The idea of climbing during the last few week have been canned due to uncertainty of whether we would get blown off the cliffs or drenched while trying to scale them. However, this week the weather forecast had remained relatively settled, something we have not had for a what seems a very long time. So taking advantage of the easterlies to send any salt spray from the waves back out to sea and warm sun Andrew, Rongy and I headed out to Moses rocks. For those familiar with the area you may notice that the main beach is somewhat narrower and lower than normal:
It is hard to gauge just how much sand has been washed away but there were rocks exposed that we have not seen before and I reckon the beach is at least half the width it has been every other time we have been here. It is worth noting that it was a very low tide today making the changed scenery even more startling. Regardless of that the sand was still soft and while it was no worries walking in we knew what that meant for the walk out after a morning’s climbing:
Rongy kicked proceedings off, with a very fine (you’ll be happy to know Steve) tri-cam only ascent of Hand’s Up. The rock had that “morning damp” feeling about it but that didn’t stop him practically running up the line. The reason I note that is that seeing there were three of us climbing I was hoping to set up on top of the crag and take some images from angles that I would not normally get the chance to. This didn’t always end with the best result as the image below indicates, he was having fun honestly:
We had decided we would stay on Hand’s Up Wall, so Andrew plumped for Gothic Streak. We felt that he had to do this one, as he had just recalled taking his daughter up the climb and at the time only having wires to protect it making it a very nervous experience. So this time he loaded himself down with the full range of gear and made use of most types. It took a little getting used to using tri-cams, as it had been a while since he had placed them, but all his placements were bomb-proof:
The black streak which is present year round, and is where the climb gets its name (am I stating the obvious?), was the wettest part of the wall. That really wasn’t a great surprise, but it was good to see it didn’t put Andrew off. Better still he kept a cool head and used good technique to avoid the, at times, slippy holds sending him flying and testing his gear:
Belaying from atop was very pleasant, the sky was a glorious blue and the ocean was clear. You could see right through the waves as they tumbled in, but unfortunately there were no dolphins to be seen. After we followed Andrew up we left him behind on top not to take in more of the glorious vista but to fiddle about with one pesky tri-cam that he had placed a little too well. I’m pleased to say that this was the only one that gave anyone any grief, and at least he could lie down on the job:
I’ve been working out on my wall and was quite content to allow Rongy, who had been away on a (non-climbing) road trip for some time and Andrew who had only just recently got back into climbing, to bag some leads. So next up Rongy decided to take on a very fine line, and one that requires a very calm approach as the first piece of gear is high up and the landing is not very inviting. Seeing he would probably push us down the slopey rocks with him we decided not to spot him. Any guesses as to what the climb is before you scroll down to the next image:
Rongy you will be pleased to know that Victor and His Boa Constrictor is graded 17, not 16 as we talked about. Now as the guidebook author/editor you would think I would know all these details, but as from discussions during the day it was evident I was losing my touch. I blame old age. Regardless of grade we all agreed that this line is very worthy and should get a heap more attention. It is a great consistent climb with very fine positions:
Rongy again used just tri-cams, as well as one bolt plate. This was good going as it is pretty airy and exposed. Speaking of exposure, you may notice the odd image is a little more grainy than ideal. Well the last time I was taking images was at a night time event, and while I had remembered to reset the exposure settings I had forgot to reset the ISO on my SLR (don’t I sound so clever). So while I thought I had a swag of great images it seems we may need to repeat today’s experience so I can take them again (um not so clever eh):
Andrew was up next and rather than wait till the end of the session when his arms may have been too tired I gently suggested he take on the crag classic. Wheely Things really is a true classic and also a little different to anything else at Moses rocks. If you can jam it is a breeze (at the grade) but if you can’t it feels really, really, really hard. Andrew has proven his ability to be unafraid of jamming, so he set off full of vigour and optimism:
It seemed that his climbing stamina is far less than what it used to be and despite giving it a good crack he had to hand the lead over. So Rongy showed us the great jamming skills he learnt during some of his overseas and interstate climbing road trips. He did confessed after finishing it that the climb was a fair bit harder than he thought it would be, and a number of the jams were a bit more technical than he had expected. Um maybe my memory failed me again and I had sandbagged Andrew:
As we wandered back down I decided that I fancied Fat Slags… the climb of course. So the boys permitted me to jump on the floppy end. Now I have to confess at this point in time that despite there being three of us only two of us had brought shoes.. Um somebody really was getting very forgetful. So another reason for me offering up the leads is that so far I had seconded all the climbs in my sandals. It made sense therefore that I tackled my lead in the same manner:
I was going really well but then at the top of the slab where it requires some serious smearing, I slipped. As I had an old pair of sandals on the soles were very worn and they failed me at the crucial moment. Yes I have an old pair to take on jaunts such as this, and a good pair for work on which the grip is far better condition. I tried a couple of times with the same result, so decided to bare all and took my sandals off. It worked a treat and I cruised past the crux scampering up the rest of the route barefoot:
We decided that one more route was required before we left, and they decided I should take on another lead. So I plumped for Many Hands, for which the guide (i.e. me) states gear can be tricky to find. So seeing it could be a little nervous on lead and the fact that bare feet worked better than sandals I started that way from the ground. Fortunately with tri-cams and Rongy’s offset micro RPs the gear was plentiful enough, and I thoroughly enjoyed the lead. I’ve always considered Moses to be a friendly crag and I found out today that it is also friendly on your (bare) feet:
There was something nice about climbing barefoot. Some might say that I have particularly gnarly and hardy soles, so I am biased in that opinion. However, Rongy followed me up both Fat Slags and Many Hands in the same naked feet fashion. I guess when you’ve climbed everything there is multiple times, and then climbed them multiple times only using passive gear you have to find the next way to spice things up… and I think we may have found it:
Everyone wanted to get in on the action so Andrew also took off the shoes and put toe to rock! Just a warning to the next person who comes to climb this route, it may have a distinctive cheesy smell about it. Now you may think that I am the one who is getting forgetful, and to an extent you are probably right. But at least I can say that it wasn’t me who forgot their shoes, you’ll have to look back at the images above to check the footwear that was used and guess who it was:
The following image is again for people who know the area, we had really low tides all morning and just like the rocks we had seen on the main beach, the second smaller beach was also had a mob of rocks and seaweed pools exposed that I have not seen before. It may have been a great day to get into the zawn but we will leave that for another day, as I am sure we will be back again in the not too distant future for some more barefoot fun:
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder… before we left we loaded our packs with rocks. Rongy is going to be setting up a big aquarium and was after some rocks for habitat. So we each took a few rocks in addition to our gear, and needless to say we all really felt our legs as we walked out on the soft sand.
Sandbagged 