Better late than never?

Two in a week and then none for yonks. Anyway.
The climbing. Did loads more at Roddellar. Then went to Terradets and did pretty much all the classics and some random ones (which were pretty classic too!). favourites there would be Flix Flax, Latido Del Miedo, Xarapo De Basto and LÁnarkista, but they where all pretty worldclass sport routes. Didn´t manage any more 8a onsights here (managed a second one in Rodellar), but onsighted two 7cs and five 7c+s, so can´t complain. Mid way through our Terradets spell we took a week out of the routing to go bouldering in Albarracin, the climbing was great, as was the company. Have now moved on to Montgrony, a high altitude, sunny tufa crag. Have only climbed two days so far. Did a few nice easier things and then went for the classic of the, which various folk had mentioned to me in the past. Aromes De Montgrony 8a+ is a classic pure tufa line in the Dinosaur (Seynes) mould. The first half is steep up a pair of very flared tufas, the second half is up one fat trunk with the crux at the top where the tufa gets very wide and blank and you are forced to maul up the slopey sides. Great route with a gritstone-esque crux! Worked it the first day in nice cool weather, but was to forced to do the redpoint in the blazing sun. Something of a contrast to the last route I did at Terradets which I ended up doing in a stupidly cold wind, 30 metres of 8a vertical wall climbing (a route called Millenium) and a slab crux when you can´t feel your fingers was pure pain! Generally seem to be going ok, am one route away from my thirtieth 8a-8b of the trip. Sorry if that´s all a bit number orientated, but trying to shoe-horn the news in so haven´t got much space for eulogising.
Fi has also been going well. In Terradets she did her first 7b+ plus a hideously hard 7a+ which felt even harder than the 7b+ to me (Jam Session and LÀnsia).


The van. The van had it´s problem when we were on the way back from Albarracin. It stoppped dead in the middle of nowhere and refused to start again. Ten days and two thousand euros the Bubble Goose (Swift Gosling seems a bit poncey and the reg is BG5) was back on the road. Fortunately the insurance paid for a hire car, but we had to spend some very cold nights in the tent, not nice. All seems well now (touch wood). The heater is proving to be well worth the effort and money. There is no way we could stay up in the mountains without one.

Elusive things I´ve seen in the last few days: A wild boar, a badger and Stefan Glowacz!