I can’t recall when I last had a crack-of-dawn start. While getting up in darkness isn’t all that fun, driving out and watching the hues of the sky change is very cool. I had to pick Howsie up, which meant driving along back beach in Bunbury. As the sky was waking up the distant lights on the containerships out to sea came in and out of view, in rhythm with the swell of the ocean. Too dark to capture the image I drove on, and on arrival Howsie was waiting outside ready to jump in the car and head up to Welly Dam:
The last part of watching the world wake up is the sunrise. Today as we crested the highest part of the Coalfield Highway, heading east, the sun took on the image of a big red ball of fire in a cloudless sky. Sunrises and sunsets here are fast and it feels like if you blink you’ll miss them. But the display of colours just before the sun comes up or after it goes down, will linger to extend the visual display. Soon after the sun rose it was turning yellow and was too bright to look at. The timing was good as were at the right turn into Wellington National Park, with the sun now behind us:
Mid-week the seasons had taken a turn and the temperatures had shot up to the mid to high twenties. Nothing compared to summer, but after the coldness of winter it felt like there was once again a bite to the sun. As expected there was no sign seepage on the black and grey streaked walls of the quarry. The warmer temperatures and dry rock were not the reason for the early start nor coming here. It was that Howsie was only able to squeeze in a quick session. Although I have to say it was nice to jump on a couple of the lines that had been running with water all winter, a bit like saying hello to an old friend:
Being a quarry the artificial walls here were created as they blasted out the granite for construction works. Most of the walls now comprise solid granite, although there are patches of rock that is quite fractured, usually round the old blast holes.. The vast temperature ranges we experience here, at times on a daily basis, don’t really help with the stability of the more fractured rock. And especially after winter, when the moisture has been seeping into the weaknesses, it is not uncommon for the odd bit to fall off. As captured in the image below, not that Howsie nor I were aware of the rock falling when it happened:
We were however both well aware of the next falling item, the morning was creeping along and the temperature was rising so it was time to shed some clothing. In addition we were already five routes in and had both led each climb, and we were starting to have to pay the heavy toll that the climbing at Welly Dam demands. Tiring arms, tingling fingertips, and a general lethargy inching its way through our bodies. Before we stopped I got one more line in to even up the score, after which both of us were very pleased that we were not alone today:
Josh and Kellie rocked up a bit after us, maybe to avoid getting up in the dark, and Kellie almost immediately headed off for a 10km trail run before having a crack at climbing. Prepared for their arrival Howsie and I had warmed up on a one of the more reasonable routes, and left a top rope in place for them. Josh is still at a stage that this place is pretty challenging for him, and Kellie had not climbed in many years. And as she explained, enough years to make it feel like it was her first time of climbing. In fact you could suggest it was a bit mean of Josh to bring here to have a bash:
The reason we were pleased they were here, was not that Josh nor Kellie had slowed our pace. They had however given us a reason to stop for a bit. Josh had, like my last trip here, brought half the kitchen with him, resulting in not just a tea break but a full on breakfast break. And after the very welcome feed, to polish the morning off, we set up a second top rope for them to make use of, while I suggest Howsie have one more lead. He claimed I had set things up, having come armed with sufficient trad equipment including some essential pieces for one particular climb:
The Roman Nose to my knowledge has never had a second ascent. Back in 2013 my recollection is that Steve attempted to lead it but found the gear too sketchy, so I completed the climb although the guide would indicate I still allowed him the honour of the first ascent. Weary from the rapid back to back climbs on the steeper walls, and weighed down by both the trad gear and a yummy breakfast courtesy of Josh, it seemed history was going to repeat itself. The micro wires and sketchy moves did not inspire Howsie enough to top out, instead coming back down to hand me the rope:
Sandbagged 