Spain has been experiencing a particularly rainy period this has us snatching at the fine ones when we can.
It makes it a little difficult to plan some of the trad routes or longer approaches, a lot more days are spent in Sella and Guadalest sport climbing.

Climbing at Serra Gelda

When we do get a break in the weather patterns Robin and I do two routes at Serra Gelda national. Traditional sandstone sea cliff climbing nearby the beaches of Benidorm.
Both routes use the same bottom pitches which are a little scrappy with some loose rock but the upper pitches are worth it, tough sandstone with lots of pockets and super friction plus a beautiful day out by the sea.

Robin on the Serra Gelda sandstone.

Our first route in the Citadel sector did have me climbing the upper corner crack in gusty winds but on our return we made sure to check the wind direction and speed.

Getting a little high from a bit of trad climbing we make our way inland again to Puig Campana and try route Diedros Magicos.
With an early start for the hour walk in we are the first on our route and Robin makes short work of the all the pitches.
With beautiful views of the surrounding countryside and out to sea in the distance makes our route a worth while day out.

Early morning light on Puig Campana.

Calpe was an area we didn't really explore so we drive back for a route in the Penon d'Iflach national park classic line 'via Costa Blanca' on a glorious sunny day.
Parking by the harbor means we can get a early start and be the first on our route. This pays off and though there are other teams around us no one is on our route which means we can take our time on the challenge ahead.

Robin tackling the pitch 5 of Costa Blanca

Looking out to sea and the circling sea gulls makes this a beautiful places to climb. Robin pushes hard on the more difficult pitches and really digs deep on the 6c pitch.
We feel the sense of accomplishment topping out and are greeted by a curious, hungry cat at the top he happily eats some of my sandwich.

Climbing at Penon de Ifach Calpe

Another week in Chulilla goes by and the nights are getting very chilly.

We have a great spot for the night between some olive trees.

There is no campsite in Chulilla and most of the van life climbers use the main car park in the village.

Mid November has a super moon and I feel lucky to be in a place to witness it glowing in all its glory.

My birthday comes at the weekend so we spend it in Calpe staying a very nice but extremely busy campsite and walking in the Peñón de Ifach national park.

After months in the van its small pleasure that I miss… Having a shower whenever I like and this campsite has some pretty good ones.

Now we are in Costa Blanca hoping to spend a good portion of the winter months around this area.

We have been to the Costa Blanca in total of  3 pervious trips during Easter bank holidays.

Sella, Guadalest and places south of Alicante. Van life will give us an opportunity to revisit familiar places and discover new.

After testing out Calpe we drive to Guadalest which is a pretty tourist village in the hills past Benidorm.

The forecast is a little iffy but Guadalest has virtually no approach, easy to make a dash back to Stan if needed.

It turns out that it's hard to predict the weather around this time of year because it's so changeable.

Guadalest's newer routes have some sharp rough limestone and some really lovely routes, most are named making finding them a piece of cake.

We meet another van life couple Rob and Tess and share stories of places we've been to finding we've been in some of the same location at the similar timing.

 It's nice to share our experiences with liked mind people.

They will also be around Southern Spain for a few months, hopefully we'll bump into them again.

Walking in La Pedriza national park (photo by Julian)

After a few days spent chilling out at the beach I feel refreshed .

On the weekend we have some climbing friends to meet up with in La Pedriza national park nearby Madrid.

Despite knowing the weather forecast is for lower temperatures and rain we make the 5 hour drive.

It's unfortunate for our friends who only have the weekend.

Pilar walking in the rain (photo by Julian)

They all agree that it's nice to escape the city.

La Pedriza is a stunning  with lovely pine trees and autumn colours of the deciduous trees, plus the jagged shape of granite rock.

There is Pilar, Caroline, Richard and Julian from London plus David and his partner Lily who live in Madrid.

Saturday is a washout so we go to catch up and have a tapas lunch.

Sunday's weather is perdition is much better and a plan is hatched for multi- pitched trad route.

Robin and Caroline walking to the climb.

Pilar and Julian both are nursing injuries and decide on a long walk .

We split into two groups, I decide to join Pilar and Julian on the walk.

The temperature overnight is barely 2 degrees and Sunday turns out to be a bright and very crisp day with chilly winds.

Great day for a walk but not so warm for the climbers.

Pilar and Julian

After saying our farewells Robin and I decide to move on also due to the freezing temperatures in La Pedriza we're not going to get any climbing here, but it's definitely on our radar.

Heading further south and about 40 minutes from Valencia is Chulilla. A pretty little village of white houses surrounded by walls of limestone as far as the eye can see.

Robin Checking out routes

Chulilla's Limestone

There is masses of routes mostly 6b upwards in different sections around the Chulilla area.
All within about a 20min walk, routes closer to the car parking are rather polished but you just need to walk a little further for the best routes.

The Oasis area

Back to Siurana and some more days spent climbing in the valley and nearby the village. 

Robin's climbing has progressed and he able to push through. 

This is good for me because he can set up routes I would otherwise not be able to lead.

After another week in Siurana and in a desperate need for camping gas we drive to Tarrangona. 

It's a much bigger town and we get all our chores done.

Tarrangona is on the Mediterranean Sea, Robin suggest we spend a few days by the beach. 

A chance to relax our aching climbing muscles and swim in the sea.

With our park4night app we find a quiet spot right by the beach and are lullied to sleep by the sound of the waves,

The following morning I feel inspired to do some yoga on the beach and then go for a refreshing dip in the sea ( I could get use to this beach life).

A week of climbing in the Ariège and a lovely spot by the river to park our van even some ducks to feed our leftover bread.

We try  some limestone and granite crags both have great routes.

The sharp pocketed limestone or the friction gripping granite the mid  Pyrenes of the Ariège is a place I'll look forward 

With October and autumn and shorter days it's time to drive over the border into Spain.

Our first Spanish port of call is Siurana in Catalunya.

I didn't know what to expect and are stunned by the the limestone cliffs that surround both sides of the valley and the  quaint little village of Siurana.

The cliffs are made more dramatic by the vibrant red  band of sandstone  running under the limestone.

Siurana has majestic views of the vistas

Below  a pretty spot with is cobble streets and golden brown little houses.

We punish ourselves on the demanding limestone routes in the valley and nearby Siurana township.

It's all top quality rock and plenty to keep us entertained.

Now is the time to progress on harder single pitch sport routes and Spain has an abundance of them.

We're going to take a small diversion to Llieda just under 2hrs away to catch up with some London friends.

Mike and Julian are over for a week so we take the opportunity to catch up with them nearby the St Llorenç de Montgai village and the serene Pantâ de Sant Llorenç de Montgai.

After a few day trying the local crags of Santa Ana, St Llorenç de Montgai and Santa Linya both Robin and I agree we prefer Siurana area and plan to go back.

The nights are becoming chilly with a temperature drop to low single digits.

This will be our true test of our resolve of van life in the forth coming months.

back in Verdon gorge and I soon discover that I still feel out of my league  again climbing here.

Its just so intense! I'm not fazed by the abseiling but I do find the climbing harder than some of the other places we've been to in the recent months.

Still there's no denying the beauty of Verdon and it's a nice place be.

We spend a week in glorious  autumn sunshine but  just after doing a few routes my hands and feet feel  the ache

The route of 6a+ Duex doigts dans les nez we did on a very hot day with its demanding situations transversing ,overhangs and a few other tricky moves had me shattered by the end.

It's been a pleasant week in Verdon but now it's time to drive further south to the Ariège

In the foothills of the Pyrenees the Ariège is beautiful on a sunny autumn day,lush green hills for miles around.

This is both our first visit to the Ariège region so the Calamès crag  near the village of Bédeilhac seem like a good place to start.

Lots of routes in a good selection of grades has us both happy for the day.

Beautiful Verdon

After over a month in Chamonix we finally bid a sad farewell.

We've had such a lovely time in the Chamonix valley walking and climbing.

We also caught up with some more UK visitors that had been on the Le Tour walk.

Stewart and George have been incredibly lucky with only 1 day of rain.

As we leave Chamonix it has been raining for a few days and snowing in the mountains.

The snow follows us onward to our journey towards the Ercin valley and we arrive in Ailefroide on a rainy cool evening and park up for the night.

The village of Ailefroide is like a forgotten place with very few people around and everything boarded up.

Apparently it's now the off season and it gets busier  in height of summer and the ski season.

Autumn is definitely upon us with cooler mornings and evenings and leaves starting to fall in forest.

We use the next day to recce the routes we wish to do here. Without a guide book for the area and just going on information from websites its best to get it right.

The following morning we head out for the day of granite multi-pitch climbing which we both enjoy. Then it's a day of rest a walk up to the glacier Blanc and another awesome multi-pitched route before move on to slightly warmer area of Céüse near Gap.

The view from Ceuse

The high extensive ridge line of Céüse looks like a proud fortress. A massive rock face running along hillside.

We stay in the nearest campsite about 1 hour walk from the crag. This is our first campsite stay in months preferring to stay in quieter places that campsite just don't offer us.

Walking up to the crag you just help but be blown away by the limestone fortress.

 The climbing here is way out of my league! Lots in the 7 and 8 grades but we did manage a few in the 6 bracket.

Back to Verdon

We discuss going back to Verdon so for better or worse that's what we do.

It will be interesting to see how we do considering in the spring when we first came my Achilles injury was barely 6 months old.

Now we've have banked lots of routes around France, Italy and Switzerland.

Abseiling in Verdon

We've been in Chamonix for about a month staying around the towns of Les Praz and Argentière.
Close distance from Chamonix without so many tourist.
We have weathered the storm of summer holidays tourists and now its a lot more peaceful.
As we planned to stick to the lower laying  climbing destination and only use lift up to Brévent.

Taking the lift up to Brevent.

Its been a pleasant change to spend time in these areas such as Vallon de Bérard, Vallorcine, Les Chésery and Les Dalles de l' Arveyron to name but a few.
These give us a different perspective on pervious experience of Chamonix and with some lovely forest and glacier walks thrown in time has flown by.

Capturing the view from one of our many walks.

Being in Chamonix surrounded by outdoor shops give me an opportunity to pick up some on sale climbing shoes plus some approach shoes from Epic tv from their Sallanches warehouse.
Trying to keep the spending to a minimum but also need to take advantage of the opportunity.

The beautiful Mount Blanc, Chamonix region.

Grimsel has a nice diversion and I have grown to love the granite slabs... It definitely offers some difficult and scary run out climbing.
After a couple of days of rain and a drop in temperature we wake up to a light dusting of snow on the Pass.

Grimsel Pass after summer snow

We takes quick drive up to the Furka Pass and start driving towards Chamonix in the French alps.
We've been to Chamonix twice before and really enjoyed the surroundings.
The views are stunning and the climbing is top class.
The last time we were here was 2012, we climbed ourselves around Le Brevent and La Flégère  areas and with a guide for the more alpine difficult climbs.
This time however we are on our vanlife experience and may have to be cautious about using lifts to access the higher climbs.
The cost of lift passes could easily get out of control. Luckily for us the is a wealth of crags we have never ventured to and these are where we'll start.

On the way to Vallorcine

A few days in of Chamonix and we have tried a couple of crags, one we enjoyed and the other not so much also a day of bouldering at Le Col des Monet, Argentiere side.
We climbed a day at Vallorcine, the grades were easy the bolts were friendly but it was filled with groups taking all the best routes.
The crag at Les Cheserys is a better place the routes on the gneiss rock are top quality, we enjoyed Un Père Noël pour Lucy a 5 pitch 110m and Dune 120m 3 pitch route 5c,6a+,6b. The routes flow nicely and the gneiss is compact like granite.

The views from Les Chesery

We are also lucky enough to spot an Ibex who looks on as we abseil down the route and later comes closer to check us out or perhaps show us how its done!

An Ibex showing us how its done!

Guttannen, Grimsel Pass

After Pilar and Julian leave the Dolomites we also think its time to move. The weather is about to change again and we've been in the Dolomites for 3 weeks.
This time we drive 7hrs to the Grimsel pass in Switzerland and arrive in darkness along the winding roads.
The next morning I wake to see dammed lakes of the pass and sweeping granite both a greyish green colour.
 Robin says it reminds him of his experience of Norway.
As with all new areas we take a few days negotiating our surroundings and trying some routes.
It's back to the friction slabs on granite but these seem more weathered and covered in lichen than the ones in Valle dell Orco.
We do our best but grades on slabs are confusing and it seems to be a matter of keep moving up and hope for the best.
We have a consistent 5 days of climbing the slabs around the lake at Raterichsbodensee  and Gerstenegg crag trying Neuholz, Maa mit Bart plus a few pitches of other routes.

Hitting the slabs above the lake

We also try the route Greenhorn on the Sommerloch crag which we both enjoy due to its variety on the pitches.
Robin has a plan we should do the Grimsel classic Motorhead but that will have to wait a few days as a forecast of rain will put a dampener on that!

Robin climbing a pitch of Motor Head

 The weather clears and the day arrives to try Motor Head... I'm a little apprehensive at the prospect of such a sustained difficult route. The granite slabs have been teaching us lessons on friction climbing, they are hard and sometimes run out.
Its an early start with a 2hr walk in, the first pitch has suffered from the last few days of rain but Robin doesn't let that bother him.
Three other groups behind us and one a head of us its a busy day on the rock. Around pitch 7 Robin takes 6m fall while climb a difficult corner crack, his foot pops out while placing gear and is held by an alien cam. Adrenaline and the support of a positive french man in one of the other teams keeps his motivation going.
The walk out seems to take us a little longer due to our new aches and pains from the day and we arrive back with the sun setting.

After a couple days of rest we try another slab route on Sommerloch, Baal Integral and another couple of hours walk to the Bachlital hut for the Equinox route.  The walk to the hut is pretty much uphill all the way but the surrounding scenery in very beautiful.

Evening view from Cinque Torri

At the beginning of July Robin and I drive to Cortina in the Dolomites. The beautiful and spectacular Dolomites which still wow me and this is my 3rd trip here.
Massive mountain range on the Italian and Austrian boarder were a battle ground for territory in the 1st world war.
Remnants of remains are still high up in the mountains and can be seen by the many walks and via Ferrata.
Having been here before gives us a leg up on logistic and we soon settle in.
We spend a few days around  Cinque Torri refreshing ourselves back into the rock after the granite of Val dell Orco.

Evening spot on the Sella Pass

After a few days we drive to the Sella Pass following a bike race through the Falzarego Pass.
One of our objectives is #3 Sella tower on a previous trip we've completed routes on #1 and #2.
We get up very early on a cloudy day and are the first at the base of the climb followed by a trio of Slovakian climbers.

The Sella towers, Sella Pass.

We spend the entire climb surrounded by misty clouds but it's a very enjoyable climb, shame about the descent which is overly complicated but we make it down ok.
The next day we try Schubert/ Route of Friendship on Piz Ciavazes. I'm feeling a little fatigued from #3 Sella tower and struggle a little but Robin enjoys the route.

On Piz Ciavazes

We spend the week around Sella doing some more routes on Piz Ciavazes and a blissful day relaxing in the local Canazei swimming pool allowing the jets to soothe our aches.

Robin, Julian and Pilar before climbing Comici on the Falzarego towers.

Mid July we have some friends from London coming to the Dolomites for the first time. Pilar and Julian camp at the local campsite while we park at Cinque Torri.
It's nice to have other company we enjoy showing them around and Robin has someone to talk routes with.
We spend some of our time either doing the same routes, via Ferrata or letting them discover the Dolomites.

via ferrata Ivano Dibona

They have been extremely lucky and managed 6 days of good  climbing weather before the storms reappear.

Finlandia

Robin has an objective of Finlandia we've tried the first to pitches a couple of times and had to bail due to conditions. The day comes when the timing is perfect  nervously Robin heads up the corner pitch knowing it's now or regret it later.
I find the corner pitch for me has gotten better with practice but when it comes to traversing it's a different story.
I have a mini epic as I over grip with fear and completely pump my left fore arm.
Thankfully Robin is patience and supportive and I eventually get through it.
Robin thoroughly enjoys the challenge of the climb as we top out he's jubilant.

Summit selfie after Finlandia

Annot has been a lovely place to relax and enjoy life but we have done all we can do climbing wise for the moment and the weather in France is about to change.
France has been a wonderful start to our adventure, now it's time to drive over the boarder to Italy.

We start our Italian adventure in Finale Ligure on the Mediterranean. It's a charming collection of towns one Finalborgo is a 15 century walled town with a small piazza with shops and cafes around it.
It definitely feels so different from the places we've been staying in France.
After securing a local guide book we head to a local campsite and settle into our new environment.

The next day we drive to find the Monte Cucco crag, another limestone area. I have to say the grading is all over the place. We do a 2 pitch route which should be a 5 but feels harder, a 6a also feels more difficult than it should.
We later find out the routes are graded differently than we were expecting .
Next to the crag there is an old free campsite, sounds great? No with the droning of motorway traffic in the distance, other taking advantage of it being free in an expensive area and church bells it doesn't turn into a peaceful nights rest.
The only consultation is we get to fire flies dancing around the night sky.
After the rather polished and wildly graded first crag we drive to one of Finales newer crags.
We drive up a winding road which turns into a dirt road and a rather dodgy looking bridge.
Parking beside the widest possible part of the quiet road we head up to the crag, it's another day of strangely set routes. With some rain we call it a day but stay in our quieter spot.

A little disappointed with Finale Ligure , the climbing isn't really what I'd expected. All the easier routes are either polished or the bolts are to old to use.

Stan the van looking proud in Ceresole Reale

We decide to drive to Valle dell Orco in the Gran Paradiso national park.
A beautiful alpine location with stunning views and masses of granite cliffs. In Ceresole Reale the lake fed from the surrounding mountains is a lovely shade of green.
We find a lovely spot to stay the night just outside Ceresole Reale next to one of the many alpine rivers.
The nearby bar charges 8 euro for the night, everything cost here even outside space but it's cheaper than a campsite.

Night time in Ceresole Reale

I have a restful night rest lulled to sleep by the river.
The next day we drive back towards Noasca in the mid valley to do Pesce D'Aprile a classic 170m multi- pitch on Torre di Aimonin.

Me climbing up a corner crack on Torre di Aimonin.

I haven't been doing much leading and only one trad climb in Annot but decide to do the first few easier pitches.
I nervously head off, the granite has lots of friction and it is easy to place gear. At one point I get in a small panic as I replace a cam and get it stuck. I usually retrieve the gear as a second so I feel I should do my best effort so Robin doesn't have to.
Robin makes short work of the more difficult pitches and it turns out to be a route we both enjoy.

The following day we go up to Sergent area and try a couple of crack climbs. On the way up we see a bemused looking mountain goat in its element delicately moving through the boulders.
A couple of cracks done and it's clear we need a lot more practice.
The next day is a slab multi- pitch Mi Dissocio, I lead a couple of pitches and get into the slab granite friction.
We spend a over a week enjoying the area and the granite climbing before the rain sets in and it's time to move onward again. Something tells me we'll be back to Valle dell'Orco and Ceresole Reale for some more crack and slab climbing on this superb granite. 

Working the slabs on Sergent

The views are beautiful

Preparing to climb the many cracks

Waiting out the rain...

Beautiful Annot

Enjoying a relaxed pace of life in Annot, Haute Provence France. It really is such a picturesque area surrounded by forests of pine trees.
A small friendly town which has all the amenities we need. Our night stay at the local campsite was also very pleasant. The campsite is by the river and is well cared for and maintained, I leave feeling refreshed and relaxed.
Climbing the sandstone of Annot brings its challenges whether it be on one of the huge blocks or on the cliffs.

Robin gearing up for then crack route ahead

Searching for routes in between the blocks

The cracks of the trad routes make us learn new skills, hand and foot jamming. With the blocks we have to delicately try to balance and smear while we reach the next pocket.
After the sharper feature of Limestone I feel like a novice again.

Taking a break from the slabs

Two months in and I'd like to say my climbing is stronger but the truth is I have a long way to go especially on leading.