Page 6 - Wish Stream Year of 2017

Exercise ACROPHOBIA CADET
From the 14th to the 21st of April, 6 OCdts from Alamein Company took to the cliffs of eastern Spain for a week of Rock Climbing.
We flew into Alicante on the 14th where we had hired two cars and drove north to Calp and our AirBNB. We used the first day to stock up on supplies and settle into our
of these sites. However, we managed to find enough to satisfy us.
We were back to it the next day when we ven- tured slightly further afield to Echo Valley and increased the difficulty of the climbs to a 5B. This would ensure that the group were pushed into
new home for the week, which
included a pool and outdoor BBQ.
The group travelled for 20 minutes
to Sierra de Toix for the first day of
climbing. The approach was good
with nearby car parking and an
obvious track leading to the first
of the climbs on the crag. Due to the difference of experience levels within the expedition it was decided a 4A difficulty would be a good climb to blow the cobwebs out for those who’d climbed before, and a safe introduction for those that hadn’t. We climbed for most of the day before heading back for a relaxed evening meal at the villa. With the confidence of new-learnt skills, we returned to the same area the next day to con- tinue our learning and progress to higher grades.
We decided to split up the week with some cul- tural adventures, and, on the Monday, chose to visit the various ancient Muslim forts in the area, which were extremely interesting and allowed a short break. It was very impressive to see such fantastic ruins, and it was a shame to see that there was not more advertising or signposting
their stretch zone and dictated that good technique was imperative.
We knew Wednesday would be an extremely hot day so decided to head out early and catch the sunrise over the top of the hills, which was beautiful, and meant that we could
climb before the day got too hot. It was a fantas- tic final day in Echo Valley, where we climbed our hardest route of the trip, putting us all firmly in the stretch zone. It was good to see all of us get a true feeling of achievement, and we all travelled back to base for a hearty supper of Paella.
Thursday was our last day of climbing and it was clear that we had all come on in leaps and bounds. We were keener to try the harder climbs, which was really impressive to see, as many of the expedition members had started the week with very little or no climbing experience. We finished the day a little early and took the extra time to travel around the beautiful country- side before heading back to the villa to begin the long process of cleaning up and handing every- thing back.
It was a fantastic final day in Echo Valley...
4 SANDHURST