We almost got all the regular locals that are remaining out in one hit today, but Ash’s back was playing up again so he pulled out on Friday night. It was a shame as it would have been nice to get the whole small crew out together, which even with just five of us is a rare thing. Ash confessed the push-up challenge hadn’t helped with his old back injury. I’d suggested he pull out of it a while back, as like me when I did it he had various joints flare up. And like me he persisted to the end, and probably also like me he is not likely to do it again:
That left Josh, Rongy, Howsie and myself. And we trouped down to Wilyabrup, not the main cliffs but the furthest crag to the north, Lost Buttress. The tide and swell were up, as you would expect during winter, and it made for a more exciting rock hop along the coast. Some of the places we would usually work our way across where under water, making us scramble up and down a bit more inland. Eventually we made it unscathed, and without getting wet, to the small beach that make the Playground a great bouldering spot:
On the last stretch to the crag I stepped on a huge piece of flotsam, which comprised a very large trunk. This promptly swivelled as I loaded my foot and sent me crashing down. No damage done, other than a bruise and slight bit of embarrassment ,as everyone else made it the crag without tripping over. In addition to the rock hop there is care required when you top out here. The top for quite a bit of the crag is a sloping ledge littered with flakily rock and loose sand and gravel. I’m pleased to say no one came a cropper due to the tops, not even me:
The choice of today’s location was placed on Howsie’s shoulders, in part as he is still chasing grade 22s in 2022 and has a fair few still on his list that he hasn’t tried. This place has, if I am allowed to say it, got a great one. Before we get to that though, it was time to warm up on some more relaxed lines. Some of the routes on this crag provides a big wall feeling, despite its short nature. Probably due to the huge capping roofs and exposure you get stepping out above them:
Josh was keen for a lead but wasn’t sure what to jump on, there isn’t a lot that is good for a beginner here. Even the lower grade routes can feel a little serious. But we did notice a line at the far right of the crag that to date I have never heard of anyone climbing. It looked reasonable, a good angle, and with enough gear to make is sensible. So off he set under the watchful eye of Howsie belaying and me running round taking images from various angles, of his first ascent:
It was great to see Josh keep his cool and get a clean ascent, with no dramas. But by the time he got up he confessed his head was swimming and he found it a little hard to focus on the next stage. So I helped him set up the belay, which is something that takes time to learn and is so important to make sure you are comfortable, both in relation to feeling safe and physically relaxed. Howsie came up next and left Rongy below soaking up the sun watching a couple of surfers desperately trying to catch some waves:
While there were some great looking waves rolling in, they didn’t seem to last too long before they tripped over their own troughs, into a mass of choppy water. We only saw the surfers catch a handful of waves and even then their rides seemed to last but a few seconds. Still they like us were out and about, and we seemed to be the only ones. From here we had a great view of Wilyabrup and not a sole could be seen either out walking or climbing. After his lead Josh was happy to take a break, and Howsie looked wistfully up:
The decision was made, and he was going to have a crack at the 22. I’ve always said that As the Crow Flies requires good conditions with dry and grippy rock. The conditions today were not too bad, but the rock was damp in places and the sea spray was starting to drift landwards. This however didn’t put Howsie off and he started to mentally prepare for the task that lay ahead. This included a bit of strategising with Rongy, as to how to tackle the crux section of the route:
Meanwhile I was scrambling back up the top ready to capture the action. I was hoping Ash could have made it today, as I was keen to get some shots while hanging off ropes. But it was what it was and in a way it wasn’t a bad thing that I only had this one chance. I’ve got a sneaky feeling my trusty point and shoot camera may be playing up, and my SLR body also wasn’t performing as I am used to. So while I took heaps of images, the quality was sadly a little disappointing:
Still I took lots of images of Howsie as made his way up and then took a depth breathe before he had to make his way onto the hanging arête. As seen in the image above the trick is getting your right foot near the base of the arête, the problem being that there are no handholds above, just a couple of fingernail wide ripples that really do not feel too secure. Added to that once your foot goes up you are stepping above your gear and into what feels like space:
As is probably evident from the image above, Howsie didn’t get past the arête. But not for want of trying, he gave it quite a few very determined attempts each time falling into the space below the arête. Not only is this crux section very balancy and smeary, but getting to it feels pumpy. So after several attempts it was Rongy’s turn to try. He too found this section too hard to read taking several falls. Meanwhile Josh was more than happy to kick back and watch, while allow his brain to defog as he deservedly basked in glory after his first ascent:
After Rongy was spent, Howsie went up again allowing me to move position. But it was the same story and several times he took a whipper sailing down, landing safely in harness, before taking a few big breathes before trying again. But he was soon utterly wasted, so I threw a rope down to allow him to yard his way up the route. This allowed me to set up a top rope for one final play. Rongy went up but again failed to unlock the crux sequence and decided it was not to be today. Howsie had nothing left in the tank so didn’t even bother, happy with what he had already achieved:
Now you might ask why I hadn’t attempted the lead, and it was quite easy. It’s my route, so I knew how scary it was and when I had established it with Kym we were both climbing strong and hard. So I simply didn’t think I had a chance on it, but with a rope above me I was happy to try. My first attempt at getting established on the arête failed, but I have a strange knack for remembering routes in very fine detail. And on my second attempt this helped me to unlock the puzzle and get past the arête, which felt very cool:
Maybe next time I might have a crack at leading it, and I don’t think that will be too far away as Howsie is also keen to get this one in the bag. And having watched me complete it might help him to dial in the sequence. But for now it was time to pack up, I got down to find Rongy and Howsie sorting gear and Josh was nowhere to be seen. You might guess that he had just popped down for a swim, keeping up the tradition he has started. But again going solo. Once all packed up we decided to head back along the cape to cape track, rather than the coastal rock hop:
It was a good move, the cape to cape track provided great vista and was also that bit quicker. While it may not sound like we did a lot of climbing, as with the above caterpillar we had not been in a rush today and had approached the climbing at a very relaxed pace. Time was however slipping by and Howise did have to get back, so the walk out was not at such a relaxed pace. And by the time we got back to the car, the legs felt like they got a proper workout, which isn’t a bad thing for a key tapping office worker:
Sandbagged 