This morning Justin and I wandered down to the Bookshelf where the plan was for him to have a crack at trad. It was a crisp clear morning and the moon was still bright in sky as we walked along the rocky shoreline:
Being his first use of trad I set him to work on placing a heap of gear, without any info. The deal was to place wires, hexes and cams, so I could then check out and talk about the pros and cons of the placements. It soon dawned that this trad malarkey was a bit more fiddly that it may first look:
As Justin was busy working some gear in the rock I sat and watched the moon and waves. The swell was clean and broke in great sprays on the rocky ledges. Better still, with a seaward breeze all morning the rock was in great condition. The Bookshelf is one of the few crags that you can sit with your feet dangling practically in the water. It may be a very short face but the scenery and location more than make up for it:
After checking the placements and giving a few pointers, it was time to get on the pointy end. The great thing about this place, is that unlike most others in the SW of WA the low grade climbs have heaps of gear, which make them great for a trad intro. The one rule of the day was to stitch each climb up:
As the first lead was being finished the morning sun was hitting the top of Willyabrup and I noticed through the morning a fair few people milling about on the top. Reckon it’d have been a busy day there but we had this little crag all to ourselves:
After a successful first lead and belay set up, I suggested Justin check the crag out (without the guidebook) and pick a line that he liked the look of. He seemed to be drawn to the far end where the wall was that bit higher and also a tad steeper. His eyes were fixed on One Too Many, which proved yet again to be aptly named:
While I did wonder about his choice, as I knew it was double the grade of the first lead, but again it had a heap of gear opportunities. So with a bit of encouragement to keep placing gear he made his way up and a couple of times rapidly back down this line. The gear was good and held when it needed too, and eventually he topped out:
Another great thing about the Bookshelf is that you get heaps of practice setting up belays, and as the morning wore on Justin was getting quicker at them. The only problem with that being that he would be up for the next lead, after all he did come down to learn trad and that can only be done by leading:
After taking a bit of a hiding on his chosen climb I picked the next few leads. Carefully selecting lines that were never too hard but for which the gear was a bit more fiddly to place due to the stances. He made short work of them and was clocking up some good leads, placing solid gear:
I eventually steered him to what I reckon is one of the best routes here. It was a bit more sustained but not as hard as his second lead. The climb probably felt harder as I kept ‘suggesting’ it was time to get another, and another, and another piece in. His arms were definitely starting to tire on this line:
So for one last climb I led a route and let him have a relaxed second, as the sun was swinging round to hit the main face. That meant it was time to call it a day and plod back up the hill to the carpark where, as suspected, there were a heap of cars and even more coming in as we drove out:
It would seem that Justin has been totally taken in with trad and is super keen to get back out and place more gear. My work for the day was done and another person has been converted!
Sandbagged 