Summer 2019 Recap: France & Spain

Summer 2019 came and went in the blink of an eye. It was a summer of growth for alpha climbing with 16 athletes ages 11-17 joining our trips to 4 countries in 3 continents: France, Spain, Brazil, and Wyoming, U.S.A. Rather than bore you with tedious prose, here are a bunch of photos, with descriptions, of our amazing adventures this summer. Summer 2020 destinations coming soon!

France & Spain, June 17-July 5

Our first summer trip began with a short tour of Barcelona with a slight delay: a unfortunate car break in. We quickly learned the value of risk management on a climbing trip - not just the climbing part. After handling the car replacement, police report, and recovering most of the stolen possessions, we were on our way to France.

The Gorge du Tarn in south central France is a climber’s paradise. The canyon is simply stunning, with massive dolomite walls towering over the tranquil river Tarn. The climbing is humbling, steep, rough on the hands, and difficult to read. It’s rock climbing, not gym climbing. Learning to navigate the bolt placement, the fall potential, and the general movement is difficult, especially when we think we should be able to climb a certain grade.

Le Tarn delivered a very classic French experience. Gorgeous sunsets and amazing food started our trip off with some solid culture. The wildflowers were fully in bloom, as were the flies. It was hot, but we had the river and a nice pool to cool off in.

Rest days in France are pretty easy: wake up late, go tour a castle, eat some amazing bread and cheese, go to the river, and get ready for the next day on the rock. The villages surrounding the Gorge had plenty to offer our group to escape the heat and intensity of the climbing.

After 6 days in France, we made our way southwest, through Toulouse, and then crested the Pyrenees, dropping into the Spanish side, where we explored the alpine village of Bielsa and the unknown but world class tufa crag, Las Devotas. Devotas contains some of the most enjoyable “moderate” endurance flowstone routes anywhere. The wall is slightly overhanging and offers grades from 6b to 7c. It’s hard to describe this climbing as anything but '“fun.” For a gym climber with good stamina, Devotas provides an incredible introduction to endurance tufa climbing. Despite being above 1200m, it was still hot. We took advantage of the ice cold swimming to cool off. More castles were toured.

After departing the Pyrenees, we headed to Rodellar, one of Europe’s best summer sport climbing crags. Plenty of afternoon shade gave us many options for more endurance tufa climbing. We also checked out another castle and ate amazing tapas in Huesca.

Maps of approximate locations for each segment of the trip: 1) Gorge du Tarn, France; 2) Bielsa, Spain; 3) Rodellar, France.