Thrills right up to the last minute during the 12 hour Terradets rock climb
• The team of Roy De Valera and Adrián Ripoll from Alicante came out on top after a marathon day
• The female category was won by Ingrid Casanovas and Joana González from Lerida-Vigo
• A full day of climbing amidst the heat and beautiful surroundings, 105 routes covering over 33,000 meters

Twelve hours of rock climbing, tirelessly clambering along the legendary walls of the spectacular Congosto de Terradets, a total of five routes completed, vertically scaling 1,485 meters, resulting in infinite anecdotes, stories and memories.  However, after completing their fifth route of the day and achieving a victory in the III Rally Arc'teryx 12h d'Escalada de Terradets, the winning team, made up of Alicante’s Roy De Valera and Adrián Ripoll, only just had the strength to take in some fluids.  They had to fight for victory the whole way.  Just twelve points separated them from runners up José Pablo Palacios and Pol Ordeix - who, in turn, overtook Juanjo López and Jaume Forniol - who came in third - by just four points.  Similarly exhausted were Ingrid Casanovas and Joana González – respectively from Lerida and Vigo - the winners of the female category, who also completed five routes, summing up a total of 110 points and 1,125 meters of vertical climbing.

Drawing lots for the routes
The meeting started at 7.30 a.m. on the Saturday when lots were drawn to decide the order of selection of the first routes.   This meant that each of the 35 teams were able to choose from a total of 30 routes of different level and length, with scores varying between 8 points for the easiest route and 42 for the most complex one which, on this occasion, was Mescalina, 430 meters and a difficulty level of 7a (6a mandatory).
In order to gain the maximum number of points, strategy was important from the start: the majority of teams went for the shorter routes of varying difficulty, that were easy to access, in order to make the most of the early hours of the day, when the temperatures would work in their favor.  "Despite the clouds, the central hours of the day are much harder, so the first part of the rally is of key importance", explained one of the participants, just before the climb.

A frenetic pace right from the start At 8.00 a.m., with the first routes already assigned, the 70 climbers impatiently waited to depart, starting off at full speed towards the stone bridge that crosses the river Noguera Pallaressa.  In the space of just a few minutes, the huge wall of the Terradets, 500 meters high, was filled with tiny human figures climbing up on all sides. Speed was of the essence right from the start.  Just 45 minutes after the pistol-short that marked the start of the climb. Sergi Bailach and Santiago Gracia’s team had completed their first route -Desenlace, 240 meters - winning them 19 points, and placing them temporarily in the lead.  The rapidity of their descent increased the gap.  In fact, the leading team got back down to the line in just 12 minutes.  After choosing a new route, they once again crossed the bridge over the Noguera and, at 9.06 a.m., they were already starting on their second route - Tim, 215 meters - which would earn them a further 20 points.

At the same time, hampered by the cold winds that blew all morning through the Congosto de Terradets, a perspiring José Pablo Palacios was running towards the check point.  Without even stopping at the refreshment area provided by the organizers, along with his companion, Pol Ordeix, he returned to the route area which, throughout the morning, was covered by menacing clouds that finally moved away without a drop of rain falling.

Different strategies
In the women’s section, the Casanovas-González team immediately took the lead.  Adopting a demanding pace they tackled routes such as Engendro (210 meters) in just 47 minutes – including the time it took to reach the route - Aqualum (210 meters) and Tim (215 meters), consecutively, followed by Colores (215 meters) and Lobo (270 meters).
The Gloria Serral - Diana Calabuig team opted for a completely different strategy from the others, concentrating on the left-hand side of the Terradets area.  They climbed three routes that were further away and, therefore, had a higher score, without having to pass through the check point.  For this reason, in the first hour, the climbers loaded themselves up with water at the foot of the routes so that they could drink during their climb.  They roped down to the base on two of the routes in this sector (Amanita Moscata and Delincuentes), whilst the third route of the day (Eva Baeza) brought them up to the summit where a long descent awaited them to the check point on the bridge. If they had had time to climb a fourth route near the bridge in the last hour of the day, they would have increased their chances of victory, but the mid-day heat made this impossible.

A change of fortune
"We knew that the most difficult part of this task would be the heat and the need to keep going for so many hours”, says Santiago Gracia, a member of the leading team.  Five hours into the rally they had managed to open up a considerable gap between themselves and the other teams but then, unexpectedly, Gracia’s partner, Sergi Bailach, twisted his ankle.  "He had been running along the path, just in front of the check point. He was looking at the routes, thinking about which one to choose, when he tripped at the side of the road", they explained while he received medical attention at the same check point.  With a bandage, an anti-inflammatory injection and the approval of the medical team, the climbers decided to continue along the Bodas route.

Finally, after completing this route and earning 30 extra points on their fifth route, Santiago and Sergi decided to abandon the competition.  "I was OK going up, but on the way down my ankle started hurting and I didn’t want to force it", said Sergi.  So the temporary leaders left with a very high score, gaining 116 points having climbed 1,370 meters in just seven hours of competition.  The margin they had achieved was such that they were still in first place until one hour before the end of the competition, when other teams completed a number of long high score routes.

In the middle of the day, when the heat was becoming almost unbearable even along the side of the river, the Lerida sun shone relentlessly on the wall. "It is very hard between one and four.  However much you drink, the heat is unbearable.  It is completely airless ", said one participant drinking at a check point. "Every time we pass a refreshment point we drink lots of cans of cool, sports drinks and fill our water bottles, but it never seems to be enough ", added José Pablo Palacios and Pol Ordeix on their return from Lobo, the last route of the day, which gave them their final second place. "At mid-day it was incredibly hard.  We had chosen an accessible route, Reina Puig, with lots of gravel, to make our progress easier, but our bodies did not respond, we had plenty of stamina when we left the meeting place, but had to stop and rest after moving just a short way", remembered Pol Ordeix.

33,735 meters scaled Despite the heat, the intense efforts and dedication of the 70 participants resulted in 105 routes being climbed, making a an extraordinary total of 33,735 meters.

The Routes of yesterday and today
"The scenery of Congosto de Terradets is one of the biggest attractions of this competition.  It is truly unique", said Gonzalo Panzano while drinking at the check point.  Terradets is a legendary climbing location where many generations of climbers have developed their skills, enjoying these great routes that have lasted for many years.  This was proved by the visit of Francesc Guillamón, co-author of the Anglada-Guillamón route in 1959, that now is part of the competition, with whom many of the elite climbers at the event wanted to have their photo taken.

Despite the evolution of techniques and materials, today’s climbers still appreciate the beauty, the merits and the difficulty of the routes opened on these walls in the 1980s, such as Villaverde which, in its time, was seen as an example of an extreme climb (then classified as V+, now 6a) continuing to be a highly respected classic for its difficulty amongst the extensive selection of routes to be found in the Terradets.

he celebrations for the III Rally Arc'teryx 12h d'Escalada de Terradets continued in Tremp with a large twinning supper and the award ceremony for the Copa de Rallyes 2012.
One of the most emotional moments of the evening was the moving tribute to Gabriel Reina, who opened up the Reina Puig route in December 1973, the third route on Terradets, scaled 39 years later by many of the teams during the competition.

The III Rally Arc’teryx 12h d’Escalada Terradets is organized by the Club @lpí Virtual in collaboration with the Canadian brand Arc’teryx, with the support of La Sportiva, Black Diamond, Gibbon, Charko, Sterling Rope, Wala and the mountain federations of Cataluña (FEEC) and Spain (FEDME), as well as the Town Hall of Tremp and the Regional Government of Lerida.

Vías de ayer y hoy

"El escenario del Congosto de Terradets es uno de los grandes atractivos de esta prueba. Es realmente único", afirmaba Gonzalo Panzano mientras se rehidrataba en el punto de control. Terradets es una zona de escalada mítica en la que diversas generaciones de escaladores han desarrollado su actividad, incluso compartido grandes vías que han perdurado a lo largo de los años. Inmejorable prueba de ello fue la visita de Francesc Guillamón, coautor en 1959 de la vía Anglada-Guillamón, que hoy formaba parte del concurso, con quien numerosos escaladores de la elite actual que acudieron al evento quisieron fotografiarse.

Pese a la gran evolución de la técnica y los materiales, los escaladores de hoy todavía destacan la belleza, el mérito y la dificultad de vías abiertas en estos muros a principios de los años ochenta, como Villaverde, en su día un ejemplo de escalada extrema (entonces clasificada como V+, hoy 6a) pero que aún sigue siendo una clásica muy respetada por su compromiso dentro del amplio abanico que ofrece Terradets.

La gran fiesta del III Rally Arc'teryx 12h d'Escalada de Terradets continuó en Tremp con una multitudinaria cena de hermanamiento y la entrega de premios de la Copa de Rallyes 2012.

Uno de los momentos más emotivos de la noche fue el sentido homenaje a Gabriel Reina, aperturista de la vía Reina Puig en diciembre de 1973, la tercera que se abrió en Terradets y que 39 años después numerosos equipos escalaron durante la competición.

El III Rally Arc’teryx 12h d’Escalada Terradets está organizado por el Club @lpí Virtual en colaboración con la marca canadiense Arc’teryx y con el apoyo de La Sportiva, Black Diamond, Gibbon, Charko, Sterling Rope, Wala y las federaciones de montaña de Cataluña (FEEC) y España (FEDME), así como el Ayuntamiento de Tremp y la Diputació de Lleida.

Autora de las fotografías: Mireia Nonell Canals.

Información redactada desde Tremp (Lleida) por Sergio Fernández Tolosa.