re-Montgrony

Montgrony is a beautiful spot and a very good sport climbing crag for colder and shorter winter days, especially when you have the ability and willingness to suffer humiliation on its hard, mostly overhanging routes.  For those not wiling to invest 24 euros into another Luis Alfonso topo of Ripolles, some info available here.

We spent day 1 at the Mal Pas wall, where the sun reached us in the afternoon.  I concentrated on a route called El Tortell Poltrona, after a famous local payaso, located at the far-right end, just after a nice warm-up 5.  It had a short but interesting crux, requiring good footwork and positioning.  Not getting the onsight, i did it on the second go, partly thanks to help from Pau, who rightly shouted at me and made me do the crux move, and clip after that instead of stupidly clipping from a mono-dedo (one-finger pocket).  The team struggled with other harder and easier routes around the wall, but my day was happily done.

After a very good dinner, night, and revigorating breakfast at the near-by Refugio de Col de Merolla, we warmed up at Cinglera de la Freixa just in front of all the parked cars and finished day 2 at la Vena.  Both Pau and myself tried Espantaocells, a supposed 6c+, one of the easiest routes on this incredible wall, and a strong 7a for me.  It is an overhanging dihedral that made me work and puff hard, especially when i dared to lead it after touching the holds on top rope. 

The things i have learnt on Maugli have been put into good use on this climb, where i gave it a lot of effort and did the second part after the crux almost without feeling in my hands or right foot - maybe due to the very intense stemming required all the way - see picture below, this is actually a rest before the crux. 

And here is Pau doing the same thing, but harder, while putting up the draws:

Pau down from the climb, autumn scenery and Gombren village in the background:

I grabbed the draw on the first bolt thus spoiling the red point - but did finish the climb anyway, a fun exercice before trying any of the harder lines of the wall.  Getting to the anchors with the whole gorgeous line in the view:

(pictures by our gifted Julietta)

Sunset and the road back home...