Climbing on Toix, Costa Blanca.

Last Saturday, Carolina and I made the most of the spring sunshine by spending a few hours climbing on the crags of Sierra de Toix. Toix is a series of crags right next to the sea just a few kms south of Calpe.

Carolina on Ócho Fixe´(4).

We enjoyed 4 routes, all on good rock with well placed bolts albeit with a few ántique´lower-offs!

Kinlochleven

On Saturday I set out for the Corbett of Meall Lighiche while Christine, Nick and Jago headed for the Mamore munros of Na Gruagaichean, Stob coire a Chairn and Am Bodach.

The route to Meall Lighiche takes the track up Gleann-Leac-na-muidhe to the point where the main glen turns south. I went west up into the grassy coire west of Creag Bhan which is a subsidiary peak of the Corbett. The Coire gave steep steady climbing through the mist up to the flattish summit ridge. The summit, a short way to the west, was a fine place, grassy with rocky outcrops. The clouds were drifting in the light winds and lifting occasionally to to give brief glimpses but the views down Glen Creran to Mull never appeared. I retraced my steps along the ridge to the summit of Creag Bhan then back down the glen. There the clouds finally lifted baring the teeth of the Aonach Eagach ridge.
The Mamore team completed their round in much the same conditions but with atmospheric views through the drfting clouds.

The summit ridge of Na Gruaghaichean

Christine on the summit od Na Gruaghaichean

Nick on the summit of Am Bodach

On Sunday me and Jago headed home while Christine and Nick bagged Sgor na h-Ulaidh whose steep slopes gave, in Christine's words 'a gruelling ascent and a hideous descent' and all without views. They stayed on and on Monday Nick bagged his 220th Munro when they climbed Binnein Beag once again in the Mamores.

Nick on Binnein Beag

The conditions were similar to the previous Mamore trip but with the satisfaction of spotting two Golden Eagles.

Christchurch Earthquake


This is off-topic for Clive's blog, but several people had asked about what's going on, so this is an easy way to communicate with you all, with Clive's permission.

I was in a confined space in our garage at the time the earthquake hit,working on our water pump, and I thought a cow had rammed the garage. On getting out to have a look, however, the ground was moving in waves, so I realised it was time to turn on the radio and see who had copped it this time.

It wasn't of damaging strength where we are. We've all learned a lot about earthquakes since the first one in September. What I, for one, never knew before was how many aftershocks there are- literally many thousands in Christchurch since September, though not felt here, about 150km. away. Some of these have done further damage, and it must be incredibly wearing on the nerves of people there. On the day of the February 22 quake, aftershocks were coming every 30-40 minutes, whilst people were trapped and the rescue process beginning.

I have been nothing short of awestruck and astonished at the quality of the response-rescue and early recovery efforts- both by organisations and by individuals, top to bottom. There are many stories of extraordinary acts by people helping others in the early hours after the quake, but equally as impressive is the response of the country in general. Ego and politics were nowhere to be seen during the first week, though Politics has just started to emerge as discussion begins as to how to pay for it all.

Apart from the expected work of organisations such as Red Cross and the Salvation Army, who set up the first welfare centres, organisations have sprung up spontaneously from ordinary people. In Rangiora, just north of Christchurch, someone got things going to have a collecting point for food at the racecourse, which
others then ferried in using vans and a local helicopter for the hot food. A student volunteer army, as they called themselves, organised to respond to calls for manpower from individuals, and students in Dunedin, 4 hours' drive away, started something they called 'Keep Them Going', which collected and ferried up packed lunches to keep the Christchurch students going. Federated Farmers, the farmers' association, put out a call for farmers to bring tractors with front-loaders, and anybody with a wheelbarrow and shovel, to help clear silt.

So I've had a day doing this, and will have more whenever I can get there. During the quake, due to a process called liquefaction, water rose up out of cracks in the ground and roads to a depth of two feet in many of the affected areas. It subsided after a couple of days, leaving silt behind, often contaminated with sewage from broken pipes, so it needs to be cleard, as a public health issue. So we turned up at the agricultural showground, groups of 20 formed, a supervisor chosen ("I'll do that, if you like", said somebody), a quick health and safety briefing, 4WD and barrow-pooling, then given a map and street name, and off. Many houses were empty, as still one-third of houses have no water supply, and no sewage. So it's all barrow work in back gardens, where machinery can't get, barrowing the silt out onto the road to be removed later. Somebody drives up in a small tracked digger, hops off and says, "If anybody knows how to drive it, feel free. I have to go and pull a chimney down". So somebody else hops on and starts working very comptetently.

Things never feel like someone else's problem in New Zealand. It's so small that you can't fail to have connections with affected people. A family in Geraldine lost a son in the quake.

It will take years to recover. Huge areas of roads and pavements completely rebuilt, houses and services repaired. At the moment, 50,000 people who normally work in the CBD have no work, either temporarily or permanently.

But it's going to happen. There are many tragic stories, and compassion for them, but you just don't hear negative attitudes. You just hear, "How can we help? What can we do?" My opinion of the human species has improved no end as a result of what's happened.

Rob