Spain has
been amazing. We have had our ups in downs (perhaps more downs than up),
but we’re in Spain. The country is new and a great joy in which to live. That
said, we might have been in need of some change. Sending has been low, in large
part due to the lack of climbing opportunities and the incidences of mishaps
has been high. Such are the hardships of travel but a close to these hardships
are rightly forthcoming. What a good time for change then to have Brent join
our trip. A world traveler in the fullest sense of the term, Brent has been to
many countries for extended periods of time and knows his way around most
trying situations. Brent’s presence is to be our demarcation for a new chapter
in this climbing trip, complete with sending, no car trouble and an easement of
life. I hope
Monday, May
7th
Brent
was due to arrive at the airport at 8:20 a.m. In an email he sent to Jonathan
the night before he wrote that it would take him a bit of time to clear customs
and would be waiting for us at the curb to pick him up at 10:45 a.m. Thinking
that this was an odd and lengthy increment of time we decided to get to the
airport at 9:45 a.m., assuming a typo in the email. We arrived at 9:30 and
headed to the arrivals section of the airport. As we pulled into the pickup area we found that there was no
curbside pick up. Perhaps we missed it. Jonathan made a loop, passing all of
the parking areas and headed back to arrivals. We hadn’t missed the curb-side.
There wasn’t one. Thinking that it was fine we parked and headed to the arrival
terminal so that we might meet Brent as he cleared customs and exited to gated
area.
At
around 10 a.m. and after several laps in areas Brent could possibly be waiting
we agreed that his email was not a typo and he really meant to be picked up at
10:45. As the clock struck 11 a.m. a sense of dread set in. How could more
misfortune befall us? Where is Brent? Has his flight been canceled? Is he being
detained? We had no idea and with no internet access we could not see if he had
sent an email. We began to search the airport for our lost friend.
We
searched the bus pickup, cabstands, and other areas in the terminal, all to no
avail. We asked multiple information attendants for help. They all assured us
that there was no curbside pickup and we would find Brent in the arrivals
terminal. He was nowhere to be found. Distraught and cosmically marked for doom
we decided at 12:15 p.m. to head upstairs to the departure area. Maybe he was
there. Just as we walked to the escalator to go up, there he was, baldhead
gleaming in the Noon sun, cascading down the moving human conveyor towards us.
What a relief! We found Brent. And of course, as per the theme of our trip, his
flight had arrived early. He was through customs and directed to the departures
area to be picked up by the very same information associates who we spoke to,
by 8:30 a.m. Welcome to Spain Brent. This is how it’s going to be.
With
our precious cargo in tow we were off back towards Tremp. En route we stopped
for a delightful little Kebob in a small town. It was quite nice to have some
food after the lengthy morning and we needed a bit of sustenance because by
sheer will and an act of Herculean manliness, Brent wanted to go climbing. After
lunch we gathered a few things from the apartment and went to Les Bruixes.
For
me, the day was a total bust. For those familiar, you know the pain and
annoyance associated with the DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). My forearms
we so sore that they were to the point of pain. No amount of stretching
throughout the day could alleviate the tight sore feeling. When I tried to
climb I was almost immediately pumped and felt weak. My pump was painful. I
barely made my way up a 7a+ called ‘Pasta Sin Agua’ for the warm up. With one
more attempt in my arsenal, I tried a climb called ‘Avant Match’ 7c and fell
half way up with the extremity of my forearm pain keeping me from completing
even very juggy straightforward moves. I was hopeful though that the effort on
the day would flush out whatever lactic acids were in my arms causing me so
much pain. I was hopeful for the next day.
Brent
had a killer day. He onsighted ‘Pasta Sin Agua’ 7a+ and ‘Jam Session’ 7b. He
also had two really good goes on ‘Avant Match’ 7c and was able to provide
Jonathan and I with some good beta. Jonathan was able to give two good goes on
‘Avant Match’ and also flashed ‘Pasta.’ The day turned out very well for these
two and not bad overall considering our airport epic.
We
did have a less than desirable encounter with a young lad named… well, I don’t
like to name drop. While Brent was climbing ‘Jam Session’ a youngish fellow
American walked up the trail and started talking to Jonathan. Jonathan, being
the affable and ever so much more approachable than say, me for example,
engaged with, oh lets call him Javier. Javier it turns out is out here solo and
searching for partners. With three people in a climbing set it was a little
awkward getting out of the situation of having Javier fishing so hard to climb
with us. I am, as a rule, skeptical of climbing with people I do not know and
take a while to warm up to most generally. Compounding the situation was
Javier’s propensity to use the word Fuck in just about every sentence. I am all
for pointed expression and colorful speech but it was ridiculous. He also let
us know that he was camping in his Smart Car in the tunnel beneath the crag.
What a weirdo! I was not psyched but somehow we managed to shake him and escape
without having to accept the strange invitation to go have a beer and climb the
next day. I am not sure he was even old enough to drink by U.S standards. A
strange end to an eventful day.
Tuesday May
8th
With
Brent out of TSA dodge and a welcome addition to the bungalow, Jonathan and I
were psyched to show him Santa Linya. My forearms felt fine in the morning and
the psych was high. After breakfast and a quick grocery run we headed off to
the well traveled Cova Grand. The sight remains impressive every time we walk
up to this steep behemoth towering 40+ meters high with lines that have only been
fully unlocked by some of the best climbers in the world.
We
started the day on our usual warm up, ‘Meneo Canario’ 7b. I was first up and
was happy to feel more normal although I felt a little weak for some reason.
Despite this fact I was psyched because ‘Rollito’ 8b+ was dry. Jonathan sent
the warm up project and Brent was bringing added psych to the table. After the
shorter warm up we went to get on ‘Airline’ 7b and then warm up more on the
moves of ‘Blomu’ 8b+, which climbs off ‘Airline.’ ‘Blomu’ felt hard. Very hard.
The heat and humidity was high but I also just felt like garbage. I was
determined to try hard on the day and moved my attention to ‘Rollito.’
Airline 7b
Climber: Brent McDaniel
 |
| Photo: Jonathan Bradt |
My
first attempt on the climb I just wanted to feel the moves again, try and
reestablish my beta and resting situations while warming up to the climb. A halfhearted
attempt on the big dyno at the end of the crux had my unmotivated and swinging
too low to want to jug back up and try again. I didn’t understand why I was
feeling do bad. Maybe some food and rest would help. I had plenty of each while
I gave Jonathan some catches, which we will soon come to, and wandered around
the cave. After some time and sustenance I was ready to try again. Brent, the
master of knee bars inspired me to try a kneepad for the first time ever. What
a difference! The knee bars were far less uncomfortable and so much easier to
set and hold!
As
I made my way past the first knee bar I felt good and easily dispatched the
main crux before the dyno. Before setting up for the dyno and with my kneepad
firmly affixed to my leg I desperately searched for a crucial but difficult to
set knee bar essential for recovery before the big move. I could barely set it,
and getting pumped and nervous my knee bar slipped out as I tried to clip. I
fell. I felt good though and had made a high point on the route, even in a
state of not optimum climbing power. I pulled back up and did the dyno and the
rest of the moves first try with a couple more hangs. Very happy with the
attempt I decided to rest and have one more evening, cooler temp go.
Rollito Sharma 8b+
Climber: Danger Jones
 |
| Photos: Jonathan Brandt |
My
last attempt was about as good as the previous one. With two kneepads, shorts
and duct tape in tow I was ready for knee bar action. I was still unable to
execute the rests and fell at the same place. One final attempt at the dyno had
me haphazardly slapping the pinch off the dyno. A day of progress.
Brent
spent his day succumbing to jet lag and saving energy for the next day of
climbing. He tried, ‘Meneo Canario’ and ‘Airline’ and will certainly send on his
next outing.
Jonathan
spent the day working ‘Blomu.’ He was able to make it through ‘Airline’
flawlessly three times and put in some excellent work in up high. With a few
more good links this monolith could fall at his hands. Psych was high as
Jonathan kept making high points but just as I, succumbed to the fatigue at the
end of the day.
Blomu 8b+
Climber: Jonathan Brandt
 |
| Photos: Brent McDaniel |
Wednesday,
May 9th
The dreaded third day on was upon us. Our fingers were stiff and sore but
we were ready for another day at Les Bruixes. We decided on this crag because
although sunny in the afternoon it gets good morning and evening shade. Send
temps here are very good at these times because of the lower humidity.
After a hearty breakfast and a short hike we started the day by warming
up on ‘Occident’ 7c. As we geared up for this climb our old tunnel troll friend
Javier accosted us. Recounting his experiences on the climb he followed us up
the hill with his harness and gryffindor grue offering to belay one of us. So
weird! He was fishing so hard but we weren’t biting. No one answered and he
spent the entirety of Jonathan’s attempt on the climb laying on the ground
watching and not saying a single word. I guess that’s the sort of social
interaction you become accustomed to when you’re livin IN A SMART CAR, DOWN BY THE
RIVER!! After Jonathan lowered, he left without a word and wrangled some other
poor soul into climbing with him.
Brent was next up on the climb and came close to flashing it but had
trouble with the top crux. I opted not to push through the pump on the climb
because of the fact that a good flash pump ruins my day of climbing. Yes, I am
a very high maintenance climbing mamsy pamsy. I wear skinny jeans, its part of
who I am. Come at me! Jonathan quickly sent on his next go with ease thus
ticking off his hardest send of the trip! Get EM!
Next in my crosshairs was a climb called ‘El Latido del Miedo’ 8a. This
route definitely ranks on my list of top climbs. A low tufa forest gives way to
interesting moves on some thin pinches and edgy face climbing which leads to a
large rest. After the rest you climb into another tufa section with some very
tricky feet. At the top you get another decent rest and do one last two-move
heartbreaker boulder problem and clip the anchors. The route is riddled with
drop knees and roll-throughs. This climb, on this particular day, also came
with a little clicking demon beast in a good two-finger pocket. When I put my
hand in the hole I heard an unsettling noise emanating from some sort of impish
creature. Further investigation yielded no evidence of what sordid creature
this was, but increased my terror. To compound the issue there was no alternate
beta. The human finger-eating pocket had to be used. I moved as quickly as
possible, terrified of what my latch onto my hand in the depths of this black
hole. Not cool.
After I got down the sun had started blazing and we retreated into the
trees and shade for the next five or so hours. It was far too hot to climb.
Jonathan, wracked with boredom, bravely ventured out into the heat to hang the
draws on ‘Red Bull’ 7c+. As his belayer I suffered with him in the heat but I
can honestly say that he put himself through the some of the worst climbing
conditions imaginable. The rock was hot to the touch in some places. No wonder
the hell demon finger chomper loved its hot little hole. That sounds bad.
Anyways, after the heat abated and sending temps arrived we were ready for a
couple of end of the day efforts.
Brent was up first and decided to hang draws on ‘Avant Match’, the 7c we
had tried two days prior. His go was okay but he got flashed pumped after
cooling down in the blazing sun for so long. I was next and went down to give
‘Latido’ another try. As I made my way through the tufa forest and to the first
clip, the hold I went to clip off of cracked. I was 10 feet above a ledge that
was another 6 feet above the ground. A loud snap resonated as the front half of
the hold broke off in my hand. With no other choice I angrily clipped off the
broken hold and threw the broken pieces aside. Even though a full break of the
hold would doubtless have me in the hospital, I wasn’t particularly scared but
pissed that this audacious hold dared to threaten the rest of my climbing trip.
With fire in my belly I sprinted past the little Gremlin hole (he sounded more
angry this time around) to the good rest. After a bit of time on the rest I raced
for the top of the route. I was unable to beat my pump in the race. With feet
cutting, yelling and cursing I tried hard but fell out of a jug, which may have
provided me with just enough recuperation for the push to the top. I was happy
with the attempt and the effort I put forth. I was able to finish the top of
the climb clean. I was happy with a one hang go of a tufa intensive 8a.
Avant Match 7c
Climber: Brent McDaniel
 |
| Photos: Jonathan Brandt |
The light faded and with dusk approaching Jonathan gave one last effort
on ‘Red Bull.’ He came up just short on the precision pocket move up top.
Brent, being the miraculous game changer gent that he is, impressed with a near
complete darkness, not woods dark, but dark dark, send of ‘Avant Match’ 7c.
After packing up and hiking down in the dark we headed to Pobla de Segur to
have as much tapas as we could fit in our bellies at JM. A great meal topped
off a good day and we were ready for the sleep-in rest day party to ensue.
Red Bull 7c+
Climber: Jonathan Brandt
 |
| Photos: Brent McDaniel |
Thursday,
May 10th
Rest
day! Breakfast. Grocery store. Lots of coffee. Long phone conversation with
this hot girl back home that lets me call her my girlfriend (I don’t even have
to pay her!). This blog post. Dinner when Jonathan and Brent return from a
silly day of hiking. Oh they’re here. Dinner.
