Doctor, doctor, que em passa?

View down the Terradets gorge from up high on the route

What is my problem, doctor?  Maybe too much sport climbing for once?  To change perspectives, get a little bit of air underneath my tired body, following Dani's push for long hard routes, I succumb again.  This time to this wonder, called Doctor, doctor, que em passa? As some engagingly comment, one of the more beautiful routes in Terradets, although maybe not recommended at least before the end of October because of sun exposure and the high temperatures persisting around this year.

Dani starting the hardest, 4th pitch, 7b, in the baking sun

The route starts with bad rock and a not very memorable 6a pitch, maybe except for the dirt shower out of the uninspiring dihedral cracks at the top.  It leads up to the real business of a slightly overhanging 6c to protect entirely with friends, another 6c+ that starts with a tricky thin dihedral straight after loose blocks, there specifically to de-concentrate a scared leader with too many friends on the harness and too many scared feelings behind the helmet-rim like myself.  Thankfully, the following traverse is more impressive than difficult, despite more loose rock at the exit.  Next, three shiny bolts through slightly overhanging terrain lead to the happy anchor.  And there it goes, time for the crux: a bolted 7b that starts hard immediately off the belay.  The first three clips are the hardest, with an easier 7aish terrain traversing to the next anchor.

And Dani not smiling anymore...

Neither of us was able to onsight the crux, and we happily put it off as the fault of high temperatures, our tiredness, and overall lack of motivation to pull hard anymore after too much sport climbing the day before.  Despite this counter-time, I highly enjoyed the rest of the route, especially the 5th pitch, bolted with "allegria", and becoming pumpy towards the end.  One of the best pitches in Terradets for me, indeed.  The following 7a was very different, much more technical and complicated, I was about to fall off several times seconding, and Dani's ability shone through as he pushed on to onsight this one, now finally in the shade.  The last pitch had an "ufff" moment to get to the first bolt, especially for shorties like myself, but after placing the red and yellow alliens into the same 10-cm crack, and producing several mini-Sharma-screams, I managed, and happily clipped my way up to the chains of this one as well.

And there goes another long route for me...fifth one this year after Bongo Bar, Alexis, Deja-Vu, and Anglada.  Maybe also the last one?  Let's see if the dark forces of the project times get to me again and push back out of sight this strange frugal come-back to long routes and the hairy-airy exposed trad climbing of mine...What is my problem, doctor?  Maybe, simply too much climbing?  No remedy for our insanity...let the comedy of life go on, let the climbing keep us sane.