Day 82 - The Earth Moves

big rock

As it turns out, the Universe feels that Climb 6a isn't enough of a challenge for me.

When I awoke this morning, my 'flu/cold/lurgy was back with a vengeance.   I felt like the first morning again, and once more my sore, irritated throat, chest and sinuses were filled with unspeakable horribleness...

I was determined to complete my challenge though, so a challenge upgrade to Climb 6a with the 'flu was going to have to do.

When we arrived at the crag around 10.30am, the sun was starting to really cook up some heat, so the long walk up to the climbs took its toll.   From the car to the climbing routes involves scrambling up loose rocky scree, and the gain in elevation must be somewhere between 75 and 100m. 

Here's a shot that gives a hint of the climb up to the climb...

The dirt track you can see is maybe halfway up from the car down in the valley (the backdrop), up to where I was taking the photo from.

Maybe that doesn't sound so much of a height gain, until you consider that's around 15 to 20 flights of stairs.

On loose ground...in 20C+ heat...with 30lbs of climbing gear strapped to my back...with the lurgy.

Ok, so the challenge is now Climb 6a with the 'flu, in the searing heat, and worn out before you start....is that enough?!

Please let that be enough!

Umm, no, to make this truly challenging, we're going to have to BLOW UP THE FUCKING MOUNTAIN UNDERNEATH YOU AS YOU CLIMB!!

WTF, seriously?!

Seriously!!

When we were at this crag at the weekend, we had noticed a large overhead roadway under construction, that seemed to be heading straight at the mountain.  This is not too much of an oddity in Spain, where the road network is littered with thoroughfares that just peter out, or roadworks that seem to have been abandoned, uncompleted.

Today as we approached the mountain, we noticed a pall of dust or smoke that was obscuring it to a degree, and we couldn't work out what it was.  We figured that once we had some height, we should be able to see where it was all coming from. 

Once up there, we could see some dust being kicked up by the roadworks, which did appear to be active.  But it didn't seem enough for the hazy view we'd seen on the way in...

So I'm struggling my way up this tough 6a called Ahora y en la Hora, when KABOOM!

There was a huge explosion, and the ground shook.

Somewhat disconcertingly, only a few minutes beforehand, I'd pointed at a boulder perched precariously high above us, and said that it looked like it wouldn't take much to nudge that into a tumble down the mountainside.

To be fair, I was focussed on not falling off the mountain, but it gave Anna cause for concern as she pondered whether she might need to take evasive action from debris clattering down from above!

Anyway, I got up my 6a (voted hard 6a or maybe 6a+ on UKC)...

Yay!

When we got back to the car half-baked (and not in a good way), the thermometer read 28C!

And as we drove away, we saw that they are in fact tunnelling through the mountain, and the explosions were indeed them blowing it up as I climbed!

Therefore, I hereby upgrade my challenge to;

Climb 6a with the 'flu, in the searing heat, worn out before you start, and whilst the mountain is being blown up beneath you.

Challenge Confirmed, Accepted, and Completed!

BOOM!