Orbayu Naranjo de Bulnes first repeat by Nico Favresse, Adam Pustelnik

After three and four days respectively Nico Favresse from Belgium and Adam Pustelnik from Poland made the first and second repeat of Orbayu on the Naranjo de Bulnes in the Picos de Europa in Spain. The route had been freed by in August 2009 by Iker and Eneko Pou and graded 8c+/9a, but after their quick repeat the two believe the route to be somewhat easier, possibly in the 8b+/8c region. Favresse even linked pitches 5 and 6 into one mammoth 60m outing to avoid the hanging belay but what is important is not so much the end grade but the fact that Orbayu is "an exceptional route and we would like to thank the Pou brothers for their vision for this line and their effort to put it up."

Favresse had visited the Naranjo de Bulnes once previously and returned since "the rock is fantastic and it has potential for some amazing futuristic challenges." Unsurprisingly therefore, immediately after Orbayu the two embarked on a project just to the left which however ended in near-disaster as a hold broke on Pustelnik on pitch 1, resulting in 3 pieces of gear ripping and a 20m ground-fall. Thankfully Pustelnik is recovering in Orviedo hospital with a broken sacrum, sternum and L1 vertebra and the outlook for a full and speedy recovery is bright.

Iker and Eneko Pou on Orbaju Naranjo de Bulnes