Dan is back in town. He somehow managed to escape the clutches of a lockdown life in Melbourne to join us in Western Australia and the freedom we have been enjoying here. With no work opportunities back home he made the decision to find work over here, which he did and after fourteen days of quarantining himself he was finally allowed out to play. It was a crisp and cold morning as I drove towards our designated meeting spot of Capel and the morning sky was looking particularly lovey, so I stopped to capture what I was lucky enough to be seeing:
As I got out of the car with just a t-short on I was surprised at how comfortable I felt, even though it was only 5 degrees. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad down at the crag without my Buffalo jacket after all? As we rolled into the carpark near the crag it was still only just over six degrees, so I loaded my layers on with a t-shirt, fleece and finally a wind shield. I would normally only need to pull on my Buffalo and that would be that, geez how faffy all these clothes were. I promise now to keep quiet about clothing and get down to why we had come here:
The reason being is that Dan had chosen it as the preferred location to climb. More so he had indicated a few lines that he was keen to jump on, ones that he had previously not been on. The scary thing being that a number of them were pretty stiff routes, and none were below grade 20. Luckily Rongy had joined us and that meant we would have a bit more of a rest in-between each line, as it felt like we might need it. We being myself and also Rongy, who had foolishly spent three hours trashing himself in a boulder gym in Perth just yesterday:
All of Dan’s keyboard bravado before this trip, about these lofty climbs, was soon dispelled. He was keen to ease into the day with some more moderate routes. This started with him taking the rope to lead Glory, almost ten grades less that what we were thinking. But grades don’t really matter, it is being out here that counts. That and the opportunity to meet old friends like this Carpet Python that was tucked behind one of the flakes on Glory, which neither Dan nor Rongy spotted. Mind you they did get to spot the dolphins cruise past, which I missed:
Rongy came down off the first route indicating he could feel the results of his indoor plastic pulling session at the boulder gym. So I was a little surprised when after a bit of procrastination he decided to lead Dolphins Smiles, which is not exactly a walk in the park. With three of us out today I brought my SLR camera along, and it got more of a workout today than during yesterday’s hike. I ran about the top of the cliff getting varied angles, and my legs were feeling the workout they got during yesterday’s hike:
Despite feeling weary Rongy managed a clean ascent, and then it was my turn to follow up the line. My legs felt a little tree trunk like and my arms were also tired. I blame Alan for the latter, due to him coming round on Wednesday last week for a boulder in the shed. It had been the first time in some ten weeks that I had jumped on my wall at home, and I fear it will take a few more weeks before I can say I am feeling any benefit from the midweek training sessions. That is assuming they will continue. But what was on my mind more, was it would be my lead next:
I had already decided what I would climb, and this was in part due to Rongy bumping it up a notch but mainly thinking I needed to make sure Dan was properly warmed up for whatever he might do next. Just thinking about Simply Suicide made me nervous, and I was definitely rethinking my decision as I set off. A pumpy bottom half followed by a fingery and runout second half. Strangely however, as will often happen, when you get on the sharp end you become more focused and just get on with it. This was exactly what I did, as Rongy laid back in the sun on the big boulders below:
So once we were all atop the cliff and pondered what next, Dan plumped for Stainless Steel. Not quite the lofty grade 23 we might have been up for, but still a solid route and after the last two it would be enough. Opting not to be a mountain goat for a second time to get images, I took over Rongy’s position and lay on the boulders in the sun. Geez it was lush, kicking back and almost feeling like I could have had a snooze. In front of me Dan was strutting his stuff on the wall and behind me I could hear the crashing waves, it’s a good life for sure:
The last time Dan climbed this route would have been at the end of 2017, when he and Jo were over and we headed out (https://sandbagged.blog/2017/12/30/a-winters-day/). On that occasion my words were that “he didn’t seem to stop and hesitate at any point, the gear was placed fluidly and he made every section look very smooth”. I’d be interested to know if he felt it was the same today, the route certainly didn’t seem to worry him too much but with all the lockdowns they’ve had over east I don’t think his stamina was quite what it was back then:
As Dan climbed I occasionally forced myself into a sitting position so I could also watch the waves. And it wasn’t until Dan had finished the route and Rongy was close to the top, before I finally felt like I needed to break away from my perfect rock sunbed. Rongy confessed to being toasted and not up for another lead, so it was up to me after that. I was undecided about what to climb so Dan suggested I jump on Golden Buttress, and a proper and classic mid-grade trad climb to finish the session off. It seemed good idea to me, and after that route we were all satisfied or incapable of climbing anymore, so we wandered out:
Dan’s here for a few months so hopefully a few climbing session and maybe trips will be had. The way he went today I’ve no doubt that those more gnarly routes he had in mind will fall before he heads back. At the car I had a mini-panic when my phone wasn’t in the car, which is where I thought it was, as it is something that is a bit more fuss to replace than a jacket. It wasn’t until I had turned everything inside out that Dan found it on the bonnet of the car, no doubt where I had put it when we had first arrived. Um, it’s been a bit of weekend for it but hopefully that will be the end of my scatter-brained moments for now:
Sandbagged 