It is customary for both Craig and I to provide each other with a birthday present of a day out on rock. Craig can’t claim old man status just yet but is now only one year away. So on this trip in preparation for that lofty age we had already decided to head somewhere to enjoy the simple classics. The aim being to keep the grades low and enjoy a relaxed pace. When that is the mood of the day the best place to go is definitely Wilyabrup with its longer lines:
We had considered starting on Sirius. However, our unusually leisurely arrival time of 10’ish was not late enough to allow the warmth sun to weave it’s magic on that face, so we decided to head up Glory. This is an often overlooked climb, while it was in glorious sunshine today it is hidden in the shadows of the neighbouring classic of Hope. In the image above you may notice that I was belaying someway from the top of the crag. Now I do usually like to have a good view of the second coming up but this time I went that bit lower for a different reason:
The season must be turning as today a small, maybe foot and a half long, Carpet Python lay basking on a flake. It looked like skin and bones after having slept through what has been a wet and at times cold winter. Despite both of us having a very close up and personal look and taking our time to marvel at the snake, it didn’t move once; other than the slight signs to show us it was breathing and alive. We left it to enjoy the sun and carried on to finish the line:
On top of the route there was another surprise waiting for us, half a skull. After our snake encounter I jumped to the conclusion that is was from a snake. Elseya rightly pointed out to me when I got home that it couldn’t be due to the teeth, and it is in fact a bobtails skull now sitting on a shelf at home. You’ll notice Craig’s was all rugged up in his Buffalo. Despite being in the sun it was a little cool still. The car thermometer at just after 8am, when I left home, had indicated it was only 5 degrees. So while the snake indicated seasons are turning it may be a little while more before we start our climbing days at first light:
Not surprisingly we were not the first people at the crag, it was in fact quite a busy day down here. Several crew from Perth were down, and below Pete is sampling the delights of Wilyabrup and what the SW has to offer for the first time. With a traditional climbing background from Scotland it was not surprising to see him cruise up One for the Road without any hesitation. Being was a tad too quick on the route I didn’t have the time to ensure that I didn’t include my shadow in the image. We had a chat and he picked up on Craig and my Buffalo’s stating he used to sell them back in the homelands:
Craig had eyed up Hope from the moment we got down, which is why I climbed Glory. That in was a great thing as we wouldn’t have seen the snake if I hadn’t. Unfortunately another crew had jumped on it as we were walking down, so he had to wait before he could climb it. The guys who had taken the images of us on Glory were on hope, so it only felt right to take a few images of them on Hope while I belayed Craig on another line:
This time we plumped for Sirius, still in the shade but after a climb we had both warmed up enough to venture out of the sun. Craig was hesitant offering me both pitches, but I encouraged him to have a bash at the first one. It didn’t offer him any issues and he cruised his way along the traverse line methodically not even stopping at the tricky mantle. Steve you’ll be very happy to know that despite having lost your tricam it is still is great shape and no doubt others as well as we have been using it:
Photos were being taken all round so we were lucky once again to get a few images of us on the second pitch. While the gear is round the corner the climbing on the arête and outer face is just too good to not make use of. A bit easier to do on second as you can pull each piece out without needing to look too closely at it. I however still managed on lead to stick to the arête and face for half of the route before popping round every few meters to place gear felt to be breaking up the flow of the route too much:
Before heading back down we watched Pete have a crack at Stainless Steel, not only his first encounter with Wilyabrup but he was also relatively new to the delights of bolt plates. The second plate for some reason was causing him troubles so he placed a wire over the carrot bolt. Despite managing to establish his feet on the ledge he is hanging onto, he couldn’t get in a comfy position to compose himself to go for the next bolt. Yo-yoing this move several times proved too much, I suspect the main reason being due to be wary about the wire on the bolt a foot or more below his feet:
Hope was free so Craig set off up this fine line, and decided only to use wires. We didn’t wander off to see the snake again, despite being tempted we thought it was best to leave him alone. When Craig and I originally met and did Hope for the first time together I forget who was leading, but I do remember the opposing wires on the big hanging flake. It’s something we both do every time we climbing it, instead of placing the obvious cam. I reckon there is something strangely satisfying with just using passive gear:
On the way down Mick was heading out with his group. We had a chat with him and in-between him bagging me out about the state of my previous harness and the state of my current shoes, he did say he was very happy that I had started the online conversation that had led to the recently placed line of bolts being removed from Inner Space Wall. He had heard of someone considering a new line there and had told them not too, so was pretty mad when they were placed. They walked out as we walked back down, we were not sure what was next on the list so we had a cuppa and pondered our next move:
Despite having decided to keep things relaxed, and in my head that meant nothing more than 14, something drew me to Rhys’s Rapid Retreat. I haven’t been on it for a while and was feeling OK so we agreed to do that one. It certainly is a good climb, but if truth be told having just talked about removing bolts this is a line that would benefit from a couple of bolts high up on the face. This would create a more direct and much steeper finish, instead of sneaking round the corner to finish up the slab. That said I can’t see myself ever placing the bolts:
It just so happened that wherever we climbed we did not seem to be too far from Pete trying yet another line. That said this time it was the guy Pete had come down with, whose name I forget as I type away (sorry). I watched as he tapped and tested the flaky holds of Unclaimed, as I named it when writing the guide. It is not surprising that on someone’s first use of these holds that they may seem suspect, but chatting to them afterwards they were raving about the face saying how great it was, and it really is:
We had time for one last route before we had to make a move. Craig didn’t take long to decide and went for Hitching, the route he was self-belaying himself up on my first trip to Wilyabrup twelve years back. He went for the direct start, as usual without me belaying until the first piece of gear was placed. He had in his mind the route was 16, but the guide say 14 plus an extra grade on the direct start. That said we both found the mid-section, which is both thin on holds and gear, to be more spicy than we remembered. It really is a true Wilyabrup sandbag, but also so very good:
As we walked back down we caught Pete at the headwall of Totally Awesome. He was wandering left and right at the big break and couldn’t figure out which way to go. It made us stop and think about these lines and the improbable headwall. While the topo in the guide shows the lines, as you approach the headwall on lead and then attempt it there are no clear features to follow so it is understandable that people would get confused. So due to the gear below we gave him a hint and he topped out on the holds of Inner Space with somewhat of a sigh of relief:
After another great day at Wilyabrup it was finally time to wave goodbye. The clean waves had given us a great show and the slightly off-shore wind had meant the rock was in great condition, warmed up to perfection by the afternoon sun. As we walked out we were already making plans for the next birthday present:
Happy birthday (nearly) old man.
Sandbagged 