Weekend in Margalef

I just returned from a weekend of climbing at Margalef and I am now positive that I made the right choice to come here for a year. Anyone who has seen a climbing movie in the last couple years has seen footage of Margalef and it was one of the crags that topped my to-do list. So, when the opportunity came to climb there this weekend there was no choice but to go. Simply put, Margalef is AMAZING!!!! Limestone conglomerate pockets, slight overhangs (or big ones if you’re up for it!), 30 meter routes, perfect weather, beautiful mountains, the list goes on, but all I can say is that I lowered off of every route smiling. I think some people thought that I was kind of crazy for being so excited after every climb. Maybe after a year of incredible climbing I’ll look back at the routes I did this weekend and say “yeah, those were decent,” but for now I’ll stay smiling and hungry for more. We spent both days climbing the same sector, but there was plenty to do, and plenty to do next time. Since I was coming off of a nasty cold and had not climbed a difficult route in over a month and a half, I thought I would go with what my partners wanted to do and just try and get my technique back by climbing a lot of routes. I climbed horribly on my warm-up, but I’ve come to realize that usually when I’m terrible on the warm-up I still do well later on, and Saturday was no different. We moved on to do a really long 11b that gave me some serious calf cramps. At this point I still wasn’t feeling in top form, so I was pretty surprised when I casually on-sighted our next climb, a 30 meter 12a, and lowered off feeling fresh. The route involved some technical movement through the vertical lower section followed by an overhanging sustained headwall, every move was thought provoking and I was happy with how well I managed to rest and read the moves. Following this I jumped on a great 12c at a nearby wall and realized that in Margalef every wall is steeper than it looks, and what appeared to be a vertical slab was in fact an overhanging pocket haul. After the first five meters the rock ends in a sloping shelf before bulging out in a clean overhanging face... beautiful! It turns out the sloping shelf was completely hold-less and after a few attempts trying more stylish technique I gave up and simply threw myself up like a beached whale, it worked. With a little golden limestone smear on my clothes I tackled the headwall. After a few powerful moves I fell at the crux, but quickly pulled back on climbed to the top. I’ll get it next time for sure.

Climbing a great 11b the second day

At the end of the day we hiked back down just as the setting sun lit up the golden limestone of the surrounding mountains. It’s amazing how calming a few moments in the mountains at sunset can be. I’ve been fortunate to see quite a few incredible mountain sunsets in my life, and somehow they always stick out.

Sunset in Margalef

Sunset in Chamonix from the Cosmiques Hut, 2008

We drove into the small town of Margalef, which totals about six buildings, and went into the bar for a beer. I also picked up a bag of fresh almonds from the area, and they are definitely some of the best I’ve ever had (I was also starving). We were getting tired so we jumped back in the car and drove a few minutes to what appeared to be a picnic area and camped out for the night.   

 My glorious bivy

The next day we went back to the same area and climbed a bunch of great routes. I actually climbed a tufa for the first time which was really cool. At the end of the day I spent a bit of time looking over the guidebook and I immediately starting thinking about when I was going to return. Lucky for me Margalef is a winter destination so the season is only beginning, and I look forward to many more days there. After only a taste of what Margalef has to offer I’m feeling very motivated to train and climb as much as I can.

In other news, Dad made his son very proud...

This week is going to be the second week of classes, and I’m looking forward to settling into a schedule. Mom and Dad are here this weekend, so I’ll be able to show them around the city a bit.

Thanks for reading, I hope all is well on your end!!