Its potato salad conglomerate summits bulging toward the sky just 45 minutes outside of Barcelona, Montserrat is a strange geologic oddity. It is also home to the near-mythical Monastery of Montserrat and thus the spiritual aorta of Catalunya. It attracts pilgrims and tourists from all over the world by the thousands… in charter buses, by car, by bike, even walking long distances. Perhaps not as well advertised, though, is that it is also a mecca of sorts for another kind of pilgrim–rock climbers from all over the world. The climbing history is just as grand, colorful, controversial, and bold as could be found in any other major climbing mecca of the world… and some of that history can be seen as you climb–in the belay and rappel anchors, and in the fixed protection you might encounter… thus, this post.
