Today we welcomed a newcomer to our local climbing crew. David arrived from Ireland a few months back, and as yet had not had much success in meeting climbers. It is however small world, and he happened to be working with Ash’s partner. And while Ash has not been out climbing with us for what seems like an age, the dots were joined. David came out ready for his first lead in Australia, but it was not his first time visiting Wilyabrup. A bit like I do when I can’t find a climbing buddy, he had explored Wilyabrup a couple of times and top rope soloed:
Howsie joined us for today’s chilled session, which I was grateful for. I did indeed head to the physio on Monday and was told what I expected. Dr Google had served me well on this occasion, and my self-diagnosis was on the money. The physio did however add that the knee and foot may take 2-3 and 4-6 weeks to heal, respectively. And in addition that for my right foot it was possible that I may have a hairline fracture in my distal 5th metatarsal, in addition to the bruising. So you may be wondering why I was heading back out so soon:
Well regardless of whether or not there is a fracture, the management would be the same. And I got the feeling that the physio picked up on my enthusiasm for climbing, which may have been what got me across the line for her to say I could climb. With the proviso that I endeavoured to only apply flat and even foot loading. I had pre-warned David and Howsie of the need for me to take it easy, hence why it would be a chilled session. This suited David too. Despite having some twenty years of trad climbing experience, he hadn’t climbed much of late:
He also had not led anything for a while. Hence, Howsie bagged a couple leads on nothing too serious. Both for David and my benefit. I did suggested he try one of my lines that I thought no one else had led it. But I was wrong. It has had at least one more ascent. And I am not the only one to have forgotten, as back then Howsie led it https://sandbagged.blog/2021/12/27/cooling-off-time/! So for a second time he relished Grotesque. And as Nadia noticed last time, David also remarked on the lack of gear and long runout towards the top:
David was up next for a lead. While he wanted to start gentle, the problem with Wilyabrup being lower grade climbs tend to be a little sparse on protection. And after his mention of Howsie’s runout, I wondered how he would go. The pace was slow and steady, and you could tell he was still familiarising himself with the rock. It can take time to learn to trust a new type of rock, and even more so when you have to climb a considerable distance above your last piece of gear. I needn’t have worried, and he managed to work his way up:
Thoroughly enjoying his first lead on an Australian climb. And he wasn’t the only one having new experiences on Australian rock. We were surprised when we rolled into the carpark not too long after first light to find several cars already there. And there was a familiar face, Pete a local adventure tour operator. He was getting the gear ready for a group that was due to arrive a bit later in the morning. The group comprised some thirty plus army personnel from, I thought he said, Singapore. And it was their first taste of abseiling and climbing:
Despite the language barrier, they were very approachable and friendly. And I found myself watching and taking some happy snaps of them, while Howsie and David continued to climb. Then airdropping the images onto their phones, which I had taken from angles with great backdrops that they wouldn’t have managed to get. This did mean I was moving about a fair bit, probably a bit more than I should have. I did at least have my hiking boots on, providing my foot with that bit more support than they normally get in my sandals:
While I was socialising, Howsie ran up one more route that I of course couldn’t resist climbing. Despite noticing my foot on this route, David was keen to bag a second lead, which he again really enjoyed. It was another gentle climb, so felt I could manage it and even suggested Howsie and I climb with packs. By the time I got to the top my foot was a tad tender, a sign that enough was enough. Luckily David and Howsie were also happy to call it. I’m guessing I’ll need to rest up next week, and if I put my feet up enough I might be able to give my body another test next weekend:
Sandbagged 