Espolon Central

Peak/Crag: Puig Campana, Costa Blanca, Spain
Routes: Espolon Central Direct (uD+/VS 4b f3+,4+,3+,3+,1,4,4,4+,1,4+,4+,4,4: led p.1,3,5,7,9)
This was the route we wanted, and the one that persuaded me to come out here for a few days. The Puig dominates this part of the the Costa Blanca and towers above our 'home' village of Finestrat. The most striking line, Espolon Central is a fairly easy climb, but gives a notoriously long and tiring day (450m/1600ft and 14 pitches), so an early start seemed sensible. Not early by Alpine standards though, so after a substantial breakfast we drove the short distance to the start of the walk-in (we could see part of the route from our cabin east of Finestrat). It was cool, around 7am, and we made excellent progress along an indirect (incorrect?) line, part of the mountain circuit, before heading direct up a shallow valley to the base of the direct start. Less than 40 minutes to the start, rather than the guide time of an hour, which boded well for a reasonably quick ascent. As a rope of three, however, progress would inevitably be slower. We used a single 80m rope, alternating leads with one man in the middle - planning to swap the middle man at the 'lunch ledge', nine pitches up. It was a good plan, and worked well. I led off up the first pitch of the direct start, placing wires for the first time in many months - quite a route for a trad shakedown! Good rough limestone, not polished. Dave's pitch was a little harder, and went up a groove briefly before traversing left to the arete. Nice moves to the belay. I continued up the third pitch, up slabby grooves and tubes, great rock and surprisingly continuous climbing. We'd polished off the Direct Start (a three pitch route in itself!) in around an hour, so things were looking good for an efficient ascent. Dave then led a long traverse up a series of slabs and grooves to a gully, and I continued across the gully to finally gain the base of the long and slender ridge itself (five pitches in!). It was still a little cool as we were on the shady side of the narrow ridge. The route gets more exposed quite quickly as the ridge begins - Dave led pitch six up blocky rock, giving me the next pitch as the route becomes spectacular for the first time, and develops a real mountain ambiance. I moved right up steep but wonderfully juggy rock, over a lot of space, then straight up the front of the ridge: superb relaxed climbing up big flakes and large holds. Excellent nut protection with threads and slings where needed. Great easy pitch, but eclipsed by the next pitch, which leaves a perfect flat ledge to traverse left to gain a long groove/chimney. This is much easier than it looks - a bit of thoughtful bridging and searching for holds helps - and gives continuous interest to the big 'lunch ledge', which we reached at 11.30 after less than four hours climbing. I then switched to the middle of the rope and led a short scramble to the base of a large and complex wall that gives access to the upper (final section) of the ridge. This gave a splendid VS 4b/c pitch, quite slabby with a granite/Ogwen feel to it. A crack slanted left then right with small positive holds giving way to more blocks and jugs. The stance was spectacular, a little ledge poised above the ridge - the views were now stupendous. Warm sunshine, crystal clear, deep blue skies: the Med was directly in front with the tower blocks of Benidorm a constant, but distant, feature. All the local peaks and crags were visible: Sella, Castellets and so on, with Finestrat directly below. Vic then took the lead, which we prudently split given the shortness of the rope. A short horizontal ridge to a belay below a deep fissure. This was easily the crux of the route for me, partly because I'd taken over ownership of the heaviest sac as middle man. It dragged me outwards for the horrible thrutch at the top of the deep groove, flailing for pinch holds on the outer walls. By far the most polished rock of the entire route too: it was all eerily reminiscent of my experience on the crux pitches of the Grand Parcours at Sainte Victoire. Indeed, in its length and general 'feel', that route (done with Vic in 2012) was an obvious point of comparison (this route was less technical, slightly shorter, but far more sustained). Above, another spectacular stance - a small ledge poised above 1000ft of ridge with the Mediterranean directly in front. The next pitch was good again: a steep start followed by a twisting crack complete with perfect hidden jugs - superb, varied pitches. A giant platform at the top, and the end was in sight! The final pitch (number 14!) took a deep groove, awkward at the start, and led to easier ground with one final steep move round an overlap. From here, scrambling led to a tree and some welcome shade. This made a nice lunch spot, as we'd taken almost seven hours on the route (not too bad for a team of three). The descent is notoriously long and complex: but it was tremendously satisfying and added hugely to the overall experience. A long system of exposed ledges, with thin cables in places, led horizontally over a series of steep gullies to eventually gain a few chimneys which led to a levelling. We were now above the final wide descent gully, but the route finding and interest still wasn't over. Small holds and tricky edging down a limestone slab led to more good scrambling down a weaving and intriguing line. Eventually, we gained the screes and took an efficient line down to gain a broad spur which led towards the car. Superb backwards views of the route: a stunning and striking line, equally notable from the streets of Finestrat below. A long day in the saddle: almost 10 hours door to door. But the early start gave us plenty of time to refuel with an authentic paella later on.