Page 33 - 2008 AMA Summer

OCdts Crosby and Nathanson the third pitch of 'La ley del deseo' at Sa Gubia
past. Much of the climbing throughout all the locations in Mallorca was at its toughest at the bottom of the face dur­ ing the first few moves, lead­ ing to comedy falls into bush­ es and trees.
The fourth and final days were spent climbing at Sa Gubia, one of Mallorca’s main climb­ ing attractions. A brief 10 minute drive left us a 30 minute insertion up to the cliff. Here the group split into two, with one group exploring the single pitch options at Sector Princesa and the other heading to Sa Gubia itself. Both days of single pitch then multi-pitch climbing were extremely rewarding for the quality of the climbing involved as well as the views at the top of Sa Gubia. The 5(+) route that OCdt Crosby
and I took up to the top was “La Ley del deseo” (The law of desire), one of the more popular routes on the crag. The climbing was consistently challenging with a variety of holds, moves and stances. The final fifty five metre pitch to the top was particularly challenging leaving us both in the upper end of ‘stretch’! The penultim ate day was
spent climbing back at S’Estret in order to take advantage of the widespread bouldering opportunities available above the main wall.
For the most part, we saved money by preparing packed lunches back at the villa and cooking dinner back at base. However, in celebration of OCdt Conway’s birthday, with Valldemossa having little to offer out of season, we headed to the bright lights of Palma only a 20 minute drive away.
The wide variety of locations is definitely a benefit of climb­ ing in Mallorca as there are areas to climb when the coastal areas are too exposed or winds are too high to climb in the mountains. Weather does not stop activity com­ pletely and each location holds options for climbers of all abilities. We would like to
thank the AMA for its gener­ ous grant, and thoroughly recommend Mallorca as a low-cost, winter-sun climbing destination. The best times of year to go would probably be from October to November and March to April.
Officer Cadet Nathanson
ARMY MOUNTAINEER 31