Another weekend of trying to dodge the weather led to a quick Saturday morning out while Lisa was hoping to bob in the ocean, if it was not too rough. Unfortunately being the one of the two days no one was free to join, I contemplated my options. The forecast for Collie, near Welly Dam, was for the mercury to dip to below zero. This made it very tempting with the strong possibility of seeing ice encrusted vegetation. A rarity for us. But it would also mean cold heat sapping rock and harder routes, which I was not sure if I was all that motivated for:
The other option was to head to Castle Rock, from where I was hoping to be able to watch a fiery sunrise light up the sky across the bay. And as the images indicate the latter option won out. Being greeted by a more forgiving balmy 14 degree morning. Much more pleasant. Even better were the lower grade routes, which my body was more accepting of. For the first few climbs, each lap on the top rope was interspersed with sitting watching the sky change. The thin sliver of horizon below the cloud promising and giving a spectacular view:
The crag lit up briefly, before the sun was hidden behind the cloud. Allowing the climbing to continue without as many interruptions. It feels like it has been a while since I have climbed here, unlike at the Dam. The only downside being that the last route left me with a several battle scars when it spat me off on both laps. Not that I can complain, seeing it is one of my creations. So for several reasons it felt like I made the right choice of fire over ice, and most of the images relate to the display the sun created during my two and half hours at the crag:
Looking into references of fire and ice. I came across a 1920 apocalyptic poem, that concludes both elements are equally destructive. It is also the title of a dark fantasy-adventure sword-and-sorcery film that didn’t go so well in the box office. But has since been granted the status of being a 80s pulp-fantasy masterpiece, one in which fire won. Then there is the 80s classic rock track that use the term as a metaphor and assisted the singer in being given a Grammy award. A song she was forced to release as a single by her record label:
And while this post may also feel a little forced, I was keen to share the images. Including one not related to the sun. Whether it is a Mosquito Orchid (Cyrtostylis robusta) or slightly later flowering Midge Orchid (Cyrtostylis huegelii) is impossible to tell at this early stage. If I am really lucky it may also be the even later flowering Cape Mosquito Orchid (Cyrtostylis Cape Naturaliste). I’ll have to come back to see which it is, and when I do I also need to jump on that climb of mine. This time on lead to focus my mind and put a bit more fire in my belly:
Sandbagged 