This trip was totally random as I met Jakub the organizer of this trip in Trenčin Climbing Center. We chat a bit, and stayed in touch through social media. He suddenly messaged me that his friends ditched him on his Paklenica trip and asked if I want to join him. I immediately messaged Michal (obviously taking my guru with me) and he said yes. We planned the trip on maybe 2-3 phone calls, regarding the gear, accomodation and travel and we were set. Routes at the entrance of the park
We arrived on 15th of May very late at night, went for few beers and straight to bed. Next morning was our first day of climbing. My first impression of the rock was very positive. The park is very beautiful. I was surprised by the approach, from my previous experience in Sicily where you are basically hiking along the coast to get to the crag you want, here you park your car at the entrance, walk approx. 5minutes on gravel paved road and there are beautiful bolted routes on either side with names and grades. Sicily is my only reference point so far so obviously I compared. I might say the routes felt little more sandbagged, not much but the starts were little harder and footholds were definitely more slippery. Different crag, different rules. I have climbed a few routes around 5c and 6a to get used to the rock. On one 5c+ I did my biggest fall yet. Casually climbing slabby looking route, taking my time with the feet when suddenly in pretty decent position maybe 1-2 meters above last quickdraw my main foot slipped. Michal also had some slack on me and wasn't really paying attention as the climbing was pretty chill. The fall was pretty big in my eyes but it was only around 5-6 meters I would say. Climbed the rest of the route and was kind of shook but okay. Nevertheless, great climbs, great day.
For second day we planned multi-pitch route called Kamasutra (130 meters). We once again went to local pub after successful day and some of us drank little more that is needed for next day multi-pitch. After morning meeting we agreed to just chill and check the sea and some local places. There were literally no people on the beach, it was off-season after all. Middle of the May so the water wasn't particularly warm, but it was nice. We rented a canoe and visited small village across the sea. It took around 30-40 minutes to row there. Had some coffee a chat a bit, plan some more about the upcoming multi-pitch.
We did not get drunk the day before so our plan was on. The approach was around 45mins - 1 hour hike through marked trail. As I mentioned the day before we planned the climb. As there were 3 of us, we encountered certain difficulties. Michal and I wanted to use only 1 rope with Michal leading, me climbing in the middle with ascender and Jakub last. Jakub was against this idea and wanted to use 2 ropes. We did not like it but we did not argue, he wanted to feel more safely, so we agreed on 2 ropes.
Route is graded 5b+ (or 5c in other sources) and divided into 4 pitches, the first pitch is 5b+ focusing on side pulls and steady feet pretty much along the whole pitch. Pitch 2 is fairly easy climbing, straight up with amazing jugs. As I climbed last to the start of the third pitch, Michal suggested that I should lead the pitch to save time as I was already tied in and Michal was belaying me. Next bolt wasnt visible from the start and we checked the map and the route went to the right, so I climbed few meters, but there was no next bolt. I was pretty confused and pretty high up from the Michal with no gear clipped just trying to find the bolt when suddenly Michal spot it on the left side. I downclimbed back to my party and went to the left. Pitch was also fairly easy, lot of jugs maybe one small part had like 2-3 moves where you need to cross a small roof but it was alright. For me the 4th pitch looked the hardest. The start was just clear slab where you used small crack on the left side, but you clipped far to the right so the clipping positions were awkward. Overall the route has its right name as you are basically climbing multiple styles (or positions) on just 4 pitches. At the top we enjoyed the view. This was my first multi-pitch experience and I enjoyed it very much. Definitely will look into more multi-pitch climbs in the future, it is very rewarding experience.
Maybe 3 months later we once again visited Paklenica. This time I was with my girlfriend and Michal was with his and her family. This vacation was mainly to enjoy Croatia in the summer. Unlike our boys trip, this time there were lot of people in the area. Beaches and bars were full. Most of the time we just enjoyed the sea water and the sun, but Michal and I planned to take our girlfriends to experience the multi-pitch climb we once ascended. This time I was leading whole climb with Sara belaying me. Michal and his girlfriend Sima were also joined by her brother Tomáš, so there were party of 3 again, but this time only 1 rope was used. The climbing was pretty much the same as the last time, leading it wasn't that big of a deal and it gave me some confidence into my future climbs. There is a small border between boldness and irresponsibility, and I think I should be more bold and try to walk the border. As I always catch myself thinking after the experience that I should been more confident in my climbing skills, but only more climbing will make me sure that I actually am. But I should thin the border...