Dan finally made it over from Melbourne to visit his family, and as is the usual custom we took the opportunity to organise a day out on rock. This time Jo stayed in Melbourne busy with work. His trip to the west has been an on again, off again situation for the obvious reasons and as such it was not until we knew he was able to travel that we discussed our plans. In view of his only annual opportunity to climb here I allowed him the choice of crags. I was a little was surprised to find out that he had never climbed at Bobs Hollow, which was where we decided on:
Not catching up to climb with Dan too often, we are lucky if it is once a year, I decided not to put the trip out there on the wider group. Although I was conscious that Howsie would be keen for a trip here, to continue on his 2021 challenge. So he and Mikey were set to join us, but after a rough week at work Howsie had to bail. Mikey was still keen so we were going to head out with three, which isn’t a bad thing at this steep pumpy crag. With three it allows a bit more of a rest between climbs. As it was Tomski was also seeking a trip out and at the nth hour he became part of the crew making it four again:
Mikey, Dan and I met in Capel at 4, an early start for a few reasons. This place is a bit further away and has a 40min walk in; when the sun hits it at around 11 the climbing becomes uncomfortable for most; and lastly and probably the key driving factor being to avoid the crowds. With no international travel, the folk that would normally head to Thailand have been using this place. The popularity of the steep sport climbing cliff has shot up and I’ve seen as many as 40 plus people here, and for a crag with less than that many climbs it can feel too busy:
On the drive down Mikey and Dan made their introductions, the last time they had met was probably at the PCYC a decade or more back. Both are mentioned in my write ups about the main people I have climbed with in the South West, and now seems a good opportunity to share a link to my post about those people: https://sandbagged.blog/2020/04/21/south-west-climbers/. Tomski was parked up at the head of the walk track when we arrived and in the cool morning, with just enough light to see the track, we hiked in. The sky was cloudy and a very slight drizzle fell on us for a brief moment as we approached, but was soon over never to return:
We arrived to an empty crag, but the signs of people to come were there, a few routes were equipped. Draws hung from the bolts of two lines, but at 22 and 25 these were not lines we aimed to start on or possible even consider. During our discussion Dan had hinted 22 was the top grade for the day and based on this I had given him a list of routes I felt were worthy, eight all up. He wandered along the crag taking it all in, after all Bob’s is a mighty and impressive place. Meanwhile Mikey got straight down to business and jumped on Thyeses Feast. He had been keen to try it, driven by brotherly competitiveness as Howsie (yes his brother) had mentally struggled on the finishing moves during his 2020 challenge. And never got a clean ascent:
Dan was a bit slower starting, and didn’t leave the deck until Mikey was on the way back down after a successful ascent, and of course I simply had to take a video of this for Howsie (see below). After checking out the crag Dan hadn’t picked any lines to have a go at so I directed him towards Right Fin, the first route on the replanned list I had made. He took a steady pace up the initial easy corner getting used to the rock and after the first steep bugle he sat in a big cave. Taking in the view and allowing his arms to recover before the final push, which didn’t present him any trouble:
Tomski followed Mikey and a bit like last week at Wilyabrup, while not a completely new rock for him it would be a new experience. He had been here before but we were hitting some harder and steeper lines than he had previously attempted. As we are coming to know, he is not one to give up and so he again proved in bucketful’s today. The intention was for him to second up the first route, but Mikey accidently pulled the rope. So it was Tomski headed up on lead. My intention was not to lead anything today allowing Dan all the glory and being happy to relax with a rope above me, but the temptation got the better of me:
So after I also lead and then cleaned Right Fin, Dan and I hit Constructive Vandalism. While Tomski battled onwards. He made it to the final steep wall in good style, but the overhung, powerful and pumpy final section wore him down after repeated attempts. Before Dan or I could offer to clean the line Mikey was heading back up, and got a clean lead again. It could have been to rub Howsie’s nose in it even more, but Mikey claims he wanted to try the left hand finish. It’s the way I climb it, and he too found it a more secure way to finish the route:
The place was still empty but as Mikey headed up Right Fin the first person arrived. He said he was with a crew of six, and it took a while before they all arrived. Stuart the first guy to arrive obviously speed marched the walk track, leaving his mates for dust. Mikey polished off his route and Dan climbed Dependence Day, again making use of a big cave to kick back and take in the view of the ocean. And only then did the second person from that party arrived. Julian recognised me and had to enlighten me as to where we had met. He had once come along to my wall with Ash and smashed every problem I pointed him towards:
My memory of Dependence Day was that it was hard, sustained and had a powerful finish. I pondered my options and this time I accepted a top rope, and only afterward questioned if I should have led it. It, or was it me, climbed really well and the route wasn’t half as hard as my memory had led me to believe. I too took refuge in the big cave, and man that view is good. The holds today felt good. Some are starting to get slippy not from moisture but wear and all the chalk that people use. Too many people climb with way too much chalk and coat the rock, filling in any pores resulting in any friction being lost:
Today both Dan and I rarely used chalk, and there were only a handful of times did we dip into the bag and even then sparingly. The conditions were that good today, dry but also cool. As I was preparing to rap back down Tomski was this time climbing with the rope above him, so I hung on the rope for a while and watched. Also Stuart was being belayed by Julian up Magnus the Robot Fighter. This route was on the list I had put together for Dan and is the same grade as Dependence Day, jumping on it cold is a tall order. One Kym had set me many years back when I had failed at the anchors, and today Stuart failed to get to the anchors despite being tantalisingly close:
This did make me wonder about the route and whether I was up for it. I’ve climbed it once since with Rongy and again it had me beat, the sustained pumpy nature wore me down even quicker that time. Before heading back down I watched Tomski battling the bulge offering some advice and encouragement. He had again managed the lower wall, but was really struggling with this steeper more overhung stuff. It comes down to technique and confidence, but when your arms are beat both are hard to muster up. And try, try and try as he did the battle against the bulge was over:
As more people turned up we got into tickety tick mode, as Kym would say. I cleaned Right Fin to allow Mikey to save some strength for other routes. That wasn’t however until after Dan, after watching Julian attempting Hollow Promises, decided to have a go. At a lofty grade 25 it was ambitious. He set off confidently, making it to the crux sequence and looked calm and relaxed. From there it looked like a series of sharp fingery holds came next, and they all had to be gained dynamically. After one attempt he declared he would come down, but I rallied the crowd and they all agreed he should try again. It looked promising but it was too tough and this time I lowered him back down, and he was rightfully happy with where he got to:
They then attempted to encourage me to have a bash. I was however contemplating my nemesis and decided to go for it Carmen, one of the crew of six and had just climbed it. And watching her more focused and fluid approach to the climb made me think that I would be OK on it. She almost faltered at the crux but we all encouraged her to keep going, which she did. Coming back down after the successful ascent Carmen questioned whether it was a real clean lead, as she had sat in a big cave that is on route. We all agreed that it still counted, after all Dan had used the same approach twice today and there was no hint from any of us that he had “cheated”:
I’m pleased to say that I managed Magnus the Robot Fighter without too much worry, even the final holds felt good. But I did take a moment in that cave too, to look out and enjoy a view that I will never tire of seeing and prepare for the next stage. Sadly I forgot to carry my camera up so there is no image of what I was lucky to see from there. After that Mikey hit Constructive Vandalism and was super happy when he got that one clean too, he was on a roll and climbing well. Tomski also got up this route… eventually. This one is steep most of the way but he was determined not to give up and must have been shattered when he finally got there:
Dan and I successfully attacked Black Lung, and as we continued to hit routes more and more groups were turning up. Nearly all were walking past us to the southern end, which was now being hit by the sun. Dan munched on some food but I had ants in my pants and felt like I had to keep moving or throw in the towel for the day, so I ran up and self-cleaned Puk Puk Sen. Meanwhile Julian successfully got up Hollow Promise, on his second attempt of the day. While it was a clean lead he still had a bit of a hissy fit, because he hadn’t been able to clip both anchors. This became the next topic for debate and we agreed it still counted and told him to stop whinging. Mikey was pleased with that as he did the same thing just minutes later, as he got up Black Lung:
Sport climbing and the ethics therein are a fickle topic, and it was fun having those debates. Before Mikey had climbed Constructive Vandalism, I had badgered him about pink pointing the route when there was a hint the guys already on it would leave the draws in for him. I didn’t mentioned, and no one noticed that this was how I led Magnus the Robot Fighter. It’s all about fun at the end of the day, and a bit of heckling is a good thing. Tomski decided not to climb Black Lung, so I cleaned that one before we trouped down to the southern end, hoping that the twenty odd people down there were not occupying all of the lines. We were lucky and they were mostly split into two groups, each huddled round one line each:
Dan was drawn towards one of the crag classics, Shaved Cat, while Mikey plumped for the fun Juggernaut. We had to wait for a couple to finish on our route before we started, and it was in full sun as we approached midday. It certainly felt warm and there was a sting to the sun, but that didn’t stop Dan. He was however happy to call it the last climb, as his forearms started to cramp on this route. I was more than happy to have a rope above me on this one, and even more so when a line of Processionary Caterpillars (like the ones I included in my post Battling the Elements: https://sandbagged.blog/2021/03/10/battling-the-elements/) were marching up the side of the flake where all of the holds were. It’s best not to touch these as their hairs will penetrate your skin and it can be very irritating:
Mikey was going fine making good use of all the caves on his route, then as he had to exit the relative comfort of them and climb the open face three things happened. The sun hit him, he kinda went off route and then his arms flaked. Taking his first fall of the day, just as he reached the next bolt. He’d runout of draws on the side he wanted to get one from, struggling to reach the ones on the other side he didn’t managing too before his arms gave way. He got it on the next attempt and polished off the route, I feel like he too was toast and ready to call it a day. While Tomski was heading up for the last lap of the day, Dan had scooted to what we had seen from all those caves we had sat in today:
I joined him and it felt wonderful to fully immerse into the cool, crystal clear waters. The ocean was flat today, Mikey and I both felt it would have been the perfect day to have brought the snorkel gear. But time was not on our side and after this route we knew we had to make tracks. As Tomski battled his way up, Dan and I kicked back in the cool waters watching. Waiting until he neared to end before we got out and made our way back up, all refreshed and feeling cool. We packed the gear and said our goodbyes leaving some 30 plus people to carry on climbing, as the sun started to creep round soon to dispel any lingering shade:
It was a hot walk out. There was hardly a breeze in the air and the heat seemed to get trapped on the track especially when it was carved through the higher vegetation. To the west that view we had seen from the caves was constantly there, only disappearing when the vegetation went above head height. Before the last stretch we stood there for a while taking in the stunning colours. Below a long perfectly white sandy beach stretched out with maybe ten people on it. It was amazing that the place wasn’t overrun, and my guess is that many people are waiting for next weekend and then they will be down in droves:
Not only will it be the long Easter weekend but also the start of the school holidays. About ten cars were at the head of the walk track from where the climber walk in and I dread to think how many may be parked here next weekend. So much so that I am unlikely to head out and instead have other plans. Today had however been a storming trip, everyone had worked hard and really enjoyed themselves. In perfect conditions we clocked up seventeen leads between us, which is pretty impressive for Bobs. Dan and I made plans as we drove back, and hopefully this time next year I’ll be able to pop over and visit Dan and Jo so they can take me round some east coast crags:
Sandbagged 