Hold still for the camera…

I wasn’t intending to head out yesterday morning, as we are coming up to silly season on more than one front at home so weekends become hectic and some things usually have to slide.  So when Wiggins put the call out for people interested to play I initially said ‘no can do’.  However, I’m very lucky to have Lisa who said I should go out.  So at a rather sensible time Wiggins, Rongy and I drove down to Willyabrup:

I got proceedings underway, and after last weekend’s enjoyment of doing things a bit differently Rongy had decided today was a kind of no active gear day.  So we only had wires and tri-cams, and going one step further we started off attempting to climb using tri-cams only.  Bearing in mind that unlike Steve we do not possess anything larger than just above an equivalent no. 1 Camelot size:

While I did lead the first line to get us warmed up, you may wonder why Rongy is belaying Wiggins up the fine line of Inner Space.  Well seeing we had three I once again had the chance to get a few more angles for images.  So I dashed down to grab some gear to get into position for Rongy’s lead.  Getting back just in time to watch Wiggins negotiate the final steep headwall all smiles:

The waves were clean and crisp out to sea but closer to land it was more of a white boiling mass.  Light winds and a slight offshore were working in our favour today.  It certainly feels like the change of season is bringing more favourable conditions.  While the first line had a slight damp feel, we had a good feeling that conditions would only improve as the morning wore on.  That was going to be pretty important for Wiggins lead:

Rongy kept up the tri-cam only approach.  Like me he only took tri-cams up so there was no ability to be tempted to slip in wires in those places that we knew from past experience were just perfect.  This meant that we had to hang onto the holds that bit longer fiddling in the gear, which is probably not a bad thing.  We have many of these lines dialled and so it was good to slow us down so we could appreciate them that bit more:

Totally Awesome is very well named, and the middle portion in particular has very fine climbing.  Watching Rongy lead it from this angle allowed me to see another way to get through the gnarly upper section in what looked to be a slightly less intense way.  Truth be told on this section the use of tri-cams didn’t really slowing him down, which is probably a good thing:

Then after having to place some gear deep in the wide horizontal it was time to ascend that headwall one more time.  Two lines down and we still had the place to ourselves, despite the relaxed kick off time.  As Wiggins followed up he was not looking he usual smooth and focused self, and it transpired that in his mind we was already climbing the moves on the next route:

It was time to pack up the gear and move down towards Steel Wall.  Before we got climbing Rongy was keen to check out the routes to the north of the Stormcock Area, in particular Welcome to Arapiles.  This area does not have many routes and he soon saw why, it’s a bit choosy and ledgey.  Even Welcome to Arapiles didn’t really grab him, so we went back to Steel Wall where Wiggins was do the final mental preparations:

I scrambled about on the slabs next to the iconic Steel Wall to get myself set up and Rongy was on video camera duty in addition to belaying.  On this line Wiggins again only took tri-cams but these were only needed to for the first part, as after this Washed up Punks is a fully bolted line.  This time you could see he was more smooth and focused, taking his time and being very deliberate with every move:

Even when he was clipping each bolt he was looking ahead and preparing for the next move. Hardly even looking at the bolt or where the rope had to go.  He’d been on this line a few weeks back and had worked the moves in preparation for attempting his first clean ascent.  Today you could tell he knew what he was doing and he was certainly looking confident and calm:

This route is not the hardest on the wall, but is arguable one of the finest due to its sustained nature.  The steep wall, slightly overhung in places, doesn’t let up and while the handholds are mostly positive they are small, with the need for big moves in-between them.  Watching Wiggins climb is inspiring due to the way he can hang in a position and chill out, even when that position is pumpy and exposed:

He got the ledge under the final headwall and took a rest before taking on the final moves.  After all that finger strength sapping steep climbing the final headwall looked relatively benign with descent holds and only a few moves required.  But getting established requires a bit of grunt and then focus to keep the arms from pumping.  On those last moves after a long route even large holds start to feel insecure:

With one last move to get the glory jug he knew his arms were spent and for the first time on the route he spoke some words to indicate he was coming off.  Despite Rongy and I shouting encouragement for him to go for the last move he seemed to just fall back, and just like he had climbed the whole route even during his fall he was completely relaxed and calm:

After a decent rest he jumped back on and topped out with what looked like relative ease, making me wonder why he had given in taken the fall.  Regardless of the final slip it was a solid lead and hats off to Wiggins.  He was all good with it and simply said he knew that he could do the route, and just had to build up his stamina a bit more to be able to make a clean ascent:

I rapped back down and sat halfway down the wall to watch Rongy work through the crux sequence.  It’s at an overhung section, both hands are on a crimpy rail and you have to smear your feet and make a long reach up to a couple of slightly bigger crimpy holds.  It looks like, and feels like, a big move.  Us shorties have to work that a little harder at this section and Rongy does a bit of a dynamic move to get through it:

Before getting back down I couldn’t resist checking out Steve’s insitu gear, it looks like the pin in starting to rust but I’m sure it still gets used.  Then it was my turn on the big line, which I have only been on a couple of times many years back.  I was somewhat nervous and can safely say my arms felt like lead and my finger tip were on fire as I worked my way up.  When I topped out I flopped on the ground exhausted and hurting, it was a top lead by Wiggins:

There was time for one more climb and while I had earlier suggested Fishing with Dynamite using just tri-cams.  Common sense got the better of me and I lead it using the bolts that this sport line has.  It was a good call, while I managed to pull the route off it was a close call as my arms complained most of the way up.  Despite Rongy and then Wiggins also feeling the same we managed to save enough strength to carry out a few more rocks.  Rongy is setting up the newly refurbished Bunbury Dolphin Discover Centre’s marine aquariums, and each time we go out we carry a few more back:

The walk out felt warm.  Maybe it was the additional weight from the rocks we had in our packs and arms, or more likely it was the fact that there was only a very light breeze and the sun was now high in the sky.  The seasons are certainly changing, as we were lucky to spy a king skink basking on the rocks and then walking out this beautiful goanna was lazing on the edge of the walk track.  He didn’t seem to mind us even when we stopped to watch him for a bit: