Having just got back from overseas yesterday evening, which will be a much longer write up and may take a bit longer, you may wonder why I would be heading out today. It’s been planned for a while now. Originally Howsie and I were keen to sample the rock at a quarry in Perth, chosen for various reasons. None of which Mario could quite understand! Granted the quarries there do not have the green and more nature based charm of our local Well Dam. On the plus side for me it would have been a place I had not been too before:
For that reason alone I really should give it a go one day. If we had headed that way we would most certainly have driven out in darkness. Both being a good 5 hour round trip and wanting to avoid the horrendous weekday traffic heading into and round Perth, which only seems to ease up during the dark hours of the day. What put a stop to that idea was the weather forecast that was hit and miss, in stark contrast to two years back to the day. When Howsie and I did a similar trip in that direction, when the land was scorched:
In 2023 we climbed in the blistering heat of the sun with no shade. Today despite the trickery of the morning sky in the first image, as I drove out of Peppy Beach at a far more reasonable hour, I knew we would likely get wet. We picked Craig up on the way down, someone else who is not afraid of being on rock in inclement weather. After that and as we hit the road south the sky ahead became more broody. Wilyabrup was the best place to head, if only for the bigger rooves dotted along the crag to shelter under if it really got too silly:
On days like these there is no need to aim high, it becomes more of a test of the head than the muscles. None of us had anything in mind to give a go, other than me egging Howsie on to try the new line I recently put up with Adrian. I had suggested it was grade 14 and may warrant an R rating, which ‘implies that the protection is widely spaced or relatively poor in quality and that along fall (over 20 feet) is likely, with a pretty good chance of hitting a ledge or something else and getting hurt, or it could be that a short fall guarantees hitting a ledge’:
This description is taken straight from Jim Erickson’s 1980 Colorado guide called Rocky Heights. Some suggest he is the creator of the system. This may be incorrect as the R and X ratings were referenced in the Yosemite Decimal System. Developed in the 1930s by what was known as the Sierra Club. The club had and continues to have strong links to climbing, particularly in Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. It however originated from the need to act as a non-governmental watchdog to preserve the natural environment:
They were instrumental in getting land placed under federal control, allowing the creation of national parks to provide ongoing protection. A focus that the club continues to monitor and ensure continues. Back to 2025 where the R rating made Howsie second guess himself. So I egged Craig on instead, which he happily agreed to taking on one of the big wide corner cracks. Requiring those traditional climbing techniques of the older climbs to be used. Body jams, worming your way up, and ignoring the wet rock and water running down your sleeves:
Due to Craig taking the first lead the rock only got wetter. Ignoring this fact, or simply putting it to the back of his mind, Howsie seemed to be happy to give the Christening a go. The reason for the R rating was the image above. A nervous long reach up into the unknown. If you go for it, you are rewarded with a good hold. The sequence in this section has three nervous moves, and with each you get further away from the gear. Slip at the last moment and a 20 foot fall awaits, but it may be a clean fall so the R rating could be unwarranted:
After a bit of a chat about what Howsie and Craig felt. We agreed there are a few other lines at Wilyabrup that will provide a fall of a similar length, which do not have R ratings. The gear is bomber and while untested you are probably not likely to hit a ledge. Not surprisingly the wet conditions made it feel harder but the grade of 14 was considered reasonable, sorry Adrian. If Howsie had waited to lead it for his second route we would know for sure. As on the longest single pitch lower grade traditional style route here, I was bathed in sunlight high on the wall:
Sadly walking down we came across a dead Carpet Python. The lower part of the body had been ruptured suggesting it may have been squashed. By accident or not was unclear. On a more happy note the unexpected blue skies that seemed to appear quickly and remain with us, drew out quite a few live scaly friends. As well as an almost surfing pod of dolphins. They lined up for the bigger waves and then teasingly hovered on the crest without following it in. Three climbs in it was time for Craig to pour a brew, and Howsie surprised me with a cake:
So as Worzel Gummidge sang it was time for ‘a cup o’ tea an’ a slice o’ cake’, both of which went down very well so thank you both. And in response to the question at the start, of why I would be heading out today, the answer should be clear. Being the one day of the year I will not go to work and, if at all possible, rain or shine I will hit rock. We managed three of the more well-trodden climbs, evening bumping up the grade just a wee bit seeing the rock had dried off. As had the gear that we packed away before the next band of rain drifted in:
Sandbagged 