The last problem is called "Home de ferro" (Iron man). It's a classic 6c in Cabo Prior near Ferrol. The granit is rough but the location is really beautiful. For more info, get the topo for all the bouldering spots in the north of Galicia:
Boulder en Galicia, Guía Zona Norte,(in Spanish), By Alejandro López Sánchez, 2013, Published in A Coruña, Galiza (Spain) by Campo IV Available at: Terra Deporte Aventura, Pi y Margall Street, no 53, Vigo 36202 (Tfno: 986 439 431) and also at www.libreriadesnivel.com/libros/boulder-en-galicia/9788493990718/
Topo: Boulder en Galicia, Guía Zona Norte,(in Spanish), By Alejandro López Sánchez, 2013, Published in A Coruña, Galiza (Spain) by Campo IV Available at: Terra Deporte Aventura, Pi y Margall Street, no 53, Vigo 36202 (Tfno: 986 439 431) and also at www.libreriadesnivel.com/libros/boulder-en-galicia/9788493990718/
The Second version of the Pedra Rubia guidebook has been published in June 2013. The first version was published the previous year (June 2012) but did not include a section about Portocelo.
If you’ve followed my blog, you might remember that I had climbed a few lines in Portocelo back in 2010.
At the time, I had looked for info everywhere, but had not found any either online or on paper. The only thing I knew was that it wasn’t a proper discovery. On a Galician forum, a guy called Luis Vigo had told me Portocelo boulders had been a climbing spot for the last 15 years and had even seen the first Galician bouldering comp in 1998.
So in an effort to share what I knew, I had post up some info online, via my own blog, YouTube, the web platform UKClimbing, Facebook and the likes.
Five years later, I find that some of ‘my’ problems (for more on ownership, see previous blog post) have been recorded in a guide book under different names and displaying different grades.
My first reaction was that of a six year old. I thought it was not fair. But after second thoughts, I realized that the people who had published the guidebook could hardly know about my FAs.
After all, my blog is written in English and only a handful of people reads it (thanks for your patience if you’re one of them), so I probably don’t rank very high in Google relevance charts.
Besides, 'my first ascents' were probably not proper FA anyway.
Nevertheless, it’s very interesting to compare the grades:
2010
César Alvarez, 2013
Difference of grades
El Zambulidor
6c
El Dragón
?
n/a
El Gigante verde
6a
Espantallo
6b+
+3
Super Tanker
7a+
Super Tanker
7a+
0
El pesa’o
6a
O Electronico
6b
+2
Techo izquierda
5+
Corner Ongui
6b
+3
La fisura del techo de Portocelo
6a
O Fendeteito
6c
+4
Techo derecha
6a
Corner Etorri
6b+
+3
Interestingly, some of the 2013 names are in Galician (the local language) rather than Spanish. While I can speak Spanish, my understanding of Galician is limited and I could have hardly found many problem names, so I’m actually quite glad these problems have proper local names.
Although some other lines also show striking similarity, the lines shown in the table above are all the exact same. This observation points towards the existence of 'natural' lines, i.e. problems that are not just the result of one person's imagination, but that seem obvious to people who have not been in contact at all. Do 'true' lines exist? I believe so.
Yet the grade difference is substantial. In all cases but one, the difference varies from 2 to 4 grades, the maximum difference being from 6a to 6c. Either I was sandbagging, or inflation is rampant in the 6 grade sector.
I doubt that I was completely off the mark though. I have climbed a lot of boulder problems in the 6 grade, on granite, in different places and countries including Ireland, Scotland, France, Spain, and in various conditions, from bone dry windy days to miserable drizzly days, and from -5°C to +30°C. So while I could be wrong with 5s and 7s grades, I think I’m fairly accurate when it comes to 6s.
Another interesting fact - for social media addicts anyway - is that the only boulder problem that has the same name and the same grade (Super Tanker, 7a+) is also the only problem that I’ve named and graded on YouTube for this area, which would imply that YouTube is more visible that the other social media I used - but we all know that watching vids is easier than reading info, right?
In any case, I thought this really put in perspective the power of the Internet - It’s not sufficient to share info online, people have to be able to find it easily!
Also, we should not underestimate the power of languages. Not everyone speaks English. Or want to. The same goes for Spanish. Some people speak and use Galician for bouldering, which means this minority language is well and alive.
Bouldering in Galicia - Finisterre trailer (Mens segment)
I've said many things along those lines before but here it goes:
"Far-off from Europe’s mainstream bouldering hotspots lies one of the continent’s most overlooked climbing regions. Galicia, in the northwest of Spain, has many things to offer. Spectacular boulder fields litter the storm-tossed coast and the undulating hinterlands. But it’s the locals that make this lovely spot of land so special. People like Ben de Corme or Finuco Martinez, who contributed to establish one of the most interesting bouldering areas, sparkle with motivation and hospitality. Follow the three Austrians, David, Niko and Stefan, on a journey to the world’s end, where they find out, what bouldering in Galicia is all about".
Bouldering at Tirán beach (Neno do Curvo, Moaña/Cangas), O Morrazo, Pontevedra, Galicia
"O que se pode ver en Neno do Curvo son rocas de dous tipos: unhas de natureza aceda e cor clara (as granodioritas e granitos) e outras de natureza básica e cor verde escura, ás veces case negro (gabros, cuarzodioritas e tonalitas)."
I am just back from Galicia. I am not going to give you the usual touristic description. Let's just say it's a paradise in terms of food, wine, sun, landscape and not the least, people friendliness.
In terms of rock, it was not the season. Indeed, the main spot in the southern part is Pena Corneira, near the town of Ourense, which did not really see the temperature dropping below 30 during this summer. So I stayed on the coast instead and had a few sessions among the mini sea cliffs.
The guys behind Cantil (A bloque en Galicia/bouldering in Galicia) have gathered a few topos and drafted a Google map of the various areas that have been developed:
There's a great spot called A Pedra Rubia where I had a few nice sessions, but I even found a good spot closer to where we stayed: the Supertanker boulder of Portocelo. I'm not sure if it's got a name or if there's any info about it so I just gave it that name for the sake of it. It's got a good few problems and features a steep overhang with very poor holds. Potential for 8s from sit-start, but hard enough from stand start. Video here:
There's a lot of other stuff around especially between Portocelo and La Guardia. I even found a jumble of boulders with savage roofs and overhang but the landings were also savage, so I did not go near it. It's all in the following video:
And finally, also in Portocelo, close to the Supertanker, is a nice roof with three obvious lines: left arete, centre crack and right arete. But between the last two there's a really hard eliminate that will see me again if I get the chance. Video here:
Special thanks to Miguel and his family for looking after us during As Festas do Monte. It was great!
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UPDATE (23 /09/ 2010):
Luis Vigo (that would be his forum nickname), says that the Portocelo's boulders have been a climbing spot for the last 15 years and it even saw the first Galician bouldering comp in 1998. He says there used to be a topo but he doesn't seem to know where that info is gone.
Forget Hampy, it is too far. Forget Targassonne, it's too cold or too hot. The futur of European granite bouldering lays a few kilometers away from a town called Ourense in the south of the Galicia region, northwest of Spain: here, 15km of hills are covered with huge round granite boulders. There is so much there that you could spent your entire life climbing first ascents. The place just blew me away. It has it all. It is beautiful and quiet. The winter conditions are perfect even though you can climb there till the early summer.
But first thing first, let's talk about Galicia. It is a country I love for lots of reasons.
It is quite different from the spanish stereotype you may have in mind: Like the Irish, Galicians are Celts. Like the Irish, they're welcoming and hepfull. Like the Irish, they have their own music and their own language. And like the Irish, there is a fair amount of them on the other side of the Atlantic.But unlike the green people, Galicians know what matters in life: quality food, quality wine and taking the time to enjoy them. So, what's the rock like?
Imagine a granite so fine that it sometimes looks like grit. Although this not the case everywhere, it is definitly very enjoyable in the "developed" areas. I met there with Miguel Feijoo Fernández, one of the very few but dedicated locals. They climb only in the Pena Corneira itself - the tip of the hills range), where they have 4 sectors more or less "explored", the reason for this being that this is where the granite is the finest. But with all the work they have put in there, they are far from having it developed! Miguel is currently trying to organise a oudoor competition in Octobre, the reason for this being to open more problems.... It says it all.
Here is the usual info: Best season: Autumn to Spring although the magic conditions occur most often in Octobre / Novembre. Nearest airport: Santiago de Compostella (home of one of the most famous christian pilgrimage) Language: they don't expect you to speak galician so you'll be fine if you speak spanish (you should be able to survive with english only though) Accomodation: lots of hostels in Ourense, but you can camp in Pena Corneira, the place is a paradise.
