Being a long weekend we decided it was worth getting out for a second climb.  What was intended as a bit of a social gathering, keeping within the current restriction of course, was progressively whittled down to just Rongy and myself.  In view of the intention of being a social and just for a couple of hours, Lisa tagged along for a bit of fun at Castle Rock.  We drove out via the backroads, as we suspected the roads would be busy with tourists.  However, as we passed through Busselton and checked all the caravan parks they didn’t look that full, and everything seemed reasonably quiet:

The traffic never seemed to build up and even the carpark at Castle Rock beach was only half full, so we started to wonder if there were any tourist down this weekend.  Above the sun teased us with the occasional appearance, and there was the continual threat of grey clouds in the distance.  It was a bit of a mixed bag today but the rock felt good.  Rongy was looking for something not too hard to warm up on and set off up a route that isn’t in the guidebook.  Lou has professed to having led this line before, and if that is indeed true it was a good lead.  While never really hard it has a tricky unprotected start with no gear until half height:

The intention had not been just for this to be a warm up climb but also one that Katie could hopefully have a bash at.  However, having seen Rongy needing to work it just that little bit already made that seem unlikely.  Regardless of that, or maybe being oblivious of the fact, Katie tied on.  I gave her a boost as she sat on my shoulders and then stood on them to get past the start, which didn’t really have any big hand or footholds.  While she gave it a couple of goes it really wasn’t the confidence building start that was needed, and she decided to give up.  As Rongy and I came back down I suggested another line that would probably be good:

Luckily we hadn’t put Katie off, and she was keen for another bash.  So we scrambled round to the other side to a ledge above the water.  From here a fun crack runs up almost the entire face.  One with good foot and hand holds, and one that was right up her alley.  While there were a couple of moments when she hesitated, and seemed unsure whether to go on, it didn’t take much encouragement to get her to commit to the move and keep going.  This time she had a big smile on her face as she joined me on top, feeling justifiably pleased with herself:

We sat there looking out at the view across the bay and Rongy climbing up, with strict instructions not to climb too fast.  That was imposed by me, as I had handed Katie the camera so she could take some snaps.  After sorting the gear it was then time to scramble over the top of the rocks before scrambling down.  This created a real adventure, just like it should be with climbing.  Not just the climbing but the fun of getting there, good positions, time to take it all in and then having to focus to get back down safely.  It was then time to warm Rongy up properly, as he had a route in mind to attempt:

Katie joined Ben, Alana and Lisa as we stayed round the other side.  The warm up I had in mind was another route not in the guide, this time one I put up with Craig.  We called it Smear to Glory because of the layback moves we used to get through the crux.  Rongy however used his far superior jamming techniques to find a fine inverted jam and cruise past the smears without a thought.  That said, and being the fourth person I’ve sent up this line on the pointy end, he agreed like the others that the grade we gave it was right.  I was quick to follow up and I’m not sure that the climb really warmed up so properly for what was next on the agenda:

I have never seen anyone cruise up Welcome to Tsaro, the fine looking face to the right of Rongy in the above image.  It’s got a committing, technical, pumpy and very crimpy start to get established on the face.  Even after that you need to keep going on small holds for a while before it finally eases and allows you to breathe.  This had Rongy stumped for some time, so much so that Ben had come to check in on us.  After Rongy final got to the top I too struggled, despite having the rope above me and having climbed this route many times before:

Just as I was about to set off up after Rongy, I could hear the familiar call of “hello uncle Krish”.  And eventually three heads could be seen in-between the vegetation, bobbing up and down as they walked along the footpath.  Craig had finally made it with Henry and Charlie, and of course all the fishing gear.  I’m glad they didn’t stay to watch me struggle in less than fine form, instead wandering round to join the others.  Rongy and I pulled the belay and scrambled down to join the crew, feeling somewhat spanked and with forearms that were pumped far more than they really should have been:

We found Craig was busy getting the fishing gear prepped, cutting up the squid for bait and preparing three lines.  While the kids all looked somewhat interested none of them took a line, so as they played about exploring the area Craig was left to fish by himself, at least for a while.  My shoes and harness was coming off.  I felt like the last climb had drained me plus it was getting close to our time to depart and head to the shops.  So after what seemed like way too quick a chat with Craig and a quick hello to the boys, Lisa and I were packing our bags to head out:

As we finally started to walk out Rongy had set up a nice easy top rope that both Katie and Ben could try, and Craig was getting the boys ready to have a climb too with his eye on some short but fun looking honeycomb faces.  As they continued to enjoy the delights of Castle Rock, Lisa and I hit walked out and then hit the road to Busselton, where there was a bit of shopping to be done to prepare for a short working week ahead.  One that will be very short for me, but you’ll have to wait a week to find out why:

Both in Busselton and driving home, admittedly via the backroads again, we still felt that there didn’t seem to be a great deal more traffic on the roads than a normal weekend.  During the journey we got a few messages from Alana to say that Katie had caught her first fish and Ben’s tooth (which was already loose) had fallen out.  So it sounds like the fun was continuing out at Castle Rock.  A few hours later as I sat down to start writing this post I got a message from Rongy, they had finally set off and were now caught in the long weekend traffic.  I’m not sure where all the tourists had been hiding but they were now heading back to Perth, resulting in the traffic crawling painfully along at 6km/hr:

Yesterday it had seriously dumped on us with squally showers and some places getting a couple of inches of rain, which for here is pretty big.  So with that in mind and multiple forecast checks during the week the obvious sensible option was to head inland away from the more exposed coastal locations.  This of course didn’t mean that we would be treated with dry rock, but at least the chance of less rainfall while we were climbing.  The morning was glorious with blue skies.  That was however at 7am and we were not meeting at the crag till 9am, another lazy winter start.  On the final part of the journey driving up to and past the dam wall the temperature was 7 degrees and the mist was rolling over the wall:

Mario was first in, he’s not been to Welly Dam for months having been stuck in Perth.  He’s also not been leading for all that time, but then he trains hard and I had a sneaky feeling that having been off rock wasn’t going to be much of an issue for him.  Steve rolled in next and we stood about, all rugged up, no one making any hasty movement to rack up and get cracking.  So when I saw a roo munching on the roadside I pulled out my camera and went to take a few snaps.  In all the times I have climbed here I have seen plenty of roos on the drive in and out but never at the crag before.  Then as the sound of a car came along it hopped off:

The fourth arrival was Alan, and still we all stood round chatting.  The sun was poking over the wall and was helping to lift the mist but not the temperature, as we continued to stand there.  Many of the walls looked wet, the black steaks were slimy and the grass felt spongy underfoot with water sitting on top of it in places.  The sponge was oozing water over the footpath and onto the carpark.  Here it formed a river that ran downhill towards the access road and bush.  And still we stood there chatting.  After taking some more snaps, and seeing there was no active move from the others to get started I made the first move:

It was a bit of a tough call as to what to start on, something not too hard or wet.  But with recent trips here I also didn’t want to repeat any of the lines I’d been on recently, so for better or worse I decided on Victim of Authority.  The rock was cold and it was hard to tell if the holds felt bad because they were wet or was it just me struggling due to a lack of feeling in my fingertips.  I flailed about getting past the first bolt but then got into a rhythm and managed the rest of the climb.  I did however occasionally, and quietly, curse myself for picking what is a weird and tricky lead:

Alan and Steve were not so keen on the big walls.  So as Mario belayed me up my poorly thought out climb, they went to the carpark slab which slowly on became bathed in sunlight.  Steve did ask me if he was OK to have a lead today, and when he said he wanted to start easy and lead The Crack how could I say no.  He finally got to play with his tricams again and I could hear the two of them chatting away in what looked like positively tropical conditions, as I battled with cold fingers.  I topped out and came down before Steve had finished his lead, which was only a third of the height of mine.  Rushing over to take a few snaps he was keen to top out, as while he was in the sun the rock was still cold to touch:

Mario rambled up my lead with relative ease, and with what might have been a sympathetic “the rock does feel cold” to make me feel better about the style of my lead.  I was right he was going to be climbing strong.  He was however keen to pick a sensible second climb, and went for a Walk in Central Park.  He practically ran up the route, not even stopping at the larger holds to contemplate the slightly runout and fingery crux moves.  Before tying in to follow him up I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye.  Something told me the conditions today would provide a good opportunity to see, a few more than usual, birds.  Sure enough a number of Scarlet Robins (above) and Splendid Fairy Wrens were out:

Now that I had seen the birds, suddenly the sound of them became more evident too.  As the quarry filled with the sound of them, they had to compete with the babbling of Alan and Steve.  They were taking a long time to get between routes, there was certainly no urgency in there mood or movement.  We had left the rope up on our first route, upon Alan’s request and they were stood at the base chatting away.  In fact they had only just begun to take on the challenge as Mario and I were finishing up on route number two.  We interrupted their banter to ask about our second route, and they were again keen for us to leave the rope up:

I had to include the image above, I included an image of a single one of these mud wasp nests in a previous post about a top rope solo mission here.  While it is probably not an unusual sight, I can’t recall ever seeing such a large collection of them.  Also if you look closely there are a couple of them which have not been evacuated, and one from which it looks like the wasp was just starting to emerge.  It was very slow progress if it was, and I didn’t see it get any further.  A bit like Alan, as he battle up Victim of Authority.  Through determination he did eventually conquer the route but it was a real struggle.  Once he managed to get up Steve promptly, and without a hint of hesitation, said he’d give it a miss.  It seems to be a line that many people would rather avoid:

Mario and I soldiered on as Alan was inching his was up, almost stopping at after each move and hanging on to every hold for ages.  I had hinted earlier on about jumping on Just Do It, in part due to being one of the routes here that will be the last to get wet.  With a nice capping roof above the finish it gets a bit more protection and has only one small part which water eventually runs down.  Mario was keen, and said it was a route he would preferred to have a rope above him.  I avoided the direct start, which I felt on a slightly damp feeling day would be hideous, but the rest fell with ease.  Even the final direct wall felt comfortable with no desperation to get the final holds to haul myself underneath the protective roof.  I think I was finally warming up, but there were no thoughts of shedding any layers:

In between climbs I would eagerly be hunting the trees and grass for birds.  Steve had mentioned he thought he had seen a robin that might have been crossed with a wagtail, which I think was the one I captured above.  It was unusual to see such a red breast with the grey head and back.  However, the tail shape and all the other markings indicate it is a Scarlet Robin.  I’m just a bit baffled with the striking red breast.  The females have some colouration but it shouldn’t be that bright, and the juveniles don’t normally have any red.  Like me on that point, I finally saw Mario stumped.  He had to stop and back off from a move to rethink it.  The final wall is thought provoking, I just know the holds and moves well enough to make it look easy:

Second attempt he nailed it, all his training was paying off for sure.  So as he was cleaning that line (above) I took time to take a few more images.  The trees were pretty well stripped bare of leaves.  This process had been greatly assisted over the last week when a couple of fierce fronts, the first of which that had brought devastation, had smashed Western Australia.  According to the calendar winter official starts in a few days, but I think it is fair to say it arrived with a bang last week Sunday.  The air was filled with the sound of the usual birds, such as the distant caws of Red Tailed Cockatoos, screeching Ring Tailed Parrots and chittering Willie Wagtails.  I also spied a few Splendid Fairy Wrens that had slowed down a bit, allowing time to get a few good images:

These little fellas or to be correct gals in this case, as the image above is of a female, never seem to sit still hopping round with boundless energy looking for tasty morsels.  A bit like Mario and I, as he was already down and had the gear set up below the next line, Ear of Fear.  The grades were going up… and as Mario started, Steve was on his way up A Walk in Central Park.  Mario again motored his way up the route, there were however a couple of tenuous moments.  He snatched for the crucial hold on the crux, and held it.  I could tell he was a bit pumped as there was a sense of urgency in his movements both there and also as he clipped the bolt above.  The same happened at the final anchors, and on both occasions he held it together and was deservedly happy to have got a clean ascent:

Steve had been struggling up his route, I think the two of them had spent so much time chatting that they never really got into the grove of climbing.  Climbing is after all just as much if not at times more of a mental than physical challenge.  I caught them once again stood chatting away avoiding putting their hands on rock, as got set up for and climbed BBQ.  I was contemplating Flight Simulator to keep the grades up, but when I interrupted their chatter to ask Steve hinted he might like to play on BBQ.  I was pleased with that decision, as it started to sprinkle just as I completed the climb.  It was just enough moisture for Mario to tell me that the holds were beginning to feel wet and less inviting, not that this stopped him:

While I mentioned climbing can be more of a mental challenge, I could hear Alan saying his arms were goosed.  That was not surprising considering how long he had been hanging on to each hold.  Steve however was countering that by saying it was because of his sloppy footwork forcing him to use his arms too much.  Alan in response suggesting that his tiring arms reduced the ability to look down and think about footwork, while Steve refuted that with the logic that his footwork had been sloppy from the offset way before his arms had got tired.  And so the banter carried on… Meanwhile Mario and I plumped for one last route to even up the leads, he was thinking either Red Alert (taking the grades back up) or Savage Sausage Sniffer (keeping it more reasonable):

I was pleased he plumped for more reasonable, and I think he may have been to.  It was just enough to polish off a top session in less than desirable conditions.  I might add that while Steve had hinted at wanting to play on BBQ, he had taken that back hinting he just wasn’t feeling that way inclined and making mention of his hand being a bit sore.  So as Mario and then I went up the last route of the day the boys, were once again deep in the art of having a chat.  We retrieved and packed up the gear, which had been spread across the crag, and were ready to head out.  But the banter continued and it took a while before Mario and then finally I left the old men to it.  As I drove off they were sat on the park bench, debating amongst other matters whether or not they should head up to café to get a coffee:

Today was the calm before the storm.  The remnants of cyclone Mangga will be bearing down on us tomorrow and so Andrew, Steve and I made the best of the good weather and headed to Wilyabrup.  While they had both joined in with the recent climb at Welly Dam, neither have climbed much and so it was going to be a “breaking back into it” kinda day.  Steve being on the road to recovery after surgery and Andrew well just to get back into climbing, and also aiming to get climbing fit for a possible down south trip later in the year:

To get the muscles warmed up and after learning from the error of my ways with Rongy earlier in the week, we started on something sensible being the fun climb called Glory.  To make things a bit more interesting and much to Steve’s delight I led this purely on tricams.  Andrew came up last and had the honour of taking the gear out.  One was particularly problematic, but after much mucking about he managed to pull the offending piece of gear free.  As Andrew topped out he came up with the idea of getting 20 push-ups in after each climb.  Telling us he had a target of 220 to do today, as part of the push-up challenge:

We toyed with various options for the next climb.  In view that the regional border with Perth was now open we anticipated a few climbers would be down.  So we determined that while we had the place to ourselves we should jump on Sirius.  Steve is still on his no leading probation period with me, and Andrew was certainly not keep to lead this one so I went up first.  However, being a traverse all three of us had the prospect of an equally big fall, and because of that I laced the traverse to reduce the risk for them:

Sure enough and as predicated, the first sign of other climbers came along as they followed me up or should I say along the traverse.  Two parties set up on the easy but fun slabs.  It seemed like there were a couple of newbies being introduced to the wonders of outdoor climbing, as there were lot so instructions being given out.  Andrew made the traverse and then it was Steve’s turn, his face was looking serious and did I detect just a hint of concern.  He later admitted that he felt a tad nervous on this pitch but managed to pull it off, and avoid a fall.  Something he hadn’t managed the last time he was on this route:

I set off up pitch two, it has been a while since I’ve been up this second pitch.  Most times I have been up the first pitch we have then climbed one of the two grade 18’s on the face, so it was nice to get back onto the proper second pitch of Sirius.  As I set myself up with a belay that gave me a bird’s eye view of them coming up, I noticed that Andrew was doing his next set of push-ups… yes on the belay ledge!  He eventually finished the set off and I’m not sure if he was aware of the tourist who had also started to appear, looking on at his antics:

Like I said I wanted a bird’s eye view of them following me up, and as such had a great hanging belay with nothing but space between me and the ground some 35 meters below.  I do like to be able to watch people as they follow up after me, plus it is much safer as you can observe how they are going and quickly see when they are starting to get into strife.  That thankfully didn’t happen for either of them, but you could tell they were both a little nervous stepping round the arête to get onto the slabby face.  That is when the exposure hit you:

After doing the obligatory push-ups Andrew settled himself down on a comfy perch, as I belayed Steve.  And more people started to appear.  Some out for a wander and some possibly just looking for that perfect insta-image, as they wandered round observing the world through the lens of their phones checking out the best angles.  I previously mentioned that Andrew needs to get back into climbing, he has a goal to climb a route on the south coast later in the year.  It’s a classic grade 18 that he has seconded many years back, but this time he wants to lead it.  So it is probable that he will be joining in more of our trips out:

Steve came up last and pulled the gear, for this and the last pitch there was a selection of wires, cams and tricams.  I decided no tot just use tricams, especially on the traverse as they can be more fiddly to get out.  I didn’t want to risk tiring either of them out, which could have resulted in a fall.  Only one wire gave Steve grief, which was thankfully at the belay ledge.  In this image you get a real feel for the exposure as you come on to this slabby face.  The bottomless corner just drops away into space under you, giving the sort of experience that I love.  You might also notice below another party that had turned up, who were eyeing up something on Steel Wall:

As we wandered down Steve said that he had made a decision that he wouldn’t climb any more today.  He was happy with what he had done and didn’t want to push things any more, indicating that he felt like he was climbing like a cabbage.  Not that it had shown, but we respected his decision and I quietly wondered what had happened to the real Steve who wouldn’t normally come across as so sensible.  Back at the base we bumped into Mick with a family of four that he was showing the ropes, it was his first tour for a while as he couldn’t take people out due to the various restrictions in place.  It seems that people are now getting back into things and he told us he even had a second group coming out in the afternoon:

With Steve on the sideline it was up to Andrew as to what we did.  I’m happy to say that he was keen for more and not only that but he was keen to jump on the floppy end.  So we went in search of something not too hard, gave enough opportunities for protection and looked fun.  When you are looking for less than a grade 14 that meets all three criteria it is actually quite hard.  Usually the routes are scrappy or they do not have much in the way of protection.  It was however Steve that pointed to and suggested Orryjohn:

As Andrew was getting, quite literally, stuck into the delights of Orryjohn I found a tiny pocket in the rock that had been made into a home.  I kept an eye on Andrew as he wormed his way up the chimney, first facing one way and then the next, and also watched the home hoping that the occupant might pop out to say hello.  Sadly no one came out, but on the plus side Andrew figured out the best way to tackle the chimney and managed a clean ascent.  It was a good start on his road back to climbing fitness, which is just as much if not more of a mental thing than physical:

I didn’t check if he did his push-ups after that route but I could tell that he was keen for one more route, and of course I am nearly always happy to get just one more climb in.  He was also keen to follow me up something a bit more spicy from what we had been climbing today.  So we decided on a project that Steve has in mind to complete this year, Inner Space.  It’s a route that used to be a regular on the tick list when we would come down, but in more recent times I haven’t been on it so much.  I could feel that we had turned it up a notch, needing to pull a little harder to get the moves and having to hang on a bit more placing gear:

While we were climbing Steve had gone walkabout.  I spied him down amongst the big boulders doing a bit of digging and then seemingly playing in the water.  He told me that he has been getting more and more interested in the geology of the area, you may recall in a past post There’s Gold in Them There Hills that he had, back then, started to show an interest.  Well it seems that this has moved up a level, and while he knows there isn’t any gold he was certainly looking for something.  But I don’t know what:

While Steve searched, Andrew made his way up the fine route.  He was half way up and starting to look tired, I could tell as the arms were starting to stick straight out instead of being locked down and his body positions looked more strained.  I thought he was going to fall but he pulled through and was soon just a couple of meters below the top… which is also where the crux is.  Talking him through what to expect I really thought he was going to make it, until the last move when his arms gave up and his hands slowly but steadily slipped off the final holds:

Needless to say he was still very happy to have got up to literally the final holds in such good style.  He was also looking smashed and just rolled onto the ledge, a sure sign it was time to wrap things up and head out.  Rather than haul the rope and gear back to the base, only to have to walk it all back up again.  So after he had done his push-ups we sorted the gear, coiled the rope and stashed it for collection on the way out.  When we wandered back to the packs we found Steve tucked away in a corner, trowel in hand, searching through the soil.  I really should have asked him what he was hoping to find:

It took us a while to get out, this time it was my fault.  I went to say goodbye to Mick, but he likes a yarn and he and I kept going probably a little too long.  His clients didn’t seem to mind so we kept going  Eventually we broke free and walked back up the track, and I almost forgot to stop and pick up the gear we had stashed.  Steve plodded on at a steady pace, as Andrew and I loaded the gear.  It was midday and as we walked back towards the carpark we passed several groups coming in, another seven climbers who were hauling in an esky:

The early start had paid off, we got to pick and choose the lines we wanted.  Had the joy of having the place to ourselves for a while, but also had a bit of a social with some of the many crew that had turned up.  Back at the carpark there were twenty odd cars, more than the spaces could handle. Some were parked in the bush off the track.  No doubt tomorrow will be a different story, as the cold front marches down on us bringing high winds and lots of rain.  The wet weather is set to continue all week, so there will be no midweek climb for me.  But hopefully we might sneak out again next weekend:

Next week it looks like this fine autumn weather we have been getting is likely to break.  So I decided on another midweek climb, and Rongy was also keen.  I left it to him as to where he would like to climb and the first thing that popped into his mind was Wallcliffe.  Unfortunately for various reason climbing has been banned there, but the bolts as yet have not been chopped.  I however, through work, have a fair bit of dealings with the local government who have been primarily responsible for the closure of that crag ,and so was not comfortable with undertaking a covert mission there:

So instead we ended up at Wilyabrup, which just pipped Castle Rock.  The longer routes here are what swayed it, Castle Rock is very different but also very short.  Now having been to Wilyabrup a few times of late we decided it was high time to hit Steel Wall.  We hadn’t set our heart on any particular routes and would see how the day unfolded.  I kicked things off by leading up the first half of Simply Suicide, to allow us to reach the half height ledge.  It was greasy and I was cold, one or both of which resulted in me popping off the crux move.  Maybe I should have properly warmed up by started on the lower grade first pitch of Sirius:

In the above image, and on the ground below us, you may see the H symbol.  Signalling the landing platform, i.e. a piece of cloth, for a drone.  Rhys had joined us and wanted to test out his new drone, and that meant we could get a whole new perspective of the cliff and climbing.  The reduced images in this post probably won’t do them justice but they still give a great view of the setting in which the Wilyabrup cliffs are nestled.  Rongy pulled off the greasy hold moves without slipping, and on arrival at the belay was keen to check out the second half of Delving Devoid:

With the new technology the drone was pretty quiet and didn’t sound like an annoying mosquito, which is what I have experienced with drones previously.  You can just about make us out on the mighty Steel Wall, towards the left end.  Mere specks on the grand collection of orange and grey buttresses that make Wilyabrup such a great place to climb.  Below Rongy is launching up his pitch, this will only be the third time I have seen this line climbed, first by myself with Craig, then Howsie and now Rongy (both with me):

It is very much a traditional climb, a thin seam on small but adequate protection.  When I say adequate protection I mean adequate for the more die hard trad climbers.  Bold climbing is required.  This includes having the knowledge and trust to know when even the smallest of wires, such as the one below, will hold a fall if it needs to.  Watching Rongy work his way higher I felt he was being brave to take on this line considering the greasy nature of the rock, but then as I have said countless times that never seems to worry him as much as others or myself:

We scrambled back down and this time already knew where we were heading.  As I checked out a route that Rhys was eyeing up, which will get mentioned later, Rongy got on with the usual drill.  By the time he had the first piece of gear in I had him on belay.  This time we made use of the first pitch of Sirius to get back to the same belay spot that we had used earlier.  Steve you’ll be pleased to know that Rongy used the same pink tricam placement as you did, and this time I successfully removed it on second:

From that belay my line was straight up the steep wall.  Unclaimed as I called it, has a nervous start to clip the first bolt.  I was feeling uneasy with the prospect of hanging on delicately to insecure holds to clip the first bolt, with the prospect of a nasty landing on the ledge if I slipped.  Strangely for the start and in fact the entire route I felt at ease, there was no fiddling about working moves and each hold I went for felt good despite at times being very thin.  Based on the two grade 18 routes we had climbed today Rongy and I started to wonder if we under-graded the new lines we had recently put up at the Organ Pipes, ah well it is not likely that anyone will ever repeat them:

Another scramble back down to the deck, and now Rongy liked the idea of climbing Pascal’s Route.  This was in part as we had bumped into Pascal, for the first time, a few weeks back and in part due to the route now sporting two new bolts.  This meant that it was a on full sports route and it also took a different line to Simply Suicide from the shelf upwards.  It did however mean he had to climb the first pitch of my first chosen line.  A slight breeze began to stir and this helped dry the rock, making the crux moves up to the ledge that little bit more enjoyable:

It’s a great clean line from start to finish, with a reachy crux near the top.  One that made Denis falter and slip off years back, so it really is reachy.  It was hard to tell from the bottom but Rongy later confessed that he almost misread the moves and came off.  I too was super close to coming off at this point, you have to suck into the wall and inch your way up gingerly on poor slopey holds barely big enough to put your finger tips on.  By the time I got to the top I was feeling pretty pooped, quite possible a fourth day of climbing within a week was taking it’s toll:

One more time we scrambled down, or it would be more technically correct to say we down climbed.  The gulley of Buttress Corner is never too challenging, but you still have to keep your wits about you.  A slip would result in a long and bumpy fall.  After that last route even this down-climb was feeling pretty tiring, but it was my lead next and I had thought that it would be up Stainless Steel.  A grade harder again, but one we are familiar with and feel reasonably safe on.  Rhys was however still eyeing up the route we had been looking at before, and so my attentions got diverted to that line:

Rhys’s Rapid Retreat, was the climb that saw the downfall of his climbing.  He was having a go at leading this route when he took a near catastrophic fall, and while we carried on climbing that day it was not until a few days later that the reality of what nearly happened hit him.  He has never really overcome that.  Seeing he was keen to try it I went up that route, only to realise just how tired I was.  It was hard work and I made it look even harder.  I’m hoping that I didn’t put Rhys off, or did he call it for what it really was?  Either way, not being climbing fit, he said he pumped out on the initial steep wall was it was pointless trying to complete the route:

After he decided against following me Rongy cleaned the line.  Now while I was climbing I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, someone setting up a rope on top of Steel Wall.  As I set up the belay and Rhys was attempting the line the person had wandered down.  He then settled into a rock armchair, which would make Lisa jealous, to watch Rongy climb (near the top of the image above).  I had an inkling that I knew this figure, which prove correct, and it was non-other than Pascal!  How freaky to bump into him twice in as many weeks, when I had not seen him before in some 15 years of climbing here:

We had a chat about his route, and he was very pleased to hear that it had been climbed just that morning.  He had organised to meet up with a few other climbers, ones that I had only met a couple of times before.  They were however a little late arriving, so after Rongy had led Stainless Steel without seemingly breaking a sweat, Pascal went up next.  He practically ran up the route so while I feel it would pretty good to get out climbing with him sometime, I’m not sure if I could keep up:

My turn next, and despite feeling weary I found my own less rushed pace and enjoyed the climb.  Rhys had the drone flying this way and that but again I never heard it, as he captured many great angles some far off and some pretty close.  Too many to include in this post.  I easily passed what some call the crux, as I always have.  Then faltering slightly at the next slabby section and went direct, under instructions/directions from Rongy.  He’s right it is the best way to go.  Then it was only the final headwall, a couple of last pumpy moves and once atop I could feel my body say now I need to rest:

Rhys brought the drone in closer for one last image before that too was brought back down with close to exhausted batteries.  We were preparing for the last scramble down, only then to have to walk back up; um when I say it like that you can understand when people ask “why?”.  Before we headed down Aaron and the rest of the crew rocked up, to climb with Pascal.  During a chat I discovered that he had moved to Peppy Beach six months back and lived just down the road from us.  It really is a small world:

It wasn’t me that said yes to heading out for a second day on the trot, it was Lisa.  Although I might have hinted to Lisa that I was a little tempted, when she told me that Rongy had posted on out local WhatsApp group to see if anyone was keen.  No complaints from me.  And so I found myself back on the road, as the day was breaking, but not until I had made Lisa a cuppa while she was still snuggled up under the duvet on yet another brisk morning.  The following image was kindly donated by Steve, as I didn’t stop to take any images on the way up:

The main reason for not stopping and admiring the view, was that I had an impromptu stop early on to help someone clear up the debris left after they had hit a big kangaroo.  The roo was toast, and not a pretty sight.  Bits of plastic and the occasional body part lay scattered across both lanes for some 20 to 30m of road.  I still arrived at Welly Dam pretty well on time and was greeted by an empty carpark.  As I waited for the others to roll in I wanders round the area taking in the beautiful colours that the non-native deciduous trees turn during autumn, as the shed all their leaves:

I purposely mentioned above about these trees being non-native.  And while they may look pretty, when they are by a river all that leaf litter results in some less than desirable outcomes.  It can result in a large build-up of organic matter, which as it decomposes sucks the oxygen out of the water and also raising the nutrient levels above normal resulting in fish kills.  Our native tress do not shed their leaves in the same way.  It wasn’t too long a wait and within a short period the carpark looked packed.  Steve then Rongy and Alana and very soon afterwards Andrew and Lachy pulled in:

It has been a while since we have all caught up so there was the need for a bit more banter before any action began on rock.  Also Andrew and Steve had not climbed a huge amount in recent months.  In fact Steve is at the tail end of his recovery from his last operation, and he advised that it was going very well.  That said I was insistent on, and he agreed to, a “no leading” rule for him during the first few times that we got him back on rock.  Rongy got the itch first and was ready to start climbing when he realised he couldn’t find his climbing shoes:

Luckily Steve had brought, I think it was, three pairs of shoes and fortunately one of them seemed to fit Rongy pretty well.  He plumped for Raging Torrent and to start with it all felt a bit new, resulting in the need to search about looking for the holds.  The shoes did their job, but he wasn’t on the rock for long before he noted that his fingers were starting to go numb.  Alana just looked on, and while I think she has heard of my approach of waiting till the first bolt is clipped to start belaying, she did look a little concerned to be witnessing it:

Andrew and I jumped on Welcome to Edges, and whether it was the cold rock, not having warmed up or just feeling a bit weary from yesterday’s day out I faltered on the first few moves.  However, once I conquered them things flowed a bit better.  Rongy and I switched lines so I could have a lead on Raging Torrent, and things started to flow even better.  When I got there Steve was looking down, it is not that he was feeling blue even though he was looking very blue.  I feel that he was just getting all muddled up with a choice of so many pairs of shoes:

I rattled off my line and we left the top rope set up for Andrew.  Then Steve suggested that another relaxed climb might be A Walk In Central Park.  I was however not so convinced the climb was named purposely as you never known when you might get into strife resulting in you falling off.  I have been told it is a bit like real walk in Central Park!  That and the cold rock would make it a tense lead.  Now before I started and as Rongy was leading Welcome to Edges I took this image and you might notice that Andrew had been learning from my bad habits, and even taking things a step further.  He is just now reaching for his belay device, after Rongy has clipped and is going past the first bolt:

As it was I needn’t have worried about being mugged in Central Park.  I climbed it with relative ease and my fingers never felt cold.  I reckon I had got my heart rate up a bit during the first two climbs, helping to keep the blood circulating, along with the internal warmth it brought to combat that cold rock.  As is the normal we all had a bit of a giggle at the horrendous chain set up at the top of the route, and being Steve’s creation it is also something he has indicated he would rectify on numerous occasions.  One day he might:

Andrew was keen for Lachy to have a bash at a climb, and it made sense to do this on Block and Tackle.  So before that could happen the rope had to be put up and I handed the pointy end to Andrew.  He did really well and when he committed to the crux moves he romped up it.  Lachy was however hesitant and while he had a bash it seemed like his heart was never really in it.  He had a couple of goes and got to the same height both times.  With climbing it’s usually best not to force things with novices, instead wait till they want to try to push harder.  As such Lachy didn’t jump on any other lines:

Every time I look round it seemed that Alana had moved her chair to a new location.  It was a little like playing Where’s Wally, and due to Alana wearing autumn colours at times you had to look twice before you spotted her new location.  Similar to Lisa yesterday she was quite happy being outside and reading her book.  I’m sure that given the choice she would have liked a bit more sun, something that doesn’t hit this area until later in the day:

While Lachy was having a couple of bashes at Block and Tackle and Alana was reading her book, Rongy moved across to Rock Therapy.  He launched up each of the steep and reachy moves, which the bottom three quarters of the climb throws at you, with seeming ease.  Then he stood at the base of the final wall for a fair bit longer, mustering up encourage before he committed to pulling on the spaced, small sharp holds, which are in complete contrast to the rest of the route.  It was not a route that Steve would be following up so I said I would, and before I got there the rope had been pulled so I too had to lead it:

There was just enough gas in the tank for one more route, and I could feel Rongy’s energy was at the same level.  Now Howsie had suggested that I climb Taj, and the idea did cross my mind.  But only very fleetingly.  Instead, and sorry Howsie, we decided on BBQ.  I’m pleased we did as it felt just hard enough but not so that I didn’t enjoy it.  It also felt slightly greasy and it is possible, not that we checked it, that the murky corner in which Taj sits would have felt even damper:

I pulled the rope down for Rongy and while he led BBQ, Steve was belaying Andrew as he finally had a bash at the first route of the day.  Andrew certainly battled his way up Raging Torrent, not being very climbing fit three Welly Dam climbs was enough to sap any last energy he had.  Now while we technically didn’t hit any of grade 20 routes that Howsie has to climb this year, it could be argued that Raging Torrent is a grade 20.  That is if you believe all the hype that is posted on The Crag about this route, something for Howsie to ponder on:

With that we started to pack away the gear, it seemed everyone had come prepared with ropes and gear.  Not only that but I also noticed that others seemed to have cottoned onto my use of “the Crate” for Welly Dam climbing sessions.  Today there were three crates on display.  Once the BBQ had been was cleared of gear Andrew and Lachy set about cooking up a batch of sangs.  Steve, Alana and Rongy wandered up to the café to get coffees.  And I sloped off home leaving them to it, so while Lou is right in that I am more social than I used to be I still pick and choose how far my sociability extends on any given day:

With semester one at the University of Western Australia done and dusted, there was a two week window of opportunity to get Lou back on rock before she would once again be immersed between the pages of some book or glued to her laptop.  She had come along for a boulder session at our place just last week at which she claimed to be “weak as”.  It was true and she climbed like a cabbage, so I didn’t have high hopes of getting too much done today.  Seeing I was heading out with Lou it was a slightly more reasonable departure time from home, which helped me to convince Lisa to make an appearance:

The carpark was empty, but on arrival at the crag we were not alone and we found a couple wandering along the base.  They were from New Zealand and had got stuck in Western Australia due to the lock downs and travel bans.  Yesterday they had cycled down and then spent the night camped out.  You might also notice a large boulder blocking the track, which had rolled down from the base of the Fat Chance Wall.  No damage was done to any climbs, but it is a sobering reminder that even the seemingly stable rocks we hop about on at the base of the cliff can be destabilised:

We started on Tom Thumb.  Today was all about trad, low grades and a bit of fun.  I was also not expecting Lou to do any of the leading, nor Alan who had said he would be joining us.  He rocked up just as Lou was making her way to the top of the first route, his timing I have to say was perfect.  And soon all three of us were at the top of the crag.  Lisa, in her usual fashion, was not climbing but instead found a comfy spot to settle into.  Where she slipped between reading her kindle, watching the waves, having a bit of a chat and having a wee snooze:

It was another stunning autumn morning and the waves were looking particular impressive today.  Light winds made for a smooth ocean other than for when the clean sets of thunderous waves rolled in.  Lisa loves the ocean and can spend hours memorised by the sight and sound of waves.  Back home we can hear them from our house, but the sound of those waves from Geographe Bay are faint in comparison the sound of these waves that come in from the Indian Ocean.  We were even treated to a small pod of dolphins surfing in, but only briefly before they leisurely moved away:

Next up was Thunder Thighs, a route that I recently did with Rongy.  Due to the number of times I get out and relatively small number of locations and routes I find myself climbing some lines a number of items in a short period.  When the guide was published in 2016 there were 490 routes spread across nine areas, and since then there haven’t been too many more added.  But when you like climbing for climbing’s sake, and don’t treat it as a sport, they never get boring.  Alan came up second on this one, and seemed to be copycatting me by getting his camera out mid climb to take a few snaps:

The reason for choosing the first two routes was that they are more traditional in nature.  It’s not that they don’t have bolts, more that they are not just face or cracking climbing.  They are varied in features and require a bit of jamming, bridging, lay backing, under clinging along with usual crimping and jug hauling.  I like climbs that mix it up, it keep them interesting and also keeps you on your toes.  This route is however a bit sparsely protected, there is enough there but you have to look around and practice good rope work to avoid any drag:

The chosen routes and their grades were perfect, I didn’t seem to be wearing either Lou or Alan out and they were keen for more.  That didn’t however stop the side effect of more than one climbing partner, intermission times for a bit of banter and catch-up.  On this route they got a bit more time, as I also belayed one of the campers up before breaking the belay.  We also noticed a fair few people wandering around the top and bottom of the crag, none of them were climbers.  The lock down really is making people get outdoors to explore the local area:

Then it was back to business, we were walking down between climbs today.  I felt that setting up a rap line might make it feel like there was some urgency to get more routes in.  But, and some may be surprised to hear or even non-believing in the fact that, the need to cram routes in never crossed my mind.  I was however quietly hoping to get four lines in and next up was Hope.  As I topped out I was aware of some people sat on the top to my left, enjoying the scenery.  They gave me a bit of an applause when I got up.  Not something I really enjoyed and I might have come across as a bit rude in not responding to their gesture, as Lou pointed out to me:

To show it was a slightly later start and that we were moving slowly, the sun had already bathed the entire face of the climb.  This made my fingertips start to sweat, but I stuck to today’s self-imposed no chalk rule and also stuck to just using wires on this route.  I did have a little hope in me that on such a day we might have come across the little Carpet Python that often sits atop the flake just above where Lou is.  But it was not to be today, there was however a little skink tucked deep into a crack that I was going to use for one of only four placements I used on this route:

You may have noticed that we were using my twin ropes.  The main reason being that with three people it is much easier than using a single rope.  With a single rope if you need to use too much for the belay, you then have to throw the rope back down for the third and it becomes a bit faffy.  With two ropes it also offered Alan the ability to put a bit of competition into the day, who would coil the rope fastest.  While highly entertaining I’m glad to say that this “friendly” competition only started after the third climb. That way it never got too heated and only allowed for some cheating tactics to be thought up and employed:

There’s a line which I had no recollection of ever climbing, and I couldn’t even remember if it was in the guide.  I spied it as I walked in and thought it would be a good one to do today, so that is where we headed next.  It looked OK from below and there seemed to be opportunities for solid protection all the way up.  The middle and upper part was however a little run out.  And while the tri-cam, now well below my feet, was in it just didn’t look that inspiring.  None of the holds felt familiar making me a little nervous, but fortunately the moves were too hard:

Lou wandered up claiming it to be a 10, and as Alan came up last and gave it an 11.  He also reckoned he found a better placement than my tri-cam so down went the wires so he could check it and then take an image, as evidence for later inspection.  We looked at it later, and it may have been marginally better but we didn’t think there was much in it.  Either way we all agreed it was a bold lead due to the gear, and now looking in the guide it seems that the climb is called Road Trip and is a grade harder than Hope.  It’s certainly not as hard as Hope but is a far bolder lead:

The sun was almost across the entire crag, a sign that midday had snuck upon us.  So we agreed that it was probably time to head out.  I scrambled down after showing the campers, who had been joined by a third person, where to set up a top rope for Hope and crept up on Lisa who had found yet another very comfortable rock armchair.  I gave her a bit of a start when I said hello, and she confessed that she had started to once again doze off.  Now fully awake she joined us as we packed up the gear ready to haul ourselves back up to the carpark:

I lost count of how many people were out walking while we were at the crag, but it was close to double digits.  The two campers were joined by a third as they started to top rope some routes, and as we walked out three more climbers were walking in.  On the short gravel road back to the tarmac four cars were coming in, and the number plates made us wonder if some people had broken the regional travel bans early.  From Monday more regional travel is allowed, and it is very likely that this place will be much busier meaning even more watchful eyes.  Can’t say I’m looking forward to that:

Thursday was set to be a corker of a day, with a light wind and swell and temperatures in the low twenties.  With the forecast being what it was Rongy and I decided it would be waste if we didn’t take the opportunity and head out, so I booked the day off from work.  Daylight crept from the sky on Wednesday, as I drove home, and it was a glorious sunset, even more impressive than normal.  Mosaic looking clouds, in glorious glowing oranges and reds.  The old saying red sky at night Shepard’s delight, which really should be sailor’s delight, crept into my mind and I was hopefully for a great day out bagging first ascents:

In the morning the sky was clear, so while the light of the waking day was beautiful it was not a scratch on the sky of the evening before.  Walking down the familiar path that we had trodden countless times before, we made the customary pit stop at the with toilet one of the best views you are likely to get.  Then we turned off the main track and headed to the Organ Pipes.  When I asked Rongy if he had a preference for the morning out, he indicated we should head to where I had a few projects waiting to be sent:

I was very surprised to find out that Rongy had never climbed at the Organ Pipes.  That was however good, as I then had an excuse to jump on the more relaxed climbs while pointing him to some of the more gnarly ones.  The Organ Pipes is a place for trad climbers, the lines are not always clean, they are varied in nature and there are no bolts to provide you with a safety net when the gear gets thin.  This happens on a number of climbs here, more so than at any of the other crags at Wilyabrup.  But to start with Dry Reach was a gentle and well protected way for me to start the day:

Rongy was happy to be at my mercy so I suggested Spraying.  Despite being only two climbs in we were already warming up and it was time to shed some layers.  The cold crisp morning we had expected, before the sun warmed the world up, was not so cold.  The air hung a little heavy over us, with the humidity up and no breeze to keep the air flowing and moisture away.  This meant that the rock has a slightly greasy feel to it, which was fine on the easier lines but I knew that might hamper some of the projects we had in mind:

The sun still hadn’t fully come over the ridge, but a few rays started to extend across the ocean lighting up the occasion boulder and the white crest of the occasional wave.  There was also a strange sight that neither of us had seen, or noticed, before.  A plume of mist hovered above the water extending in a narrow strip straight out from the beach.  It was an eerie but calming sight, and just a bit too far away to allow the photography do it the justice it deserved.  As the morning wore on and the sun made a full and proper appearance, the solitary plume of mist lifted:

My intention had originally been to only have a couple of warm up routes before we got down to some serious business.  But with the slightly damp feeling rock, we felt it was worth staying on sensible routes until things dried up.  That of course would only happen if the wind picked up, which it showed no sign of doing.  So I took another gentle stroll up Crab Arête, the easiest line of the day.  It makes use of a slightly concerning musical flake.  Above the flake there is no gear, and this was the first route where we started to have to run things out:

We had set up a rap line, as scrambling down at this place simply is not worth it.  You either have to walk a long way round or scramble down some horrible lose gullies.  On the first rap Rongy spied the line of the crag classic, Heaven Calling, and was keen to jump on it.  So that was the next route we went up and even this route toes the “Organ Pipes” line.  The top flake has generous holds but no worthy gear placements.  So there is a 5m runout to finish, which is fine when you are comfortable at the grade but can be unnerving if you are climbing at your limit:

So came my lead next, and I decided to bypass my more difficult project that scaled a vertical face with only smears for fingertip and foot holds.  I had visions of slipping off them, and with the usual runout top section that simply wasn’t going to fly.  So I jumped on a potential new route that I first discovered with Andrew.  Truth be told it is a bit of a contrived line but looks inviting and as such still seemed worth doing.  The bottom two thirds fell with relative ease, I knew what to expect and just got on with it.  However, below the final headwall the holds felt super greasy resulting in me yo-yoing the next moves unable to commit, and pumping out:

So I handed the pointy end over to Rongy, who doesn’t get as fazed by greasy holds as much as I do.  He nailed it!  So become a new grade 18 route that we called Honesty Box.  I have put up a post about the new routes of the day (I feel like I am giving things away here) on the CAWA forum, which is awaiting moderation.  So in the interim here is the route description: This wall was climbed independent of the side walls, with an airy and exciting finish into the unknown.  A great sustained line with some interesting challenges, but requiring honesty to stay on route as it is sadly easily escapable:

I have to say that while it was a little disappointing not to have bagged that line, it had been my intention to let Rongy have a go at getting the first ascent on it.  That was supposed to happen after I had led my really long term project (now six years), the one for which the conditions were not right.  Regardless of how it came about I’m pleased that there is now one less line that will be nagging me to get a move on and climb it so I could write it up.  Despite Rongy having just led the new line, we kinda felt that it was still his turn to lead:

This was in part because the next route on our agenda, Knocking on Heaven’s Door, was a line that I established a couple of years back with Wiggins.  As far as I am aware it yet to get a second ascent.  The post I put up on CAWA about the new route has never had any feedback and the line has not found its way onto The Crag.  So I was keen for Rongy to lead it and see what he thought of it.  It took a little thinking before he committed to the crux moves and final 5m runout, which was on small crimpy holds.  But did a clean job of it and without prior knowledge confirmed the grade to be spot on:

After I followed Rongy he suggested that he was pretty happy with the climbs we had bagged so far.  However, while he may have been hinting that he was happy to head out, I still had unfinished business to attend.  It really didn’t take much for me to get him to agree to two more lines.  The first one was one that I had tried to encourage Mikey to have a go at during his 10km challenge, but he was understandably focused on meterage and so plumped for a bunch of easier options and passed up the opportunity.  It was probably a good thing that he didn’t try it, as I would have felt very guilty:

The bottom slab was fine, but once I reached the headwall the gear was fiddly and also only present in the first few meters.  After that I pretty well solo’d and screamed my way through every move.  More out of fear of the potential long fall should a hold break off, which was made all the more plausible (in my mind) due to one having done exactly that low down while I was getting the gear in.  So became The Screamer at grade 16 described as: Start as for 10K trending right up the slab before taking on the steep face.  Small but good gear low down in the face is soon a distant memory, and while true to the grade with fun climbing it gets very run out (even by the Organ Pipes standards):

I was understandably feeling pretty happy with that ascent.  I do however feel that I will be waiting a very long time before anyone else attempts the route.  I’ll gladly hold the rope for anyone who fancies giving it a bash!  We hadn’t quite finished for the day and there was still one more new route to polish off.  I knew the start would be right up Rongy’s street, a bouldery roof followed by balancey moves onto the slab.  It is a very committing move, and it took several false starts and I began thinking that he would wear himself out and would then not have the gumption to do it:

Eventually he figured out “the move” and plucked up the courage to make it, then being rewarded with a more pleasantly protected headwall above.  And so fell project number three resulting in The Grunter at grade 16/13: Grunt your way up the bouldery moves via the break in the rooflet.  Keep your composure and balance to mount the slab, with a potential ground fall for those who falter.  Trend right up the slab to the narrow crack line that splits the buttress to the right of the chimney.  Easier, well protected climbing awaits.  The bouldery start can be avoided by accessing the slab a meter or so to the left making a more consistent grade 13 route:

The sun was moving in the sky and starting to hit the west facing rock, and it had a sting in it.  It was certainly warming up and there was still little to no breeze.  With that we both agreed the last two exciting new routes, both with a true gnarly traditional “don’t fall off” feelings, were a great way to finish the session.  We were both extremely satisfied with our morning jaunt.  So with weary bodies we shouldered the rucksacks and made out way out, but will return when the conditions are right for me to polish off that last project:

So following on in the Howsie tradition, Chris has set himself a challenge to lead every grade 20 in 2020.  There is a big end goal in sight that aligns with some big landmarks both in time and place.  You won’t however hear about the end goal for another four years assuming I am still keeping this blog up to date, haven’t bored you senseless by then, and am part of the glory run.  The recent self-distancing requirements put a bit of a spanner in the works on the challenge, but now we are able to fire things up again.  That is why today the goal was to hit five grade 20 at three crags:

The last route of the day was to be Ain’t No Slouch, on the Approach Wall at the Northern End of Wilyabrup (above).  An unusual climb for this area, and one that was put up by Kym some five years back with the assistance of both Craig and myself.  So it was fitting that today Howsie would be encouraged along in his pursuits by both Craig and myself.  Before we were to tackle Kym’s route we had to walk all the way to the Playground.  The first route of the day was in fact a solo I put up seven years back, it was however sensible to first warm up on some of the many other solo’s that this place offers:

We hit the usual lines here some recorded and some not, and maybe got a bit carried away knocking one, two, three, four and then five fun lines.  The fifth was Slime Ball, and only Craig managed to get up that one.  Despite the conditions being good I chickened out at the final hard moves, and Howsie seemed to struggle to really get established on the long start moves.  With that we decided not to keep trying this particular problem, but to get on with the line that we had come here for… Locked and Loaded:

Interestingly both Howsie and Craig considered, when they first looked at this line, that it seemed easier than some of the problems that we had been playing on already.  I was happy to observe, as they gave it a crack, and ran around the top of the crag getting various angles for you to decide if it looks easy.  Seeing it was Howsie’s challenge he had the first go, I think Craig thought he knew how to unlock this one so didn’t want to jump on first.  So up Howsie went finding out that the holds were a little trickier than he expected:

Resulting him going back down rather rapidly.  The sandy landing here is ideal for this kind of malarkey, and he tested that numerous times.  Each time just as he thought he unlocked the puzzle something would give and he’d be hurtling back down.  After several attempts he needed a rest and it was Craig’s turn, he too went up and then came back down quicker than expected.  This yo-yoing continued, Howsie and then Craig but with each attempt they started to figure out the best approach:

Craig managed the first clean ascent, and was closely followed by Howsie.  That then meant I had to have a bash, for no other reason that I wanted too.  I too struggled and it took a few goes to bottle up the courage and also work out why the approach that they had used simply didn’t work for me.  Eventually I sorted it out and it was all in the name… a slightly uncomfortable finger lock that neither Craig nor Howsie had used.  So once the that was locked and loaded the rest all fell into place.  With the first grade 20 in the bag it was time to move to the next crag, and we had to tell ourselves not to stay here longer to enjoy a bit more bouldering at the Playground:

Our next destination was back towards where we had come from, at the Book Shelf.  Here there were three more grade 20s to bag, and Howsie wasted no time in jumping on the first one.  It was a route that he had been on before so knew what to expect, and he made short work of it.  Smear Factor is a fine, but again short line.  Most routes would be, with only the last one being of any length.  Both Howsie and Craig have a longer reach than me, so managed to pull the crux sequence off with not quite so many exciting moves up the layback flake.  Their loss I say:

I had wondered if, with winter approaching, whether this crag would have been accessible and in condition.  It is certainly one of the crags that is closer to the ocean, and with the rougher winter conditions the rock platform that is mostly dry in summer can become a tad dangerous.  Today however the swell was reasonably low and there was practically no wind to stir up big waves.  So while it may seem in some images, such as the one above, that we were taking a risk being here, we were never in any danger of being washed away:

To give Howsie a break between his grade 20 leads Craig decided to jump on Bronze Medal.  I’m not sure how much of a break it really was, as the start and bottom half of this climb was certainly a tad steep and pumpy.  It even had Craig, with his envious reach, stumped for a bit as he tried to work out how to get established on the wall.  However, once he sorted that the rest flowed with relative easy.  Howsie and I followed him up and then it was time to get back to business, and we headed over to the main attraction (for us) of this crag:

There are two ways to tackle the widest part of this imposing roof.  Craig and I established, and graded both routes 20, when we put up some 30’ish new routes at the Book Shelf during two visits here in 2015.  Those two trips were however sadly not written up, so are only in our memories and the pages of the South West rock climbing guide.  The two approaches are called Monkey Bar and Grease Gun, and Howsie was heading for the latter which we reckoned back then was the classier line.  It was going to be interesting to see if that was really the case:

I did my usual run around looking for the best angles.  I reckon the one above is the best one, despite it being a little washed out by the sun that was just peaking over the hills.  Howsie was hanging on and on and on, he made it to the outer lip of the roof and eventually gassed out and had to come back down.  After looking up at the gear options and with a bit of encouragement from us he went up again, and again, and again.  But it simply seemed to have him foxed.  Then the biggest wave hit and Craig got just a little wet, it was time for Howsie to have a rest:

So it was my turn to have a lead and I plumped for One Too Many, one of Craig’s creations.  It felt steep and pumpy and I could feel my arms stretching out.  Of note this is the climb that I probably pushed Gav a little close to breaking point on, which I alluded to in my post about the Peppy Crew.  Even though he chose to lead it without any encouragement from me, I was pretty vocal in persuading him to keep going on it.  This, in part, resulted in Gav taking his first ever trad lead fall and the experience is written up in Getting Back on the Horse.  I have to say going up this route today it felt steep and strenuous, and I did feel a bit guilty about my past crimes.  I’m truly sorry Gav:

It was then time for Howsie to give Grease Gun another bash.  This time with the gear sorted, he made quick work of getting out to the lip and placing the gear.  Then came the crux, a funky move to get established on the lip.  This requires putting your left foot up level with your head and then working some slopey side pulls in a vertical crack to get your weight transferred across to your foot.  It all sounds so easy!  But until you work the moves, you are left hanging on your arms with the only footholds under the roof and your body in a horizontal position:

This time Howsie managed to get up, it was however not clean ascent.  He fell on his gear, then rested on his gear, then fell and then rested but eventually worked out a sequence that got him up.  Seeing he got up Craig and I took advantage of the rope above and both jumped on the line.  What a cracker!  We both got up, certainly not in great style but we had managed it.  Loaded with lots of ideas and suggestions we piled them onto Howsie as to what he could do on his next attempt, in truth this probably only confused him even more:

Needless to say that his next attempt wouldn’t be for a while, so Craig and I indulged in a few quick climbs.  We knocked off A Cracking Line, Good Flake, Bad Flake and Cheeky Money.  It’s interesting that looking at the grades we gave these climbs, as given in the guidebook, especially in view that during our walk out Craig said that the lines we had picked off in-between Howsie’s battles with his grade 20s “hadn’t been push-overs”.  Well either we had under-graded everything or they were push-overs, with Good Flake (below) getting a lofty grade 13 and being the hardest of the four:

With each climb there was the down climb, and this place offers lots of choices of varying difficulty.  Chimneys, faces and corners all begging to be used.  This makes for the ascents and descents being equal fun.  Now I include this image for no real reason other than I find it hilarious, you will just have to believe me that it was definitely not staged.  One of those magically instances that the camera captures, and those in that fateful image hoping that it never sees the light of day.  Unfortunately for Howsie and Craig I have control over which images I use:

By the fourth interlude climb it was time for someone to decide what we would be doing next.  And while that someone was not 100% sure, we managed to be the voice of reason that convinced him that surely with all the intel on the gear, moves, holds and best sequences it was obvious that one last attempt should be made.  What could possibly go wrong, and with that we came back down and sorted the gear even stripping everything he didn’t need to make his harness as light as possible:

And once again we found ourselves in that similar position… The lip of the roof was reached, the gear was placed, the left foot was positioned high and then it was time to crank on the rounded side pull to transition the weight onto that high foot.  All the while the rest of the body flags in open space being of no use and just acting as a dead weight pulling downwards on your poor tiring arms.  Needless to say, as my words might indicate, Howsie’s arms just would not listen to reason and that last move, while so tantalising close, was just too far away and not meant to be (today):

He had yet another sit in the harness and then play with the holds and options.  This only ended up wearing out what little juice was left in his arms and while he did managed to finally get up, there was simply not enough energy or will power left for him to have another last attempt.  Seeing another opportunity Craig and I again took advantage of the rope above us.  This time we did both style it, making it look relatively easy and probably not making Howsie feel any better about all his failed attempts to get that elusive clean lead:

So after that we walked out.  The Monkey Bar and Ain’t No Slouch would have to be attempted another day, maybe when we come back so Howsie can bag the Grease Gun.  Back at the car Craig broke out the second flask of tea… gold!  Now while Howsie only managed to get 2 out of 5 grade 20 routes today, I feel that it is very fair to say that he wasn’t a slouch.  With more attempts on that roof than either Craig of my arms could endure collectively, Howsie certainly gave it everything today.  And after all if the grade 20 routes were all easy enough to allow five to be bagged in one day (along with ten or so other routes in-between) then where is the challenge:

After being back at work, and staying off my wall at home, all week I was itching for some time on rock. While I had taken my top-rope set up along to Castle Rock over the last few months I really wanted some longer routes. So for this weekend I decided on the Dolphin Smiles wall at Wilyabrup, with a little assistance from Kym after I asked his opinion. It has five classy lines ranging from grade 14 to 21, all of which are nice sustained routes. I advised Lisa of my intention to disappear on Saturday morning to relieve that itch, and she asked if I was going alone. Well that had been my intention until that moment… so I dug a bit deeper. We had a chat and she suggested that seeing the restriction were easing up, the number of live COIVD 19 cases in Western Australia were dropping, and there had been extremely low new cases being identified (including numerous days of none) that it would probably be OK to head out and climb with someone:

Seeing Rongy had asked me about heading out, no doubt to test the water, just the other day I was quick to see how keen he was.  A silly question really this is Rongy we are talking about, he is as bad as me when it comes to climbing!  During the journey down we briefly discussed which area to climb and what routes to bag.  But mostly we chatted about nothing in particular, just catching up on news in each other’s camp.  So that is how we both came to be standing at Wilyabrup at just after 7am watching the waves roll in with a glorious morning light backdrop:

We are lucky where we live and it really hasn’t been that long since we have all been in lock down but it feels so much longer.  In fact the last time I was out climbing with others was with Rongy and Wiggins only six weeks back at Mount Frankland.  Now last night, after we had arranged to get out today, Rongy had managed to slice his thumb chopping the onions for dinner.  But with the style of climbing here he felt that would not be a big issue.  He also indicated that not having expected to be heading out he’d had a few beers in the afternoon, and was feeling a bit lethargic and woolly:

It felt like he was making excuses… so I found myself taking the first lead.  We had plumped for Dolphin Smiles wall, as it was easy to just go with my original plan and not to have to think too hard.  We both enjoy the routes there and there is a mixed enough bag to keep us both happy.  The intention was for me to jump on Sinuosity, but I instead ran up the more direct line of Thunder Thighs.  A bold route at the grade due to having some runouts longer than some would like.  It felt good to be placing gear again, and to have the rope below me.  The top roping has been fun but when you lead it is a whole different ball and mind game:

The other great part of climbing with someone else is that you are not continuously on the rock climbing or setting up ropes.  Allowing a bit of time to chill in-between when you need to be on rock, giving you a chance to watch the world wake up.  The sun was creeping over the hills and hitting the white horses that were riding in on the clean crisp waves.  Despite looking perfect for surfing in, and while we both looked long and hard, neither of us spotted any dolphins today.  As I was kicking back watching the waves and enjoying the rush of hearing them crashing into the rocks, Rongy walked up One for the Road:

It seemed his previous self-confessed ailments were not holding him back. He wasted no time in romping up this line, surmounting the tricky roof and setting things up for me to follow. My head however, after relaxing for a period and watching the waves had not properly focused on the task that lay ahead. The rounded and awkward cracks at the start of this route had me confused and I wasn’t sure which way to tackle them. So I just went for it and climbed it in a clumsy and far from graceful manner. Still I got up in one push and wasn’t feeling pumped. It’s a good job, as Rongy had suggested before his lead what might be a good next line:

And that plan was for me to tackle the mighty Dolphin Smiles.  An absolute cracker of a route that cuts a path up the middle of the wall, only achievable due to three bolts having been placed.  Even with the bolts the mid-section is massively runout, with possibly six meters between the bolts and no trad gear placements of any worth to be found.  After that comes the steep crux sequence, so this climb earns it’s classic status and then some.  As the image might indicate I was very chuffed with this lead, managing a clean ascent.  I must have been a little on autopilot, as the thought of a possible big fall or two hadn’t crossed my mind at any point as I climbed:

Then it was another walk back down to the base, we had not set up a rap line and instead decided to walk down between climbs. This slowed us down from some of our previous trips frantic pace, which we would keep up in order to pack in the lines. Today we were both however of like mind and content to take our time. We also took our time to sort the gear out after each climb, which I think helped Rongy’s arms. He hasn’t been as fortunate as I have with getting out, both during the lock down and before that, and while the ailments he had talked up previously had not hindered him his arms were starting to feel the mornings choice of climbs:

As he set off on the next route he was not convinced that he’d manage to get a clean lead. The first half of Fishing with Dynamite is on a steep wall and has one big move after another, not really giving you any rests and forcing you to keep working. Once he tackled that, it may seem the pace of the route eases but it in fact changes and becomes more technical. So while not as steep, instead with tiring arms he was forced to work out the more delicate moves on smaller holds. Personally I didn’t think he looked like he was in trouble at any stage on the climb, and he certainly didn’t break a sweat:

The routes we had bagged so far were no pushovers and that along with leading them made us hang on those holds that bit longer. While our forearms may have been getting a good work out we were still keen for another couple of routes.  And sticking to my original game plan for the day we knew which two they would be.  Rongy wasn’t so keen for lots of exposure today, so I got to lead Golden Buttress.  This line is a an absolute stunner and the best trad route here, with traverses, roofs, corners, arêtes, runouts, and exposure it has it all!  While I wasn’t able to see Rongy follow up, the sun was moving round as the morning wore on so I could watch his shadow as it inched its way up the very fine line:

To wrap up the morning up Rongy got the last route, The Unbolted and the Beautiful. He again managed to float up this line, placing the gear only slowed him down slightly and he seemed to make effortless moves in-between each piece of gear. His ailments that could have held him back today had certainly been vanquished. As he topped out and set the belay up, a lady walked past, heading to Steel Wall. She said that her husband was replacing a few bolts on his climb, and so I became introduced to Sally and Pascal. The latter being the creator of the very fine “Pascal’s route”, which gets a mention in Life’s Good when Denis had a crack at it. We got chatting and exchanged details so could one day we could hopefully climb together, then I followed Rongy up yet another great route. It certainly felt like we cleaned up the routes on Dolphins Smile wall in style:

Having been good and kept off my wall this week I allowed myself to venture out on real rock one more time.  That has evened things up, making it four trips out over my two week holiday.  Not the fierce and more relentless approach I would have taken in the olden days, but no complaints from me.  While the temptation of a couple of the coastal crags called, I didn’t fancy the harder stuff at Castle Rock, and Cosy Corner just felt like too much of a mission.  So it was back to the old faithful of Welly Dam, making it an easier and quick morning out:

Just after passing the lower Pile Road Mountain Bike carpark there was the obvious shape of what I thought to be road kill.  Driving over the ball of feathers I noticed the head was up and moving.  The Kookaburra was looking dazed and had lost all of its tail feathers, which lay strewn across the road.  However, it’s eyes opened and looked clear and alert, there was no visible blood on it or the road, and no obvious external injuries.  I decided to place it off the road in the bush, and keep going with a view of check in on it on the way back:

I was by myself when I arrived at the dam with no walkers, climbers or car tourists about.  Pulling up in the top carpark I “suited up”, as the Red Tailed Cockatoos cawed and screeched in the distance.  Then it was then down to business, for which I had already mapped out my morning of climbing.  I rapped down the first line and as I climbed back up I was struck by how many millipedes were out.  There were clumps of them huddled in protected pockets, while others were going for a morning stroll and some had got caught up in the many spider webs, and would no doubt be providing someone with a tasty meal:

As I said I was going easy today, which some might say isn’t possible at Welly Dam.  However, just like the above millipede that made easy work of down climbing (just a fraction) of Murky Corner, going up for me never felt too hard.  With the amount of times I have climbed this route I would be a bit worried if it gave me grief.  Today I was not only going easy having picked the lower grade routes, but I was also pacing myself.  Due to the ease of setting up the anchors here there could be the temptation to bash the climbs out in rapid succession, but not today.  On my next line I came across the home of another insect, and thankfully not the insect itself:

I’m pretty sure that it was a mud wasp nest, which I found on Raging Torrent.  The perfectly formed nest didn’t show any signs of the damage you would expect as the wasp emerges from its larval stage.  It is possible that the home was yet to be completed and occupied with eggs, and fortunately I didn’t come across who was making it.  I then moved across to set up on Welcome to Edges during which my wildlife discovery tour continued, as I spied a centipede crawling up near the last bolt.  I’d heard rumours that Dan Meester had been working a continuation variant for this climb, and while I could see some options above the anchors they all looked too hard for today:

On the next two lines of Pocket Knife and A Walk in Central Park the millipedes were rampant and I came across a few sealed mud wasp houses.  Sadly however there were no new discoveries to be found.  I really slowed down and looked about, and when I was rapping down even checked the many crevices and cracks to either aside, but still found nothing new.  The climbs like all of today’s were however fun, and Rongy will be pleased to l know I had a chalk free day.  I do however suspect that this is what made me slip on my last lap of the day, as I tackled the small holds near the top of Central Park:

That was all I had planned, but in my usual manner a little voice was saying “just one more climb”.  My brain was saying be sensible and pack up while my arms were sitting on the fence, and happy to either bag another route or call it quits.  I plumped for being sensible.  Walking back along the top for the crag several cars rolled into the lower carpark and people got out.  With people starting to mill about I had made the right choice.  As I drove out I cruised along the Honeymoon Pool loop road and had a quick pit stop at Big Rock just because I could:

With the place to myself and the sound of the water, it was very calm and relaxing but eventually it was time to hit the road.  There was however a second pit stop, this time to check in on the kookaburra and it looked like it had gone.  I did a wider search and discovered it had managed to move but not very far.  Decision made and I picked it up and brought it home, letting Lisa know that I wasn’t coming home alone.  There is not much we can do just yet and will have to leave it alone for 24hrs.  As I type this post I can hear it occasionally shuffling about in the box next to me.  Fingers crossed it makes it through the night: