Taking a break

Andrew hasn’t been out all that much in recent years and he is currently also sporting a pulley injury, which like most climbing injuries was a result of playing on the artificial stuff and not while out on the real stuff.  So for today’s foray we were after some easy grades on enjoyable lines, and I was pleased to hear he hadn’t as yet tasted the delights of Driftwood Bay.  The conditions were great cool but not too cold, a light off-shore wind, dry conditions and perfect rolling waves with trailing cloaks of white mists that lit up when the sun hit them:

In my post about the great corners of Wilyabrup last week I mentioned the limestone coating that puts people off.  Those people definitely wouldn’t like this place, being the most extensively limestone coated cliff in the south west.  That said the climbs are mostly on the clean genesis but it is hard to totally avoid making contact with this creeping grey coating.  Injuries and lack of time on real rock meant Andrew had to see how his head was feeling before he committed to a lead:

That was no issue as I love the climbs here, and plumped for Old Crate before then tackling Turkish Delight.  It still amazes me that a day of dry weather after a week of wet is enough to dry this place.  The slab on Turkish Delight may not be as steep or technical as those slabs Mario and I climbed at Mount Cuthbert, but it still requires dry conditions to be achievable.  There was no need to fret about encroaching on the black lichen covered areas that feel like an ice rink when damp, the friction was superb and I happily padded my way up:

Hanging about at the top of my second lead it was hard to know whether to watch Andrew or enjoy the spectacular view.  I kinda did both, especially watching Andrew at the sections that I knew to be a bit tricky.  The waves will often start like this and taper off as the day continues, but today they barrelled in the whole time and the wind didn’t seem to change direction.  It almost made me think we should have diverted to the Organ Pipes for a stint, so I could finally bag my long standing problem there.  Maybe next time:

Two climbs in and Andrew reckoned his head was ready to take on the psychological challenge of having the rope below him.   Crab Slab was the ideal route to test his nerve, never anything tacking but providing a consistent grade with lots of gear options to keep you safe.  It also has a section where it is hard to avoid the limestone followed by an exciting steeper finish.  While it presented no problem he tried his best to hit me with a couple of dislodged rocks and even dropped a wire on me from fifteen meters up, all of which I managed to dodge:

He enjoyed the experience so much that he was keen for a second lead, so back down we went and I had two possible lines in mind for him to pick from.  We were not in any rush and so as he sorted himself out before rapping down I wandered down to the bay to get up close and personal to the waves.  I’d been taking more notice of the wave pattern here, than I previously have.  And I realised there is a submerged rock shelf in the bay that extends out some thirty meters so the risk of a big wave coming in is pretty small:

I put that thought in the memory bank, as the shelf would make a great and slightly safer spot for snorkel in calmer conditions.  For now I scrambled back up and showed Andrew the two possible lines, and then I left him again and scrambled up towards a funky looking limestone formation I’d spotted.  A very traditional stalactite, and also a column where a stalactite had met and joined with a stalagmite.  Next to these features the limestone took on the form of flowstone, with a very different texture to the other limestone features and surfaces here:

I couldn’t resist but sit there and watch the stalactite do it’s stuff, as with each drop that fell of the tip a bit more calcium carbonate would be coming out of solution to make it grow that tiny minuscule bit longer.   It was then time to scramble back down the more brittle limestone formation.  This stuff resembled a honeycomb, and each hand and foot placement was very gently applied.  It’s strange but it felt more nervous going back down than when I sent up it, and I was pleased to be back on the shelf where Andrew was raring to go:

He decided on Drifter, a line I had never been on before.  A great crack line with a small capping roof, and at the roof a band of quartz to provide something a little different.  It was a funky start and then he powered upwards.  Reading the guide I’ve realised that this line was supposed to stop above the bottom buttress so technically not only had Andrew managed a second lead today, but he also bagged a new route by extending this one all the way up the crag.  I was scanning the blank looking corner to the right, and at the same time being careful to watch for anything falling from above:

Nothing did fall from above, including Andrew.  And the corner I was eyeing up is in the guide so I’ll have to jump on that on my next trip here.  For now I followed Andrew for a second time taking my time to check out the quartz band and then limestone.  I had in mind to take images of all the textures of this dull grey rock, but the sun had hidden behind the clouds and many of the images just didn’t do what I saw justice.  I did however like this one, where nature had mortared up a crack, preventing us from using it to place gear or jam our hands or feet in:

Andrew had, maybe intentionally, left his walking boots at the base of the crag.  This meant we had to head back down and climb out one more time.  I pointed out a selection of three routes and let him pick the one that most appealed to him.  He picked the crag classic, which I was pleased about as it is a worthy line.  It is also a climb on which the limestone hasn’t filled the hand holds but has actually made them, and with the grey limestone with a wavy surface (like above) being much stronger than the honeycomb stuff I was happy to yard on those holds:

Steve will be happy to hear the tricams, as the images suggest, got a workout today with plenty of unusual placements that would have made him giggle.  On the last route all bar one piece on was a tricam, and this route also provided the stiffest opposition of the day.  Andrew managed to pull the moves just fine.  His injuries didn’t seem to have been aggravated and the morning session had been the much needed tonic, blowing away the cobwebs and allow the brain to disengage from the rigmaroles of life and allow us both to refresh and reset: