Rongy and I took a red eye flight on Thursday 22 September to head to the Blue Mountains. With an eleven day trip ahead of us we crammed in a lot of climbs so this email only covers the start bit and there will be two more to follow, so if you get bored of me ranting on let me know and I won’t send you all three emails.
We arrived in Sydney just after first light at within the hour were on the road heading out of the big smoke. It was about a 2hrs drive and we arrived just after 9am to be welcomed with a perfectly timed breakfast of poached eggs on a bed of baby spinach leaves. This is how I was introduced to Chris and Sirja, and what a great welcome it was. They had invited us to stay at their house which is located in Mount Victoria conveniently located within cooee of lots of great climbing spots:
After a relaxed breakfast and several cups of tea, including one I took on the road because I had a higher tea intake need than the others. Despite having had very little sleep, if we were lucky maybe 4 hours, we were super keen to get cracking and find a crag. So the first destination was a local crag that had a mix of both trad and bolted climbs, Mount Piddington:
A short five minute drive later we were shouldering our packs and walking in. Both Ryan and I have been to the Blue Mountains before and I had vague memories of several of the crags that we visited, but there is probably only two lines that I reckon I’ve jumped on before. I must be getting old as I usually remember not only each climb but the moves and gear required. The first climb of the trip was one that I do remember seeing and wishing I had tried last time so I was very pleased to get first lead on this brilliant trad line called Flake Crack. It felt funny coming to the Blue Mountains and needing to layback and jam my way up the first route, but I wasn’t complaining:
As I belayed Rongy up this fine line I had a great view of Chris weaving his way up Tombstone Wall, one thing that this place had no lack of was great vista’s helping to make those shots even more dramatic. This is a climb I had done before (I can say with confidence now that I have perused my image library) and so Rongy took the lead on this one after we got down:
It was good to see that Sirja and Chris followed the same etiquette that we had of lead for lead and Sirja plumped for a body eating off width called Angular Crack. Every line here seemed to attract our attention and with so many for the picking we had in mind to try and hit the classics only. The guide has a four star rating systems and in the eleven days there was only one route we did with no stars, and even that one we both agreed that it was as good as if not better than many we did do:
As the image above shows Chris was getting warm, and on this first day we were led to believe that the Blue Mountains’ were blessed with blue skies, calm days and warm temperatures. This was far from the truth and most days we were getting up and out the house in temperatures of no more than 6 degrees and due to the howling wind felt like less than 0 degrees. While we did bag a couple of stunning days such as this first one, on most days the locals obviously thought the weather was too less than perfect. However, we only had a limited time so we simply wrapped up when needed and got on with it:
As Chris was battling with the scary looking hand jam crack of Gemini, something drew me to the blank face and arête of Skinless Chicken. So despite thinking we would start with an easy day there I was picking a 21, which up until this point felt pretty cruisey. Then I had to learn how to climb arêtes properly and it took a few goes before I could pluck up the courage to get over my parent alert and go for it. I eventually managed the move but it felt nervous and a bit scary. Rongy liked the look of this climb so much that he pulled the rope and led it without a worry. All of his recent globetrotting sampling different crags, rocks and climbing styles certainly looked to be paying off as he styled his way up:
He then proceeded to look at Gemini and was keen to try that, after Chris managed to slog his way up it with an equal amount of difficulty that I had on my route. It seemed to be the order of the trip as he once again switched style and breezed up it with secure and safe jams and not a scratch or bruise to show for them. I was very happy to follow up in reasonable style, jamming with somewhat less confidence but equal success except for the battle scars on the back of both hands:
Cracks seemed to be the order of the day and Sirja set off up Genesis, just as a few spots of rain were starting to fall. The twin cracks looked great and offering bountiful gear, but at mid height there was only room for big number 5 cams or even bigger gear which made it a bold lead. So while Sirja battled with her nerves Rongy and I headed off in search of another climb to jump on:
The rain was short lived and some may be offended by me even calling it rain. We soon realised that no matter how much it did rain here the rock dried incredibly quickly. Some evenings it tipped it down yet in the morning we could find no sign of it whether on the rock, tracks or roads. This of course was great for us and allowed us to make the most of our time here. On this day we were however starting to tire and so we had one more route in us and I jumped on Eternity, a consumer classic that offered fist to finger jams all the way up a beautiful 30m splitter that seemed endless. What a way to start the trip and end the first days’ climbing:
We got back to the house in time to grab a beer and sit out on the balcony to watch the sunset. As the darkness fell the cold wind came in and we felt bitterly cold, again we might have put that down to feeling knackered and soon after having eaten we hit the sack. Early nights were the order of the day which also meant that we were up at first light and out the house at a reasonable time:
Day two and Sirja had to work, so with just three of us we headed to Mount Boyce and I recognised this place immediately. I did one climb here years back with Jason, it was a great climb called The Eyrie, the place offers great long 50m pitches up beautiful clean slabs and faces. We came prepared and set up a rap line and were soon heading down to scope the place out and pick our lines. I had last lead the day before so Rongy took first lead:
Due to the towering lines starting at tree level and the angles it was hard to get many spectacular shots here so I’ve gone easy on images for this location. We started on the reasonably graded Another Man’s Juliet, however both Chris and I felt a little uneasy even on second. The place has what seemed to be mostly mixed lines so while we had our trad with us there was a fairly bit of bolt and carrot clipping going on:
Chris and I both got it together and we went lead for lead jumping on two more very fun long lines with the grade just edging back in the 20s. Then on Rongy’s second lead it went up a notch. He jumped on a combination route taking the best parts of Girl in the Mirror and Mean Streak to provide a great 50m stunner that started with a stick clip carrot! We eventually worked out that yes you had to stick clip it with a wire, which seems and looked simply absurd why didn’t they just put a bolt there:
With the wire secured Rongy set off (swapping the wire for a plate on the way) and slowly and carefully wove his way up this impressive and unrelenting 22. It provided simply wonderful varied climbing on very steep terrain and he managed to find the composure to hang off the “bigger” holds to shake out before committing and moving on. It was all that Chris and I could do but to watch in wonder, and then attempt to follow up in just as good style, which we both almost managed:
Needless to say we were both shattered when we topped out, a top lead. But unfortunately it was also our turn to lead. So I plumped for a deceptive climb and had me foxed at the crux, but I managed to pull it off eventually with jelly like arms and wobbly legs. It was day two and already it seemed to us that on the bolted line we would never have that Welly Dam feeling from over west, as there were at time so many bolts that it broke up the climbing rhythm and at times we even missed a bolt out. On the last climb Elisa turning up so Rongy followed he up one line while Chris and I headed up the one right next to it:
Seeing Elisa got there late she dashed down to follow up the line Chris led while Rongy and I started to pack up the gear. The sun was not quite setting but the hues and colours were starting to change providing a beautiful changing view of the impressive cliffs of Mount Boyce. Chris was pretty surprised that even with three of us we had managed to squeeze in six rope stretching routes and time to spare. It was good to see that we were climbing not fast but efficiently, as sooner or later Rongy and I would be hitting the big walls for some multi-pitch adventures:
Day three and the weather was supposedly coming in. So we checked the guide, well consulted the locals, and headed for Sublime Point that due to its overhanging nature was a good place to climb in the rain. Of course overhanging meant the grades would go up a tad and it was also a fully bolted crag. But before we got there we had to descend and that included some fun sections including this squeeze hole for which you had to take your pack off:
Then there were ropes and fixed gear on some of the steeper sections, as well as fixed cables to tie into. It made the trip feel like a big adventure and was a lot of fun. We also had a view of the three sisters from this crag, which got what I thought was a bit of unjust bagging. But when you go climbing and experience some pretty storming scenery and positions I guess I can get why the more touristy aspects of the landscape can look a tad dull:
We started at Binary Cave which would never get wet, but on the downside offered mostly short routes and that had plenty of bolts. There were certainly fun and interestingly the one that felt the most nervous was the one Sirja jumped on to lead first called Please Dry, the easiest line there! It was a good solid climb that stayed consistent unlike most of the others and had some great nervous moves which didn’t faze her as she made her way up:
We jumped on all of the lines here and a few of them were pretty easy and were more or less one move wonders. Still for all my whinging and negativity as I type this we had a lot of fun, today there were five of us as Elisa was also joining in so there was fair bit of cajoling and encouraging going on, as we all jumped on line after line offering our own goodly advice on how to make the crux moves:
As the morning wore on more people had made the same decision as us and soon the place we getting a bit busier. Each line sported quick draws and after a bit of banter we all simply used what was there, it was certainly a very friendly crag to be at. We all had a bash on lead but soon we had polished off all the possible lines and it was time to find new rock:
But before we did that Rongy wanted to try a line that had caught his attention from the start, which happened to have no stars. So Elisa and I stayed while Sirja and Chris found another climb to try. Meanwhile Rongy was battling his way up the under rated Entourage, and he was finally able to relax and not worry about not having fallen yet as he made repeated falls on two of the tricky crux sections on this line. It was probably harder than the other routes purely because it was traditional climbing, not just face climbing and far more sustained. While Rongy took fall after fall Chris and I had great big grins on our faces!
While rain was predicted the whole time we were at Binary Cave it was a lovely day, so with a hankering for longer routes we wandered across to the impressive Ben Trovarto Wall. A towering 70m orange wall of steepness and impressive lines distinguishable but the line of stainless steel. This wall gets a bit more serious and there is little below 22 on it. However, there were two climbs for which the first pitches were a mere 22 and 23 so we headed for them. It was my lead first and I had a fierce battle with the hard start moves before the main chunk of the climb yielded to easier and less sustained climbing:
The great think about these two climbs were that they both made use of a tree start, they can be climbed direct at a much harder grade but it is accepted that a tree start is the go. The tree is looking pretty sad and is just about dead. We were told that the tree has been sagging more each year and no doubt one day will no long be there, leaving these two starts to become batman starts:
Both of these lines ended at a distinct ramp at half height, after which the grade of both lines jumped up a notch or two. We were however not motivated enough to attempt them and instead enjoyed the “easier” climbing, The 22 was a soft touch but the 23 certainly worked us and we felt after that as if we had had a solid day climbing. So with the very good Guillotine and Marxism under our belts we decided it was time to head out:
Things were definitely working out well for us, and as we were nearing the end of the walk, scramble, squeeze out the rain clouds began to march across the valley. In this image you can make out the three sisters in the right hand side of the horizon and I guess it is fair to say that after standing underneath the towering walls they do look a little less impressive. With the rain on our tails we quickened the pace on the last leg and made it into the comfort of the car just as the heavens truly opened and the rain that was promised fell:
So at the end of three days great climbing in three very different locations we felt that we had deserved a hearty pub meal. The obvious place to go being the local pub which also happens to promote itself as the oldest motel in Australia. The pub was great with comfy sofas, a roaring fire, really good pub grub and best of all no pokies. After this day Chris would be heading off to work, which was a gruelling 10 hour drive away and Sirja would also be back at work leaving Rongy and I to fend for ourselves. So it was even more appropriate that we took Sirja, Chris and his sister who had turned up for one night out for a meal:
Below is the route tally for the start bit. In the middle bit (i.e. the next email which I am yet to write) there will be tales of big wall climbs, multi-pitches in wild conditions, a sample of the crags the lucky buggers can walk to from their home and a place that goes back to good old trad climbing.
Fri 23 Sept
Mount Piddington (plus Chris & Sirja)
- Flake Crack 30m 17***
- Tombstone Wall 30m 15***
- Skinless Chicken 26m 21**
- Gemini 55m 19***
- Eternity 32m 18****
Sat 24 Sept
Mount Boyce (plus Chris & Elisa)
- Another Man’s Juliet 48m 15**
- Set, Piece, Battle 50m 16**
- Compassion Overboard 50m 20**
- The Girl in the Mirror (P1) & Mean Streak (P2) 45m 22***
- Weapons of Mass Destruction 50m 20**
- Ryan & Elisa – Endless Pleasure in a Limousine 47m 16**
- Krish & Chris – Sweet Seduction in a Magazine 45m 16**
Sun 25 Sept
Sublime Point (plus Chris, Sirja & Elisa)
- Rock Snob 12m 20
- Whimsical 12m 21*
- Socially Inept 12m 21*
- Please Dry 12m 18*
- Entourage 16m 21
- Guillotine (P1) 20m 22***
- Marxism (P1) 25m 23***
Sandbagged 