Two days more of this and we were done. The walk-in is too long, the routes are not really very good, you have to queue for most routes because it’s so busy and the walk-in is definitely too long! That day Bob and Tash from Portland arrived and planted the idea of going bouldering in our heads (I don’t think it was deliberate but we were infected) it took us less than twenty minutes to make the decision to leave the torture behind and go to Magic Woods. After another long walk (it’s a bit of a theme in Ceuse) we got back to the van and after an even longer drive (about 8 hours) we parked up for a sleep in a tiny Italian mountain village with about an hour to go in the morning (another theme).
A GOOD SLEEPING SPOT
Next day it was straight on the road again to get to Magic Woods and start some “proper” climbing. We didn’t have a guide book so we decided to just see what was available on arrival and got their as quick as we could. It wasn’t long before we were at the Italian/Swiss border on the Splugen Pass. It’s a truly amazing stretch of road with stunning scenery and one of the best border locations I’ve seen so far.
AN IMPRESSIVE BORDER CROSSING!
After a lot of wiggling about on hairpins (some of which were so tight we had to 3 point turn around) we arrived at Magic Woods and parked up in a large car park across the road from the campsite.
A LOT OF WIGGLING ABOUT
Naturally we didn’t want to stay in the campsite as we had all the things we generally needed and the only thing the campsite actually offers is a porta loo. Not the most comprehensively equipped site in the world and definitely not worth the 10 francs per night for the 2 of us.
We climbed almost straight away but the day and night of driving had taken its toll and we didn’t climb long. It was long enough to do a 7a traverse, cleverly named “Traversatta” it was my first 7a of the forest and on my second go. We went and looked at the Bruno blocks lack of holds and poor friction then cruised back to the van for some dinner and some much needed sleep.
MAGIC WOODS VALLEY
After my first encounter with the forest I was sure I would like it a lot, it really is quite magical and even though it’s the middle of summer once you are under the cover of the trees the air has a distinct chill to it. The reason for this is the freezing air that jets up from holes in the ground and from around the bigger boulders and the fact that you are at around 3000m above sea level. In fact the town up the road is the highest altitude town in main land Europe.
That evening at about 9:00pm there was a loud knock on the door of the van and the owner of the campsite was standing there asking for us to pay for the night in the campsite! “Err we’re not in the campsite” I said, but apparently the campsite own the car park as well. Not impressed but also not knowing where else we could park we decided to pay and find somewhere else in the morning. We woke up the next day and went up the road to find somewhere to park, fortunately there is a large layby at the side of the road near the second bridge to the climbing so we parked up and went climbing.
THE BRIDGE CROSSING
Over the next 3 days I managed a few problems that I was quite pleased with (tick list below for anyone who cares).
La Traversatta 7a
Bosna Genial 7a
Bosna Royal 7a
Dropzone 7a
Enterprise 7a
Hagletrauma 7b
Fetterfisch 7b
Jamesbong 7b
Just as I was getting into the swing of things and wanting to get on something harder more local irritation struck. Once again an angry local came knocking on the door telling us we can’t park in the valley except at the campsite and the police would be there within the hour. It’s like the Magic Woods Mafia! The campsite is frankly rubbish and to be forced to pay almost £7 a night for it is not on. That night we paid once again for the camping but planned to find somewhere else again the next day, even if it was a little way away it would still be cheaper. The next day we woke up to rain, the clouds had been sitting in the valley for a couple of days threateningly and they had finally delivered. Everything was soaked so we went up to the Edelweis (guest house) for some internet and a shower. We checked the weather and the next 5 days were forecast rain one day of sun then more rain. We finished using the internet and all freshly clean we hit the road for Chironico. It’s only 50 miles from Magic but it’s a bit lower and although the heat might be a problem at times the forecast was good and that meant climbing rather than sitting in the van wishing the rain would stop.
We got to the parking area at Chironico after a couple of chapters of Harry Potter (we’ve got the audio books read by Stephen Fry and are currently living our lives in chapter size chunks of time) and went to find some rock.
So far we’ve been largely unsuccessful at this new destination however we’ve been working things that are right at our limits. Leah has been trying an 8a that she’s very close to and I’ve been working a problem called Doctor Pinch, a savage 8a+ that at the moment only has one move on it that is out of my grasp. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do it but it would mean that I had surpassed my expectations for the trip with a few months still to go! My goal was one 8a route and one 8a boulder problem, thus far I’ve got two 8a routes and a potential 8a+ boulder problem, very exciting!
