A Visit From Afar

A socked-in day at Anhangava
Photo by Nivea Bona

I've now been in Brasil for a little less than two years, and during that time, no one had come to visit until "KITT" decided to drop south of the border for his first trip to South America. This was after an extensive interrogation conversation to convince him to do so when we met earlier in Spain. While in Spain, he was interested, but wasn't sure he could swing the hefty airline price. A swift smack in the shins with a baseball bat few weeks later, after having reviewed prices for what seemed like every day, he bought his tickets for a ten-day trip around Easter weekend, and while we didn't have a lot of time to climb, it was on the agenda. Our plan was to hit Anhangava (a reasonable mountain outside of Curitiba with high-quality cliffs at the top)and then Mariscal (a fantastic climbing location for the views alone). I was really looking forward to both days, and secretly hoped we could sneak in a few more if the world suddenly changed direction.

A Comical View of Sewing it Up

A Dream Realized (if only for two days)

Ardales from above

We came in on the flat road until it hit the hill that went up into the village that sat there, below the ruined castle and the small church at the top and the tiny chapel above that up on the hill just beyond the row of windmills turning along the ridge that ran toward El Chorro. It had been a dream of mine to climb in El Chorro since I saw photos of the narrow gorge-turned-reservoir ten years ago. Then, with the El Camino del Rey, that famous, derelict walk affixed to the edge of the cliff and built for the king's workers to access the gorge during construction of the dam, still in use, I gazed at the photos of the towering, steep walls and wondered if there was any climbing there. The El Camino del Rey is a walk, now forbidden due a the number of deaths the past few years as a result of the decrepit state of the walkway, but the rock around it, and the exposure of the towers rising above the small town cuddled just above the river, was what opened my eyes. Not only did I find that there was climbing there, but I discovered that it was one of the top climbing destinations in all of Europe.

It's Official: Spain is a Go!

El Chorro
(via www.escaladamutante.com)

I've been waiting for "KITT" to buy his ticket before posting this, but it's official now: he'll be in Andalusia, Spain over the New Year with me and "Lady" to head out climbing. I'll be in the area for about 3.5 weeks visiting "Lady" during that time, too. We may hit a few different areas in Andalusia, but we're really gearing up for El Chorro.

More photos:

Big Wall Trip Report by Mark Hudon

This is such a great photo trip report by Mark Hudon that I wanted to share it. Amazing photos of three walls over a three-week period.

I've always appreciated his trip reports.

Three walls, three partners, three weeks

Tribesports

Hi folks,

I recently did a write-up about Red Rocks on Tribesports, which is a social media site for those who are physically active. You can check it out here: Vegas Lights and Red Rocks Delights.

I'm pretty sure you'll all agree with my feelings that Vegas just isn't a boring party town, but that the allure of Red Rocks makes it one of the top climbing destinations in the Americas.

Running in Place?

Well, I haven't been out climbing in months. There was some hope that I'd get out last weekend, but it never materialized. I can blame a lot of things on why I haven't been out, but really, it's all on me. I've been so focused on my art that I haven't had time. I think it's worked out, though. I recently had my first exhibition and I sold four paintings and earned my first commission.