It has taken more than two months of work on Urriellu, but in the end we've acomplished our goal: Orbayu has had its first free ascent after 8 hours on the wall, sending all the pitches on lead to complete what has come to be the most important route of our career. In the end we decided to give it 8c+/9a, a little less than anticipated, making it the most difficult big wall route in the world.

It is clear in our minds that the importance of Orbayu resides above all in the fact that we have been able to climb at such a high level of technical difficulty on a high mountain wall such as The West Face of El Naranjo de Bulnes, where the gear is very precarious; micro wires, friends, pitons, copperheads...-and the potential falls can be up to 20 or 25 meters. But even more important is the fact that we have been capable of having the vision, creativity and ingenuity to have imagined the line. Ten years ago we were already pretty good at making repeat ascents of difficult routes, but we still hadn't had the vision, nor the inventivness to pick out a futuristic line for ourselves, and climb it.  This is where the difference lies for us; only the master can produce the original.

There have been difficult moments, above all between the 20th of June and the start of August, when the weather was almost wintry and we could hardly get on the route, and  there have been amazing moments when the good weather began and we progressed much more quickly.

Orbayu is a new route that combines 4 new pitches on the overhang of  'La Bermeja', 6 pitches of  'La Via Mediterráneo', and 3 pitches of  'La Rabada- Navarro'.

We tried the hard part over three days in the summer of 2008 (5th and 6th pitches), and realized that they would be able to be free climbed. We returned on the 20th of June this year to begin what was to be two months of work, spending many days on the crux pitches, (the 5th and 6th, A3 in difficulty), and the corresponding pitches on 'La via Mediterráneo'. First we managed to climb the crux pitches on top rope with one fall, and later we freed the four new pitches on the Bermeja overhang in three days, up to the beginning of the 5th pitch.  Later we began alternating climbing these four new pitches with the 5th. Knowing it was the crux pitch, we focused all our efforts on it, firstly sending it on top-rope, the following week on lead, and finally we finished the job this week with a red point ascent of the entire route from the ground to the summit.

The route stands as follows:

PItch 1: 8a+, 38m, 6 bolts. A few moves on fragile holds to begin, followed by a bouldery move, then continue to the chain.

Pitch 2: 8a, 25m, 3 bolts. Hard bouldery sequence to begin, a bit of stamina then a bouldery finish.

Pitch 3:  8a, 25 m, 5 bolts. Five clips requiring some power endurance through the perfect overhanging wall and a last hard, unprotected move to the chain.

Pitch 4: 7a, 25m, 3 bolts. Hard bouldery sequence to start, keep it together with the gear far below, another hard move and some technical wall climbing up to the chain.

Pitch 5: 8c+/ 9a, 37m and 2 new bolts for the free variation. A first section of around 7c+/8a of technical climbing, a bouldery sequence of 8a+/b (boulder), and a final section on monos and two finger pockets at around 8b (sport). The first and last sections are protected by copperheads, pitons and small wires sunken in by potential falls of up to 20-25m.

Pitch 6: 8 a+, 30 m. Protected by some very old and oxidised bolts. The first hard section is protected by copperheads, continue on to another bouldery sequence and then easy  climbing until the reunion.

Pitch 7: 6b+, 55m of technical wall protected by friends and pitons.

Pitch 8: 6a+, 40m of technical vertical wall protected by slings, threads, pitons and friends.

Pitch 9: 5, 45m of delicate traverse almost without any gear.

Pitch 10: 5, 50m of corner/ chimney climbing protected by friends up to Roca Solano.

Pitch 11: 5+ 60m  linking the two pitches of la Rabada-Navarro. Friends and pitons.

Pitch12: 5, 35m of the face of  the Rabada. Friends and pitons.

Pitch13: 5, 45m of the final pitch on the face of the 'Rabada- Navarro' to the top. Friends and pitons.

                                 

Thus we conclude our fifth route of maximum difficulty on Uriellu, 12 years after accomplishing the first free climb and single day ascent of 'El Pilar del Cantábrico 8a+/500m in 1997. Later,  Zunbeltz 8b+/500m first free ascent in 2003, Quinto Imperio 8b/500m, first free ascent in 2006, and the opening and later sending of Lugorri 8c+/250m also in 2006. The majority of which are still awaiting repeat ascents today.

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