A romantic escape

It would seem that despite having thought about the way I would approach training on my wall, or maybe it was the back to back harder routes at Welly Dam and then The Terrace, my old shoulder injury has managed to rear the first ugly signs of reappearing.  Any sensible person would back right off and not climb.  But I instead went for a different approach and laid off my wall, but still went out this morning for a relaxed paced top rope session on the easy classics at the main cliffs of Wilyabrup.  This was in part driven by the fact that I am still on leave.  I therefore have the ability to pop out whenever a weather “window of opportunity” comes by, such as today:

I really love seeing rainbows and saw a double rainbow on the drive down.  Now something I didn’t realise is that a double rainbow is created when the light is reflected (and I mean reflected not refracted) twice within the raindrops, and while I have never noticed it before the upper rainbow has the colours in reverse.  The sky really was a bit of a mixed bag today, and any conditions may have hit.  As you’ll see above I started with blue skies, but darker clouds loomed out to sea.  A gentle westerly was bring them towards me.  In fact it is hard to believe all the images in this post are from the same day, but they are.  Walking down to the crag I could hear the thunderous sea, it was going to be another atmospheric day:

I’d decided to start the session at the Fat Chance Area, with not even a suggestion in my mind to try Fat Chance or any of the other gnarly routes along that wall.  Instead I played on Setting Sun, Tom Thumb Direct and Tom Thumb.  In that order and as such getting the hardest routes of the day, at a lofty grade 15, out of the way early on.  Having the bolts above this area made it nice and easy to set up , a quick adjustment of the double figure of eight allowing the rope to be redirect to the next line.  True to say that if I had fallen from the left or right route the rope may have been dragged across the lip, but I felt comfortable that the chances were pretty slim and it didn’t happen:

The last route on this set-up, which was also the easiest of the day, was Tom Thumb.  A more traditional style trad climb, unlike the first two that were more akin to face climbing.  The off-width crack splitting into two cracks separated by a huge wedged boulder.  This requires a much more traditional style of climbing, more three dimensional than the previous face climbs.  As such despite being the easiest of the three routes, I also had to be more careful on this one.  Avoiding going for high right hand holds that would require shoulder rotations.  It made me use holds between my shoulder and waist more, as well as using down palms.  Being careful not to then compensate by overloading my left shoulder:

After these three lines it was clear that the bank of clouds would pass me by, heading landwards to the north.  When I eventually drove out the roads north of the area were wet and had lots of puddles and I was glad that I hadn’t been hit by the rain.  With the next bank of sun coming in I shifted position moving across to the Hope Buttress.  The locals won’t be surprised to hear that Hope and Glory were both on the hit list for today.  As I set up the ropes I had an idea to get an image of me getting ready, carefully balancing the camera on a ledge and putting it on timer.  The photo didn’t come out that great, as the scramble back to where the ropes were took a little too long.  So you only get this image to prove I tried:

Hope was great, despite having been up the route countless times it is never dull.  The middle provides and crux, and there are so many ways to get through it.  You’d think, in view that I had climbed it so many times, I would have it wired and go straight for the same holds every time.  But no, each time I seem to do something just a bit different and at times I might even purposely miss out a hold or two to see what would happen.  Even though I have used so many variations over the years, the grade never changes.  On my second lap I could feel the wind picking up and looking across the bay the salt spray drifting landwards was becoming more prominent:

The rock still felt good, and so I soldiered on.  Glory was next, I knew there was no chance of it, but something inside me still hoped that I would come across a Carpet Python.  On the first lap I was being extra careful on the low roof, choosing my path wisely and focusing on which muscles to engage.  After the roof it is easier ground and therefore easier to avoid shoulder loading moves.  I kept an eye out looking in all the usual places I have seen them but failed to see anything.  It wasn’t till the second lap that I saw a short length of an old snake skin wedged deep in a crack.  Better than nothing and just had to include this image:

One more move this time just right of the Stormcock Area, where I managed to get a better image of me getting ready at the base of the last climb.  A climb that if I didn’t point so many people towards probably wouldn’t get much attention.  Verbosity, does however get some attention in the comments on my post about Wiggins.  Like Tom Thumb the first half is a true trad style classic with a great stemming corner, it is also one of the longest routes at Wilyabrup.  A route to take your time on, enjoy the positions and savour every move, which I did twice!  Better still not one twinge in my shoulder, but I could feel my calves as I maybe savoured those positions up the corner a little too long:

Now I did have in mind to two more pitches in, by jumping on Sirius.  Still within the grade range and offering two great pitches, that using as top rope could be linked into one.  The first pitch includes a long traverse across the entire width of Steel Wall, so rope work would prove interesting but I had that figured out.  It was hard to fight the temptation, but I managed to be uncharacteristically sensible.  At the back of my mind I wanted to end on a high, with no twinges and then I might get away with one more trip out while I’m on holiday.  So I packed up leaving the rock in peace, no one else was in sight.  However, as I walked out I came across four separate couples all just out for a stroll, and possibly having a romantic escape from the world as we currently know it:

South West Climbers

With fourteen years of climbing in the South West of Western Australia under my belt, my family and I have made great friends through climbing.  That is not to say we live in each other’s pockets, far from it.  In fact I’m definitely not known for being a social butterfly, however when living in a regional location community is everything.  Even if you like living as a hermit, which I do, when things get tough that is when real friends and the community spirit shines through.

While the names of these people should be familiar if you have been keeping up with my posts, I felt it was time I properly introduced some of them .  And in view of what I was doing to them, I felt it was only fair to give them the chance to say what they thought of me. So in preparing for this I asked each of them to tell you about me.  My idea was to have a short paragraph of their thoughts on me before I told you about them.

This idea backfired a bit and some wrote essays, so I had to rethink my strategy. As such below you’ll see a list of names and faces and a link to my post describing them. In each posts, and for those that took the challenge, you will find a link to what they said about me. I might add that there are plenty of other people who I’ve had great climbing experiences with here, but those listed are the ones that I’m still most in contact with.

Finally and before we get to that list, some people made reference to a couple of local places that probably will not make sense, so I’ll explain them now.

  • Child Side Playgroup and School, which is the school where Lisa completed the final practical in her teaching degree. They liked her so much that she got a job there, and is still there now. It is also, and not surprisingly, the school where Elseya attended until year 10.
  • The Bunbury PCYC, which stands for Police and Community Youth Centre, is a place that I think requires a little more explanation.

    The PCYC used to be run by the police, but when I arrived it was under the different management. I heard there was a climbing wall that opened on a Tuesday and Thursday night. Being completely new to Bunbury and not knowing anyone I thought it would be a great place to meet people to get outdoors with. What I didn’t realise is how few of those people had actually climbed outdoors, no matter as that was easy to resolve as you will hear about if you read their stories about me.

    The PCYC wall had ten top rope walls, including a tunnel and swing wall, a small boulder area, abseiling platform and prussic lines. In the old days they ran outdoor education programs and had all the outdoor equipment for kids to progress from the indoor wall to outdoor rock. This had ceased long before I arrived, and the management of the day paid no regard to, nor seemed to have any knowledge of or interest in the wall. They did however permit it to open up on those two night, as it needed no input from them and was run by volunteers of whom I soon became one.

    Our primary role was to set up the wall, supervise who came in and then dismantle any of the non-permanent fixtures. We also held busy bees to clean up and set new routes. These would often take a full day and at times as many as twenty people would come to help. Occasionally we undertook fund raising for new equipment, and when approached assisted large groups who wanted to use the wall such as schools and youth groups. We built a strong cohort of regulars and had a great time, but at the same time we were not insular and welcomed all new comers. It was a very friendly and encouraging environment, with lots of banter and laughs.

    A rumour began to surface that the PCYC organisation viewed the wall as a liability. So we pulled together and investigated the national requirements for indoor walls, and developed the required policies, operational procedures and record keeping. We also pooled our collective training certificates to prove up that we could mitigate the risk in accordance with the national requirements. This resulted in us keeping the wall going for a few more years, but finally the PCYC decided to cease its operations.

    A year or two after that the PCYC, without consulting any of the volunteers or previous patrons, literally ripped the wall down and threw all the equipment in a skip. The real proof of this act of stupidity came to me many years later in April 2020 when I was sent an image of a portion of the old wall and familiar holds. It was set up at the house of a person who had just happened to walk past the skip, see it and decided to pull it all out. It was not even someone who used to climb there.

Unlike the PCYC wall, many of the people I met there are still here and continue to climb together, both outdoors and at the numerous indoor boulder walls they have built at their own places.  We occasionally have social functions both climbing and non-climbing related, which I sometimes attend and at times Lisa and I host.  More importantly that familiar good vibe, sense of community and welcoming attitude that started at the PCYC still exists within this group today.

Introducing some of the South West climbers
Names are provided alphabetical order, click on the links below to read about them and me.


Alan
The tagalong
Andrew
The professional
Craig
The teasmade

Dan
The occasional
Denis
The missing man
Eric
The quiet one

Glen
The casualty
Howsie
The explorer
Kym
The driven

Lou
The student
Mikey
The runner
Peppy Mob
The crew

Rongy
The analyst
Steve
The dreamer
Wiggins
Inspector gadget

In very timely fashion Wiggins has also just completed a video which includes a mishmash of footage from various crags and events, which I feel compliments this latest section of my Blog: The montage – a mixed bag of all sorts.

Alan – The tagalong

If you are keen click on this link to find out what Alan said about me. While not essential reading to find out about Alan, there may be some cross referencing in my words about him.

Alan tagged along, or was he dragged, to Welly Dam by Rongy soon after he moved down to Bunbury. At some point early on he met Will, she has partaken in our rock antics occasionally, but it isn’t really her thing. Alan comes across as a happy-go-lucky guy, quick thinking and enjoys a good joke.  More often than not he is smiling like a Cheshire cat.  An infectious happiness, whether meant or not, enters the room when he turns up.  He is definitely one of the social crew, as is Will, but that doesn’t mean he is not up for getting out one on one and we have had some good times out, also he is not afraid to explore so is easy to con into trying new places even if they haven’t got the best rock:

For Alan it is about being there, the type of climbing and setting don’t really change how he approaches climbing.  In fact when there is a crew he will happily sit back and watch, encourage, cajole and just chat away the time.  He doesn’t climb hard.  While he has lead a fair bit and even put up some first ascents, as a fair few people I climb with have while they follow me as I scour the area for previously unrecorded lines worth climbing, he isn’t overly keen to push himself.  I wouldn’t say it is a lack of confidence, he has oodles of that, it’s just that climbing isn’t his main focus.  He dips in and out of it, as and when he choices, or life permits, and doesn’t have any particular climbing goals:

What does inspire him are endurance challenges, he has completed the Mundi Bidi mountain bike trail, the Cape to Cape hiking trail and numerous other long hikes and cycling challenges.  Importantly when he has completed these, it has usually been in a time I dare to say that most would find overwhelming.  Some of the crew joined him on the Cape to Cape and while it was a great experience, there wasn’t much kick back time involved.  Long days of walking to complete the hike in the designated time didn’t allow for that.  It’s an interesting observation that he will go so hard with these activities, yet with climbing he is completely chill out:

While he may indicate for months that he is really keen to get out climbing, you never know when that might actually happen.  But whenever it does it is always a fun time, never taken too seriously and just out for the pure enjoyment of it.  If there are more than just the two of us then he is equally happy to enjoy the setting and watch, if we have our eye on something harder.  We will encourage him to give things a bash but he is not one to change his mind once it is set, and simple rebuff our comments in a joking and happy manner until we stop trying:

Outdoors he climbs cautiously, I think it challenges him and he likes that but he has his limits of how far he likes to push it.  I’m not even sure that I have ever seen him take a lead fall.  He is however strong and has good technique, this is proven during our boulder sessions.  During the week and when not working late he will drive out to Peppy Beach or even Busselton to join in on a boulder night and can pull off some impressive moves.  But due to not being his passion, the stamina never lasts the whole session.  He eventually starts to flail about and in his own words his noodle arms just don’t have it:

Alan’s thoughts about me

I first met Krish shortly after moving down to Bunbury. I knew no one in Bunbury at the time, but ended up moving in with Rongy after a couple of days. It was then that the magic happened.

Rongy also known as Ryan, took me on my first ever outdoor climb to the quarry at Wellington Dam of all places. It was here that Krish blurted his first ever words to me. They were something along the lines of “are you the grade 28 climber from Perth” to which I don’t think I responded. At this point I didn’t know what a grade 28 climb was and as I recall Craig had to tie the figure of 8 to my harness, he was very gentle.

Krish is one of those characters who likes to see what you’re capable of, but for the most part will try and ensure that you stay somewhat within your limits. He is calm and calculated and never appears to get stressed, whether it be on the rock or just in general life. He is a loving father and husband who always makes time for his family, but this usually means a crack of dawn start which is to some individuals disgust, but I won’t mention any names. He is the type of person who will always be there for a chat when you need it, especially if it’s about climbing, and will always help out in any way he can. We are all lucky to have a friend like Krish and there are few that are as passionate about touching rock as he is.

I’ve never seen him drunk though, but I reckon he could challenge anyone to a tea drinking contest.

Andrew – the professional

If you are keen click on this link to find out what Andrew said about me.  While not essential reading to find out about Andrew, there may be some cross referencing in my words about him.

Andrew was one of the people that helped keep the Bunbury PCYC alive.  Having come from the professional world of the State Emergency Services (SES) he was across all the necessary rope work and equipment.  But more importantly he was accustomed to the rigours of industry standard health and safety requirements.  While we pulled a lot of documentation together it was the level of his qualifications, attained from his SES times, that was pivotal in getting our proposal to keep the wall open.  At least for a few more years.

He recalls better than I the first time we hit real rock together, something he had not previously done in a recreational capacity.  He was quick to get hooked, as most were that I write about, and particularly loved the aspect of placing protection.  Like me the mechanical side of how gear works and placing good protection is not only intriguing but an art.  The image above is of his first lead on trad in November 2009.  From that time on he never looked back and pulled out some great leads.  It is impressive to now think that just four months after his first lead he joined us for our South Coast trip and went lead for lead:

It took him some time to be able to differentiate between a belay that was required for recreational climbing as opposed to a cliff rescue.  I do however recall that one time he really wasn’t happy with an anchor that Howsie and I had set up.  This was at mighty sea cliffs of West Cape Howe during our South Coast trip, which the four of us who went still remember fondly eight years on.  He insisted the use of a prussic cord was not good enough for one of the three independent and tensioned anchors we had set up.  Promptly replacing it with a sling while explaining the different ratings between the two.  If truth be told it was a fair call:

As I, in those early days, he had a young family.  So early starts to cram in a morning on rock appealed to him.  There is a need to balance things in your life and he seemed to be of like mind to me in that regard.  During my time climbing with Andrew two things stick to mind.  He liked a good chat and at times I would have to break the conversation off so he could get climbing!  Secondly he was methodical, it was like he had a checklist in his mind.  My guess is that is how they train you in the SES.  You can tell it in the way he climbs, places protection, works the rope and sets up his belays:

As he will confess his attendance in the climbing community has been up and down, and being privy to his personal life that is completely understandable.  Life can play some tough cards.  He knew when he was not in a good place.  He also knew that these are definitely not the times to be out climbing when you need all your attention on you and your climbing partners life.  That said in the last few years he has started to get back into it, and no doubt some of the images I have included will remind him of that:

Andrew’s thoughts about me

I think we first met at a busy bee at Child Side School. I had not long moved to Bunbury and not long left the SES (State Emergency Services) where I developed my passion for rope work and playing in the vertical environment on cliffs.

When you found out that I was keen to try real trad climbing rather than the rope climbing and abseiling I did in SES, you invited me to join you and Craig at Wilyabrup. I remember that it was my birthday but wouldn’t be able to tell you the year. Still one of the best birthday presents I have ever received.

We continued to climb regularly, more often at the PCYC than outdoors, but I tried to get out with you as often as possible. You would pick me up on the way through to the PCYC every week and sometimes twice a week for quite a while there. When PCYC closed down the wall, we worked together to petition them and get the wall back up and running. You will likely recall those details more clearly than me.

My most memorable trip was the trip to West Cape Howe and Albany via Mt Frankland. That cemented my passion and our friendship. I know we drifted apart for a while there, and I truly appreciate your compassion and support through some pretty tough times. I am also now reminded of the time just after I got the $700 speeding fine that I unleashed on you… again truly sorry LOL.

When I think about you and climbing with you, what jumps to mind first and foremost is your ability to push me and probably everyone you climb with to their limits and then past them. You don’t let us give up. Some may say that is just you sandbagging them, but I think it is your unique speciality. Secondly I am just envious of your incredible memory with regards to routes and days spent out climbing, when you can remember climbs that we did together where you remember my moves on the wall not just your own.

My memory has never been great for those sorts of details, however I remember feelings and you always leave me with positive feelings. I’m getting a little emotional just writing this.

Craig – the teasmade

If you are keen click on this link to find out what Craig said about me.  While not essential reading to find out about Craig, there may be some cross referencing in my words about him.

I met Craig by chance.  For my first outdoor climb in the South West with someone else I had organised to meet Mick, a local outdoor pursuit tour operator, but he never showed.  Walking down to Willyabrup I found Craig self-belaying up a route, and since then we have explored every crag possible in the South West and beyond.  As luck would have it he lived, at that time, at Capel farm not far from us and was super keen to climb.  We got out just about second weekend, and being a farm hand he was no stranger to early starts.  He was very dependable and nearly always available to get out when asked.  Both of us were strong and not afraid to give anything a go, and went for it:

He was a regular visitor round our house, and soon became one of the family.  He has a hunger for rock, and we wouldn’t waste any time when we were out.  Not limited by what a guidebook told us we spied many new lines and bagged heaps of first ascents.  Craig liked any climbing whether bolt clipping, trad, bouldering and even just indoors.  But trad is his favourite and preferable long multi-pitch routes at remote crags away from the crowds.  The travel, camping, walking and being out bush is all part of it.  Our first trip away for a few nights was out to Peak Charles, and interesting one where he forgot his climbing shoes.  It didn’t rattle us and we made do and still climbed heaps:

We are similar in many ways, and I can’t remember a time when we have disagreed.  Even when things have gone pear shaped, like when my safety sandals didn’t protect me from slicing the back of my heal off after just one day at West Cape Howe.  He would simply look at the situation and work out a way of making the best of it, and he never looked back or cast blame for a situation.  Safe, confident and talented is how I recall Craig on rock, and I couldn’t have asked for a better person to bump into when Mick left me hanging.  He is also generous and happy to take anyone out, taking the time to show them the ropes.  He like Rongy had planned to travel and climb, he was all set to go when he got invited to work/volunteer in Mongolia and everything changed:

There he met Oyukha.  Above we are taking her dad out climbing, something that I would imagine he would never have even knew was something that people did if Craig hadn’t fallen for his daughter.  After he returned from that trip we got back out climbing, and then he would spend hours on the phone to her at our house before getting a feed from us.  Not surprisingly he went back out there and the next time he returned she came with him.  Craig and Oyukha’s life has since then been entwined with Lisa’s and mine.  We help each other out in many ways and I have to say that Craig was instrumental in building my climbing wall, for which I am very grateful. He is still keen to get out and we continued to find new places to explore, but his confidence on rock was affected by the need to balance his time with other aspects of his life.  While he may not feel it so much while on the pointy end these days, he is still a technical and strong climber so great to get out with and eager to follow up any route:

Life changes and so does where we need to focus our attention.  But like me Craig needs something that allows him to flush out his brain once in a while.  In recent years he has done that with mountain biking, as opposed to climbing.  It suits where he is at as he can fit it in round his life more easily, especially since he and Oyukha had Henry and Charley.  When the chance to climb does comes along, which isn’t all that often now, he is still keen to get out and we still find new routes.  There is however one thing that hasn’t changed, Craig will still pack a thermos of tea.  As much as climbing is the goal there is nothing better than a rewarding hot cup of tea at the crag before it is time to head back:

Craig’s thoughts about me

When I first met Krish back in January 2006 the climbing scene in the South West was pretty dismal. There were only a few climbers and even less were regular. I had resorted to solo lead climbing. It was on one of these occasions, I had just got set up on Hitching a few meters off the ground, when a man I had never met walk round the corner and said “you must be Craig”.

Now as we all know Krish has a way of locating people to climb with. He had arranged to meet Mick down there as he was probably the only climber in the area at the time with an online presence. But Mick is a bit of a late starter and even with Krish’s uncharacteristic late arrival that morning he was still a couple hours earlier than Mick. Mick had let Krish know that I was likely to be down there, hence him knowing who I was. I down climbed despite Krish being happy for me to finish off the climb first.

There was a time when I recorded all my climbs done in my guide books and I could go back and see all the climbs we ticked off on a given day and even the actual dates. But Krish is so much better at recalling details like that so I’ll leave that to him.

I quickly became part of the family stopping in for a cuppa at the end of each days climbing. And Lisa would invite me for pasta disaster on more than a regular basis. I still get confused when I hear Elseya’s name as I only ever knew her as Moo for such a long time.

Krish and I started to visit all of the known climbing areas in the South West, getting out every couple of weeks. Even the few obscure little spots that gets an occasional mention but rarely climbed, there was generally a good reason for the lack of climbing of these spots.

On our trips out we would sometimes meet fellow climbers and occasionally climb with them. One of our most memorable Willyabrup trips was a morning when we arrived down at the cliffs at our usual time, as the sun was coming up. Yes Glen the sun does rise each morning, not just magically reappear high in the sky the next day. At the base of the cliff beyond Steel Wall a tent was set up with a single occupant inside. We got our first climb in and when we got back down again the occupant a German lady (sorry I’m useless with remembering names) was up scoping the walls. We ended up climbing with her for the day and decided to finish off with her tackling Dolphins Smiles direct. To Krish and my surprise she went the most direct line immediately to the left of the bolt, which neither of us had pulled off by that point on lead. We thought it had her beat as she hung on her finger tips on the smallest of crimps for what seemed like an eternity, moving up and down several times trying different ways but never returning to the rest stance a few meters below. Finally she moved on past the crux with a flash of movement, being too short to reach she had to dyno. Amazed I followed her up. With Krish coming up the rear, as he climbed the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down soaking Krish to the bone. We still reminisce about that day regularly.

Unfortunately Krish and I never really hit our climbing peaks at the same time, one of us seemed to be having an off day. Like our trip to West Cape Howe. Every moved seemed to be impossible for me on the Saturday while Krish walked up the glistening rock. At the end of the day as we racked up to walk back to the car Krish slipped and tore the skin off the back of his heel. So we headed off to Mt Franklin for a bit less steepness. I climbed well and I must admit Krish climbed remarkably with one climbing shoe and his sandals on his injured foot.

Then of course the Peak Charles trip where I woke up at 2am and said shit I forgot my shoes. We climbed anyway me in my hiking boots packing myself the whole way up every climb. We missed out on the one climb Krish really wanted to do that trip, as we deemed it a tad bit technical to do without sticky rubber.

I disappeared for bit while I lived in Mongolia. On my return I was in need of a best man and Krish was the obvious choice. He organised for my bachelor party to be down at Yeagarup Beach, where he ended up cooking the BBQ with my brother the only 2 non-meat eaters of the group while I was helping my boss recover his car which had almost rolled down the dunes. At the wedding he entertained the guest with a very well thought of and funny speech, of course climbing was mentioned.

Krish, Lisa and Elseya have been there for me supporting Oyukha and I when we had Henry and Charley. And help out when we just need that little bit of a break.

Since our first meeting back in 2006 I’ve always enjoyed climbing with Krish, even when he is in that pushy mode wanting to crack on and just keep climbing. Hence why I always take a thermos down with me, slows him down for a minute or 2. I no longer get out as often as I once did, but the regular updates of Krish’s exploits keeps the dreams of rock alive until Henry and Charley start to drag their old man up routes that I struggled on in the past. Hopefully I can get their uncle Krish to help keep up with them.

Dan – the occasional

If you are keen click on this link to find out what Dan said about me.  While not essential reading to find out about Dan, there may be some cross referencing in my words about him.

I recall Dan coming down to the PCYC with his dad, they would both climb and got along really well.  I got the sense that family was a strong part of his life, he climbed strong and with confidence at the indoor wall.  Often bagging the routes we had set at the gym, as the test pieces.  Only part of that ability can be attributed to his stature, which includes a significant reach advantage.  Watching him climb you could tell that he had good body coordination and strength, not just to yard up something but to hold on in a single position when it was required:

I’m therefore a little surprised to hear that he was “very new to trad” when we first got out climbing.  While he may have had a fair bit of previous indoor and/or sports climbing under his belt, what surprises me is that from the start he was able to place good gear with relative ease and no fuss.  One of the differences between a sport and trad climber, in my opinion, is the awareness of the location.  Sport climbers are more focused on the climbing; trad climbers simply love being there.  It was clear that Dan loved being outdoors, he really appreciated the surroundings, atmosphere and quite simply the whole adventure:

That is not to say that he is a slouch when we do get out together, far from it.  Most of our climbing has been a quick day trips, but there were a couple of occasions when we went for a few days.  One such trip was to Cosy Corner.  While we met others down there on our second day, we kinda left them to have fun.  Despite having hit the hard routes on Wave Wall on our first day, we smashed out route after route on the sea cliffs.  Both of us being egged on by each other’s enthusiasm to get as much time on rock in, as our bodies would physical allow.  It was on that day we did the second ascent of Steve’s newly established route, which gets a mention in my write up about both Steve and Glen:

The other trip that has to get a mention was when we went south and climbed at Mount Trio and Peak Head.  As Dan alluded to we attempted to climb Bluff Knoll but my optimism on that day wasn’t enough to dispel the rain and wind.  On the last day we went to Peak Head and my energy levels were very low. When Dan offered me an attempt on Baylac Direct, as he was getting shut down, I simply couldn’t muster any interest.  He was very accepting of this, but I know that it was my own undoing of not having kept myself hydrated.  While Dan is eager to climb and loves the adventure he is also understanding and not pushy when things don’t quite work out:

While he has moved over east his connection to family brings him back at least once a year.  I don’t think there has been a trip when we haven’t managed a quick catch up, outdoors of course.  During his more recent trips back I have got to know Jo, his partner who also climbs with confidence and love the outdoors, a perfect match.  Dan still climbs strong and confidently, and has tales of climbing adventures, some of which are mixed his other passion of sailing.  Visiting remote islands with sheer granite cliffs, where with no prior knowledge you have to simply pick a line that takes your fancy.  Hopefully one day I can join them on one of those adventures:

Dan’s thoughts about me

I met Krish down at the PCYC, right after I’d come back from some travels overseas. I was very new to trad, I think I owned half a rack of cams that I’d bought at a flea market. Actually I was pretty new to life itself, I was only 22.

Luckily for me Krish and the rest of the south west crew were incredibly welcoming. He did this great thing where he’d tell me to wander along the base of the crag and pick lines just based on the look of them, without thinking about the grade. That really helped my climbing along, learning to pick a line for the aesthetics of it. He has this great attitude of just going for something if it looks cool. Even more so if it’s wet and there’s no gear and twenty carpet pythons are hiding behind every hold (jokes!).

I have distinct memories of watching Krish totally calm on routes that would have completely freaked me out. I think at the time I tried to push through fear, but climbing with Krish taught me to be calm, evaluate what’s in front of me, approach the climb objectively. And to not give up so easily.

I remember sitting in the bluff knoll carpark, the wind howling, it looking like the most miserably wet day. And thinking that there’s no reason to even walk up the trail. But Krish said we should go anyway, cos maybe the rain will clear in an hour (for the record, it didn’t).

Ever since then, if I arrive at the crag and it’s raining, I still make the walk to the cliff. Just in case. And amazingly, he’s right it usually does clear up.