Vibratoria, Entre Dos Caminos, felt quite doable! Also I managed to find a route up to this part of the crag that was a little bit easier on the hips. However, I wasn't to excited about going up and down that path for weeks on end, and was worried it woud still hurt my hips. And the route is impossible to film with a tripod, too...

After this I tried Greim, at a crag called Altet. It looked like a fun, cruxy route with a crazy dyno. However, it was super wet. And because the route is never in the sun, it will probably be hard to project this due to winter conditions.

I walked up Mikado at Bove2, but the hike was too much and there was no one at this crag - not even on Sunday! I was exhausted, and contemplated going back to Entre dos Caminos in Chulilla, but I decided to try one more route.... 

I met Ben from Hard is Easy at Chulilla, and he mentioned an 8a called El Desafio at Llibre. I decided to give it a shot and drove over. And wow! What a crag! Great conditions, very short approach that won't hurt my hips, it's easy to work the route and I think this is a good route in terms of skin, too. It's a lovely little town with a great little crag! Although the route is not my style (technical climb in slight overhang on tiny crimps), this is the place I want to be over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully I will send the route, but regardless I will enjoy the process.

7 days after arriving in Spain, and with 4 weeks left, I picked a project. I also managed to put up a top rope for rope solo, so over the next few days I will be able to work the moves without a belayer.

Reflecting:  

I was super nervous when I arrived in Chulilla, probably because of my ambitious climbing goal. I felt intimidated by the tall routes and all the super strong climbers. But, luckily, I also met up with a friend; Arne. He helped me relax a bit and give a potential project a try.

Friends have recommended me a few routes in Chulilla; los veteranos and vejiga vibratoria for instance, but all the routes they recommended are all considered relatively hard 8a's. It seems like they're structurally overestimating me, haha! I think I followed their recommendations a bit too much. A soft 8a makes for a much better first 8a. And I also should have considered things like conditions, skin friendlyness and how easy it is to work the route a bit more during my prep for this trip back home.

Because I kept changing crags, I kept getting lost on the way to the crag. Every time the area was new to me... I spent at least 10 hours in the first week of my visit in Spain walking around with a heavy back pack though rough terrain. I'm averaging 20.000 steps a day (on elevated, uneven ground). It wasn't much fun (especially in the rain), but at least I got some cardio in ;)

As I don't have a steady climbing partner (yet), I have to look around for people who are alone like me. Although I love meeting new people, it's not so much fun for me to put my life in the hands of people I don't know. It really provokes my fear of falling. Climbing is a team sport, so I really hope I can find someone steady to help me send my project :) 

Finally, #vanlife and dirtbagging isn't normal to me. I love minimalism, but I also value hygiene and sustainability. As a result, some things are kinda hard for me. Last year, one of those things was answering nature's call. I don't like to do what many of the others are doing here; digging a hole close to the campsite. I feel like it's unsustainable as climbing is getting more popular. I found a sustainable way of going, and as a result I'm much more relaxed and comfortable than when my routine had to depend on the opening times of cafe's. It feels strange writing about it, but honestly this has already made a big difference compared to how I felt last year! Oh and I also got myself a solar shower, so basically I'm getting better at #vanlife, which will help me be comfortable, which will help me climb harder.

What will I do next time:

Over the next few days, I will top rope solo El Desafio. Firstly, I will have to learn to do all the moves. Then, I will have to find resting positions and learn how to do the clips. After this, I will look at tactics; extend quickdraws, add tick marks, do whatever is necessary to make the route easier.

I'm guessing all of this will take well over a week. But if I'm lucky and progress faster, the step after this is to start lead climbing it and start making bigger and bigger links. After that, I will high point and low point until there is an overlap, and then it's time to send :)

Statistics:

Climbed 225 meters on real rock.

Climbed 0 meters of aerobic endurance laps (while doing movement drills).

Taken 6 falls while committing to the next move.