Petzl RocTrip, Karlukovo, a Woodstock-like atmosphere!

As the second base camp in Bulgaria, the stopover in Karlukovo will remain deeply engraved in everyone's memory: first, by the power and the strangeness of the area; second, by the lightning fast visit of the "king" himself, Christ Sharma; and third by the good vibes, camaraderie, and overall enthusiasm. On September 20 and 21, the Petzl RocTrip melded into one big happy family.

A mini Woodstock

"Before we arrived, I heard that the weather in Eastern Europe was just terrible," tells Iranian Parvin Jahanbakhsh, "so I sort of expected the Petzl RocTrip to turn into a mini Woodstock. Honestly, Karlukovo was better than Woodstock. We had everything, music, mud, and climbing as a bonus!"

The early morning brings a pleasant surprise, as the sun casts its warm rays on the village. The caravan and the RocTrippers arrive in mass and everyone remains a bit dubitative. Just imagine driving for two hours on a dilapidated road full of potholes, traversing half-deserted villages where inhabitants greeted you with welcoming smiles, and then arriving on a broad grassy plateau where sheep graze and field mushrooms grow, and still no cliff in sight. Yet the Bulgarian climbers were very specific in their description, "The rock is only a three minute walk away." Everyone, a bit taken aback their current surrounds, heads towards a small pond filled to the brim from the recent rains. Then down a narrow trail, past a tree, down a few stone steps, towards an alcove, and then there it is! The legendary Prohodna cave comes into view along with the 90 routes ranging from 4b (5.6) to 8c+ (5.14c).

Two Cyclopean sky lights

"I'm truly amazed!" bellows Romain, a hulk of a guy who traveled all the way from Paris for his first Petzl RocTrip, "After looking at photos, I thought the cave would be much smaller, in addition to the fact that you have to descend for the approach. Who could have imagined that a geological formation like this would be so close to the road?"

In fact, the road goes right over the cave and cavers were the first to use the area as their playground (a long time ago). Eighty meters deep (or high depending on your perspective), the ceiling has two huge openings from which a rappel is stomach-dropping to say the least. These two Cyclopean sky lights provide soft lighting for the entire site. In spite of the afternoon's heavy rains, all were able to climb to exhaustion.

"Everyone looks to be having a great time," gushes Erwan Le Lann, who discovered this hidden gem, "There are great routes from 4 (5.5) to 8+ (5.14+) and every level offers high-quality moves. For a climbing area with such a unique energy, it's simply perferct."

Milkina Ruseva, a key contributor to developing sport climbing in Bulgaria, remembers, "The first climber to bolt routes at the entrance to the cave was Vasil Kirov. In 1995, this father of modern climbing established five bolted routes, including the spectacular "Deflowered," which was climbed onsight by several Team Petzl members. He then just stopped climbing altogether. For more than ten years, his handful of routes sat here all by their lonesome. In 2006, a new generation of climbers rediscovered the area, and put up new routes on the inner walls of the cave."

The Sharma Show

All of a sudden, silence. The cave, which was buzzing with chit-chat between climbers and their belayers, is now strangely quiet. What is going on? An angel passes over head. Chris Sharma is climbing. A few people came just to watch him climb in person. The column on the 8b+ (5.14a) route is wet, and there is only one day left. Of course, he has other projects and a full schedule. But he came here to climb, and as usual charms the crowd. Chris demonstrates such a powerful grip, such confidence when moving over rock. Incredibly nice, always smiling, down to earth, available, year after year the guy continues to raise the bar in climbing. With Sharma back down on the ground, climbers once again start buzzing about.

As the day turns to night, several people continue climbing by headlamp. This stage is a short one; everyone wants to enjoy the area as much as possible. Some stay up all night. A crazy night in the end, a night spent dancing in the rain. In front of more than a hundred RocTrippers, Chris Sharma puts on his slideshow. The story behind Dura Dura, 9b+ (5.15c), the hardest climbing route in the world and the shared experience with Adam Ondra continues to amaze. Piggy-backing on the energy of the group, the Wild One lights the turntables on fire (figuratively of course). At two in the in morning, the rain intensifies. A group of musicians puts on an impromptu concert inside the cave. The fire crackles; a Bulgarian climber bellows a series of beautiful baritone notes. Everyone grabs an instrument for a post-modern jam session while gigantic shadows dance along the walls. They seem to be saying, "Karlukovo, I was there."

To view the entire photo gallery, go to the Karlukovo base camp webpage.