A year back Rongy would have been one of the regulars to join me on my weekend adventures, but of late life has got in the way. Today however after months of not having touched real rock he was free and keen. In deciding where to head I had noted of Steve’s recent suggestion of a place north of Bunbury, so he didn’t have as big a drive from Perth. Taking this into account Boomer Crag was the destination, but we never actually made it there even though it was a mere five minute walk away:
Just next to where we usually park there is a small crag. I’ve played on the four routes on this little wall before but Rongy hadn’t. He confessed each time he had looked at it on previous visits here the routes had looked a little too serious. For this reason plus the fact that a couple more routes had popped up on this wall, we began our mornings climb at what is known as Spring Grove Farm Cutting. The short 10m wall comprises a hard light grey granite, and the name gives away the reason for the vertical blast drill holes:
Until today I only knew this as a sports crag. But on checking The Crag before today’s visit I noticed it now has seven routes some of which are bashed in carrot routes, others have more modern glue in bolts and one is an unlikely trad route. The compact granite offers no cracks or features in which to place any protection, the only option being the drill holes. On first inspection, and as we looked up and down what was left of the hole, we were a little suspicious that any gear would be token at best and unlikely to hold a fall:
That was until Steve popped in a cam low down to test the theory. Steve was a little wobbly today and Rongy was not as convinced by the test placement as I was, so I took the lead. The pure novelty of the placements by themselves made this climb so worthwhile, and I was like a kid in a candy store as I giggled and laughed myself senseless each time I placed a piece of gear. As it turned out we reckon it was probably the best and most consistent line on the wall and lucky we had three cams big enough to fit, providing enough protection to make it sane:
The level of trust in each piece depended purely on how much of the drill hole was still intact. There needed to be a minimum of half left and the more the better, and this drill hole was intact enough in sufficient spots for the cams to be nestled in and look secure enough for me to move upwards. The top piece was the shallowest, but gave me enough confidence to top out. Interestingly, and we still don’t really know why, but after using it on this route the cam seized up and later on when I needed to use it again this made things a little exciting:
For the next line Rongy jumped on lead, and picked a bolted line. This one ascended the arête making use of two drill holes both of which were fully intact at the top, making for some fun photography. These features also made for some interesting and different climbing techniques that we don’t normally get the chance to experience. Side pulls, chicken wings and varied other moves were common today making use of the edges of the smooth frictionless sides of the drill holes:
Having now realised the potential to use cams, and I honestly do not know why I hadn’t thought of this on previous visits here, I started to look at the other drill holes. I found one which looked to be deep enough and was also independent from the existing bolted lines. It was on this route that I discovered one of our three cams, of a suitable size, was seizing up. Trying to place it was a pain. Fortunately the grade wasn’t too serious allowing me a good stance to make sure it was OK, or so I thought until it popped out as I topped out:
No matter the first ascent of Three Piece Suit was under my belt! Then it time to hand Rongy the lead and he plumped for another fun bolted line. Steve wasn’t in the best of head spaces and only followed up two lines. He did however hang about to enjoy the fresh air and company as he pottered about and helped out with a belay or two. One thing we just couldn’t understand was why for this small hunk of rock they had to place so many drill holes when they blasted it to make way for the road. It felt excessive but we were also glad as it provided us with a very cool playground:
I couldn’t contain myself and kept looking at all the drill holes, and found another one that looked deep enough and was again independent of all the existing lines. The only issue being this one looked steeper and more devoid of potential holds on the faces, and we only had two cams that fitted and worked. There was only one way to find out so I went up, and it was another great route. The most technical yet and with only two pieces of gear making the runout top section very exciting. So became the next first ascent of the morning, Two Piece Suit, with Rongy making the second ascent that I captured on film and also proving he sometimes uses chalk:
Steve decided to leave us and head home to get himself sorted as I was about to launch up the route above. And after that there was only one route left for us to bag, other than a scrappy looking line that went up the broken rock to the left of where Rongy is climbing which we both decided wasn’t worth the effort. We had struggled with deciding on the grade for the second first ascent, and I gave Rongy a hint that what was coming up would help us decide. The last line is recorded as the hardest here, but that isn’t evident until the last three meters when the crux hits you:
Howsie, sorry to say we didn’t pull all the cotton bush that we saw, it was rife across the area and ready to seed. Rongy’s last lines was bolted but with classic bashed in carrots, and some may be asking what does that mean. Well you get a bolt and grind the shaft so it is tapered. Then you drill a hole in the rock and literally hammer the bolt in, often resulting in bolts that are bent or don’t go very deep, and on occasion snap during installation. I’m pleased to report this technique is no longer used but many routes, such as this one, still have these bolts. All this may not sound very reassuring, but climbers are a strange beast who at times simply Gotta Have Faith:
Sandbagged 