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Spain 2005
Trevor Allen
Since Christmas we had tried to get out at least a couple of times a week, but because of the very poor weather, the majority of the times that we could arrange to go out, it was either too wet, too windy, or just too bloody cold. Sometimes it was so bad, it was truly all three conditions at once. Therefore, we spent many a day climbing on one of the growing number of indoor walls that surround the Peak District between Leicester and Leeds. Yet, in spite of this, you might be surprised to hear that we did in fact, manage a couple of days out when the sun, somehow poked its head out from the grey winter blanket that surrounded it. Unfortunately as things were though, these days were the exceptions and not the norm, so, come the first of March we all felt very rusty climbing anything other than a line of coloured, bolton holds on a flat man made board.
So, it came to pass that when the first week of March was nearly over, at a prearranged rendezvous site. Six, eager, ageing climbers met at a well-known spot, close to a noisy building site by the sea and a sun-rock holiday began, whether they were ready for it or not. Chris and Bob had already been there a day and were gloating about climbing in the heat of the day and having to cream up to protect the skin from the harmful rays of the sun. Such is the way and the ease of modern transport that three, independent pairs of people can meet at a prearranged time and place, thousands of miles from home with little difficulty. Here we all were at the foot of TOIX OUEST (west), on the Costa Blanca, in the sun, although it refused to provide as much heat as we would have liked, climbing on mildly graded, excellent rock. Thinking we were in paradise.
We had flown in, over the Costa Blanca area with a little bit of trepidation because on looking out of the windows of the plane, we could see an unwelcome amount of white stuff covering the higher peaks. This proved to be an advanced warning of the temperatures that prevailed at the moment, at these elevated heights; and, as we found out for ourselves, the cool night-time temperatures that existed in the apartments. To overcome this, John and I had to have both the electric oven and the gas heater on to even maintain a reasonable level of comfort. Still, the daytime conditions were nowhere near as bad as in England so we couldn't complain. I'm not sure what the others climbed that afternoon but John and I climbed seven routes in all, ranging in grades from a 3 to a 5+ and finished up tired and contented. We had both started the day by getting up around half-past four in the morning and we left the crag around six thirty hoping to shower and get an early nights sleep after the long day. Rose, Bob and I had all arranged to make sure that our mobile phones would work in Spain, so we agreed to phone or text each other in the morning as to a venue for the new day.This system proved to be expensive but very helpful to the arrangements of our party because our accommodation was very spread out over Calpe.