It has been a long time coming but I finally took up Mario’s offer to crash at Jena and his place for a night in Perth. Why has it taken this long, well there is no particular reason. Maybe in part because it is only two and half hours each way to most of the spots, so while making a longish day it is entirely doable as a day trip. And indeed I have had multiple skirmishes this way over the years. Therefore, I have sampled a good variety of the places, although there are still a few on my wish list, one of them being the first cab off the rank for this trip:
For most Chruchmans Brook’s main draw card is a water supply dam built in the 1920s and associated recreational facilities, which includes peaceful hikes not too far from the hustle and bustle of the city. Located in the Darlington Scrap, otherwise known as the Perth Hills, this is not a place to visit in summer when it is stifling hot, but on a wonderful autumn day like today it was bliss. I have actually been here once before, in 2009, when I had a spare hour or two while waiting to pick someone up from the airport. Taking the opportunity to duck down for a quick top rope solo:
That was in the hotter months and I recall the one and only route I did being slick and smooth, which was not ideal in the sweaty conditions. The tops were also a little loose and earthy, as can be seen above. Nowhere near as bad as the big cliffs of Swanage but still a little disconcerting when you are by yourself. I have however heard good things about this place, and since it’s discovery in the mid 1970s the early guidebooks claim this as being the most popular place for Perth climbers. It is also suggested this crag was a milestone in Perth’s sport climbing history:
It’s discovery and development initiated what would become a greater desire to explore and bolt new crags outside of the main staple until that time, which where the Perth quarries. That is not to say this place still holds such revere, and I don’t feel it draws the crowds those old guidebooks claim. Indeed The Crag, the main online climbing guide, now describes it as having been one of the most popular places. But now an area that is a lot quieter, and today we had the whole crag all to ourselves. Mario warned me of the runout finishes, but the rock was nearly all solid, other than a hold he removed from the above route:
I was at Mario’s mercy today, he had a list of routes and I simply followed his directions. Seeing it was one of his local crags and he had climbed so much here, I lead every route. The only climb he also lead was the above one, quite simply because it was so good and definitely worth the three star classic status. Neither of us muck about when we climb, and there is little if any rests between routes. Added to that Mario still has the eye of the tiger, and is keen to push it. All of this means I tend to come away from a day’s climbing with Mario very satisfied, but fairly achy:
If I was honest that may be another reason that has held me back from accepting the offer of staying at his place up until now, not being sure I could manage two days of solid climbing. The climbing on the compact, blocky, and well featured dolerite rock of Churchmans reminded me of the style in the Grampians. Quite a few of the lines we did were physically demanding and three dimensional, with a need to use your whole body and use a variety of techniques. More so because Mario included quite a few of the very fine older traditional routes, as opposed to full sport lines. Added to that, leading each route certainly increases the emotional energy expended:
This use of energy was enhanced further by the fact I climbed each route on-sight, not having a guidebook to provide any hints nor being given any indication of what the grade was. Merely being shown the general direction by Mario before setting off. Although he did tell me that we would ease the grade back down as we came to the last two routes. These were back to the old school traditional climbs, up well featured lines with cracks and flakes. But still demanding concentration and focus, with at times marginal gear and being runout. I could really feel my body on the last line, and it also happened to start with a mantle:
For this technique you reach for a ledge above you with your hands and pull up, then continue the upwards motion until your shoulders are above the ledge, and then push down and match our feet where your hands are. When the feet below the ledge aren’t very good it becomes a very physical move, and not one I am very adept at. I pushed through it, but then half way up there was a second mantle with worse features for your feet. That one really drained me physically and emotionally, taking me many attempts while hanging on my arms between attempts. Topping out on that routes I could safely say I was toasted for the day:
We drove back to their place, and I was grateful that Mario was driving as my body was aching all over. Eight rapid fire lines had certainly been a good introduction to the delights of Churchmans, and while I have waited so long to go back and climb there I don’t think I’ll wait as long before the next trip. If you are keen to see what we climbed the tick list is at the end of this post. But for now it was time to sink into the couch, and enjoy a very well earned beer before a wonderful seafood risotto dinner followed by homemade lemon bake, with the family. Having a five year old they generally get up and crash early, a routine that suited me just fine as I slunk off to bed:
Sunday was my turn to drive, as we headed to one of the many pebbles in the Perth hills. The hills are scattered with these granite boulders. It is fair to say all the boulders of reasonable height that are worth climbing have been found, developed, and for some since forgotten by most. And two of the more prolific early pioneers whose names are scattered as far and wide, as these many boulders, are Jim Truscott and Matthew Rosser. Even now with the surge in popularity of bouldering, where there are no ropes and strict etiquettes regarding sit starts, and at times off limit holds. All to maximise the length and technical difficulty of a problem, which means even the shorter boulders become of interest, few new spots are being found:
We walked past Shark Rock Quarry, above, a sheer featureless face created in the old days when the granite rock was highly sought after, being a valuable construction material. Quarrying of these remote and hard to get to places started in the 1830s, and carried on until the mid-1960s. Numerous quarries are left from this bygone era, providing a variety of rock faces ranging from forty plus to five short meter playgrounds. Some full of loose crumbling features, and others provide clean solid rock. The tallest is probably Mountain Quarry, which has since taken the title of Perth area’s premier outdoor climbing crag from Churchmans:
We continued past the small quarry. There was a line that Mario hinted that he was keen to have a crack at in the quarry, if time permitted on our way out. Like I used to, when Elseya was young, Mario balances his time on rock with making sure he has quality time with the family. Therefore, today was not going to be an all-day session. That was good on several counts, Shark Rock doesn’t have heaps of lines and the ones we had in mind were nearly all Truscott and Rosser routes. To understand what that means you’ll have to check an earlier post when Howsie and I visited Oakley Falls:
Another reason being this place, Mario claimed, had quite a few climbs that were complete and utter sandbags. Probably because of that, unlike yesterday, he provided me with more detail of the lines we eyed up. With a focus on the severity and sustained nature, and some of the safety issues in relation to available gear. It certainly put me on edge and made me that bit more cautious. Even on the easier lines that we started on, which were on a couple of manmade faces. Created of course by early quarrying activity. These climbs, above and below, had a more gentle angle to them providing a more forgiving introduction to the rock:
Being early in the morning it felt cold, the fingers tingled and toes felt a little numb as we padded our way up. The granite boulders have amazing friction, which at times is essential as they can also be lacking in features to provide positive holds. This became important when we moved round to the next and steeper face, as shown below and which was a natural feature. The night before I had only looked at the grades and thought this face would be ideal to enjoy a few good lines, that was until Mario described his experiences on them. And while he didn’t give away the tricks in relation to the holds or moves on each climb, it did put me on notice:
The first line on this face, above, was a fun crack with a prominent bulge at half height. With my fingers jammed in a crack to the side, and feet buried deep in a crack below, the bulge, it was hard to scope what options lay ahead. And after a few futile attempts with tiring muscles I slunk onto the rope, and almost immediately due to not being buried in the crack I was able to spy another option. It was a shame, as after I got back on I managed to clean the route, even negotiating a mantle with not quite as much fuss as yesterdays. I certainly came down worked, no doubt assisted by yesterday’s aches:
The next line was up a shallow flared seam, with three carrot bolts for gear. The first a tentative clip and the second providing a ground fall potential, which I’ve now read is noted in the detail of the route description. Blame it on tiredness, nervousness, or unfamiliarity with the rock and climbing style here but my footwork was pretty ordinary. Unable to identify and stick the small smeary holds and certainly worried about making the crux moves to reach the second bolt. I also wasn’t completely convinced of my ability to tension onto the shallow holds that only allowed fingertip contact. I came down defeated and handed the rope to Mario, and he too struggled but eventually got up the route:
That allowed me to second the route, which Mario then led clean with the draws in place making it slightly less nervous. I pondered my options but while my mind teetered on the edge of going for it on led, my body held me back. Instead I attempted the line to the right, a full trad line with marginal and very spaced gear. One Mario had previously led after lots of rehearsing and one he said he would never lead again. Needless to say I top roped it and was very grateful that I did, and found it very difficult to read and sketchy. My body was exhausted and footwork become even less graceful, but for some reason I jumped on one last route. A traverse across the crag, which I absolutely dogged:
Struggling to read the rock, using terrible footwork, and finding it near impossible to use the marginal smeary hand holds; I rested on most placements. Strangely I enjoyed it, but was even happier when it was over. Mario followed up, but slipped soon after the above image and as he pendulum below the next bolt he smacked his ankle. It immediately started to bruise and swell, so it was time to call it a day. Obviously, we did not stop in at the quarry for the route he was keen to try, as he carefully walked out so as not to further aggravate the ankle and I carried both packs to avoid putting extra pressure on it:
Regardless of how it ended we thoroughly enjoyed both days out. And I definitely crammed in as much time on rock that I was able to sustain. Dropping Mario off I said my goodbyes to Jena and Mario, thanking them for putting me up and feeding me so well, and also Luna who wanted me to take this painting of hers. And much as it was lovely to visit, it was also wonderful to roll in back into the driveway back home. My body was more bruised and scrapped than it probably should have been, and my muscles groaned as I moved in bed. Resulting in me getting up at silly o’clock to start typing. Despite the severity of the climbs at Shark Rock, I would be tempted to go back even if just to redeem my faith in my ability of the basic skills of footwork:
The tick list:
Churchmans Brook (as per the 2002 Perth guide, not The Crag):
First Route 30m 15**
The Sting 25m 14***
Slash and Burn 28m 18***
Bodgy Dolts 28m 21**
Gates of Mordor 30m 20R**
Red Giant 30m 19**
The Bite 25m 17*
The Fang 25m 16*
Shark Rock (as per the 2002 Perth guide, not The Crag):
The Fin 10m 17 **
Defining Moments 10m 18
Fatal Rivalry 10m 18*
Phalanx 10m 19*
Spatial Encounter 10m 18*
Traverse of the Gods 25m 18
Sandbagged 