Thursday was set to be a corker of a day, with a light wind and swell and temperatures in the low twenties. With the forecast being what it was Rongy and I decided it would be waste if we didn’t take the opportunity and head out, so I booked the day off from work. Daylight crept from the sky on Wednesday, as I drove home, and it was a glorious sunset, even more impressive than normal. Mosaic looking clouds, in glorious glowing oranges and reds. The old saying red sky at night Shepard’s delight, which really should be sailor’s delight, crept into my mind and I was hopefully for a great day out bagging first ascents:
In the morning the sky was clear, so while the light of the waking day was beautiful it was not a scratch on the sky of the evening before. Walking down the familiar path that we had trodden countless times before, we made the customary pit stop at the with toilet one of the best views you are likely to get. Then we turned off the main track and headed to the Organ Pipes. When I asked Rongy if he had a preference for the morning out, he indicated we should head to where I had a few projects waiting to be sent:
I was very surprised to find out that Rongy had never climbed at the Organ Pipes. That was however good, as I then had an excuse to jump on the more relaxed climbs while pointing him to some of the more gnarly ones. The Organ Pipes is a place for trad climbers, the lines are not always clean, they are varied in nature and there are no bolts to provide you with a safety net when the gear gets thin. This happens on a number of climbs here, more so than at any of the other crags at Wilyabrup. But to start with Dry Reach was a gentle and well protected way for me to start the day:
Rongy was happy to be at my mercy so I suggested Spraying. Despite being only two climbs in we were already warming up and it was time to shed some layers. The cold crisp morning we had expected, before the sun warmed the world up, was not so cold. The air hung a little heavy over us, with the humidity up and no breeze to keep the air flowing and moisture away. This meant that the rock has a slightly greasy feel to it, which was fine on the easier lines but I knew that might hamper some of the projects we had in mind:
The sun still hadn’t fully come over the ridge, but a few rays started to extend across the ocean lighting up the occasion boulder and the white crest of the occasional wave. There was also a strange sight that neither of us had seen, or noticed, before. A plume of mist hovered above the water extending in a narrow strip straight out from the beach. It was an eerie but calming sight, and just a bit too far away to allow the photography do it the justice it deserved. As the morning wore on and the sun made a full and proper appearance, the solitary plume of mist lifted:
My intention had originally been to only have a couple of warm up routes before we got down to some serious business. But with the slightly damp feeling rock, we felt it was worth staying on sensible routes until things dried up. That of course would only happen if the wind picked up, which it showed no sign of doing. So I took another gentle stroll up Crab Arête, the easiest line of the day. It makes use of a slightly concerning musical flake. Above the flake there is no gear, and this was the first route where we started to have to run things out:
We had set up a rap line, as scrambling down at this place simply is not worth it. You either have to walk a long way round or scramble down some horrible lose gullies. On the first rap Rongy spied the line of the crag classic, Heaven Calling, and was keen to jump on it. So that was the next route we went up and even this route toes the “Organ Pipes” line. The top flake has generous holds but no worthy gear placements. So there is a 5m runout to finish, which is fine when you are comfortable at the grade but can be unnerving if you are climbing at your limit:
So came my lead next, and I decided to bypass my more difficult project that scaled a vertical face with only smears for fingertip and foot holds. I had visions of slipping off them, and with the usual runout top section that simply wasn’t going to fly. So I jumped on a potential new route that I first discovered with Andrew. Truth be told it is a bit of a contrived line but looks inviting and as such still seemed worth doing. The bottom two thirds fell with relative ease, I knew what to expect and just got on with it. However, below the final headwall the holds felt super greasy resulting in me yo-yoing the next moves unable to commit, and pumping out:
So I handed the pointy end over to Rongy, who doesn’t get as fazed by greasy holds as much as I do. He nailed it! So become a new grade 18 route that we called Honesty Box. I have put up a post about the new routes of the day (I feel like I am giving things away here) on the CAWA forum, which is awaiting moderation. So in the interim here is the route description: This wall was climbed independent of the side walls, with an airy and exciting finish into the unknown. A great sustained line with some interesting challenges, but requiring honesty to stay on route as it is sadly easily escapable:
I have to say that while it was a little disappointing not to have bagged that line, it had been my intention to let Rongy have a go at getting the first ascent on it. That was supposed to happen after I had led my really long term project (now six years), the one for which the conditions were not right. Regardless of how it came about I’m pleased that there is now one less line that will be nagging me to get a move on and climb it so I could write it up. Despite Rongy having just led the new line, we kinda felt that it was still his turn to lead:
This was in part because the next route on our agenda, Knocking on Heaven’s Door, was a line that I established a couple of years back with Wiggins. As far as I am aware it yet to get a second ascent. The post I put up on CAWA about the new route has never had any feedback and the line has not found its way onto The Crag. So I was keen for Rongy to lead it and see what he thought of it. It took a little thinking before he committed to the crux moves and final 5m runout, which was on small crimpy holds. But did a clean job of it and without prior knowledge confirmed the grade to be spot on:
After I followed Rongy he suggested that he was pretty happy with the climbs we had bagged so far. However, while he may have been hinting that he was happy to head out, I still had unfinished business to attend. It really didn’t take much for me to get him to agree to two more lines. The first one was one that I had tried to encourage Mikey to have a go at during his 10km challenge, but he was understandably focused on meterage and so plumped for a bunch of easier options and passed up the opportunity. It was probably a good thing that he didn’t try it, as I would have felt very guilty:
The bottom slab was fine, but once I reached the headwall the gear was fiddly and also only present in the first few meters. After that I pretty well solo’d and screamed my way through every move. More out of fear of the potential long fall should a hold break off, which was made all the more plausible (in my mind) due to one having done exactly that low down while I was getting the gear in. So became The Screamer at grade 16 described as: Start as for 10K trending right up the slab before taking on the steep face. Small but good gear low down in the face is soon a distant memory, and while true to the grade with fun climbing it gets very run out (even by the Organ Pipes standards):
I was understandably feeling pretty happy with that ascent. I do however feel that I will be waiting a very long time before anyone else attempts the route. I’ll gladly hold the rope for anyone who fancies giving it a bash! We hadn’t quite finished for the day and there was still one more new route to polish off. I knew the start would be right up Rongy’s street, a bouldery roof followed by balancey moves onto the slab. It is a very committing move, and it took several false starts and I began thinking that he would wear himself out and would then not have the gumption to do it:
Eventually he figured out “the move” and plucked up the courage to make it, then being rewarded with a more pleasantly protected headwall above. And so fell project number three resulting in The Grunter at grade 16/13: Grunt your way up the bouldery moves via the break in the rooflet. Keep your composure and balance to mount the slab, with a potential ground fall for those who falter. Trend right up the slab to the narrow crack line that splits the buttress to the right of the chimney. Easier, well protected climbing awaits. The bouldery start can be avoided by accessing the slab a meter or so to the left making a more consistent grade 13 route:
The sun was moving in the sky and starting to hit the west facing rock, and it had a sting in it. It was certainly warming up and there was still little to no breeze. With that we both agreed the last two exciting new routes, both with a true gnarly traditional “don’t fall off” feelings, were a great way to finish the session. We were both extremely satisfied with our morning jaunt. So with weary bodies we shouldered the rucksacks and made out way out, but will return when the conditions are right for me to polish off that last project:
Sandbagged 