I'm sure you're all wondering where we've been for the last 6 weeks... Well, we've been in the beautiful National Park of La Pedriza. Situated 30 miles North of Madrid, La Pedriza is one of the lesser known bouldering areas in Spain. We'd seen some awesome photos of the area in the Bouldering Guide and had to check it out for ourselves. We had heard stories of the sharp granite, so were slightly nervous about how our skin would fair...
Read on or go straight to La Pedriza Bouldering Volume I:
On day one we visited Canto Cochino - one of the more classic areas. The area gives a great introduction to the style of climbing in La Pedriza - technical, slopey and requiring good footwork. It feels similar to Fontainebleau, but on a medium grained granite. The boulders range from low to pretty damn high and scary - something for everyone! On our first day we were fortunate enough to bump into the local climbing crew. A fantastic group of Spanish climbers (their Blog), who gave us an extremely warm welcome. They instantly took us under their wing and pointed me at a load of highball classics. My skin took a bit of a pounding (nothing too serious though), however, it was a great introduction to area.
Groucho
We have spent many days with the local crew and been guided to many great new areas not in the guide. Although the guide includes nearly 2000 problems, the local climbers are developing new boulders at an astounding rate, their motivation and commitment to expanding the area is incredible. The potential is still vast - there are currently many projects and second ascents just waiting to be climbed. Its not all hard either, first ascents are available at all grades.
Lomo on Garrapata
The local crew have been pointing me at various lines waiting for a first or second ascent. Some of the lines are breathtaking, and I've been fortunate enough to get second ascents on some beautiful problems. The details of these will be in Volume III of the videos. I've not managed any first ascents yet, but have been trying a few tough lines in the 7C-8A region...
The local crew have been pointing me at various lines waiting for a first or second ascent. Some of the lines are breathtaking, and I've been fortunate enough to get second ascents on some beautiful problems. The details of these will be in Volume III of the videos. I've not managed any first ascents yet, but have been trying a few tough lines in the 7C-8A region...
