In it for the right reasons

It seems a few of the local crew may be heading off for travels this year, some with a stint of climbing in mind and others not so much.  Ash is soon going to have a climbing trip, so he was keen to get a bit of his climbing fitness back.  Missing out last weekend at Castle Rock, his last trip out was again with me.  And that was some time back when I introduced him to the delights of the Organ Pipes.  As such in fairness due to his absence from rock, his climbing fitness has not been particularly high for a while.  And so maybe my idea for the day was a little ambitious:

We decided on longer routes, and the obvious place round here for that is Wilyabrup.  I had also thought about the sort of climbs that were a little longer, slightly more sustained, and would push him a bit.  As we talked about the selection I was thinking he seemed keen, but also a little wary.  Before we got to those we jumped on a pleasant warm up, and the joy getting out early was that no one else was about so we could have a pick of the classics.  I was hoping to find a snake but it was not to be, with the only evidence of them being about was a discarded skin:

Warmed up and feeling pretty good, we moved on to a slightly harder line.  And after my bolting and sport climbing session yesterday, I was keen to place some trad.  Bob I thought you would appreciate the above thread, placing slings for gear always makes me think of climbing in the Lake District with you!  While I had in mind for higher grades still to come, I have to admit I was still feeling a little weary from yesterday’s hugely successful morning at Well Dam.  But not as weary as Ash was looking as he followed up after me:

His forearms were already complaining to the point they hurt, but he held on to get a clean ascent, for which he had to dig deep.  It was clear we may not get onto those trickier lines, there was no point in burning Ash out.  After all we were after endurance, and that can also be built up on the lower grades.  It may have also been a blessing for me, as I do wonder how worn out I might have been with my intended tick list.  The first other climbers for the day arrived, and it happened to be Julian who I have met a few times before:

The chance of a chat broke up the usual back to back pace of jumping on routes that I would normally be keen to keep going.  Allowing a bit more recovery time, but not quite enough for Ash before our third line.  I was aware it would probably push him a little too hard with its steep and physical start on which it is hard to take the weight of your arms.  Still I knew Mario would appreciate me placing the No.4 Camelot, so we did it anyway.  And sure enough the start was a little too tough, but after a rest on the rope Ash battled on to the top:

As we walked back down he resorted to stopping for another chat with Julian to extend his opportunity for recovery.  We dialled it back a bit and racked up a couple of shorter and easier lines, which were still good fun and made him work.  Having to the pull moves, as his body was starting to wane and his mind wavered.  But by digging deep he got two more clean ascents, and we were rewarded by a huge pod of dolphins that looked to be feeding in the bay, and then later during our last climb ambled right off the coast in front of us at a very leisurely pace:

A few more climbers arrived, and the first area of Wilyabrup started to look like an indoor gym.  Julian and Conner were leading their chosen lines, while everyone else that turned up resorted to top roping.  But it was touch and go as to whether Ash had anything else left in the tank.  The morning was also moving along and the hot sun was creeping onto the northern faces, a sign for both of us it was time to bail.  So I subtlety suggested climbing out with packs, which would save hiking back out.  We didn’t pick a silly line, but it was still one I was expecting Ash to finally just say no:

But he didn’t.  So we wrapped up the morning with a sixth route made all the more interesting by the changed centre of gravity that a backpack creates.  A great way to end the session and after another clean ascent fo Ash.  It was warming up considerably, and neither Ash nor I enjoy climbing in the heat.  So we left those now crawling about the cliffs to it.  Hopefully, today will help Ash with building up a bit of fitness, but ultimately it doesn’t matter.  He’ll enjoy his climbing trip regardless, as like many of us he is in it for the experience and just getting out: