I thought I had been pretty good with taking time off from work this year, but I seem to have got towards the end of the year with a fair bit of leave up my sleeve. This included one day of a particular type of leave that if I did not use it I would lose it, as the clock clicked over into 2023. A while back I had decided to use it today, and the tentative plan to get out with Howsie for a climb. Sadly these plans were scuppered, although coming up to the silly season and all that it brings, I wasn’t overly surprised. So already had a backup plan:
Walking in through the low scrub the birds, hidden from view, were in full song. It was about the same time as I would normally have been driving to work, which I felt was an early enough start. Plus after a run of low thirties/high twenties it was forecast to be partly cloudy and cooler today, so there was no need for a proper early start. That said I was still hoping for more cloud than not, which didn’t happen. The cloud was about, it just didn’t provide shade where I was climbing. That meant I was going to be in for a hot and sweaty time:
The carpark at the beach can often be packed at this time, not today. It was empty and I didn’t see a soul as a drove in, and then hiked along the track. It was probably due to the lack of swell today, so the surfers could have a lie in. Across the bay I reckon the snorkelling conditions would have been great. But at the mighty zawn of Smiths Beach, where I was standing, the sets of waves while not big would have made it unpleasant to be in the water. That didn’t however worry the crabs, who ran and dived in water as soon as they spotted me:
When writing the guide for this area I called Smiths Beach the big brother of Moses Rocks. They have a similar style of climbing with rounded rock and flared cracks, interspersed with blank featureless sections. Friction is everything, but only works with good balance and engaged core strength. However, Smith Beach is more of a brute being steeper, more technical, and with rougher rock. And just like a tussle with a big brother I find that I come away from this place with scuffed knees nearly every time, and did again today:
On previous solo missions here I have stuck to the steeper and harder north facing wall, as it hold onto the shade for longer. Today however I plumped for the south facing Harbour Wall, on which several routes take a leaning line up the face. To the left is the open ocean, and the thought of slipping off, down low, and swinging out above the ocean wasn’t very inspiring. Just to show that I can be sensible and do consider the risks, to avoid that happening my set up today had more directional pieces of gear, as well as an anchor at the base:
That said the start moves of the first line and finale of the last line of the day felt pretty sketchy to say the least. When I led the first ascent of these routes I did them ground up, which means not I did not inspect the lines beforehand so had no idea what holds or gear might or might not be available. So the acceptable level of risk back then was a tad higher than it may be now. While I only managed one line in the shade, after which the sun struck, I stuck to my plan and sweated it out and thoroughly enjoyed my tussles with the big brother:
Sandbagged 