Despite the sunny image below, it had unexpectedly been drizzling and raining till mid-morning today. Whether by desire or chance Josh wasn’t able to head out till ten, which worked out well all things considered. Even at that late hour of the morning, and as we drove towards the crag the windscreen wipers were swishing back and forth as the dark clouds above unleashed the moisture they held. It was not until we parked up that it stopped raining, and then as we walked down the track the sky to the west opened up:
Yesterday as we organised times, with Sam also joining but arriving separately due to time constraints, Josh had asked if I thought it would be busy. Based on it being a long weekend and the not bad looking forecasts, I definitely thought it would be busy. No matter I had a couple of lines in mind, on a wall just north of the mighty Steel Wall that stands proud in the image below. It is very rare to see any climbers walk past this iconic wall, so even when it is busy this is a place it is possible to escape too:
Despite the poor start to the day we were surprised to find approx. ten cars parked up. And at the crag there was a reasonable sized group of ten or more climbers down from Perth. Huddled and looking cold under one of the overhangs. They had been out for a while but had as yet not managed to climb anything, due to the rain that kept coming in. I doubt it was our presences, but our arrival seemed to signify the departure of the rain, and with a stiff south westerly wind much of the rock quickly dry up:
We warmed up on the relaxing Road Trip, but Josh looked clunky following me up, and admitted he had made hard work of it. That happens, so to calm his nerves what better than make him hang over the edge and belay Sam up, who had arrived in the nick of time to also follow up. I’d decided to bring my twin ropes today, also called half ropes as you should climb with two of them, as they do not having the same strength rating as a single (thicker diameter) rope. Using the twin ropes makes climbing with three easier, as the second and third climber can use one line each:
That is not the only reason I brought my twin ropes. I was eyeing up one of the longest route at Wilyabrup as a potential candidate for today, and a single 60m rope would not be long enough for three climbers. But before we got to that line, we needed a second warm up climb to get Josh moving a bit more smoothly. He did not disappoint and got up Tom Thumb Direct so well that I change my mind. And decided we should climb one of the routes here that lends itself to twin ropes. Having two ropes makes it easier to keep the ropes running smoothly, by using one for gear on the left and the other for gear of the right, perfect for a climb that weaves a devious line up the cliff:
This line was also harder and I was maybe being a tad optimistic, as the bottom traverse of Golden Buttress spat Josh off with forearms burning up. Sam managed to get up, making use of his longer reach on the traverse to reach higher and better holds. Then at the point shown in the image above he almost fell, and asked me if he could hold onto the rope as his arms to start to fail. I of course said no, which he later recalled this as being a stern no and he therefore didn’t grab the rope. He did however pull off the last few moves to get a clean ascent. Once up it was clear that Popeye had nothing on him, and he looked to be feeling the pump big time:
Back down and I decided to pick off one of the lines past Steel Wall, one which was on my original list for the day. I decided against the long route, only because the bottom corner is feisty and with both Josh and Sam having pumped out on the last route I knew that would just be asking for trouble. So we instead took a fun line that goes through a hole at the top of the Stormcock boulder, and then continues up a fun crack. Sombre is a completely over graded so I didn’t tell the boys what it was:
Even with tired arms they both got through the triangle window and up the crack, thoroughly enjoying the unusual features the rock on this section of the cliff offers. I mentioned that this area gets very little attention, which is proven by the tops that are littered with loose rocks. Care is required not to knock off any rocks, which can be pebble through to toaster sized. Having a sensible belay set up certainly helps, one that is right on the edge to avoid the ropes dragging over and potentially dislodging any of the lose rubble:
This belay position gives the added benefit of a great spot to look out at the views and watch the next person coming up. Sadly with four climbs under our belt Sam’s time limit was coming to an end, so he departed. Although I also wonder if his arms were too cooked for him to contemplate just one more route. This was all I was hinting at and Josh was keen, deciding on an easy slab to get us, and our bags, out. Peanut Crumble provided us the perfect climb, although Josh was a little bemused with me only placing one piece of gear:
Not that it is an excuse for my lack of gear, but the climb was a bit like a staircase. At the top of which the ropes were packed away for the last time. We had not been the first to the crag but we were the last to leave it. And it seems that maybe today we were the weather makers, as while we packed the bags we could feel a sprinkle from above. And looking up the south westerlies were blowing darker clouds overhead, which thankfully did not fully open up as we walked out:
Sandbagged 