hot hot hot! and farewell araps

well the last few weeks have been really hot. and by really hot, i mean really hot. as in consistently mid 30s, and often over 40. that might be really hot for some people, but for a mere tasmanian, it's a furnace.

since i had injured my finger, i was soloing lots of easy routes. it's heaps of fun at araps, because the rock is (usually) so good. for a while i was getting a bit sick of soloing though - it is quite draining, and you have to concentrate all the time. it is really good mental training though. but as with any type of training, you must be careful not to over-train...

also had a few good days on the rope with jed, oli, ado and claire. seconding harder stuff and leading easier stuff. most of my time at araps has been spent in the colder months, so it was good so climb at some of the shady summer cliffs for a change.


archie on the FAA (first archie ascent) of "Archibald? Ado Bald!" (grade unknown)

i've been exploring the boulders a lot too. the bouldering at araps is pretty good! and it have me a chance to do some harder moves, yet stay in control of everything.

anna and i tried to do all the routes on the 'chimney fiesta' ticklist in a day. that was fun. it was a bit hot walking from one to the next though. late in the day, we went to climb this cleft called The Protege (12). you have to rap into the route, and as i was rapping in a heard some scary cackling from some sort of animals.
>> anna: "deano, what animal is it that makes this sound?"
>> me: "i have no fucking idea"
we couldnt figure out what it was, or how to get to the base of the route with out pissing them off (or disturbing their nest), so we had to skip it. bit of a bummer. we were pretty psyched to climb it, as it looked great; but also quite scared, because there was a dead bird on the ground near where the sound was coming from.
>> anna: "if this animal kill birds and bring them here then maybe it can hurt us"
>> me: "yep" (in anna-speak)
>> monster: "ra! ra! ra!"
>> me: "okay let's get out of here."
>> anna: "yep"

(a couple weeks later i went back with jed and we did the route; the animals had gone; and it was pretty fun, not as good as it looks though.)

one of my ongoing projects for this trip was to do all the routes grade 12 & under (in the new guide). there are a bit over 130 of them. some i had done on previous trips, but most of them i had never done, so it was a god way to explore more parts of the mount and seek out some hidden gems. there were plenty of 1 star - and even no star - routes that were really cool, and really worthwhile.

here are a few little thoughts...

at Mitre Rock; the top pitch of The Bishop (11, 2 star) was absolutely unreal, while the first 10m of Gulp (12, no star) are awesome. (the rest is shit)
on the Bluffs; Mouse (9*) and Debut (9*) are great; and the Keyhole is top fun. while Bluff Minor (11) (the route) is, well... at least i never have to do it again.
elsewhere; Salami (11*) and The Dribble (11**) were great, while Heckle (7) is a piece of shit. Neta (10) is sweet. Bung (12) has a wicked crux sequence, but the rest is crappy with big loose blocks. Silver Bullet (8) was really hard, and so was Sweet Bugger All (12). Josies Climb (12) and Transylvania (11) has really interesting moves on scoopy rock. especially p2 of Transylvania.
Syrinx (10***) was the last one to go down. that route is fucking amazing.


brag sheet

i could go on... as i look at the ticklist in the back of the guide, seeing the name of each route reminds me of a fun, scary, or shitful time. and it makes me smile. i really enjoyed doing them all.

well, our time at arapiles (and on the mainland) for 2009 is almost up. on the ferry tommorrow night. it's been great - the climbs, the cook-ups, the drinks, the shit-talking, the rain, the sun, the slacklining, the sitting-around-talking-about-climbing, the card games, the missions, and the people.


just your average evening sky really

i'm more psyched on arapiles and climbing than ever. my finger is slowly getting better. i have some pretty ambitious goals and dreams for climbing over the next while. but if i can't get them done because of injury, or weather, or just simply not being good enough then... fuck it! as long as i can climb rocks, i'll be happy.

bring on tassie summer!

the log!

how much fun is the log!
it's so good i went back there again with jed and we had some more fun.

checks out his blog for photos some time soon...
http://jedparkes.wordpress.com

arapiles antics

so we moved to arapiles.

the crew had moved from the top of the pines to the sweet spot in the gums. the 2 kiwis, tom & merry, masterminded a teepee made of tarps. it stays dry in the rain, and cool in the shade.


the teepee

i rested for a week and kept myself occupied by doin some silly things like running a lap of the mount along the dirt track. (14.9km, 1.5hrs) i could hardly walk the next day. have also been swimming at the pool, and riding poo bike everywhere.

ado, claire & archie arrived from the blueys and set up their massive tent and adjoining gazebo. ado gave archie a drill for his 2nd birthday, so archie has been running around putting bolts everywhere and retro-bolting the classics, in between making cakes in the dirt.


ado on squeakeasy (22); cheered on by claire, archie & louise

john & merry did a henry barber day (finally, after talking about it for years and years) - where they repeated every FA and FFA that Hot Henry did at the mount. despite frequent rain showers throughout the day, they still managed to work their way through the routes, none of which are doddles.

after sunset, the growing darkness saw merry hunched in the sentry box of a seeping dramp, fiddling in wires. we were all there watching at this point. simey called up that a big cam can be plugged into the lip, and then promptly launched one at merry's head. he placed it and finished the route quickly.

now they just had one more route to do: red baron (23) on castle crag. after an audaious night time onsight attempt (the route is fiddly to protect, and it's not the best pro either), they decided to go have a quick cat nap, and finish the route off early the next morning before the 24hr window was up. they did, and then went back to bed and then partied that night. good effort guys.

everyone else was climbing well too: anna red-pointed squeakeasy (22), onsighted take five (20), and made a yummy apple pie for rosie's birthday. rose red-pointed morfydd (19), onsighted quo vadis (19), and ate lots of apple pie (as did we all) on her birthday. then she went back to tassie for the guiding season. but jed, oli, claire(?) and kaylea(?) are coming soon, so it's not gonna be quiet for too long.


rosie and anna on missing link (17)

the grampains, and injured finger

unfortunately, on the last climbing day in the blueys, i hurt a finger that i had slightly tweaked a few days before. bugger! oh well, i would just rest it a bit and it'd be fine... right? wrong...


rosie and i left the blueys (in the rain), drove to the lovely, green wimmera and made a beeline for the pines. we ducked out to mitre rock for a few quick solos, and then came back for yet another large communal meal. mmmm.

but it was the gramps that was calling us. after a couple of days at staplyton doing some gentler outings, we headed south and stayed with Toby for a few days at his pad in Halls Gap. it allowed us to check out a few crags around there i'd always wanted to go to - Bundaleer and Rosea. unfortunately there was pretty patchy rain every day, and it was cold! nevertheless we still went climbing and did a few of the easier routes, it was like climbing in tassie again. the tourist buttress area of Rosea is really cool, it reminds me of Africa at Ben Lomond - strong lines penetrating smooth rock.

the easier climbing allowed my finger to rest, and after a few rest days and a few days playing belay bunny for rose i was ready to give it a little test. we headed to Taipan. the draws were on Mr T (a variant to Mr Joshua) so i thought i'd just dog a lap up that to see how it went. that way i could just lower off if it hurt too much. after warming up on the Spurt traverse it felt good. so we walked carefully along the access ledge and then then got amongst it. wow, i'd forgotten how hard Mr J was, and how awesome the climbing was!

unfortunately, my finger didnt hold up. i went to do the last move of the crux (a little throw with the left hand - with my injured finger), but thought i shouldnt, because i could hurt it more... i'm glad i didnt, because it ached a bit even after that.

it's a shame, because all the holds are either jugs or slopers, so that means it is time for some rest for me. i've done a bit of research and have started taking care of it so i can be ready for tassie summer. i even thought of going home early. but araps is actually a good place to rest and recover...

more blueys stuff

about clipping about 500 bolts later...

had a good day with grug and rosie out at Heathcliff. the talked up multipitch The Rift (19) was a tad dissappointing, but the single pitch routes there, Chip off the Old Block (19) and Fake Blood (18) were awesome. grug had to catch a train, so we said 'seeya later' and then headed down the megalong valley once again. except this time we went climbing on the way down. Mr Big (19) was pretty cool. the last pitch was unreal. another good route to end a great day!

tooling around skipping bolts and finding hand-free kneebar rests (photo: grug);
rosie also on Fake Blood (18) at Heathcliff.


another trip back out to Diamond Falls. oh boy. what a crag. psyched out of my brain, early start, stock up on a $2.99 bag of choc chip crossoints, ready to go...
man it was so f-ing windy! even after warming up bouldering for half an hour, i was shivering while putting the draws on. yikes. then i thought, i don't have much time left here, and there are heaps of crags i want to visit, and heaps of routes i want to climb. so i gave up on trying the route this trip; it's costing a lot of skin! oh well, another time perhaps. at least i am no longer burdened with wanting to do the route so badly. now there is time to get some mileage in and climb some classics.


had a nice half day out at Medlow Bath, after warming up of the cute little 18, Old Salt, Rosie flashed her first 20 (Radioactive Man). nice one. we did quite a few pitches there, including a 23 (i think) with and easy start, then some moves, then a desperate crux, pinching tiny nubbins, twisting sideways, doing weird things with your feet, and launching for (hopefully!) a jug. well it wasn't a jug, but it was a big enough hold to stop me falling. phew. it's not quite over after that either. maybe something had broken off or something. anyway, it was a fun climb.


we've had a few great days at shipley. the routes are long and interesting, the rock is a nice colour, and the bolts are plentiful.

[insert photo of climbing shipley, which i do not have - just imagine one is here]

Weak As I Am (22) is one of the best routes i've done in a while. start up a tree, pull on and slab desperately sideways, and up to a good hold, tricky moves to good hold, hard moves to jug, tricky moves to break, hard moves to good hold. etc. etc. it was like a fun war, battling your way to the top.
Mental Mantle (23) is a bit similar, but way harder! i made the mistake of trying it as the 4th or 5th pitch for the day. the start is desperate, and there are some tricky moves after the mantle. but then i was really tired, it was maybe 2 or 3 days on, so the skin was thin too. then there was a hard move (and hard clip) a bit higher, and then i was spent. from then on i felt like i was on borrowed time. i kept fighting and fighting, clipped the last bolt, 'ok, almost there'. up and down, back and forth, chalk everywhere, what do i do? i moved up, pumped and tired, with the anchors just out of reach. no energy left. PING! i took a lazy whip onto Tomas the german's munter hitch. oh well. i was done for the day (and the followind day too). maybe another time.


we went to Pierce's Pass and did Bunny Bucket Buttress (18), which was a really fun route. very cushy, with some sweet pitches: a cool corner problem on the 2nd, the traverse and arete on the 3rd was great, moving out under the roof on the 6th was wicked, and the headwall of the 7th was buckets, buckets, buckets!`(more bolt skipping). the last pitch wasnt too bad as well.

the next day we had planned to do Hotel California, but due to our lack of bolt plates (and only a handful of suitable wires) we were going to do Weaselburger instead. well the next morning it was really windy (again). so we went to Bowen's Creek instead, which is just down the road.

it's a great crag, but there is a long walk in these days, which keeps the couwds away i suppose. it was glorious in the shade, but when the sun hit it we got fried. in fact, the big gusts of wind were very welcome here, though we only felt them a little, as the crag is quite sheltered.

we did a few good 21s, Mr Pink (potentially demoralising finish) and Mutton Poacher (very interesting and varied). one of the crag classics, 97% Fat Free (25) is bloody awesome. didnt tick though, the wall was coming into sun, so we decided to just do as many good routes as possible. gave me plenty of ammunition to go back though!

oh, how good is this place!!!


approaching sunset on the mirrorball sector at pierce's pass

i really like the blueys, in fact, i'd like to spend a lot of time (i.e 6mths+) here one day. it was good to cruise around and visit lots of different crags. i really like visiting the same crag quite a few times, ticking off a lot of routes there, and trying the harder ones too. so it was good to go 'touring' for a change. vertical, crimpy, sharp face climbing is totally not my style, so it was great to do a lot of this style of climbing in a short space of time.

some places have a lot of really good climbs, but not a whole lot of absolutely amazing ones. one such place is the blueys.

on the other hand, some places have the most amazing routes around! sometimes with other good stuff nearby, but often not. there are also crags with lots of good routes as well. the rock isn't as sharp, there are more kangaroos, and fewer cafes.

and we are heading there tomorrow...

back to the blueies

after driving down the coast with rosie for a few days, we started to get itchy fingertips and toes. so we made for the blueys, and headed in by the back roads. that is, via pierce's pass. neither of us had really climbed in a while, while it was quite a trouser filling experience rapping in to do just the relatively tame rap-in routes on rigby hill. they are both pretty good value though! as we topped out on the 18, we noticed some people watching from Wall's Lookdown. we didn't know who they were, and passed them off as tourists, but we later learned who it was...

the next day, we had some big plans, but it was rather, could you say, windy. so we warmed up by climbing a sweet little 16/17 off Lunch Ledge (it heads up a cool water scoop, and it isnt in the guide, anyone know what it is called?) after that it was still really windy, but we wanted to climb, so we rapped carefully down the wall; waiting for lulls in the gusts before frantically pulling the ropes, praying they would fly sideways. in the end, it went really smoothly, as did the climb itself. we did 'the west face of the mirrorball' (19) (silly name for a good little route) and then had a spot of lunch on lunch ledge.

his emminence, grug, was due in the area soon, so we knocked off early and headed into k-town. we stumbled not only upon grug, but non other than... claire! this poor girl was finding it hard to leave the blueys. after a sappy reunion, we headed down the megalong valley, which would be home for a while.

the next day (a little hungover) we headed off to do Sweet Dreams, supposedly a bit of a classic beyond belief. sure, it was ok, but it wasn't amazing. the four of us couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. the views were nice though. oh well.


rosie on the traverse on Sweet Dreams (14), sure it looks good, but you could bounce a footy on some of those ledges you walk along. ok it's not bad, it's just overrated. photo by claire or grug.

the day after that we went to Shipley for the first time, which was a bit more stimulating. jakey b and young will came over too. there were tassie climbers everywhere. we all had fun flailing around, and i somehow managed to haul my unfit carcass up Hot Flyer (23). but in the early arvo, claire had to leave :( but well all said not 'goodbye' but 'seeya later', since she will be in tassie all summer.

shortly after, will and i had a fun day in the glen. he did Wrong Movements (27, his first) in a handfull of shots, and i didn't do anything (3 or 4 burns on Madge and still no tick). still, it was good to pull some moves again.


grug on Mr McGlue (18) at Zap Crag

had a couple of good days with grug and rosie, one at zap crag (pretty cool), as well as a fun day at Big Top. the 21 there, 'abso effing llewdly' was abso-effin-lutely awesome; and the bolted offwidth chimney was kind of interesting. i think it has 6 bolts in about 10 metres, i was worried about nutting my self on the rope, or even treading on it. i'm normally accustomed to doing that style of climbing with shitty (or no) protecting, so it felt kinda weird. the climbing was fun though.

after a rest day (lots of backgammon and shithead) it was time to burst my Diamond Falls cherry. ben likened one's first trip to DF as a significant moment in one's life, much like going to your daughter's wedding. hmmm. well, there were lots of people at the crag (somehow i had met everyone before in some way, shape, or form), an odd number in fact. so i teamed up with ado and jumped on Hairline 2000 (28), which was the first route ever climbed on the wall.

ado had done it before, so he was just in it for the fitness. he was also able to give me lots of beta for moves and rests, and some sneaky heel-toe and heel-hook tips. he did the route with 1 fall/sit and i managed to do all the moves, so i'm pretty psyched to jump back on it again asap. ahhh, the projecting life-cycle is reborn. the rock is kinda sharp though, so i've been skin farming for the last 2 days.


after the storm...

there was a pretty big storm last night. lots of thunder, lightning and rain. oh, and wind. turns out it was the biggest dust storm in years. everything is covered in this orange crud: the tent, the table, the car, the road. i wonder what the crags are gonna be like...


well, i can't wait to find out, cos i'm...

i hope it clears up soon so i can go back to DF!

queensland mini-holiday

so we left the blueys, and headed for queensland, just. (we were going to goondiwindi, which is just inside the border). peanut behaved pretty well this time, and that night we successfully escaped new south wales and stayed with simon's friend dave and his wife partner anna.


over-size? yep.

we had a few good days just chilling out and enjoying the heat. we kayaked on the river, threw a bit of frisbee and played lots of board games. here is a highlight from one of them.


a little bit of humour

after gundy, we drifted inland to frog buttress. well, that was the plan until peanut started being naughty. bad, peanut. bad, bad peanut. we had to spank her lots and lots for being very naughty. and after the spanking, the ora... wait, where were we? oh that's right, driving up a hill out of warwick, and the car stalled again. it was dark, and some big trucks were about to slam us in the arse. liz and i jumped out and we helped push the car down the hill (in reverse) into a side road. peanut's fuel pump was sick. except sometimes it worked, so it waqs kinda weird. so we tried again and again, and were quite patient, and eventually we made it to frog. a familar place. safety.

it was now time to put a stop to peanut's mischief causing once and for all -- the next morning we went down to boonah and simon ordered a new fuel pump for the car. it would arrive in a couple of days, and was way cheaper than in the blueys. so we were just gonna climb at frog until the car part came. sounds fair!


simon on witches cauldron (12)


satan's somestack (16). a family favourite.

we did a few classics over a couple'a days and then... grug showed up in my car! yay. after a bit more climbing we got really drunk. liz did some fire twirling and we fried up some spuds and vegies on the fire.

the next day the part for the car came, and simon and liz put it in, while grug and i unpacked and repacked my car so he could get his stuff out. he was flying to cairns the next day, so he had to get his shit packed. after we had all finished fondling with our cars; simon & liz left for northern pastures, while grug & i headed to brisbane (victoria point) to stay with my cousins.

grug made his flight okay, thanks to us being loaned a gps navman. since then i've had a good time recharging and relaxing here in victoria point. i leave [early!] tomorrow morning, after another detour to the airport. going to head down the coast and lie on some beaches before returning to the bolts and the big cliffs of the blueys.


yiewww!

cya there.