Went climbing in Les Alpilles today, well to the East of Montpellier. It was cold (for France, anyway - almost 0* Celsius), windy, and sunny. Therefore, we went in search of south facing cliffs in the shade of the wind. Found some, and did some climbing. The rock was extremely clean limestone covered in little pockets. Most pockets were not very deep, leading to a style of climbing that was at the same time very technical and precise, and also a little bit physical. Warmed up (fell) on a 6b that I thought was a 6a, French freed up another 6b (when in France...), then did a 5+ to boost my ego. Belayed my partner on a couple 6c's then climbed (poorly) a couple slabby 6a's. I like slabs. It was a very cool location and surprisingly agreeable in the middle of December. The real kicker was the lack of other climbers and the abundance of fresh rosemary all along the crag! I trimmed a bunch and am now drinking some rosemary "tea". Not a bad final 2009 trip with Vertigo. No pictures, because I forgot my camera like a dunce.
I'll be back next Wednesdayish with another blog and some music.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment