The alarm went off at 2:40 giving me 20min to pack the esky, make a tea and head out the door. Half an hour later I found Howsie walking the streets of Bunbury in darkness with a cuppa in his hand. We’d been organised and I’d picked up all his gear the day before, which when leaving at this time in the morning seemed like a good idea. Three hours later we had passed through Perth and headed north east out to the Avon Valley, managing to avoid the madness of morning work traffic that if we had left later could have added an extra hour or more to our journey:
The last leg of our trip was a winding 12km of dirt road into the heart of the national park, on which we kept a watchful eye out for roos but fortunately none were to be seen. The day was just waking up and we had a good feeling about what it had in store for us. We’d been watching for forecast carefully all week, as of all the times to head out today and tomorrow had been forecast for thunderstorms. But the sky was looking mostly clear and what little cloud we saw looked like it would burn off:
Our first stop of the day was Bald Hill Boulders. We parked up at the campground and decided that we didn’t need food so instead headed out on the ten minute walk-in, leaving the people who were camped out to wake up and cook breakfast. Being the last weekend of the school holidays the campsite was pretty busy, but there were no other climbers in sight. Howsie kept a keen eye out for scats trying to figure out what animals were hidden in the bush nearby. Then he saw the ‘obvious’ big dead tree that the guide said to look out for:
The ten minute walk seemed to be a bit longer, but while steep in sections was never too hard and there was no bush bashing to be done. The scrub was pretty clear under the canopy of the trees. Grass trees and cycads were strewn across the floor of the woods with the occasional prickly shrub, which we skirted round:
We didn’t waste much time and I jumped on first lead, Corner Shop. It was a fun layback crack and slab with a funky start that I made feel and look strenuous and hard. Howsie walked past the start by not getting sucked in, and then relished the great layback crack. There are two climbing spots in the Avon Valley and this one has shade in the morning hence why we started here. These boulders had nothing higher than 12m and there were only 6 routes so we were confident that we could knock them off and get back in good time to have a late breakfast:
We decided to tackle the routes in order of grade and Howsie took number two that was ominously called Fresh Meat. This time a steeper crack past a couple of leaning boulders. This time on lead he got sucked in and had to heavy, crawl and wedge his way up. It was a reverse of the first climb and I managed to stay wide and out of the crack making the climb look more elegant, with the knowledge of a having a rope above me helping:
The granite here has great friction, there was the odd crystal but there first few climbs were not too bad on the fingertips. The backdrop to the crag was pretty specky nestled on a steep hillside the valley stretched out in complete silence. There was not a breeze in the air and we didn’t hear a single animal. It was a little surprising not to come across feathered, scaled or furred creatures; the only life that we saw all morning was green and still:
My second lead looked great. Boddyjammer looked like a corker of a line but the guide didn’t seem to rate it that highly. The start was awkward and then the security of the peapod came. The only problem was how to get out of the pod and back on track. It was just way too comfy and secure. I had to strenuously squirm my way into the right position to be able to exit. That led to great jamming and exposure and I eventually reached the top exhausted and sweating, so much that the strap on my helmet was dripping:
The fourth lead, Blue View, was the first climb that didn’t involve a crack. The hard bouldery start, which gives it the grade had us foxed for some time. Being on an arête there were a couple of options and eventually it yielded. Just in case you are thinking it, the grass tree wasn’t used as aid! This one required a bit more pulling on some sharp crystal holds and after the bouldery start followed the slabby arête on bolts. Only two of the four routes here used bolts and Howsie managed to bag both of those:
Next up was one of the main reasons for coming to the Avon Valley. Sundance Crack provides a narrow splitter that started only just wide enough to get your fingers in but widened up after half way. This route we both agreed was well and truly worthy of classic status, it both looked incredible and was exciting and sustained to climb. It looks like I’m cruising this impressive line, but that was not the case. I took a fall low down taking the top of one knuckle off; I was then more cautious and I took a few rests. Placing gear was hard as I had to fiddle wires into the parallel crack; we didn’t have any micro cams and only the smallest tri-cam fitted the lower crack:
So now I had given blood and sweat so all that remained were tears, and it came close on the last route called Rude Mood. A very thin and balance slab and arête, which I was very happy to leave to Howsie. Maybe it was because were starting to tire from our early start or that we were foolish to have not had any breakfast before we started, but the last moves on this route had us completely stumped. Up to this point it was incredible but then it just seemed to blank out and even Howsie with his extra reach couldn’t get to the next holds:
When I came up the holds all the way up felt excruciatingly sharp and painful, but I held back the tears. Even with a rope above me I could find no way past the last section, so I also pulled on the last bolt to reach the next sequence. Despite the dramas on the last two routes we were all smiles, the crag was great and well worth the trip. By now the valley below us was bathed in sunlight and we were glad we had come early and headed straight down as the sun was also starting to hit the wall. It had real bite to it and the next crag was said to be shaded in the afternoon:
On the walk out we came across a cycad with the seed pod freshly opened. The brilliant orange colour of the seeds was striking against the, in comparison, dull browns and greens of the understorey. Neither of us had ever seen one freshly opened like this, and while there was plenty of evidence of old seeds that had dried and browned off this was the only fresh one. So it was time to break out the big camera and make sure I got a good clear image of this unusually sight:
Then we hoicked back up the hill, and the ten minute walk-in felt a lot harder walking out. We were both sweating and feeling our legs up the steep incline, while the sun beat down on us. Back at the car we decided to drive to the next spot before breaking out the food. The car indicated the temperature was already at 28 degrees, something we hadn’t expected. So the air conditioner went on as we drove the short few kilometres to Drummonds campsites. Here we munged out on wraps with lashings of tuna salad and mayonnaise for what was now lunch:
The next crag was a 30min walk-in, steeply down to Emu Creek which was then followed for 1km. It was getting really toasty and we were both tired so I don’t think we really appreciated the beauty of the walk in as much as we should have. It involved a fair bit of rock hooping and we realised later it was best to stay in the creek bed to avoid the vegetation that in couple of places thickened up and was pretty spikey. Once we came to Emu Falls, with unfortunately no water, we caught sight of the crag 200m up the hill:
Emu Creek Wall is another short 12m crag with 9 routes, and was not in the shade. It was already past 1pm and it looked like only a small portion would be shaded even in a few hours’ time. Another granite wall but finer grained and in placed even smooth and slick, it almost seemed like it was a quarried face. To get going we went for the left hand routes on the main wall, as they at least would be partly shaded:
My led went up Freestone Valley a feisty number with slick holds that you really had to work. The gear was marginal in places and it was a nervous lead, I needed to go some way above the last wire to clip a bolt on smeary holds. That was then it till the top out so I gingerly worked my way up the rounded finish. I was thankful to be up and even more so that it was not my led next:
This crag had a clearer view across the valley, it also meant it had less shade and it was hard to find a spot at the top or base to cool down. There were two belay stations with carrots but not being set up as rap anchors we had to walk down a meandering line, it was all feeling too hard:
Howsie not put off plumped for another two starred line which was thankfully in the shade now. Redline did look good and followed the line where the black wall turned white. He started confidently getting to a good slot, the topo in the old guide told you what gear was needed and where. It seemed a bit over the top, and as we climbed the few routes we did it was clear there were no other options. For this route after the slot there was a runout on sketchy moves to get to the first bolt, with only one piece in. After a few yoyos he finally gave in and decided it wasn’t worth it:
Instead he went up a lower grade route with equally minimal gear and despite having a bolt in the lower wall, you would deck out before you got to the next bit of natural gear. I followed up and my fingertips were pretty raw by now, I thought it may have been me being out of practice but Howsie was also suffering. We scoped a few more lines but none of them looked particularly inspiring either being run out or not that good a line. So we both decided it was probably best to head out, this time avoiding the bash through the cycads and following more of the creek bed:
Bald Hill Boulders was awesome but Emu Creek Wall was a disappointment, and we both agreed we wouldn’t bother going back. Instead we hit the road with an hour and half journey ahead of us. Next stop was Threeways, another set of boulders and this time in the middle of whoop whoop. The last 20min of so was on dirt tracks that got progressively smaller and less maintained. We got there with a hour of light left and wandered about to scope the crag out. The boulders were a short 30 second walk from the clearing and comprised a coarse grained granite with lots of sharp crystals. Just placing our hands on the rock we both knew that it would hurt tomorrow:
Putting that thought aside we boiled up the pasta disaster in a vacuum bag that Lisa had kindly made for us. It went down sooooo well and tasted divine, washed down with one of Howsie’s homebrews. As the light faded we set up camp and reheated the water to make a cuppa, both of us needing to rehydrate a bit more from our days exertions:
Despite being some 60km from Perth, as the crow flies, the light pollution was still noticeable, either that or a full moon was getting ready to rise. The stars above were great to see but not a scratch on when we camped out at Eaglestone Rock in the wheatbelt. I still however tried to get a picture of them and this was the best I could do. Admittedly I was being lazy on only tried on my point and shoot camera. Eventually with the cuppa drained so was our energy and it was time for an early night, man did we sleep well:
Next day we were up early and after watching the clouds of the morning sky change from pink to red to yellow to grey we made a cuppa to take to the crag, along with a selection of snacks. There was no need to pack up a sac with the crag so close, we were both a tad achy but didn’t say too much about that instead deciding to take one climb at a time:
Apologies for the grainy images above and below. The night before while taking images of the stars I had pushed up the ISO setting to the max and forgot to reset it to auto – doh! I know that Rhys will understand what I mean. The sharp crystally granite boulders had line after line of bolts, many of the lines looked crazy and were listed on the mini-guide as projects. There were however a heap of lower to mid-grade routes and not being here for the numbers we picked off the lines that looked good to us:
Chris kicked the day off with Nice and Easy and then I went up Friend of Easy, both the same grade and similar in style. An easy angled slab that after the obvious break had crimpy moves on sharp crystals and smeary feet. Both were good fun and we had a good feeling about this place. Being sensible today we then took a break to have a sip of tea and a snack:
The place is called Threeways as the boulders have been split down the middle three ways, on each external and most internal faces there are routes. The next one we tried was right in the guts and it was here I realised the error of my camera ways, as I was taking an image of the moon. The relevance (if you can spy the moon) being that the ‘blanket of stars’ viewing the night before had in fact been affected by Perth’s light pollution:
Both of us had spied this line and were keen for it, but seeing I had bagged the mega crack the day before it was only right to offer this gem to Howsie. Get Your Crack Out was a beautiful splitter from bottom to top perfectly sized for small cams (the sort we did have) and nicely sustained. If the wall had been vertical it would have been the twin of the previous days crack. It was the only completely trad line here and an absolute pearler:
Atop the boulder the views stretched out in all directions, endless bush. The clearing where we were camped was on a bit of a rise where the granite was close to surface. That made it wetter in winter and as such the vegetation was very different to that round the boulder, only a 100m away. You can see the change in the trees in this image, with the lower sheoaks being where the clearing is:
Around the boulders the tall mottled white gums glowed in the morning light and below them were scattered grass trees and boulders. There were a few cycads but nowhere near as many as we had found in the Avon Valley. This is as close to pristine bush as you’ll see and it looked great. Again however there was not an animal in sight, even at night we thought we may have heard a roo hopping about, maybe they were and we were too fast asleep:
Next up I led Tic Tac Toe which started out as another great trad crack before a fine crystal pulling face climb that kept me focused. The thought of falling on this stuff is enough to make you stay on. So far four out of four great climbs, this place was warming to us big time. For a short boulder no more than 10m high the routes we’d been on were varied and had real character:
After one more snack break Howsie decided on yet another crack climb, this one only one grade harder than his last lead but looked a bit more feisty. The gear was not as obvious and it was possibly more technical climbing. So the rope stayed put and he checked out the gear placements, seeing the walls were so close it was possible to lean in and do that:
His chosen route was aptly called Bull Ant Bravado and funnily enough as he checked the line out I saw a bull ant, then another and another and another. I managed to trace them back to the nest and spent some time trying to capture them in an image. The can move when they need to and seemed completely fearless coming for me every time I got too close. The name of the route was perfect:
Howsie was still contemplating his line so I took the time to get an image or two of the boulders and bush surrounding them. I’ve said it but will say it again, this place was like a slice of paradise:
Game on, finally I got the call that he was ready to go. The crack was as good as it looked, fiddly gear placements, a few technical moves and then he was at the good looking break. He hung there and hung there and hung there. Eventually he was going to move up to clip the bolt when he realised he had run out of extenders, and he promptly sat:
I took out some lower pieces so he had a few more extenders and then he tried and tried but couldn’t get up the a face. I leaned back to hold him as he clipped the bolt above, just managing to reach it. Then even with the rope above him it seemed impossible, eventually dogging up to the next bolt and repeating the escapades. Eventually he hauled up and I followed. The face had holds but they were microscopic, spaced and so very sharp. The grading on this routes was highly questionable:
Both feeling a bit battered I then plumped for a line only 2 grades lower than his called Let’s Not & Say We Did. It provided a fun chimney and then a short face to finish. It was over before it started and while it was a heap of fun it was also completely over graded by at least five grades:
We’d left a couple of lines on the outside of the boulders till last. Howsie started on Mouse Trap which required a funky move to get out of a short chimney onto the slab proper. With both feet smearing like fury and his left hand on a pebble he grimaced his way into a more secure position. Fine climbing above matched the style, that was better and we were back onto the good stuff:
For my last lead I rambled up a great slab with no real edges, if you didn’t trust your feet you would not get far. This was marked as a project in the guide but with no pink tape (other lines had pick tape) we decided there was no harm in climbing it as it really didn’t look that hard. It mimicked the previous line in style and grade, great fun:
The sun was swinging round now and we were ready to pack our bags, although there was one route. The only one of which there is an image in the guide and it did look good, but it was also three grades harder than anything else we had tried today. So we were a bit unsure. In truth we are unlikely to ever come back here and so Howsie couldn’t help himself:
So off he went up The Squirm, the last and hardest line of the day. A great traverse along the rising break followed up a steep slab above. I was paying more attending to belaying than pictures, thinking this would be tricky and with both of us being pretty tired I might need to catch him. About here he had a foot slip but held on and re-established himself:
Then one step up and the rest seemed a walk in the park, he made it look easy! Following up I was not so convinced, but the break was gentle on the hands and fingers and the gear was boomer. One move along the traverse was sketchy but not that bad really, then I stepped up and it was game over. Um… probably over graded by four this time! No matter it was a fun line and we were both glad we did it:
It was definitely time to head back to break camp, have lunch make a few cups of tea and eventually head out on the road home. But not before taking an image of this great fungi. Seeing there were not any animal images to amaze you with, other than the bull ants, I thought a splash of colour would be nice:
We followed the road out the same way we came in. Eventually getting back to the sealed roads, and with a tank full we didn’t stop. Within 3 hours Howsie was home and soon after I was too. Another great trip with three new crags now having been explored and rated, and as Meatloaf sang Two out of Three Ain’t Bad:
On the way back we talked about other areas around Perth and we have a few more in mind that one day we may visit. Short they may be but they do have character and require a different climbing style that adds extra interest value.
Sandbagged 