Rock Climbing In The Polish Jura- A Tale Of Polish, Pierogis and Premium Lines Part 2

The towel was still there.

Safely back at our tent after the harrowing walk home we planned the next days climbing. We would do another route on Sokalica. So the next morning we got up and headed to the base of the climb. But the psyche was surprisingly low. So in stark contrast from normal behaviour we decided to leave the adventure and have a chilled day sport climbing. So that's what we did, we spent hours failing on nice 20m high sport climbs. But the need to do something cool on Sokolica was still gnawing away at us, so after lunch we headed up to the base. However there were a couple of guys starting up the route we had eyed up and they were going really slow. With us not knowing the Polish for we climb quicker we couldn't ask politely to push in front. Onto plan D there was a crag we hadn't been to called Brandysowa behind the campsite that had a supposed 3 star 6b+, heading down I was more psyched than Edwin who just seemed to want a grilled lunch. Upon arrival he was right to be less than psyched the first half was a chossy scramble, then about halfway up it flipped from chossy gully of death into hardcore limestone slab climbing. This coincided with where the route exited the trees and emerged into full sunshine. This also coincided with me remembering that I wasn't actually a good climber and that this was kind of hard. After relentlessly bashing my head against it I let Edwin have a go, after a while he raised the high point a bit but eventually accepted heat stroke based defeat. Once suitably organised at the base we raced back for the weekend grill at the campsite. Unfortunately it closed at 6pm, gutted we drowned our sorrows in pierogis and went for a walk to a nearby bat cave. Getting to the gates we discovered it was actually a proper tourist attraction and wasn't open at 10pm, 8 miles later we were back in the tent and suitably destroyed from our late night leg day.

Prepared mountaineers Photo By Edwin George

As another day dawned and after the obligatory breakfast of scrambled eggs, coffee and banana cake was obliterated we received a message from Kasia (a Polish climber who we had met a couple of days prior). She said she would be climbing at a crag called Kula in Dolina Koblyanska and we may come. So we trotted off down the road which was a much easier path to follow in the light. Upon arrival at the crag she pointed us to 3 climbs she thought we would like. They were awesome, muddy, slabby and best of all short. For us British climbers anything over 18m is too much and we pump out. We nailed the 5+ and 6a in quick succesion then did the 6b after two goes. All the routes were great and the top was a mud bank to the final boulder and then the lower offs, which I enjoyed but Edwin almost got his new shoes dirty which would've been a disaster. After success at the crag we decided we wanted to get Shitzroy in as well. It was amazing. We later found out its called Gran Bolekowiche and its pretty much a scramble. I'd say it was a British grade of VDiff it isn't bolted but that doesn't matter because soloing it is pretty safe, just be careful of the ants on the way down. We had a much needed lie down after and decided to try and climb a couple of routes. I dogged my way up something 6cish. I want to blame the pressure of the crowd watching for me blowing the onsight but I'm just crap. We also managed to find the worlds most polished climb it was practically marble but juggy and fun. In the UK it would definitely be a trad route but here it had a bolt every metre or so. Still unsure of bolting routes that could be done with gear hmm ethics. Unfortunately for this blog the walk back was uneventful mainly due to the remembrance of head torches.

Lost Photo By Edwin

On our exploration day we had scrambled to the top of this crag in Dolina Koblyanska with a cross on top, we went to have a look at the valley from a good vantage point. We could see a ton of killer lines and a months worth of objectives. There was also an amazing looking line up the Cross Crag or Zabikon as it was actually called. So on the Monday we made the trip down to that line, its a fairly pleasant 4 that once again could of been done on trad gear, but we were on holiday so bolts make for a more chilled atmosphere. The bolts also meant I could race up the first couple of pitches and set up the belay before the final cool pitch on the main head wall. Edwin's amazing route reading lead him astray on the second pitch and found himself on a really cool  and exposed 5, which was super chill easy and fun but wasn't technically on route. But once again we were on holiday so no need to stick religiously to the route(this doesn't mean I didn't rip into him for his route reading skills, he didn't hear the end of it).

Edwin Climbing Photo By Me

From the top of Zabikon you can see this perfect blank piece of limestone. Psyched by the idea of desperate limestone blankness we headed over. Obviously the first thing I went for was the grotty hand crack and offwidth in the corner, both routes were bolted, once again unsure of this ethically but it made for a new experience. Note to those interested, limestone and gritstone offwidths are chalk and cheese, there are near to no rests on limestone as you just keep slipping back down but you get to keep all your skin so its not all bad. The hand crack was great fun and once again even more slippery than Michael Gove. Crisis happened when I got to a crucial jam and shoved my hand behind me for some chalky goodness, only to realise my chalkbag was closed. Unable to open it I just had to bite down and power through. Both routes were about 5 and would make pretty sound VS's. Turning our attention back to the blank face we picked the easiest line which came out at about 7a. Super polished and super fun I managed my hardest clip ever, somehow managing to clip a bolt of a two finger pocket with super skatey feet not a bad effort for a crap climber. Using team dog tactics we managed to push through to the top after an hours work.  Then it started spitting which was all the encouragement we needed to go for pizza and beer.

Looking Over To Shitzroy Photo By Edwin

On the Tuesday we went for our final trip over to Dolina Koblyanska to meet Kasia and Ana, they took us to a shady crag which was perfect on such a warm day. I started off by scrambling up this 4+ chimney in my approach shoes(La Sportiva TX4's for those interested). We then spent the rest of th day some cool if slightly chossy routes, before I ended getting really pissed off at a 6C+ I couldn't do in full sun. Why am I so shit? Finishing the day with a barefoot scramble up another 4, this with only minor ant attacks and me kicking a rock on the walk back down was a great end to the trip.

Home Photo By Edwin

Back to the point of this blog, reviewing the Polish climbing areas. So my overall opinion on my trip to the Jura, its really good. The rock may not be perfect and there isn't the abundance of hard climbs like there is in Spain but its a really good alternative. I like to compare the rock to Peak Limestone but a little bit better, its not perfect but it still provides a great adventure. The climbing overall is perfect for someone operating in the average 6a sort of grade, somehow all objectives we set ourselves was amenable if a little challenging at times, making it perfect for us average climbers. The weather at this time of year is all so much more bearable than it would have been in Spain, its on a similar latitude to Font but being more continental its a bit less damp. The people are so friendly and the food and accommodation is the perfect price for a climber especially been so close to the climbing.

Zabikon Photo By Edwin

So Poland it may not top everyone's list of the best sport climbing destinations. But if you're on a budget and looking for somewhere different its a great shout. Like Peak Limestone but with more easy classics a little more polished and so much rock you'll be spoiled for choice. If you want Pierogis, Pizza, Pivo and Perfect Projects Poland is for you.

Rock Climbing In The Polish Jura- A Tale Of Polish, Pierogis and Premium Lines Part 1

Poland, its not the first place you think of when you think of world class sport climbing destinations, even the locals told us 'our rock is not so good', but for us it provided a convenient adventure, that was different yet familiar and amazingly affordable.

I'll start from the beginning about 2 months ago Edwin was rallying everyone up to the idea of a climbing trip abroad during the summer. We looked at the classic destinations of France Italy and Spain, then out of nowhere we decided to look at crags near Krakow. To our surprise there was an abundance of limestone cliffs about 30 minutes from the city. With very little information apart from a few photos and a website that indicated the campsite was going to be very cheap, we started looking for flights to Krakow.

Leaving behind the rain Photo by Me

Cheap flights to Krakow booked, bags packed, bus times checked and although we had no guidebook or expectations the psyche was high. Skip to the day of the flights both up early getting trains from our respective homes in Kendal and Marske. I arrived at Manchester airport about 3 hours before the flight enough time to grab a coffee before Edwin was meant to arrive (roughly 15 minutes after I got there). But as I started my coffee I got a text from him saying 'the train has stopped'. But it was chill we still had just under 3 hours until the plane took off. 45 minutes passed as had a flurry of texts and many sips of coffee but Edwin was still trapped just outside Manchester on his train. Boarding for our plane closed at 11.25am, so as it got to 10.30am I started looking at weather in the Lake District partially accepting defeat, then the phone rang. Edwin was moving again so we were discussing the fine details of the military operation we would have to pull make our flight. All of sudden Edwin said he had to go, something was wrong. 10 minutes later I got a text from him saying wait by baggage drop off. At 10.50am a bedraggled Edwin was running through the airport towards me shaking his head. We quickly sorted our gear out threw the bag into check in and ran through security, as we got through we saw the gate number and set off sprinting through the airport. We got to the gate. We were the first there.

Polish Fields Photo by Me

After the train debacle, a pleasant flight, a couple of buses and a 1 mile walk with Edwin's cumbersome suitcase we arrived at Brandysowka Campsite. This amazing bit of civilization in the biggest clearing in a densely wooded valley is carefully watched over by Sokolica, an amazing 60mt high limestone wall that towers over the campsite. It reminded me of High Tor in the Peak District and that was the first of the similarity between the Jura and Peak limestone. We set up camp and dined on the awesome Polish food that the campsite sold, belly's full of pierogis, beer and bigos we hit the hay psyched for our first adventure.

Attempt at a from the tent photo Photo by Me

We woke up and escaped from the soggy sweat box that was our tent and looked up, towering above us was the days objective Lot Na Brandysa. The classic line up Sokolica, its a VI on the local grading system called the Kurtyka Scale. This we discovered after a lot of asking and reading works out at around French 6a or around 5.9/5.10 in American. This seemed like an amenable grade for our first day so we ventured up. After some deliberation Edwin won the lead for the first pitch(well pitch 1 + 2 that we would string together), after a few near slips on the unbelievably slippery limestone he reached the belay. A little dehydrated I set off on the second it was very polished (maybe even more than Stoney Middleton) but quite juggy. Upon arriving at the belay ledge I was ready to throw up, maybe it was the lack of water or the tiredness, but either way I manned/womaned up and set off on my lead. After a wrong turn or two I ended up on the right line, an amazing chimney to the top of this pillar, with unbeatable exposure then an airy step across onto the easy final slab. Amazing. With our main objective complete we had lunch, went for a walk and ended up at the single pitch crag that all the locals seemed to be at. We did a couple of easy things but then ended up trying to project this route that felt absolutely nails. We later found out that it was equivalent to 7c/+ which just goes to show how useful a guidebook is and how little we understand the Kurtyka scale.

Sokolica Photo by Me

The next day we woke up to the unmistakable sound of rain hitting the tent, deciding the day would probably be a washout we decided to explore the valleys and crags of the area. Before leaving I threw my towel over a beam in the communal shelter. We walked from the campsite through the nearby village of Bedkowice and down into the valley that contains Dolina Koblyanska, one of the most crag filled valleys in the area. As you walk through the valley the dense woodland gives way to an open clearing flanked on either side by walls of limestone. Some of the best limestone lines we had seen (but British limestone doesn't set the bar that high) and only 30 minutes from the campsite. But even more remarkably the rock had dried in record time. Passing a pizza place and bar we made a note to make a stop there on the return journey. Walking from town to town we eventually decided to work our way back, Edwin drew a line on the map so we could pass the crags of Dolina Bolechowicka on the way. Unfortunately this line didn't correspond to any paths, and after running through what I assume was someones backyard and a very dense woodland we emerged at a cliff edge. He was right, this was where we wanted to be it was just a case of getting down. Carefully scrambling down the ridge we could see another amazing ridge line on the other side of the valley, not knowing its name we named Shitzroy as it looked like a mini version of the famous Patagonian mountain. We would have to return for that.

Dolina Bolechowicka Photo by Me

That evening after a dinner of pizza and beer we bumped it a couple of Polish climbers who we had seen at the previous days crag. They spoke English so we stayed there and chatted for a good couple of hours, comparing experiences of Polish climbing and English climbing and lives of students in both country's it was great. Then it started to get dark. Being the prepared mountaineers we are we had a very bad map and no head torch. But what could go wrong. It started off fairly easy following a road, then due to the lack of scale on the map we turned down this dusty track, only to find out it only lead to a horse farm. With darkness ever encroaching we decided to skirt round the edge of the farm and pick our way through the woods. This was challenging, with no path and with the fear we may be trespassing, we didn't look back and charged head first through the thinnest part of the trees. The last glimmer of sunlight had gone and the moonlight was being blocked out by the ever enshrouding tees. Then we were through and once again in someones back yard so we ran as fast as we could then and thankfully we hit the road. Sweet safety. But there were no streetlights and the forest was dense our imaginations were running wild. Then something darted across the road. Was it a wolf? Are there wolves in Poland? Would we make it back alive? Would my towel still be there?