With semester one at the University of Western Australia done and dusted, there was a two week window of opportunity to get Lou back on rock before she would once again be immersed between the pages of some book or glued to her laptop. She had come along for a boulder session at our place just last week at which she claimed to be “weak as”. It was true and she climbed like a cabbage, so I didn’t have high hopes of getting too much done today. Seeing I was heading out with Lou it was a slightly more reasonable departure time from home, which helped me to convince Lisa to make an appearance:
The carpark was empty, but on arrival at the crag we were not alone and we found a couple wandering along the base. They were from New Zealand and had got stuck in Western Australia due to the lock downs and travel bans. Yesterday they had cycled down and then spent the night camped out. You might also notice a large boulder blocking the track, which had rolled down from the base of the Fat Chance Wall. No damage was done to any climbs, but it is a sobering reminder that even the seemingly stable rocks we hop about on at the base of the cliff can be destabilised:
We started on Tom Thumb. Today was all about trad, low grades and a bit of fun. I was also not expecting Lou to do any of the leading, nor Alan who had said he would be joining us. He rocked up just as Lou was making her way to the top of the first route, his timing I have to say was perfect. And soon all three of us were at the top of the crag. Lisa, in her usual fashion, was not climbing but instead found a comfy spot to settle into. Where she slipped between reading her kindle, watching the waves, having a bit of a chat and having a wee snooze:
It was another stunning autumn morning and the waves were looking particular impressive today. Light winds made for a smooth ocean other than for when the clean sets of thunderous waves rolled in. Lisa loves the ocean and can spend hours memorised by the sight and sound of waves. Back home we can hear them from our house, but the sound of those waves from Geographe Bay are faint in comparison the sound of these waves that come in from the Indian Ocean. We were even treated to a small pod of dolphins surfing in, but only briefly before they leisurely moved away:
Next up was Thunder Thighs, a route that I recently did with Rongy. Due to the number of times I get out and relatively small number of locations and routes I find myself climbing some lines a number of items in a short period. When the guide was published in 2016 there were 490 routes spread across nine areas, and since then there haven’t been too many more added. But when you like climbing for climbing’s sake, and don’t treat it as a sport, they never get boring. Alan came up second on this one, and seemed to be copycatting me by getting his camera out mid climb to take a few snaps:
The reason for choosing the first two routes was that they are more traditional in nature. It’s not that they don’t have bolts, more that they are not just face or cracking climbing. They are varied in features and require a bit of jamming, bridging, lay backing, under clinging along with usual crimping and jug hauling. I like climbs that mix it up, it keep them interesting and also keeps you on your toes. This route is however a bit sparsely protected, there is enough there but you have to look around and practice good rope work to avoid any drag:
The chosen routes and their grades were perfect, I didn’t seem to be wearing either Lou or Alan out and they were keen for more. That didn’t however stop the side effect of more than one climbing partner, intermission times for a bit of banter and catch-up. On this route they got a bit more time, as I also belayed one of the campers up before breaking the belay. We also noticed a fair few people wandering around the top and bottom of the crag, none of them were climbers. The lock down really is making people get outdoors to explore the local area:
Then it was back to business, we were walking down between climbs today. I felt that setting up a rap line might make it feel like there was some urgency to get more routes in. But, and some may be surprised to hear or even non-believing in the fact that, the need to cram routes in never crossed my mind. I was however quietly hoping to get four lines in and next up was Hope. As I topped out I was aware of some people sat on the top to my left, enjoying the scenery. They gave me a bit of an applause when I got up. Not something I really enjoyed and I might have come across as a bit rude in not responding to their gesture, as Lou pointed out to me:
To show it was a slightly later start and that we were moving slowly, the sun had already bathed the entire face of the climb. This made my fingertips start to sweat, but I stuck to today’s self-imposed no chalk rule and also stuck to just using wires on this route. I did have a little hope in me that on such a day we might have come across the little Carpet Python that often sits atop the flake just above where Lou is. But it was not to be today, there was however a little skink tucked deep into a crack that I was going to use for one of only four placements I used on this route:
You may have noticed that we were using my twin ropes. The main reason being that with three people it is much easier than using a single rope. With a single rope if you need to use too much for the belay, you then have to throw the rope back down for the third and it becomes a bit faffy. With two ropes it also offered Alan the ability to put a bit of competition into the day, who would coil the rope fastest. While highly entertaining I’m glad to say that this “friendly” competition only started after the third climb. That way it never got too heated and only allowed for some cheating tactics to be thought up and employed:
There’s a line which I had no recollection of ever climbing, and I couldn’t even remember if it was in the guide. I spied it as I walked in and thought it would be a good one to do today, so that is where we headed next. It looked OK from below and there seemed to be opportunities for solid protection all the way up. The middle and upper part was however a little run out. And while the tri-cam, now well below my feet, was in it just didn’t look that inspiring. None of the holds felt familiar making me a little nervous, but fortunately the moves were too hard:
Lou wandered up claiming it to be a 10, and as Alan came up last and gave it an 11. He also reckoned he found a better placement than my tri-cam so down went the wires so he could check it and then take an image, as evidence for later inspection. We looked at it later, and it may have been marginally better but we didn’t think there was much in it. Either way we all agreed it was a bold lead due to the gear, and now looking in the guide it seems that the climb is called Road Trip and is a grade harder than Hope. It’s certainly not as hard as Hope but is a far bolder lead:
The sun was almost across the entire crag, a sign that midday had snuck upon us. So we agreed that it was probably time to head out. I scrambled down after showing the campers, who had been joined by a third person, where to set up a top rope for Hope and crept up on Lisa who had found yet another very comfortable rock armchair. I gave her a bit of a start when I said hello, and she confessed that she had started to once again doze off. Now fully awake she joined us as we packed up the gear ready to haul ourselves back up to the carpark:
I lost count of how many people were out walking while we were at the crag, but it was close to double digits. The two campers were joined by a third as they started to top rope some routes, and as we walked out three more climbers were walking in. On the short gravel road back to the tarmac four cars were coming in, and the number plates made us wonder if some people had broken the regional travel bans early. From Monday more regional travel is allowed, and it is very likely that this place will be much busier meaning even more watchful eyes. Can’t say I’m looking forward to that:
Sandbagged 