Another cool and crisp morning greeted Howsie, David, Josh, and myself. There was hardly a breeze and stunning morning hues, as we wandered along the beach towards Moses Rocks. It was time to for me claw back some hours, and a Friday morning out seemed like the perfect way to use those hours. Josh has been absent for three months. A bit like our reptile friends and that last trip of Josh’s was also the last time this year that I have come across a reptile https://sandbagged.blog/2024/03/30/the-easter-bunny/, not counting my scaly Carpet Python friend at Wilyabrup:
Despite the recent spell of lovely days, such as this one, I wasn’t hopeful that the warm sun would encourage any reptiles to come out of brumation for us to see. Not to say that there would not be any out somewhere along this rocky coastline, but I have never seen a reptile at Moses Rocks. A couple of days back I had to scrape ice of the windscreen. Today however the temperature was just hovering below double digits. This may have helped the rock feel fine to touch and we were not getting that tingly, at times painful, feeling in our fingers:
We started on the Northern Blocks. The area that would get the sun when it finally creeps over the landscape, which would be approximately an hour after our arrival. Not so we could to climb in the sun, but due to offering good introductory climbs. On which the gear is that bit easier to place. David has climbed at many of the great locations in the British Isles, which I used to frequent in the nineties. This included the Peak District, home of the infamous gritstone https://sandbagged.blog/2017/07/30/part-4-the-peak-district-learning-the-ropes/:
Climbing on this type of rock will expose weaknesses in your technique, and at Moses Rocks this is especially true of smearing. Geologically speaking Moses Rocks is different to gritstone, being a Gneiss. It does however have many of the same endearing qualities. At times a lack of gear placements or options that are less than desirable, a rough but not harsh texture that provides awesome friction, and rounded features resulting in the need to trust that friction to the maximum. David enjoyed climbing on gritstone, so I was hopeful he would enjoy it here:
It was only his second time of getting on the sharp end, for a long time. Hence the need for good confidence building routes, offering easier to find placements and rest points. This worked a treat and he gobbled up two very fun and aesthetically pleasing lines. Meanwhile, Howsie and Josh played on a couple of slightly harder lines. Both to engage Howsie and make Josh work that little bit harder, maybe it was penance for being absent for as long as he has. Unlike last weekend I was feeling more confident on my feet, and hence coordinated on rock:
Certainly not healed, although after another week of resting up things have improved. As a result I cheekily got Howsie to throw me the line, so I could climb the routes both he and David had led. It does mean I am entering that period where it is enticing to go harder, but in reality I still have to be sensible. Otherwise I will risk prolonging the time it will take for a full recovery. The sun finally made an appearance as we played on our second climbs of the morning. After which David soaked in the sun, while taking a moment or two to take in the scenery:
I’ve always rated the landscape here, just that little bit more than the other local crags. During our climbing sessions, this is the place I tend to spend more time simply looking out and soaking it all in. Josh did well on the two lines and indicated, as he had on our last trip out, that he was keen to have a lead. There was an obvious route to point him towards, and this small buttress also had some good options for David. Albeit a little steeper, but still not silly grades and within the level he had indicated he was keen to push things to today:
Josh enjoyed the security of a very fun corner, David was however needing to hang on to a reasonably steep wall. Starting well, but the next move was committing. He struggled with his brain. At one point making the move. His hand hovered over the next jug but never touched it. His thoughts played games, and he reversed the move. This occurred several times before he finally got the jug, and with each time his arms grew more and more weary. The nail in the coffin for him was the next fiddly gear placement, it just didn’t inspire him:
When David came down, there was only one option. That was for me to break a rule I had set myself for my recovery period, and jump on lead. Truth be told there were other options, but my desire to have the rope below me pushed those to the back of my mind. It felt good, but also sustained and pumpy, way more so than it should have at the grade I had told David it was. Afterwards he pulled out his phone to check, and this line was not in the mini-guide available on line. Just to make sure we were not being soft, Howsie then gave it a go on lead:
He agreed the route was worthy of a higher grade than the existing lines on this wall. And just to make absolutely sure it has not been recorded before, I’ve checked my 2016 South West Rock and the previous 1996 Margaret River Rock guide, as well as The Crag. There is no record of it anywhere. I’ve led it several times over the last decade and half, and more recently Rongy has too. The mini-guide has now been updated to include this and other recent new lines. It has been sent it off, so will hopefully replace the outdated guide online:
I’ve called the climb Rolling Thunder, which works in nicely with the names of the other lines on this wall. It is also reflective the climb itself. We decided on grade 16, HVS 4c/a, which was two to three grades harder than David had indicated he was keen to try on lead. This resulted in him being a little weary. His brain had also been pushed to the limit. Sadly resulting in the harder to protect routes on Hands Up Wall not looking inviting for him to try on lead. But we had to get to this wall. Firstly to show him the Zawn, which he immediately liked the look of:
But also because Howsie was keen to attempt my latest creation. Only a grade 13, HS 4b, but with questionable protection (https://sandbagged.blog/2024/06/03/sometimes-adequate-is-good-enough/). Howsie took some time, as I had, to find how to best place the second piece of gear. Before running it out considerable. The gear and runout making the final move to get to the top of the slab very nervous. This is definitely a route that has that a true gritstone ‘don’t fall off’ feeling. While not overly hard, it requires absolutely 100% commitment:
Josh and David climbed it with the rope above them, claiming Howsie was mad. I doubt anyone else will be game to lead this one, but was very happy to see Howsie go for it. I got the feeling he would relish the experience, and sure enough he was buzzing when he topped out. I am however not sure he would do it again. After seeing that placement and just how flared the cracks can be, David was quite happy not to lead anything else. So Howsie and I wrapped the session up by leading side by side lines:
This morning Howsie had pushed it into the danger zone, and I had probably pushed things a little further than I should have. That said both of us relished the final routes, which rounded off the session nicely. Just a grade above Howsie’s last lead, but with better protection. They still however required ultimate faith in friction. Something Josh and David had to dig deep for, when they got to those moves. A result of the morning having also pushed them out of their comfort zones, in terms of technical difficulty and mental focus:
Sandbagged 