UKC

I'm putting together a talk for a UK climbing club, things to know for their first climbing trip to Catalonia. Any suggestions on things to include? Things you wish you had known. Things you know now that took you by surprise. Things you still don't know. 

How to poo at the crag responsibly?! I know it seems trivial but if it’s their first trip it’s a good time to get them used to the idea of digging a hole and taking the paper home with them.

Not leaving litter too, including banana and orange peel! 
 

Good point. I would have hoped British climbers would be more environmentally focused that the average Spanish climber, but it probably doesn't help when you see local climbers leaving toilet paper. 

Assuming they are novices (after all if they aren't why are you bothering?) cleaning a route, clipping up a route and the use of QDs at the top for TR.

What gear to take (rope length, # QDs, clipstick, helmet, plasters, skin care, shoes, clothes). Climate / weather day and nigh temperatures. What to do in an emergency. Local C-19 regulations.

How to use the guidebook. How to read a topo if the face is massive.  How to ab off and/or retreat from multipitch sports climb. Communication over 30+m pitches. Use of guide plate belay devices. Additional gear to take for multipitch routes or VF. Assessing the state of bolts and what to do. Timing on long routes.

Wearing a helmet, sun screen, hydration and not pissing people off with boom boxes. Local language, where to get lunch.

Where you are staying, how to get to the crags, how to get to the airport, things to do that aren't climbing, something about the area, something about the divided politics in Catalonia / Spain. Bolt funds. Local climbing history.

Plus:

what are the options if you can't make it to the belay on a single pitch sport route?

what to do if you find krabs/quickdraws left on bolts or anchors?

etiquette concerning leaving your own ropes and/or quickdraws in place, or using those of others found to have been left in place?

different techniques or styles of belaying that aren't common in the UK, and whether or not they're a genuine danger such that you need to intervene (i.e. very rarely)

Chatting to continental types, how to use (and not abuse) assisted locking belay devices and why to remember to also take a regular two hole belay or guide plate.

And to add to John's "what to do if you can get to the belay"

-> What to do if you can't reach the next ab point because your rope is too short, how not to fall off the bottom of the rope, how not to ruin your day by pulling or throwing the rope badly (cue endless nightmare tales of ropes in trees). when to carry a maillon, how to say "maillon", why a maillon should be longer than a regular quick link, which way to hang a maillon and what happens if you don't do one up or hang it the wrong way. When and how to abandon gear to save your skin.

Don't use Goldcar.

Spanish food, wine and coffee are all great and much underestimated in the UK. 

Partly covered above, but point out that there many types of lower offs that they might encounter. Lengths of rope very important too. Also if they top rope, then using their own quickdraws. Stripping steep routes can be challenging as mentioned above, something to bear in mind. Also quick pointer about the political situation might help as well, as many local climber might not take too well to be called Spanish. 

All good points, thanks. But I don't think you have to be a novice to be a little overwhelmed about where to start with a climbing trip to Catalonia. I'd like to see people expand their horizons beyond Margalef and Siurana. There are so many more quality crags in Catalonia. 

Good points, thanks!

Interesting points. 

So what do you consider to be correct etiquette for this? (I know what I think, I'm curious to see if we agree.) 

what to do if you find krabs/quickdraws left on bolts or anchors?

etiquette concerning leaving your own ropes and/or quickdraws in place, or using those of others found to have been left in place?

And what exactly do you have in mind here? 

different techniques or styles of belaying that aren't common in the UK, and whether or not they're a genuine danger such that you need to intervene (i.e. very rarely)

I would have a discussion about trying to work out the motives of whoever may have left the gear in place. If it's a single krab half-way up a pitch it's most likely to be a bail-krab and the route most likely would be left in a better state without it getting in the way. Conversely, a screwgate on an anchor would suggest somebody thought there was reason to doubt the safety of the anchor without it, so might better be used and left in place, if unsure at all. Obviously, a full set of quickdraws in place must be left there, but a single one on a bolt in the middle of a slabby pitch would be a grey area, as it could be a bail-draw or conceivably could have been left deliberately to help a future ascent if, for example, the bolt would need a long reach to clip otherwise.

This is quite crag-dependent. On some harder sport crags, leaving clips in for hours, days or weeks is quite common and it is accepted that others will use these for their own ascent. On easier sport crags it's more likely to suggest that they've just been left there for a short while and that the owner is still around, so worth checking with those climbing nearby.

From the other perspective, it's certainly best to pull ropes quickly after descending to let others climb after you if they wish. And if I were to leave clips in a route for another attempt later, I would have no objection to others using them, but I would consider it polite, assuming I was very close by, to be asked if that's ok first.

Things such as Münter Hitch belaying or even waist belaying for top-roping, no-hands grigri use when a climber is hanging, as well as leaving plenty of slack out when the leader is high up on the pitch with a clean fall zone. Many such examples could be either fine or not depending on the circumstances, so unless you have a huge amount of experience to know better, leaving it to the people involved to make those calls would certainly be best.

Watch out for the morning fogs.

Avoiding the sun

Picking your venue  with above in mind!

Much prefer Catalonia to the Costa Blanca

isn't the Costa Brava part of Catalunya ?

Yes, though he was refering to the Costa Blanca!

Chris

oops, I mis-read that. Seems I need another coffee

All good stuff, thanks. 

Never.

Really? For Catalunyan sportclimbing?

Is this talk for people who have actually booked to go on the trip, or a 'this is what climbing in Catalunya is like you should come' talk?  If it's the former, then a cheatsheet/phrase book of climbing & shopping / ordering food terms would be useful so you know what is being shouted at you by the adjacent team and can go and enjoy yourselves of an evening.  It always helps to be able to make an effort in the local language.

Good point. The talk is more the latter, with a secret agenda of 'there is more to Catalonia than Margalef and Siurana'.