OUR LATEST TRIP TO THE COSTA BRAVA OCT-NOV 2014

We have just returned from the Costa Blanca, we had 5 clients from Leeds who all wanted a holiday full of adventure!!

Mandeep, Manjit, Amarit, Rajesh and Jaspal on the summit of the iconic Penon de Ifach with superb views over Calpe.

After meeting everybody at Alicante airport, we made our way over to the Xalo valley, where we had arranged beautiful villa accommodation for their stay, the views out to the Bernia ridge, orange and olive groves from the private swimming pool were simply breathtaking!, the rest of the day was spent settling in and gathering bearings.

Day 2 was an Intro to Rock Climbing and Canyoning day, we headed to a venue named Echo valley, where the crags offer everything from simple sport climbs (grades 3 and 4) to harder and longer routes up to grade 7a+, we spent the morning getting to grips with single pitch sport routes, belaying and movement on the rock,  after a “lunch with a view” we headed down to one of the smaller local dry canyons, we had a large Canyon day planned later in the week, so knowing how to tackle the canyon terrain needed to be mastered.

 

Day 3 found us wanting an easier day as it was fairly hot, so we headed to a “Secret beach”, this beach can only be accessed 2 ways, 1 by boat, and 1 by multi abseil canyon! guess which one we chose?

We spent a good few hours soaking in the secluded sun and swimming in the cool blue water, then headed further along the coast to explore some superb sea caves and blowholes.

Day 4 was a special one! the awesome Via Feratta on the mighty Ponoch!

The metal ladder rungs spiral up the face of one of the most impressive lumps of rock on the Costa Brava, we use special lanyards to keep you safe, but a head for heights and exposure are required, we had another lunch with a view at the top before decending the double abseil back to the foot of the mountain.

Day 5 was the amazing Barranco Del Infierno canyon, this is probably the best dry canyon in the Costa Brava, a 40 min walk from car to the head of the canyon flys by, we then enter into a 150ft high walled limestone playground.

The canyon consists of abseils, hand traverses, rock climbing and is lots of fun, once entered, we are committed to finishing, it takes around 4 hours to work our way through the limestone maze and is nice to escape the sun, once out we walk for around 30 mins down the ancient sun bleached dry riverbed, before ascending the zigzag path back to the car, this trip is another highlight of the holiday and is one not to miss.

Day 6 was a bit more of a relaxed day, it had been quite a strenuous week so we decided to ascend one of the most iconic rocks in Calpe, the Penon De Ifach is the first photo that will appear if you type Calpe into Google, it only climbs 332m above the sea, but with a polished limestone scramble it feels a lot higher, the 360 degree views are a photographers dream.

 

A massive thank you to everybody on the trip, the company was really amazing, hopefully you enjoyed everything we threw at you and we will see you back in the Lakes next year.

This winter Costa Blanca trip can be tailored for any experience, ability and age level, we can also tailor the activities to suit your needs, please contact us to discuss, below is a list of activities we can supply, its up to you what will be included.

Rock Climbing:  Sport and Trad, single and multi pitch, we offer both guided climbs and climbing tuition, perfect if you have indoor experience.

Canyoneering: There are lots of canyons in the area offering differing technical grades.

Via Feratta: There are new routes being put up weekly, and are all a superb day out.

Walking: The mountains of the area offer some awesome walking options, a camera is a must!

Ridge traverses: The mighty Bernia is just one of the superb ridge lines available.

Below are a few random shots of the Oct/Nov trip…….enjoy