Saturday 24th August was Global Climbing Day so it was only right to get out for a climb. However, despite the best endeavours from quite a few of the local crew the numerous plans that were hatched eventually ended with only one option. I had hoped to manage two trips out, one in the morning to crank on the steep Welly Dam quarry routes followed by a more relaxed afternoon in the sun session on chilled lines at Castle Rock ending with nosh in Dunsborough (which would entice Lisa to come). As it was the one option ended up being to stay at home:
There was one person who was grateful for this outcome. Rongy had set off the weeks’ discussion about options for heading out on the weekend, and it all started with he and I agreeing on a trip out on Saturday afternoon. That was until he realised that he was going to be covering someone’s shift at work. So when all options for climbing on Saturday were exhausted, Rongy and I decided to head out to Kym’s favourite spot in our SW corner of WA… the Northern Blocks of Wilyabrup. The obvious warm up climb had to be Banana Split:
Now as the image above and below show the sun was already high in the sky. Rongy had come off a long week at work and was keen for not such a silly start. We have had some crisp cold mornings, as we move from winter into spring, which he was also keen to avoid. So we didn’t start the first route until 9:30 and so started the usual lead for lead, and for my turn I took the floppy end on Corpus Delecti. I used to come here quite often and have done most of the routes numerous times, but since Kym has left my visits here are not as regular:
Now for the more observant you will have noticed that while I said we were going lead for lead, Rongy is in fact leading the second route. Going back a few steps, I think I jinxed myself when Wiggins mentioned a solo Saturday morning trip to Welly Dam. I asked if he wanted a BB, which got a little discussion going on the local WhatsApp group. It’s term we used in the UK for a non-climbing person who is taken to the crags merely to belay, and hence becomes the belay bunny. The relevance of all this being when I got to just below the point shown below my arms flaked:
Now when I say flaked, they got super pumped to the point they were painful. I yoyo’d the section a few times but couldn’t bring myself to run out the last 4/5m above the cam that is well below Rongy’s feet. I can’t recall the last time that I have been so pumped out on my first lead, and this occurred after warming up on a second. So I decided that today I really would be the BB, allowing Rongy to enjoy the leads. The only difference being that I did second every route. So after following him up the third line was one of my routes Trust Your Instincts:
It’s an apt name as I was doing exactly that by becoming the BB. While Rongy has climbed here a few times, his last trip to this area was many years back and in addition there are a number of routes that he had not done before. This was one. He was climbing strongly, making short work of the steep headwall. The top of this climb was knocked off, something I discovered in January of this year when I came here to top-rope solo. Having been up it again today I reckon the top out has been made a tad easier and so has also knocked a grade of the line:
Next up was another new one for Rongy, and one of Kym’s routes that he had kindly offered up the first ascent to Wiggins back in January 2015. Graciousness, as Wiggins’s aptly named the route, is one that gives me grief. The lower slab is reasonable but getting established on the right arête is far from a cake walk. Back then we climbed it more on the arête but Rongy found a cheeky and (for him) easier way up the middle of the wall before stepping across. So was this another line at the Northern Blocks that may be now be considered over-graded:
It was certainly feeling a bit toasty, there was no wind and we were pretty well in full sun. The scare of cold early mornings is soon going to be a thing of the past and the tell-tale signs are coming out to prove it. Flowers are starting to bloom, bringing the expected buzz of the bees. I also came across my first king skink of the season, he was however a little shy and scuttled off under some shrubbery. Not hidden enough for me not to see him, but hidden enough to avoid the lens of my camera:
Due the late start, time was ticking by but Rongy was climbing so well that it seemed silly not to get just one more route in. The chosen line being the excellent Use No S.L.C.D.’s, again not proving too much of a challenge for Rongy who was on fire. We had brought all the gear down at the start of the session, so I decided to carry up as much as I could on a sling. This weighed me down and forced me to dig that bit deeper, as I occasionally grunted to get past the tricky sections. While Rongy had made it look easy it is still a solid and like the others a very fine route:
Now in a recent email I made quite a big thing about needing to “even things up”, however today seeing I was not leading I was more than happy with the five great lines that we had bagged. We did however rap back down one more time. For me so I could carry the last bits back up the access track, and for Rongy so he could collect some sea anemone for his work. If you look carefully you can see him hopping across the rocks, just in time to avoid the waves that were racing towards him. Then eventually with bags packed it was time head out:
Despite having been a BB for a day, it was a great session and we both had an awesome time. Maybe last weekend’s trip out to Eaglestone Rock with Craig took more out of me than I realised, still there are no regrets as sometimes it is nice to take the back seat and enjoy the lines with the safety of a line above you. I got home to another sign that springs is on its way, this little bobtail was waiting for me on the driveway as I pulled up. With the warmer weather more climbing options also come, so I need to get on my wall more often to build up my stamina:
Hope you all enjoyed Global Climbing Day, better put the date in your calendar’s for next year if you missed it this time round!
Sandbagged 