“Pren Nota” 8a - Update from Siurana :)
Hola from Siurana!
With just one climbing day left we are trying to decide on the best plan of action for tomorrow. In the last two days me, Robbie and Ross have all completed our projects which means a relatively relaxed last day with no pressure! Last night we were woken up by the biggest thunder and lighting storm I have ever experienced - no matter how good our skin might have been today it was definitely destined to be a rest day! Just now we are sat in the cafe waiting to order a Spanish omelette bocadillo (a Spanish omelette in a baguette, basically!) and chilling out before our final day in the valley!
It has been a great trip for all of us. The campsite has quietened down considerably and our little patch is being increasingly invaded by alien tents We certainly made an impression on the campsite - Calum’s special extra thick hot chocolates still live on in the cafe and one member of staff is still a bit grumpy after a certain water fight involving two of our crew accidentally splashed her. Personally I appear to have found a friend in the campsite’s caretaker who turns the thermostat up each night for me before I go in the shower…shhh don’t tell anyone! There has been a fantastic atmosphere in the camp and at the crag and a very international one at that. Although things got a bit competitive with the table tennis game on the iPad and the football games in the camp, no cat-fights started, even when we were sabotaging each others’ tents by putting things on top of them! We have met up with friends old and new and will for sure meet up/bump into most people again at a crag in the middle of nowhere at some point in the future!
The last two days have been very productive for the remaining 3 Scots. Robbie completed his 8b+, Ross ticked his 8b and I finally succeeded on my project from last year Pren Nota 8a. My route takes on a very aesthetic line on small but positive holds through a beautiful blue and orange striped scoop of wall that starts off vertical and gets gradually steeper. In the beginning of the trip I felt fairly fit, I had managed to tick Marijuana 8a on my third attempt and had done some good onsights in the 7′s, so I felt ready to take on Pren Nota once again.
The first section of "Pren Nota" 8a
There are some specific features of this route which made it challenging for me - there are two sections that require a high step mantle which I always find quite difficult (long legs and no triceps make it awkward :p ) and the positions which the mantles are in are quite exposed. Last year I never made it past the first one as I was too scared of falling off awkwardly with my feet so near my ears and being high above a bolt! This year after doing more bouldering and being exposed to weird and wonderful volume problems at Ratho I found the move much less daunting and found a method which suited me. After climbing a lot more on rock last year I was also more confident with being above the bolt and could focus purely on the climbing. However, when working the moves higher up on an early attempt I came off and swung into a bulge, hitting the side of my knee hard into the rock and narrowly missing the kneecap! Although it was very painful I wasn’t too bothered by it at the time and was proud to show off the massive egg shaped bruise, but on my next attempts I definitely had something at the back of my mind telling me I could get hurt if I fell!
Unfortunately I fell victim once again to a stomach bug not dissimilar to the one I had in Ceuse and felt too ill to climb. Long days spent at the campsite playing the Logos Quiz followed and after 5 or 6 days I was ready to climb again. I suspected I would feel weak with not having climbed in a while and still felt a bit ropey (excuse the pun!) I think my frustration at being ill must have translated into aggression on the rock, as on my first attempt back I made it through to the final clip before the chain - a heartbreaker section on small crimps with bad feet which spits off so many people on the onsight or red point. I was disappointed as I was so near yet so far from the chains. I was still getting pumped and felt as though my power endurance just wasn’t up to scratch. I reworked the top section and got a good sequence in my head ready for next time. Just as I was ready to go for another attempt I watched as some climbers were stripping their quickdraws out of the route - ahhh! I would have to wait until someone else put them in again or go up myself the next day. At least putting the quickdraws in would enable me to work the top section again and get a good warm up before the siege.
It was a cold and windy morning when I tried to put the quickdraws back into the route and climbing the moves felt quite alien. I seemed to find moves hard that I hadn’t found difficult before and additionally some of the clips were very hard to put in. I tried not to get psyched out and told myself that it was a good opportunity to re-familiarise with the moves. After a good hour or so of rest the sun had come out and the wind had died down a little - perfect! I listened to some music and got ready to climb after crossing the scary ledge for what would hopefully be the last time! I felt quite relaxed as I started up and found that I was recovering quick and not grunting or huffing and puffing as much as I was previously. I was totally relaxed and not bothered at all about coming off. I focused on the moves and soon found myself past both mantles and before the final section trying to gain some composure in anticipation of the fight. I had climbed much quicker than usual and left the rest sooner than normal. The awkward clip was made and soon I was into the crimps, I felt strong but still shook out between the moves just to be sure. I grasped the final ledge and clipped and couldn’t believe I had done it. I had fallen high up so many times and let the fear and pressure get to me, but finally I had overcome my demons from last year when I could barely get past halfway because of fear. Stripping the quickdraws was a bit of an epic as I was exhausted both mentally and physically, I don’t think it had sunk in at that point!
Robbie has made a great video and took lots of awesome photos, some of which you can see here. It was very tiring making the video and having to re-climb the route but it was well worth it yesterday I watched as Robbie ticked his 8b+ and Ross his 8b - which has inspired me to try and complete a third 8a of the trip called “Memorias de una Sepia”. I tried it yesterday and worked out all the moves and am hoping to get it done tomorrow. We will also be getting some more video footage and pictures - watch this space!
We still need to find some way of getting to the airport on Wednesday. We have made a sign which is up on the front door of the cafe/bar asking if we can hitch a lift with anyone to Barcelona. The funniest thing is that Robbie started writing BARCALONA before I stopped him and told him it was spelled wrong, but the camp owners stuck it to the glass and on the other side of the door you can still see BARCAL. No wonder no one wants to give us a lift!
Hasta luego!