Freeclimbing in Barcelona

Reviewed by: Darshadana Rating:

Overview

We’re  strolling slowly through the Raval quarter, surrounded by skateboards,  rollerblades and bicycles: the streets of Barcelona are flat, so to use them  for sports seems natural to us. At the end, facing the sea, the lone hill  of   Montjuic rises up: we discover with  surprise that, at its feet, the Catalan dynamism has been able to carve out, in  the midst of a maritime metropolis, the largest urban climbing space in Europe,  public and free of charge.

  The history of free climbing began in the beginning of  the Twentieth century, when the Austrian Paul Preuss  inaugurated a more psychological and ethical approach to climbing. Up till  then, with the peak to be reached at every cost, we climbed with the help of  ladders, poles and picks. Preuss was the first to concentrate on the style of  ascent only: he inspired the climbers of Montjuic and Monserrat, whom we are  about to meet.

Step 1: Montjuic

From the Plaza de Espanya (metro stop Espanya, Line  2), we walk for 15 minutes to the La Fuixarda rugby field, where the Montjuic  area equipped for free climbing, open all year, begins. The routes, well fitted  out, are marked with the level of difficulty corresponding to the French  system, introduced in the 80’s as a variation of the Welzenbach scale, the one  used in Alpine climbing, because it is more adapted to sport climbing. A tunnel  allows for climbing even in inclement weather; the main wall is lit up until 11pm.  The walls, of an average height of 15m, are maximum 50m wide and of a maximum  height of 40m. There are 150 routes: 15 are the easiest: up to the fifth level,  7 are difficult up to the eighth level; little more than half of the others  make up between levels 5+ and 6+, the remaining falling between 7a and 7c+.

The Fuixarda walls are made of granite, with natural  solid handholds different from chalk walls, and they are equipped with  artificial footholds. We start the climb with bare hands, and with climbing  shoes. Our technique is based on the theoretical method by Paolo Caruso,  a free-climber who identified the ideal positions to best read the walls during  the ascent. Our favourite is that of the “triangle”, in which the body’s centre  of gravity is always within a hypothetical triangle, made of at least three  contact points with the rock (for example, two feet and one hand or one foot  and two hands). Not far from Barcelona, at Torelló, there is a Mountain Film Festival  every November (www.torellomountainfilm.com).

Step 2: Scaling human towers

One  day during the tranquillity of Fuixarda, frequented above all by local people,  there is the possibility to come in contact with the reserved Catalan culture. We  listen incredulously to a kid who explains with pride that in Catalonia you can  also climb up on people. He is a casteller,  a member of a group that makes castells (castle in Catalan): an ancient popular sport consisting of raising a human  tower several stories high, by climbing on top of one another. The castells are part of every Barcelona holiday,  starting with the Mercy, the largest, in September; other shows take place  regularly during the entire year (www.castellersdebarcelona.cat).

  Men  and women of all ages, of different physical builds, who stay in training all  the time, participate in the castell. Between traditional dances and music, friends and relatives actively collaborate  in the sport. The pinya is the base  of the castle, where support for the tower is spontaneously set out by most of  the public: here we also take up our position. The tronc is the part that carries the castell: the arrangement and the height determine the difficulty.  The castle is made of different stories, up to a maximum of nine. The third to  last, consisting of two castellers,  is defined as the dosos; on top of  them the acotxador, who supports the anxaneta, stretches out; usually this last is the smallest and lightest  of the group: the castle ends when the anxaneta stands up with his arms raised. The group of castellers from Vilafranca is the most famous  (www.castellersdevilafranca.cat).


Step 3: The sacred walls of Montserrat

50 km northwest of Barcelona, the horizon is marked by  a compact arrangement of rocky peaks shaped by wind and rain. Of these, at 725m  above sea level, the spiritual symbol of Catalonia stands out: the Benedictine  monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat (www.abadiamontserrat.net),  founded in 1025. Near the monastery there are 3500 routes for free-climbers  available. Almost half present difficulty between levels 5+ and 6+; a fifth of  the routes are under level 5. The Vertiente Norte sector closest to the  monastery has 292 routes available, 35 of which are higher than level eight;  the largest walls are 300m high and 200m wide. From the monastery you can go  straight up to   Sant Benet, Los Vagos  and Los Gorros; from the Santa Cecilia refuge, you can access the other routes  of the north face, from El Bruc and Collbato to the south face. Climbing  courses can be consulted at www.climbcatalunya.com.

Free climbing does not up front exclude the use of  equipment, conceived to respect the integrity of the walls. If we want to open  new routes, we must have nuts and friends in our bags.  The nuts, more rapid and less  invasive with respect to nails, are blocks of metal which ease the progression  of the ascent: they are simply jammed into the natural cracks in the rocks, and  do not require the use of a hammer. Friends are mechanical tools with  movable camshafts used for anchoring. We also carry rope, slings, pitons, snap  links and rappels, common to mountain climbing, to limit damage in case of a  fall. We stay faithful to Preuss, in the unconditional respect for the  mountain.

Useful  Information

Levels of difficulty: 1 2 3 4 5

Documents and currency: Spain is a member of the  European Union and has adopted the Euro.

Length  of stay: Barcelona  and Catalonia have much to offer: in one week you will not get bored. For  our activities even three days are enough.

When to go: The Fuixarda tunnel lets you climb all year round.  Spring and summer are the best seasons for climbing the walls of Montserrat.

How to get there: The El Prat airport (www.barcelona-airport.com) is 13Km from the centre of Barcelona. For those  coming from Europe, the most economical solution is to fly to Girona (www.girona-airport.net), 112Km from Barcelona, and Reus (www.reus-airport.net), 100Km away. The trains for Monserrat (line R5,  direction Manresa) leave from the Espanya station, in the centre of Barcelona.   

Photos and videos: The action webcams are practically mini video-cameras,  shock resistant and waterproof, which can be easily mounted on helmets. One of  the best is the Oregon Scientific ATC5K, weighing 300g, with a video resolution  of 640x480 pixels.

Literature, films, volunteer work: One of the most poetic documentaries on free climbing  is the Mountain of Coral, filmed by Marco Preti in 1985 in the  Seychelles. Mountains of Life, by the  mountaineer Walter Bonatti, helps you understand the mountain. The life in Gggooose, published by  Xavier Casals in 1996, is an ironic tale, ideal as a first approach to the  fascinating Catalan language, together with the libertarian songs of Lluis  Llach. The Free Climbing of Paul  Press, by Reinhold Messner, is a technical manual to study. For volunteer  work in Barcelona, the municipal site (www.bcn.es) and the Federació Catalana de Voluntariat Social (Catalan  Federation of Social Volunteering) (www.federacio.net) site should be consulted. It is also possible to  collaborate with the Catalan Federation of Mountain Climbing and Scaling (www.feec.org).

Category: Tours