A couple of old men

Yesterday it had seriously dumped on us with squally showers and some places getting a couple of inches of rain, which for here is pretty big.  So with that in mind and multiple forecast checks during the week the obvious sensible option was to head inland away from the more exposed coastal locations.  This of course didn’t mean that we would be treated with dry rock, but at least the chance of less rainfall while we were climbing.  The morning was glorious with blue skies.  That was however at 7am and we were not meeting at the crag till 9am, another lazy winter start.  On the final part of the journey driving up to and past the dam wall the temperature was 7 degrees and the mist was rolling over the wall:

Mario was first in, he’s not been to Welly Dam for months having been stuck in Perth.  He’s also not been leading for all that time, but then he trains hard and I had a sneaky feeling that having been off rock wasn’t going to be much of an issue for him.  Steve rolled in next and we stood about, all rugged up, no one making any hasty movement to rack up and get cracking.  So when I saw a roo munching on the roadside I pulled out my camera and went to take a few snaps.  In all the times I have climbed here I have seen plenty of roos on the drive in and out but never at the crag before.  Then as the sound of a car came along it hopped off:

The fourth arrival was Alan, and still we all stood round chatting.  The sun was poking over the wall and was helping to lift the mist but not the temperature, as we continued to stand there.  Many of the walls looked wet, the black steaks were slimy and the grass felt spongy underfoot with water sitting on top of it in places.  The sponge was oozing water over the footpath and onto the carpark.  Here it formed a river that ran downhill towards the access road and bush.  And still we stood there chatting.  After taking some more snaps, and seeing there was no active move from the others to get started I made the first move:

It was a bit of a tough call as to what to start on, something not too hard or wet.  But with recent trips here I also didn’t want to repeat any of the lines I’d been on recently, so for better or worse I decided on Victim of Authority.  The rock was cold and it was hard to tell if the holds felt bad because they were wet or was it just me struggling due to a lack of feeling in my fingertips.  I flailed about getting past the first bolt but then got into a rhythm and managed the rest of the climb.  I did however occasionally, and quietly, curse myself for picking what is a weird and tricky lead:

Alan and Steve were not so keen on the big walls.  So as Mario belayed me up my poorly thought out climb, they went to the carpark slab which slowly on became bathed in sunlight.  Steve did ask me if he was OK to have a lead today, and when he said he wanted to start easy and lead The Crack how could I say no.  He finally got to play with his tricams again and I could hear the two of them chatting away in what looked like positively tropical conditions, as I battled with cold fingers.  I topped out and came down before Steve had finished his lead, which was only a third of the height of mine.  Rushing over to take a few snaps he was keen to top out, as while he was in the sun the rock was still cold to touch:

Mario rambled up my lead with relative ease, and with what might have been a sympathetic “the rock does feel cold” to make me feel better about the style of my lead.  I was right he was going to be climbing strong.  He was however keen to pick a sensible second climb, and went for a Walk in Central Park.  He practically ran up the route, not even stopping at the larger holds to contemplate the slightly runout and fingery crux moves.  Before tying in to follow him up I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye.  Something told me the conditions today would provide a good opportunity to see, a few more than usual, birds.  Sure enough a number of Scarlet Robins (above) and Splendid Fairy Wrens were out:

Now that I had seen the birds, suddenly the sound of them became more evident too.  As the quarry filled with the sound of them, they had to compete with the babbling of Alan and Steve.  They were taking a long time to get between routes, there was certainly no urgency in there mood or movement.  We had left the rope up on our first route, upon Alan’s request and they were stood at the base chatting away.  In fact they had only just begun to take on the challenge as Mario and I were finishing up on route number two.  We interrupted their banter to ask about our second route, and they were again keen for us to leave the rope up:

I had to include the image above, I included an image of a single one of these mud wasp nests in a previous post about a top rope solo mission here.  While it is probably not an unusual sight, I can’t recall ever seeing such a large collection of them.  Also if you look closely there are a couple of them which have not been evacuated, and one from which it looks like the wasp was just starting to emerge.  It was very slow progress if it was, and I didn’t see it get any further.  A bit like Alan, as he battle up Victim of Authority.  Through determination he did eventually conquer the route but it was a real struggle.  Once he managed to get up Steve promptly, and without a hint of hesitation, said he’d give it a miss.  It seems to be a line that many people would rather avoid:

Mario and I soldiered on as Alan was inching his was up, almost stopping at after each move and hanging on to every hold for ages.  I had hinted earlier on about jumping on Just Do It, in part due to being one of the routes here that will be the last to get wet.  With a nice capping roof above the finish it gets a bit more protection and has only one small part which water eventually runs down.  Mario was keen, and said it was a route he would preferred to have a rope above him.  I avoided the direct start, which I felt on a slightly damp feeling day would be hideous, but the rest fell with ease.  Even the final direct wall felt comfortable with no desperation to get the final holds to haul myself underneath the protective roof.  I think I was finally warming up, but there were no thoughts of shedding any layers:

In between climbs I would eagerly be hunting the trees and grass for birds.  Steve had mentioned he thought he had seen a robin that might have been crossed with a wagtail, which I think was the one I captured above.  It was unusual to see such a red breast with the grey head and back.  However, the tail shape and all the other markings indicate it is a Scarlet Robin.  I’m just a bit baffled with the striking red breast.  The females have some colouration but it shouldn’t be that bright, and the juveniles don’t normally have any red.  Like me on that point, I finally saw Mario stumped.  He had to stop and back off from a move to rethink it.  The final wall is thought provoking, I just know the holds and moves well enough to make it look easy:

Second attempt he nailed it, all his training was paying off for sure.  So as he was cleaning that line (above) I took time to take a few more images.  The trees were pretty well stripped bare of leaves.  This process had been greatly assisted over the last week when a couple of fierce fronts, the first of which that had brought devastation, had smashed Western Australia.  According to the calendar winter official starts in a few days, but I think it is fair to say it arrived with a bang last week Sunday.  The air was filled with the sound of the usual birds, such as the distant caws of Red Tailed Cockatoos, screeching Ring Tailed Parrots and chittering Willie Wagtails.  I also spied a few Splendid Fairy Wrens that had slowed down a bit, allowing time to get a few good images:

These little fellas or to be correct gals in this case, as the image above is of a female, never seem to sit still hopping round with boundless energy looking for tasty morsels.  A bit like Mario and I, as he was already down and had the gear set up below the next line, Ear of Fear.  The grades were going up… and as Mario started, Steve was on his way up A Walk in Central Park.  Mario again motored his way up the route, there were however a couple of tenuous moments.  He snatched for the crucial hold on the crux, and held it.  I could tell he was a bit pumped as there was a sense of urgency in his movements both there and also as he clipped the bolt above.  The same happened at the final anchors, and on both occasions he held it together and was deservedly happy to have got a clean ascent:

Steve had been struggling up his route, I think the two of them had spent so much time chatting that they never really got into the grove of climbing.  Climbing is after all just as much if not at times more of a mental than physical challenge.  I caught them once again stood chatting away avoiding putting their hands on rock, as got set up for and climbed BBQ.  I was contemplating Flight Simulator to keep the grades up, but when I interrupted their chatter to ask Steve hinted he might like to play on BBQ.  I was pleased with that decision, as it started to sprinkle just as I completed the climb.  It was just enough moisture for Mario to tell me that the holds were beginning to feel wet and less inviting, not that this stopped him:

While I mentioned climbing can be more of a mental challenge, I could hear Alan saying his arms were goosed.  That was not surprising considering how long he had been hanging on to each hold.  Steve however was countering that by saying it was because of his sloppy footwork forcing him to use his arms too much.  Alan in response suggesting that his tiring arms reduced the ability to look down and think about footwork, while Steve refuted that with the logic that his footwork had been sloppy from the offset way before his arms had got tired.  And so the banter carried on… Meanwhile Mario and I plumped for one last route to even up the leads, he was thinking either Red Alert (taking the grades back up) or Savage Sausage Sniffer (keeping it more reasonable):

I was pleased he plumped for more reasonable, and I think he may have been to.  It was just enough to polish off a top session in less than desirable conditions.  I might add that while Steve had hinted at wanting to play on BBQ, he had taken that back hinting he just wasn’t feeling that way inclined and making mention of his hand being a bit sore.  So as Mario and then I went up the last route of the day the boys, were once again deep in the art of having a chat.  We retrieved and packed up the gear, which had been spread across the crag, and were ready to head out.  But the banter continued and it took a while before Mario and then finally I left the old men to it.  As I drove off they were sat on the park bench, debating amongst other matters whether or not they should head up to café to get a coffee: