Climbing in Riglos: Yuma ( 10 May 2003) Enrique Recio and Lola Tena

Characteristics: 

6 pitches: 

1st pitch: 4c: Easy climbing. Avoiding the bulges and with excellent holds, getting quickly to the first belay.
2nd pitch: 5b. A short pitch where you have to make a traverse rightwards to find the next belay station.
3rd pitch: 5c. Already some difficulty. Not very big bulges where you have to be really quick getting hold of what you can find with your hands and pull your feet upwards very quickly.!!!!! 
4th pitch: You must be fit to lead this pitch. Very enjoyable route but again you must move fast and find your way up before your arms get tired 
5th pith: 6a. Again you find a bulge with not very big holds, confidence and, up you go!!! 
6gh pitch: 5c. The 6th pitch is quite easy, appart from the start. It leads you to the last belay station, from where you can abseil. 

Rack

13 quick draws. 
2 double ropes, 9mm, 60 m ( you can do it with a rope of 10.5 mm, 60 m,) With these you just have to abseil three times before getting to the ground.


DESCRIPTION 

I cant wait for Saturday. I received an e-mail from Enrique inviting me to take part in the expedition to climb Yuma, a route of 5 pitches in Riglos, and 140 m high. 

I am very excited. You need to learn how to climb in Riglos, it is a different climbing from the Slabs I usually climb.. Los Mallos de Riglos are massive conglomerate walls of Rock situated next to the small village of Riglos, in the Pre-Pyrenees, in the province of Huesca, Aragón. You need to wear a helmet, cause some bits of the conglomerate chunks come off occassionally!!!! 

Yuma is a classical route situated in Los Mallos del Pison. There are some routes crossing it so you have to be careful and follow the grey bolts belonging to this route, not to get confused and end up in a different route. 

The weather is good. A little bit windy when we approach Los Mallos but not sight of it when we get to the wall. I go for the first pitch, which I find quite easy. Enrique does the second. Very short, with a long traverse rightwards. Shouts belay off within a short time and I follow him. We start with the third. I try to lead it but I lower off. I m scared. I dont want to fall and dont know how to manage with the first bulge of the pitch. I m an unexperienced climber in Riglos, in a route maybe too difficult for me!!! 
Enrique climbs his way up without finding much difficulty. Then I go afterwards I find it much easier as well. Not the same as leading!!!! 
We lose some time interchanging ropes so that Enrique can lead again ( poor him, he has to lead 3 pitches in a row, one 5c and two 6as). He takes only a short break before achieving his way up a big bulge which is the crux of the pitch. I use a quickdraw to help myself up there ( cheater!!!!) 
Afterwards the second 6a. I find it more difficult than the previous one, as the hand holds are smaller, but we both do it quite well, one more pitch, an easy one and we get to the final belay station!!!! 

We abseil down in three times, worrying a little bit about our heads, as there are two guys trying to climb up a new route and bits of chunk keep falling down their way, which is the same as our abseiling!!!!! We move a little bit rightwards and go down safely and quite quickly. 

Time to have a beer in the bar ( supposing it had been open) and enjoy our way back home!!!!!! Looking forward to trying the next multi pitch route in Riglos!!!!! 

Lola Tena

                           Other ways in Riglos