Expanding comfort zones

As I described in my last post, I was getting a bit frustrated with my climbing performance in Chorro, in particular my lead head. Since I wrote that post things have been getting gradually better, and I feel like now I've slightly turned a corner. Only a little corner, and there are definitely a few big hairpin bends to go, but it's a start...

We spent the last few days in Chorro climbing with Helen, a friend from Bristol - Andy has already written about this in more detail. I really enjoyed Helen's visit, but didn't do a great deal of climbing - instead I used the fact that Andy and Helen were psyched for similar things as an excuse for a few days off, which was probably what I needed. We rounded off the Chorro leg of our trip and Helen's last night with dinner in a local restaurant with an entertainingly translated menu.  I had wild board in red wine - it was very tasty! Jabalí al vino tinto in Spanish, if anyone's interested...

I was definitely looking forward to a change of scenery though.  This arrived in the form of Chulilla, a spectacular limestone canyon about an hour inland from Valencia. We had stopped here for a day on the way south and really liked it, so we were excited about coming back for a longer stay.

A panorama of the gorge at Chulilla (made by Andy)

We also acquired a new visitor. Our friend Naomi flew out to join us for a five day trip.  I'd only actually met her twice before this trip. She sport climbs at a level more similar to me than to Andy (unlike most of the visitors we have scheduled), but both times we've met she has impressed me by seeming gnarly and insane, in a good way. The first time she was on crutches having completed most of a mountain marathon on a torn hamstring, and the second time convinced me to go fell running in the Lake District in the rain when I was still in post-thesis mode and hadn't exercised in months. I was therefore quite keen to work on my head issues and not come across as a total wuss!

There was an initial false start. We had an afternoon of rain, and then visited an "old school" crag where everything was at least two grades harder than the guidebook said it was (it's been a long time since I've seen Andy have to try so hard on a 6b).

The next day we visited Fantasia, one of the easier crags a few km away from the village. The majority of the climbs here are concentrated around 5+ to 6b, in contrast to the other sectors where there's only a handful of easier routes interspersed between all the 7's. I had set a tentative goal of maybe trying a 6a, but I after my dismal performance in Chorro I felt like I needed to ease back in to leading, so had intended to start on the easiest route on the sector, which was 4+. Naomi had other ideas though, and jumped straight on a 6a with the infallible logic that 'I'm going to be scared anyway so I might as well get scared on something hard'.  This turned out to be a great idea - the climbing on this particular route was amenable and the bolting friendly so after Naomi's successful ascent I managed to wobble my way to the top. Third 6a flash of the trip, and the first one where I didn't panic and try to clip bolts on a different route!

Naomi looking cool

It was then my turn to pick a route.  Feeling inspired, I decided to have a go at another 6a. This one was a bit steeper and had a tricky move round a bulge low down.  I managed to figure out the tricky move to reach a massive handhold on top of the bulge, but from there the last bolt was by my knees and I had to do a slightly committing move (an awkward mantelshelf move to get stood up on the big handhold I was using) to get to the next one. At this point The Fear reasserted itself and I had a little panic and down climbed back to the bolt - back to business as usual. I was anxious not to let the side down after Naomi's success though, so after lots of patient belaying and encouragement from Andy and Naomi, and lots of attempts going slightly higher each time, I finally managed to wobble up onto the hold and clip the next bolt. I managed to get another bolt higher, but got stopped by another committing move and decided I'd had enough. Naomi then dispatched the route in super quick time, but made noises about the moves being hard which made me feel a little better.

She then had a go at a 6b, a grade that I had always previously dismissed as too hard for me to lead. She lowered off the fourth bolt having got stuck on the hardest move, but set me the challenge of trying to lead up to her high point. With no pressure to get to the top, and having seen someone else try it, I surprised myself by being able to do it, even though I was quite scared above every bolt. When I got to Naomi's high point I was even briefly inspired to try to go higher, until it was pointed out that I hadn't taken any quickdraws to clip the next bolt with - this sent me quickly scuttling back down again.  A strategic Andy was then deployed to retrieve the quickdraws and fix a toprope.

Bolt sighted...

Must...clip...bolt...

Yay!

Overall, although I only succeeded (in a conventional sense) on one route that day, it was really satisfying to step a little bit outside my comfort zone in a relaxed, low-pressure environment. I had slightly forgotten how much fun it can be to have a go at stuff that I find challenging, while not taking it too seriously, making silly noises and throwing sticks at Andy (he was very cheeky - he deserved it!)

The next day continued in a similar vein, although a cold wind sapped climbing psyche to an extent. I had a go at a 6b (something I'd not normally have done) - I managed to lead a bit of it, and toprope most of the rest on a slightly slack rope. There was one particular bit I found scary - a sideways traverse out of a corner on some rounded holds - where falling meant taking a sideways swing. In the interests of comfort zone expansion, I spent a little while toppling sideways while making squeaky noises from progressively higher and higher in the corner, to the bemusement of the strong Spanish guys climbing the hard routes on the other side.  Naomi meanwhile put in a really big effort to second a 7a that Andy had climbed, and Andy managed to get his first 7b+ of the trip on only the second attempt.

On the final day of Naomi's visit we went back to Fantasia.  The gradual comfort zone expansion I'd been doing (with even really realising it) over the previous few days had paid off and I felt really inspired to try to lead something hard (for me).  I picked a 6a on the far left edge of the crag, which unfortunately turned put to be the only route on the sunny south-facing crag that was in the wind.  The hardest part of the route was two bolts from the top where you had to do a strenuous pull over a small bulge using a sideways handhold and a high foothold. There was a place where I could stand in balance just below this, and I spent a long time there trying to calm down and pluck up the courage to do the move. The wind was whistling round the edge of the crag and I was getting colder and colder the longer I stood there, so eventually when the wind died for a few seconds I went for it.  Scrabbling around above the bulge I found a hold at the base of a very spiky bush (although I didn't notice the scratches until afterwards), clipped the final bolt and kept going to reach the lower-off at the top.  There was an awkward moment where I was level with the lower-off but couldn't reach to clip it because the holds faced the wrong way - this would normally have sent me scurrying back down, but I managed to keep my head together, find the hold I needed, get in a sensible position and clip the lower-off for my first 6a onsight in over two years!  I came down shaking, exhausted and covered in scratches, but exhilarated.

About to do the move...

Ow...

Naomi then had a go, but the wind picked up even more and she was being blown off the holds below the crux where I'd had my rest. After four days of climbing in a row we were all a bit tired and the rest of the afternoon was devoted to some hardcore sunbathing.

Lazing in the sun

Andy has also been expanding his comfort zone this week, but in a different way.  We've spent a couple of days at Sector Chorreras in the main gorge of Chulilla.  The sector is aptly named - chorrera means tufa in Spanish. Tufas are rock formations created by the same process that makes stalactites in caves: gradual build-up of small mineral deposits left behind by dripping water. The only difference between tufas and stalactites is that tufas are not detached from the underlying rock - they are formed by water running down a surface rather than by dripping freely.  This results in impressive formations that often look a bit like organ pipes or dribbly candle wax. The climbing on these structures is quite different from normal. Upward progress requires lots of twisting sideways, pressing outwards and bridging between tufa pipes, rather than pulling downwards on conventional holds.  Sector Chorreras is particularly spectacular - the entire surface is one enormous tufa formation.

Sector Chorreras - the black streaks are all dribbly tufas

The tufa pipes are so wide and rounded that there are very few normal holds, and the climbing is a whole body experience of bridging, jamming, contorting, udging and wriggling. Andy put in some huge efforts to onsight a 7a, a 7a+ and a 7b in this style (quote of the day: "so far outside my comfort zone I couldn't have found it with a map"), which involved contorting into positions I didn't even know he was capable of - my personal favourite was both feet and both hands simultaneously bridged out completely horizontally!  I couldn't get a photo because I was belaying attentively at the time, but it looked something like this:

Bridging for glory!

Since Naomi's visit we've had another set of visitors (which is why I've been so slow at updating my blog) - but I think I've rambled enough for now, so will leave a detailed account of their visit for another post.  Currently enjoying an impromptu double rest day (feeling exhausted!), some sunshine and lovely views...