Following on from Mammut's hugely popular video series 'Reclimbing the classics' we have the start of a new series featuring multi-pitch routes. The first route to get the Mammut video treatment is the famous Fiesta de los Biceps at Riglos in Spain.
Riglos is a unique and world-class venue that just has to be visited, and here is a brief introduction taken from our UKC Destination guide by Paul Bennett:
Riglos, famous for the utterly outrageous Fiesta de los Biceps (La Visera) (7a), a swathe of heavily chalked, perma-dry conglomerate "potatoes" (visible from over a mile away) which breaches the steepness of the Visera tower, has a lot more to offer than the average passing climber gives it credit. When the nearby tufa paradise of Rodellar is suffering from seepage (or just simply for a change of scene), climbers flock to the 300m orange towers for something a little different, and Riglos is certainly that.
Although there are some single pitch offerings at the base of El Puro and El Pison, the main attractions are the longer routes.
The conglomerate rock offers up holds unlike anywhere else in the world, pebbles, rocks and blocks varying from the size of a tennis ball to that of a microwave (a bolted microwave naturally, not just one bolt either). Anywhere else, pulling on these holds would feel like pure madness yet they're surprisingly well attached (for the most part).
Given the nature of the rock it'd be quite easy to believe that each route would essentially climb the same (one potato, two potatoes etc.), yet each tower has a distinctly different characteristic, from 45m stamina pump fest pitches to bouldery roofs and of course, the ferocious steepness of the Visera.
It's not just about steepness though, Normal route on El Puro offers a grand day out for anyone wishing to perch on the top of the huge spike splitting from El Pison. Moskitos follows a grand structure of corners and cracks to find a devious route to the top of the steepest tower (at an amenable grade).
So, next time it rains in Rodellar, why not consider something a little different?
- Read the full UKC Destination Guide Here
The new video from Mammut:
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