Craig’s wife Oyukha is from Mongolia and while her dad, Nyamdagva, is over she wanted Craig to take him out for a climb. It was a chance for him to see what all the fuss was about and why Craig and I get so excited at the thought of playing on rock. So I picked them up at 5am, a later start than usual but it was nice not leaving in the darkness of night:
We had chosen a place call the Book Shelf, which is a short crag with climbs no taller than 6m and nothing too serious. It is included in the new guidebook that will soon be out for the area and I was a little worried that the shortness of the climbs would be a target for some negative feedback on the inclusion of this area. That aside it was however the perfect place to take Nyamdagva:
We walked along the path before passing the taller Northern cliffs, which for a first climb would be way too daunting and probably difficult. Then a stroll along the rocky shoreline to get to our destination:
The walk included a few scrambles so it is a good warm up and also allowed us to see how Nyamdagva went. No problems at all and he was happy traversing 6m up and also down climbing the blocky ledges:
There was no messing round and we got him straight into a harness and the first route was a relatively easy line so not as to scare him off. He wasn’t looking quite as comfortable at the thought of the climbing, as he was with the scrambling in but we persuaded him to give it a go:
After the initial slabby start the wall did steepen up. While the hand holds were pretty big, the footholds were a bit rounded and climbing in sandals did not help in making them feel all that secure. While Craig was busy taking images Nyamdagva was starting to protest and wanted to go back down:
So Craig climbed up alongside him to help him out and give him that little confidence boost, which was all that was needed to get him to the top. He was then very relieved and quite happy to go back down to solid and more level ground:
After his first every climb, it was time to watch us have a bit of fun and jump on some of the other climbs. He was certainly very intrigued and watched with great interest, so maybe we thought we hadn’t scared him off completely:
So while the iron was hot we got Nyamdagva onto his second climb, and it didn’t take much persuasion. He quite happily walked up this enjoyable flake line and once at the top Craig had another surprise for him. It was time to experience abseiling, so back down he went and once again he was looking a little nervous but he gritted his teeth and went along with it:
Then it was again time to kick back and watch us jump on a few climbs, and what better a spot to relax. Unfortunately we did not however get to see any dolphins or whales cruise past:
Ryan also joined us for a climb, his first in WA after his 4 plus months overseas climbing trip. It was good having him come along as he was able to guess the grades and we were pleased to hear that he guessed most of the grades bang on:
Also having the extra person meant I could occasionally spend a bit more time taking images, and playing with the settings to get all creative and arty:
It was a great session and we kept moving racking up the climbs, and we were pleasantly reminded of how good the lines were . While short they made up for this with their individual consistency and varied styles that each climb offered:
While we carried on Nyamdagva watched while quietly sipping on a cup of tea, but it was time to once again get him to have another bash. He didn’t seem too keen but we convinced him to suck it up:
So Craig set off for the last climb for his father in law to follow us up on. He watched the moves and must have been paying great attention as when it came to his turn he ambled up it quickly and easily:
After conquering his third climb it was time to abseil back down, and this time knowing what to expect it all went smoothly, and there was a great big smile on his face when he got down. I have to say I was mightily impressed with Nyamdagva and his first climbing and abseiling experience:
Of course we also tested not only the climbs for their worth, but Ryan’s prowess after globetrotting for so long with only one thing to do – climbing. So we sent him on the crags test pieces including this great roof, which he did remarkably well on. He was feeling a bit tired after the mornings 15 plus climbs so declined to take on the right hand variant. So I finished the day on that one – but not in the best style. Our morning out was a great success confirming the worth of having the Book Shelf included in the new guide, the quality of the climbs it has on offer but most of all allowing us the chance to give Nyamdagva a really enjoyable first climb experience:
Sandbagged 