September 3, 2007 - The Island of Mallorca

Ever since we saw a Climbing Magazine spread with Chris Sharma (I swear I don't have a crush on him) free-soloing in Mallorca, we got it in our heads that we should climb there too. Mallorca is a little island just off the east coast of Spain. Being relatively close, it made sense to make our dream a reality.

Mallorca is a gorgeous island with lush vegetation, beautiful clear blue water and limestone everywhere you turn. However, this place is not for the faint-of-heart. Our first set of challenges came in the form of lost luggage. The airline misplaced both of Karl's bags and it seemed unlikely that at least one of them (the one with all the expensive climbing gear) would be found again. Our next big challenge came when we arrived at the hotel. A far cry from the pix and promises on their website, we were overrun with ants and were at the mercy of openly hostile Germans running the place like any good maniacal despot.

We responded to these challenges with grace and poise.... we walked down to the nearest bar and had claras (beer and lemonade) and played canasta for the rest of the day.

Our inspiration

Map of Mallorca

Our huts

Canasta at Pepe's

September 5, 2007 - Climbing Kirstens at Valldemossa

As we were looking for potential climbing spots in Mallorca, we came across an area with two climbs named after our favorite girl - Kirsten. What's more, they were rated within our ability level and surrounded by other climbs we could do as well. Therefore, our first order of business was to climb Kirsten I and Kirsten II in the Valldemossa area.

Kirsten geared up to climb her namesake and we all gathered round to take pictures and enjoy the moves. It was a bit surprising that the sequence to the second bolt was really sketchy. Kir tried it several times and came really close but felt that it was too dangerous to pull. On her way down from an attempt, she inadvertently knocked the draw off the first bolt. Her only piece of protection was gone and things got really scary. I stopped breathing, Sarah's eyes almost popped out, Karl stopped talking and Kirsten calmly held on for dear life, reclipped the bolt and ran the rope through it. Whew! Deep breath people, deep breath. Needless to say, that scared the crap out of all of us and Kir relinquished the climb to Karl. He got up it with some difficulty and we all TR'd it. We then moved over to Kirsten II and all of us led up that one just to teach Kirsten a lesson.

We had a great time coming up with Kirsten-themed quips, such as:

* "Kirsten is more complex than she appears."

* "Whoever thought Kirsten was easy was wrong."

* "Kirsten can knock the feet out from under you."

* "Karl gets Kirsten better than Kirsten gets herself."

After we ticked off those two climbs, we scrambled further up the hill to climb three more within our range. I set up a 6a but was disappointed with myself because I had to grab a draw to make a clip and because I told Kirsten and Karl to stop talking (mean climbing sucks). Sarah went up a 5+ and did a great job despite needing to cry part way through it. It was a rough day for the rock goddesses (near-death, snapping at the ground-crew and crying mid-climb) but we managed to pull through and laugh about our weaknesses and bask in the knowledge that we love each other no matter what happens. :-)

Kirsten meets Kirsten

Karl leading up Kirsten I

Leslie leading up Kirsten II

Sarah making the move

The view from the crag

September 6, 2007 - Exploring Mallorca

After a long day of climbing without much food, all we wanted to do today was sleep in and eat all day long. We managed to do both of those things plus drive around most of the island. We spent some time in Soller having coffee and watching the people. Then we headed off to find a castle and a crag. After driving for about an hour up a single lane dirt road with hairpin turns, we opted to stop at the restaurant, have lunch and admire the castle and the crag from afar. Both were lovely.

We then headed north to check out the town of Alcudia. We stopped at a seaside restaurant for wine and homemade desserts and then proceeded along the road until we were hungry again, at which point we stopped in Arta for some dinner. We then drove down south to Palma and back into our home of Port de Soller. It was a nice day of hanging out with our favorite people (each other).

Downtown Soller

Restaurant near the castle

Rock goddesses out of costume

Beach in Alcudia

September 7, 2007 - Climbing at S'Estret (aka: "Easy Street" to Kirsten and "Secret" to Sarah)

We were all eager for more climbing so we headed to the S'Estret area which has the perfect combination of features - easy climbs, short approach and shade. This was a big day for all of us. We all led all 5 climbs and no one fell or even weighted the rope once all day long. That is impressive folks. The climbs were a lot of fun with some cool moves and some hard parts that were all there, but required some technique and some bravery. Sometimes, you just have to believe that you can do it. It was a really fantastic day and we decided to head home early so we would have some energy left for another round of canasta.

We headed home and rested and showered and packed up for our departure the next day. Then we headed down to the Pacific Cafe for one more round of yummy burgers and fresh salads. Two bottles of wine later, Kirsten and I came back from a 120 to 2000 point hand to win our final canasta game in Spain.

Really cool clouds rolling over the mountains