Attempt of Punta Alta

Last weekend, Xavi and me tried to climb "La Punta Alta", a 3018m high summit located in the Catalan National Park of "Aigüestortes". 

In my opinion, the route we had chosen, though steep and demanding, is highly recommendable during the winter season. It offers stunning views over the white landscape of the National Park, as well as of the 3000m summits located West of "La Punta Alta".  We had a beautiful day and enjoyed our trip a lot, but unfortunately were not able to make summit. 

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River Llobregat

Mediterranean Sea at the river Llobregat delta as seen from "Torre de la Bunyola"

Last Friday there was an official holiday in Spain, and since Catalonia, as for now, still forms part of that country, we too had to celebrate the coming into existence of the devine and untouchable Spanish Constitution. Untouchable for Catalans that is, for Frau Merkel could change it by just mentioning the possibility of a bailout of Spanish banks...

Anyway, I decided to celebrate on my bike. My plan was to follow the river Llobregat downstream to its delta where it flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Two or three years ago I already had done so twice, but instead of making it the whole way down, I then abandoned the river and entered Barcelona.

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Route 17 - puncture

Llobregat crossing at Pont de Vilomara

Last Saturday, the day of my birthday,  I tried out another route of the guide of biking routes to be done in Bages. Since the circular Route 17 passes through my village, I decided to start it from home instead of transporting me and my bike to the neighbour village of Pont de Vilomara first.

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29 inches - Purchase and first serious trip

Something like a month ago, I acquiered a mountainbike, one of those new with 29" wheels, that have gained ground during the last couple of years. From the first moment on, I was sure that I would like the bigger wheels, because wheel diameter is exactly what most had bothered me about mountain bikes for so many years. On plain level earth roads and hard ground downhill slopes, I always felt that the small 26" wheels set a limit to top speed far to soon, just when speeding doesn't consume too much energy. Here I must say, that for many years, back in Germany mostly, I used mountain bikes for everyday purposes and in urban environments where other types of bicycles, without doubt, would have been of better choice. 

Picture of a season 2014 29" mountain bike, taken from the official Cube webpage

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Vall de Incles

Last Sunday, Lisa and me went on a short but very nice hike in the Andorranean valley "Vall d'Incles". We had slept in the small village of Soldeu, and therefore didn't have a long approach to the point where our route started. The car was parked in the vicinity of the valley's last houses, more precisely at the "Badalosa" Bridge and off we went walking.

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Alba Summits

Me (a little tense), Jordi and Xavi on top of "Gendarme de Alba" (3054m)

On Friday the 25th, after work, Xavi and me headed to Benasque first, and from there, after a brief dinner, on to a parking and picknick area called "La Basurta". That place is the most common entry to the "Natural Park Posets Maladeta", for it's where the normal route up the highest Pyrinee summit, the "Aneto", starts. There we planted our tent next to the car and turned in for the night. On Saturday then, we got up at 6 am and at 7 we were geared up in order to start a demanding day.  

Detail of the hiking map with our planned route

Our aim wasn't to summit Aneto, but the 4 Alba peaks: Aguja (or Gendarme) de Alba, Pico de Alba, Diente de Alba and Muela de Alba, at least according to the best case scenario.

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Roca Foradada

A couple of Saturdays ago, Xavi and me wanted to climb a route in Montserrat called "La Canal de la Moreneta" (I'd say that "canal" translates into something like a gully). I had made it out in my climbing book the day before and found it interesting due to the fact that its grade is IV+ only, something not too difficult for us, and also because of its appeareance: it's like a vertical scar in the otherwise quite solid rock face that marks Montserrat's North.

Way to "La Canal de la Moreneta", "Roca Foradada" in the background

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Sao Miguel

One of the most important works of European medieval cartography is the Catalan Atlas from 1375. It states an archipelago far out in the Atlantic, which apparently was known to sailors prior to the edition of any map of that region, but which wasn't officially discovered until the 20's or 30's of the 15th century. Back in that time, the discovery of some new spot basically meant to take possession of it, and regardless of who might have been the real discoverer, he planted a Portuguese flag on the different islands of said archipelago.

Lagoa do Congro

Nowadays, the islands I'm talking about are known as the Azores and there are nine of them. From the biggest to the smallest, their names are Sao Miguel, Pico, Terceira, Sao Jorge, Faial, Flores, Santa Maria, Graciosa and Corvo, and it's precisely Sao Miguel where Elisabet and me spent a week last month. Summer vacations we call it.

Hydrangea

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Jazz in Gasteiz

Tarantula attack in Bilbo

 After our first visit in 2009, last week, Lisa and me joined the Jazz Festival in Gasteiz (Gasteiz is Basc - in Spanish it's Vitoria) for the second time, but since it's forbidden to take photos or recordings during the concerts, I don't have any visual or audial material to share. I will spread in some photos of Bilbo (Spanish: Bilbao) and Gasteiz instead. 

In order not to stress our economy too much, we had decided to only spent 2 nights in Gasteiz: Wednesday/Thursday and Thursday/Friday, hence we joined the concerts on Wednesday and Thursday only. Sure you wanna read on?

Balaitús - 3144m

Left: the Costillerou ridge - right: Devil's ridge

Last week, Xavi and me did some mountaineering in the Balaitús area, the most western zone of the Pyrenees where 3000m summits are to be found. Our idea was to do as many of those summits as possible and we even foresaw to try us at a ridge that includes the Torre de Costillerou, which has the fame to be the most difficult 3000m summit of the whole Pyrenees. But as always, it turned out that there's a gap between what we'd like to do and what we're actually capable of ... click here to read on

Aresta Brucs at La Saca Gran

Me and my buddies on top La Saca Gran

I think it's the first time that Xavi and me went climbing and everything turned out well: we found our way without getting lost, easily made out our climbing route, got to the summit without encountering major difficulties, got down again without getting killed and, most important, were able to recover the ropes without them getting entangled or stuck ..... even the weather conditions were ideal, so why don't you click here and read on?

Matarodona - The Flag

In late May I took a day off and together with Elisabet and Frida we went hiking. Again, it was Matarodona what most lured us, for there's a flag flying on a rock above the estate that Elisabet (and Frida) only knew from a distance.

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Up to Mata-rodona

Elisabet had never been to Mata-rodona, so the 1st of May was a nice day for going there. We took Frida (the dog) with us and made most of the rather boring earth road by car.

At Mata-rodona

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The Pharaoh's vicinity

In the eye of the Pharaoh

Xavi and me had foreseen a combined activity consisting of struggling our way up one of Montserrat's gorges, denominated Torrent de les Grutes, do some climbing then and return to the car by rapelling down another canyon, but somehow we got lost as soon as we left the car behind. 
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Advantages of having a singing girlfriend

After a quite successful gig at Bar l'Embruix in Navàs the Saturday before, last week, Coll@ge (which is Elisabet and Xevi) gave two concerts in the stunning city of Ciutadella, located on the beautiful Balearic island of Menorca. For me, too, a nice opportunity to have some short Easter holidays there. Our plane left at 7 o'clock, meaning that our vacations started with a pretty unrelaxing wake up call at 4.30 am.

Had he known he would lose the flight, I'm sure Xevi would have spent some more hours in bed. Unfortunately he didn't. 
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Attempt of La Panxa del Bisbe

 On Sunday, Xavi and me wanted to try us at La Panxa del Bisbe. As usual we consulted Escalatroncs in order to find a suitable route. The one we decided to make is a well equipped line called "Buriles Rojos", which is 140m long and consists of 4 pitches.

Line description from Escalatroncs

 Click here to read on, but be aware that we only made it to first belay station.

Coll@ge is playing at my house (MY HOUSE)

Recently, Elisabet has started two new musical projects. In both cases the groups already had existed before, so that it can be said they are not actually her projects. She rather was invited to join them.

Coll@ge playing at my house

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La Miranda de Can Jorba

After two intents that unfortunately had to be scrubbed due to adverse meteorologic conditions, on Sunday Xavi and me finally were out for a climb on Montserrat's sunbathed southside. The previous days had been bitterly cold, on Saturday we even had some snow, and although the tempereature wasn't what I'd call warm, the sun made the climbing enjoyable.

Xavi on top La Miranda de Can Jorba

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Happy New 2013 (same procedure as last year)

The same procedure as every year...
...hence just a little bit of history repeating
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