Spain - Mallorca

September 3-7, 2007

Click on each picture for larger versions.

Ever since we saw a Climbing Magazine cover with Chris Sharma free-soloing in Mallorca, we got it in our heads that we should climb there too. Mallorca is a little island just off the east coast of Spain. Being relatively close, it made sense to make our dream a reality.

Mallorca is a gorgeous island with lush vegetation, beautiful clear blue water and limestone everywhere you turn. However, this place is not for the faint-of-heart. Lost luggage, maniacal German despots running our hostel and poorly-made maps combined to present many challenges for us. But we persevered and had a great time.

As we were looking for potential climbing spots in Mallorca, we came across an area with two climbs named after our favorite girl - Kirsten. What's more, they were rated within our ability level and surrounded by other climbs we could do as well. Therefore, our first order of business was to climb Kirsten I and Kirsten II in the Valldemossa area.

Kirsten geared up to climb her namesake and we all gathered round to take pictures and enjoy the moves. It was a bit surprising that the sequence to the second bolt was really sketchy. Kir tried it several times and came really close but felt that it was too dangerous to pull. On her way down from an attempt, she inadvertently knocked the draw off the first bolt. Her only piece of protection was gone and things got really scary. I stopped breathing, Sarah's eyes almost popped out, Karl stopped talking and Kirsten calmly held on for dear life, reclipped the bolt and ran the rope through it. Whew! Deep breath people, deep breath. Needless to say, that scared the crap out of all of us and Kir relinquished the climb to Karl. He got up it with some difficulty and we all TR'd it. We then moved over to Kirsten II and all of us led up that one just to teach Kirsten a lesson.

We had a great time coming up with Kirsten-themed quips, such as:

* "Kirsten is more complex than she appears."

* "Whoever thought Kirsten was easy was wrong."

* "Kirsten can knock the feet out from under you."

* "Karl gets Kirsten better than Kirsten gets herself."

We were all eager for more climbing so we headed to the S'Estret area which has the perfect combination of features - easy climbs, short approach and shade. This was a big day for all of us. We all led all 5 climbs and no one fell or even weighted the rope once all day long. That is impressive folks. The climbs were a lot of fun with some cool moves and some hard parts that were all there, but required some technique and some bravery. Sometimes, you just have to believe that you can do it. It was a really fantastic day and it was even better when we landed ourselves in our local hangout, Pacific Cafe, for burgers, wine and a rousing game of canasta. Good fun.

Favorite Climbing Quote from this Trip:

"If I have to grab your breast to keep you from falling, I'm happy to do it." said Karl

Kirsten leading Kirsten