03/08/06 (evening), Sierra De Toix, Far Oeste
People: Fred Baumhardt, Stephanie Hall, Charlotte Gunn and I
Weather: Hot, clear, low 30′s
Routes
La Roja Una, Sport 3
Nice simple route with huge holds. Slightly tricky start and a bit more challenging near the top where it is steeper. I lead, the others top-roped. Enjoyed the climb, and the views from the crag are excellent – right down to Benidorm. There’s a lot of building continuing below the Sierra De Toix, but its not noisy or obtrusive. SE facing so its a bit of a sun trap with only small bushes for shade but late afternoon onwards its a nice temperature. Anchor at the top is a bit rusty and worn so I setup a safety to be 100% sure – if it was just me I wouldn’t have bothered. Fred and Charlottes 1st outdoor climb. Stephanie enjoyed this a lot as the pockets are so large here, unlike her experience of Fallen Slab an Blacknor South on Portland.
Asombroso, Sport 3+
This felt easier than La Roja Una because its consistently the same difficulty on the whole climb. Again, I lead the others top roped. As La Roja Una, the anchor is a bit rusty and worn so I setup a safety to be 100% sure.
05/08/06 (mid afternoon), Sierra De Toix, Far Oeste
People: Fred Baumhardt, Stephanie Hall, Charlotte Gunn and I
Weather: Hot, clear, low-mid 30′s
Routes
La Roja Una, Sport 3
See above for route comments. Again I lead, the others top roped.
Asombroso, Sport 3+
See above for route comments. Again I lead, the others top roped.
Ocho Fixe, Sport 4
A nice consistent route with good holds. I lead, the others top roped. Good anchor required no safety.
Costilla, Sport 4+
Sustained route with smaller pockets requiring toe-work which gets painful if you hang around. Last few meters are the worst. I lead, the others top roped. Good anchor required no safety.
08/08/06 (mid afternoon), Sierra De Toix, Far Oeste
People: Fred Baumhardt, Kelly Baumhardt, Stephanie Hall and I
Weather: Hot, clear, mid 30′s
Routes
La Roja Una, Sport 3
See above for route comments. Again I lead, the others top roped. Kelly’s 1st outdoor climb.
Asombroso, Sport 3+
See above for route comments. Again I lead, the others top roped.
La Roja Dos, Sport 4
As the rockfax guide says, you need to weave around a bit on this one otherwise it feels like a hard 4. I lead, the others top roped.
09/08/06 (late evening), Font D’Axia
People: Fred Baumhardt, Kelly Baumhardt and I
Weather: Warm, mid-late 20′s
Route
Izquierda Ruta, Sport 3+
As a comment on the Rockfax website says, this is painful on the feet. I’d say it was at the high end of 3+, bordering a 4. We didn’t realise how long it would take us to get to the crag from our rented villa in Cumbre Del Sol – according to the map and TomTom, it was the closest to the villa and as we decided late to go for a climb we wanted something close. The sun was setting as we geared up at the crag and light was fading fast by the time Fred top roped it. I lead, Kelly top roped followed by Fred. Stopped to watch the almost full moon rise on the walk out, it was fully dark by the time we got back to the car. The approach felt more like 10 mins to me than the 4 listed in the Rockfax guide.
10/08/06 (late afternoon), Sierra De Toix, Far Oeste
People: Fred Baumhardt, Kelly Baumhardt, Stephanie Hall and I
Weather: Hot, low-mid 30′s
Routes
Asombroso, Sport 3+
See above for route comments. Fred’s 1st lead; not bad for someone who’d only been climbing on an indoor wall once and outdoor 4 times before this. Kelly top roped. Stephanie and I passed.
La Roja Dos, Sport 4
I lead, the others top roped.
La Roja Tres, Sport 5
Now I found this route very easy and think its closer to a 4 than a 5 – an opinion which comments on the Rockfax site support. Even a 4+ seems over graded. Good holds, only one technical move (a rock over on the niche), only bit which is a little challenging is getting onto the slab at the top; you have to trust a left-foot smear with poor hand holds (which might be the only reason its a 5). I lead, Fred top roped.
12/08/06 (mid afternoon), Sierra De Toix
People: Stephanie Hall, Charlotte Gunn and I
Weather: Very Hot, mid-late 30′s
Routes
Having looked at the photo on page 244 of the Rockfax guide, I concluded we’d have a go at something a little different. We parked at Toix Oeste, and walked/scrabbled/climbed up to Toix Placa - Upper. About 1/2 way from the car to the crag I was getting concerned we’d missed it as we’d been moving (admittedly slowly) for 30 odd mins. A quick look at the guide confirmed we were on track but still had some way to go. This is when I noticed the suggested approach is to park near the TV transmitters. Stephanie and Charlotte found it very funny (they weren’t carrying the gear). Another 15 mins and we arrived at the foot of Helti, a nice-looking long 4+. The length had attracted me to it as both Stephanie and Charlotte could climb 4+. On inspection I couldn’t find the bolts. This is when I worked out what a thread is! I wasn’t happy with them so we decided to go upto Toix TV Tropical Dreams (or TV Right as its listed on the Rockfax website).
El Baile @ Toix TV Right, 4+ (5+ in updated Rockfax mini guide – I found this out after I returned to the UK)
The Rockfax guide states "The crinkly rib above the fixed rope has spaced bolts. 24m". Boy are they not kidding. Its damn steep, you feel very exposed and the gaps between some of the bolts makes the grade feel harder. Its fair to say I had a huge dose of adrenalin climbing this one. Felt more difficult than 4+. There is indeed a tap in the rock about 1/2 way up (photo below). Took me a good 10 mins to chill after the climb. I wasn’t 100% happy about the anchor, and felt the route was too difficult (steep) for Stephanie and Charlotte - so they didn’t do it.
Costilla @ Toix Far Oeste, Sport 4+
Leading this immediately after El Baile (ok, 30 mins later as we had to get from Toix TV down to Far Oeste) re-enforced my opinion that the grade felt low at a 4+. However, remove the exposure and the moves on El Baile were no more difficult/technical than Costilla. Stephanie and Charlotte top roped.
13/08/06 (mid afternoon), Sierra De Toix
People: Fred Baumhardt and I
Weather: Very Hot, late 30′s
Routes
A great climb with a blank-looking start. An interesting challenge about mid-way up with some thought required. Really enjoyed this one. I lead, Fred top roped. Didn’t have the guts to do El Baile (20 yards away) again 
. Next time… Parked near the TV Transmitter this time :-s
. Next time… Parked near the TV Transmitter this time :-sOcho Fixe, Sport 4
Fred lead, I speed climbed with a top rope. Fred’s 1st "4" lead.
La Roja Tres, Sport 5
Doing this shortly after Valassen re-enforced my belief it is over-graded. Felt far easier than the 4+… Both Fred and I lead – his first "5" lead.
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