With 2021 rolling in, Howsie must have been feeling the need to get a bit fitter to prepare him as best possible for the challenge of attempting all of the grade 21s in the South West. I say this as he suggested that we rekindle the early morning before work climb, up at Welly Dam. A few were interested and as such another WhatsApp group has been set up, with the first session starting at 5am this morning. Attending on Howsie’s quest for more stamina, were Rongy and Jake. Together they enjoyed the call of the Red Tailed Cockatoos, as they knocked off six climbs before needing to get to work:
So why did I not join them, there are several reasons. First and foremost during my two week break I had probably indulged in both bouldering on my wall and climbing outdoors a little too much. I knew this as my shoulder was telling me to ease off or risk needing to take a forced break from climbing. Also Ash had put out a call and was keen to head to Wilyabrup on the same day to have a first bash at trad lead climbing. This would mean lower grade routes and a far more relaxed pace. Finally seeing it is the summer school holiday and Lisa is off, I had already taken the day off and had the time for a longer morning out:
So it was that I drove out at 5am to head south, thinking of the boys as they just about to start cranking hard at Welly Dam. As I approached Ash’s place I needed to check my phone to see where he lives and only then noticed a message. Ash had awoken with a blazing headache and was also dealing with the aftermath of a pooch who had had an accident of both the number one and two variety. So after a brief chat it was decided that I would head down without him, which was OK due to both Tomski and then Dean having indicated they wanted to join us for the morning out. So I was sure I would have someone to climb with:
Arriving at the carpark there was no sign of Tomski. I later found out he had been out climbing for the last two days at Wilyabrup and Bobs Hollow, and having been in the mid to high thirties these two sessions had taken their toll on his body. Resulting in him not making it out today. Dean however rocked up bang on time, and saved the day. It has been a while since Dean has climbed, the last time was when he I came to Wilyabrup in November 2018: https://sandbagged.blog/2018/11/12/the-guns-of-navarone/. Neither of us could recall what we climbed back then, so seeing he hadn’t climbed for so long I decided to stick to the original plan that I had laid out for Ash of a few low grade routes:
We started on Tom Thumb, and as you will see from the images today I was breaking in a new rope. Ash has started to make mats using old retired ropes, and I decided to hand over all my old ropes that have seen rather a lot of action. It was good timing that the supplier I usually use was having a sale recently, and I picked up a 60m single for a mere $140. In fact the deal was so good I bought two, and today was the day to break at least one of them in. You may also notice that I am missing a belay device, as Dean followed me up. He hasn’t got one so while he used mine I made use of an old school Italian (or Munter or Crossing) Hitch:
Tom Thumb was followed by Thunder Thighs (above) and then Orryjohn (below). Despite the long duration between putting on the sticky boots Dean seemed to be following me up each route without any noticeable concerns or issues. Each route has a tricky section and even on these he looked to pull it off, although he did confess afterwards there was a moment or two when he thought he might have fallen off. One of the issue with an Italian Hitch is it tends to twist the rope, that added to the fact that it is new rope might have resulted in the rope work being a bit messy:
However, I was pleased to report that the rope behaved and hardly knotted. I had flaked it out several times the night before and after each route we coiled it and laid it out carefully, as can be seen above. On one occasion Dean coiled it from the centre and that did result in a few knots, but nothing that couldn’t be managed. Each route I picked, while low grade, had something a little different and it was fun watching Dean figure the varying techniques out. The move that seemed to make him breathe the heaviest was strangely enough on the easiest line of the day, as he was working his way up and out of the chimney on Orryjohn:
I guess just like Seafood Extender last weekend down at Smith Beach, it again shows how truly traditional style climbs can be, and often are, over graded because most climbers these days are not used to the techniques. We almost had the place to ourselves. The only other people we saw was a party of two, who rocked up while we were on our second route, and were top roping on the Inner Space Wall. It felt good to have a quiet crag again after all the busy periods since the pandemic started and places like this became instafamous. Maybe it was the heat and flies that was keeping them all away today:
Our fourth route was Hope and at the crux Dean looked to be stumped. Without weighting the rope he then down climbed, had a think and worked his way up with relative ease. It certainly felt hot at the top of Hope and we were dreading the walk out, the other party were already packing up but we were both keen for one more route. I offered Dean a lead on a bolted route, as he has led sport routes in the past. I could tell he was seriously considered it, but finally said he would be happy to follow me up one last route. With that we set our sights on First Climb because it is long, fun and more importantly a slab. This meant we could climb out with packs, taking away the sting of walking back up the crag with packs and not Dean not having to worry about his arms giving up on him:
While we didn’t find a python on the flake of Hope, as I was really hoping to, we did get to watch a pod of dolphins frolicking in the waves. There were also no King Skinks, again which I had hoped to see, but we did find an emaciated Bobtail that I found probably a little too fascinating. All is all it was a cracking morning out and like the last time we climbed together we managed five great lines, three of which we repeated from the last trip not that either of us were aware of it. It was however now time to head out and when we reached the cars it was a cool 33 degrees. Walking out we agreed that Dean needs to get out a bit more regularly, and next time he hinted that he would have a crack at leading Setting Sun:
Sandbagged 