Hola adventurers!

October is Breast Cancer Awarness Month. There is an annual campaign to increase awarness of the disease. We are continuing our Women in Sports series. This time let us introduce you young women competing in climbing.

Ashima Shirashi

Ashima is a 15 year-old american rock climber. Her parents immigrated from Japan in 1978 to New York. Since then they live in New York. The talented young girl started climbing at age 6 in New York City´s Central Park, doing bouldering. First she made a name for herself by bouldering and challenging several boulder problem (V10, V11, V13) She is the youngest person to ever to climb grade V13. At age of 13, she climbed the route Open Your Mind Direct (9a+) and Ciudad de Díos (9a/+) in Santa Linya, Spain.

“In climbing, gender really doesn’t matter,” Shiraishi says. “You’re just facing the wall. It’s just your determination and focus and dedication, and that’s what makes you stronger.” She continues “When I climb, I’m doing what I love to do,” she says. “I feel like a leader of myself, not a leader of a sport.” Ashima is incredible talented and determined.

Follow her latest climbs and results on her Facebook page.

Sasha Digiulian

The 24 year-old climber currently lives in New York City. She started climbing at age of 6, in 1998. In the last few years she won many titles. World Champion for Female Overall, three-time US National Champion, undefeated Pan-American Champion since 2004, undefeated Junior Continetal Champion between 2004 and 2010.

She was the third woman, first North American, in the world who accomplished the grade 9a. Besides climbing, she has several publications, travels around the World, gives speeches and clinics. Sasha studies Writing and Business at Columbia University.

Follow her adventures, and stories on her webpage, check the newest photos on her instagram.

Valencia Adventure, Boglárka Varga

Hola adventurers! 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There is a global annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease. To take this opportunity we introduce you now two exceptional women who wirking, competing in extreme sports like BASE jumping, climbing and aerobatics.

Clair Marie

BASE jumper, skydiver, rock climber

Clair was born and raised in a small town California, the second eldest of nine siblings. She is a professional adventure sports athlete. At age of 3 she has been started climbing and skiing. When she was 16 she became the youngest women in the history of BASE jumping. At age of 19 completed several tandem jumps followed by an AFF instructor course. After few months she earned her certificate.

Her work and hobbies include BASE jumps, skydiving, stunts, mountain biking, rock climbing, flying a wingsuit and even modeling. She is one of the top female atheletes in extreme sports also a passionate vegan.

You can check her latest blog, photos and videos on her website or instagram. She writes about new adventures, traveling, daily routines and her speeches.

Melissa Dawn Pemberton

Award winning aerobatic pilot, free fly skydiver and champion rock climber

The 28 year-old american is an Air Show Pilot and Display Skydiver. She does BASE jumping, skydiving, rock climbing. Melissa is a flight instructor and teaches First Aid in West Africa too. It is not such a huge surprise she has choosen extreme sports as a job. Her dad is a climber and practiced deep sea diving earlier, her grandmother was a pilot. Sometimes they went for rides in a Cessna 150 aerobat. We can say Melissa is so lucky because she has been able to make her passion - aerobatics- a full time income. Of course she is been working really hard to reach those awards and results. Her goal is to become the Women´s World Champion of Aerobatics.

Follow her life and newest adventures on her website.

Valencia Adventure, Boglárka Varga

Hola adventurers!

October is Breast Canceer Awarness Month. There is an annual campaign to increase awarness of the disease. To take this opportunity let us introduce you a fantastic woman, who competed MTB in the 80's with excellent results.

Jacquie Phelan is an American road and cyclocross racer, born in 1955 in San Francisco, California. She has been called 'the outlaw queen of mountain biking'. Jacquie was one of the earliest women, who took part in mountain bike competitions, competed against men. In that time -early 1980´s- there was no separate category for women. She was the NORBA Champion three times in a row, between 1983-1985. NORBA is the first sanctioning body for mountain biking, established in 1983.

Phelan has developed WOMBATS (Women´s Mountain Bike & Tea Society) to encourage women´s participation in the sport. She was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame. As Phelan said in 2007 'I've been playing on my mountain bike for about 25 years'. It isn't a job for her, mountain biking is an absolute passion in her life. Jacquie Phelan is a real icon in sport.

Valencia Adventure, Boglárka Varga

Do you know where the name of Les Rodanes come from?

The hoard of the area has a very high natural value because of the siliceous sandstone, commonly known as red stone or rodeo.Les Rodanes is a mountain in the Turia Natural Park. In 2002 592ha (5,92km²) of the area was declared as a Municipal Natural Area.

Have you ever heard about the legends of the Cave of Colom?

Well, there are two actually! The first is about a pigeon. The pigeon was released at the cave, then disappeared and somehow appeared in Picassent  -a village located several kilometers away- . So that is why it seems like the cave functions as a dimensional door, according to the legend.

The second legend is even documented based on a false story. In 15th century 4 or 5 men visited the cave and then they were seeing and hearing extraordinary things. The men told the people that their lives were saved by religious invocation. They wanted to scare the people by telling this story.  Afterall some knights from Valencia went to the cave and realized and revealed the story is not true.

After considering the legends, grab your hiking boots and explore this amazing, diverse place in Spain.

While you walking in the forest, you can see white pines, mastic trees and arbutus. Not only interesting kind of trees you can find but there are underground cavities for waiting being discovered. Lots of vegetation and native plants can be seen along the wood road.

How you can get to this beautiful mountain?

It is a part of the area of Vilamarxant (Villamarchante), Valencia. You can access this natural place from the residental area of Monte Horquera.

Once you find the path into the forest it is impossible to get lost. There are waymarked trails in the mountain, called PR-CV175 Les Rodanes.

The route itself is 13 km long, which leads through the Rodana Gran, the Bassa Barreta, Els Cavallons, the Rodana del Pic and Les Trinxeres de la Ferradura. Bassa Barreta is a small semi-naural wetland, where extensive razing is working.

Enjoy the nature!

Valencia Adventure