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:

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.

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:

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.

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

Lou introduced the Frenchies, as she called them, to our climbing community.  Denis and his brother Pierric, were both lovely people and obviously very tolerant from the start, not being upset with Lou’s affectionate name that was used for some time by quite a few.  While Pierric went back to France, Denis has settled down here.  They were self-confessed bolt-clippers and sport climbing was where they were at.  Above Denis is enjoying the delights of the slabs of Moses Rocks during one of the first trips out, and bring trad the top rope was required.  While his preference is bolts he is not assertive about this and is happy to simply get out.  That said I have only ever got him to place a couple of trad pieces on lead, and only because it was required on mixed routes:

Tall and lanky, he is another person with an unnatural reach that allows him to bypass those sections that are more tricky for us shorter climbers.  But his reach isn’t what makes him a good climber, it takes more than that.  He was willing to give most (bolted) things a bash and I would point him to routes.  He, like so many others, would be trusting enough to tie in and give it a go.  He is however probably the person that I have pushed the hardest, relative to his level, and he has taken a fair few falls as a result.  In view that he clips bolts that didn’t worry him so much, and he seemed to actually enjoy the thrill of going until he would peel off:

Denis is a social person, he would enjoy getting together both to climb and not.  He was a regular at our boulder nights at Glen’s and on occasion would bring a friend.  One of them being young Tom.  We all knew Tom and having him turn up at these sessions was potentially dangerous, as he could have changed the fun nights into nights of torture as he inflicted impossible problems on us.  Tom however was and still is mature beyond his years and didn’t do that.  I haven’t got a post on him, as I really didn’t climb outdoors with him much but I just simply had to mention him.  Tom is the strongest climber I have met, insanely talented and powerful.  Denis and he shared a house and of course they built a boulder wall to train:

In-between his sessions outdoors Denis would be training hard with Tom and became very strong.  While he climbed very well and was super safe on single pitch bolted lines where you could get lowered off, it took a bit of time for him to get the hang of setting up belays.  On one such occasion he climbed a small slab at Welly Dam and I followed up, all I can say is that I’m glad I didn’t fall off!  He doesn’t get hung up on rope work, the art of placing protection or the scenery so much.  For Denis it is the climbing, and there have been times that the great outdoors has detracted from his enjoyment.  I can still hear, and start to laugh at, his wailing when he was besieged by March Flies at Well Dam:

Denis climbs for the pure enjoyment of being on rock, it doesn’t need to be a clean ascent it just needs to be technically enjoyable.  I’ve never seen him get upset or frustrated, if he does he has an impressive way of masking it.  I get the feeling that he approach life in that way too, always seeking a positive and enjoying the moment.  It has been a while since Denis and I have been on rock, almost two years, and in this time he has found Kyla.  Hopefully he will resurface and entertain us once more, as I point him to more routes I reckon he’ll enjoy with at least one he will fall off:

It was during the cold winter months of 2014 that I got the chance to meet the climbing crew in the South West and more particularly, as he is the subject of this story, how I got to meet Krish.

I use to live in a van back then, working on vineyards during the day, getting rained on. And almost every day, after work, I would go to the climbing gym in Dunsborough with my brother and we would climb with the familiar crew that would travel down from Bunbury and Busselton.

I was lucky enough that these people would offer to take us outdoors, on the actual rock, to amazing places like Willyabrup or, maybe my favourite, Welly Dam.

Krish of course was always one of the more avid and keen climbers and I remember those days where he would take us on the most epic routes, leading on trad like it was a fun warm up and belaying from the top. My brother and I, both working really hard, struggling to make it to the top cleaning behind Krish.

I guess that is how I first think of Krish…

While racking my brain here, trying to put words together for his blog, my first thought is how easy he makes it look. Whether it’s on the rock placing gear, leading a technical sports route or doing a “follow on” on a boulder wall at someone’s house.

But when I think more about it I guess I like climbing with Krish for the energy he gives you suggesting climbs, describing them and adapting his decision making to your capabilities. But also for the patience he shows while belaying you for a long time because it’s a hard climb or encouraging you and helping along the way. And finally, when I think of Krish I think of his generosity along the whole process and throughout the entire climbing day.

I haven’t climbed in a while and I haven’t seen Krish in ages but, writing those words, I remember some particular routes I climbed with him and the classic ritual of meeting at the car parks, pulling gear out of each others trunks and getting psyched and I miss it. I hope we’ll soon be able to climb together again.

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

I have a feeling that I have climbed with Eric far more than my images indicate.  My earliest memory is of Eric on Fat Chance, when I took a bunch of images of him. One almost made the cover the new guide book, until it was pointed out that it looked too similar to the cover of the new Perth climbing guide. Eric climbed with Eric, his mate, and they were both quiet unassuming people happy to just go about climbing. One day we met them at Wallcliffe, I was there with Rob and he had a tag along with him.  I asked the Eric’s if they were happy for the tag along to run up their rope on Borrowed Souls, which we had recently established, and they were very happy to do this.  As the tag along neared the top I heard a faint noise and then a loud shout, he had knocked a rock off and it landed squarely onto the big toe joint of Eric bare foot 20m below:

The way Eric dealt with that situation speaks volumes about his character.  There was no carrying on and a few polite words and us offering our sincerely apologies, which he shrugged off saying it was an accident and they happen. It didn’t break his toe but severely damaged it and he wasn’t able to put a climbing shoe on for months and months.  He held no malice and eventually got back out on rock.  The Eric’s were not part of the crew at the time.  I found out only a month back that Eric’s mate Eric had gone to the Middle East, but I kept in touch Eric and we headed out together a few times.  There is no stress with Eric, everything happens at a relaxed pace and he’s happy to take whatever the day allows, as and when it comes:

As long as we got out he was content.  Ram who didn’t make my list, is another occasional outdoor climber and while he has led a few bolted routes it was Eric and I that taught him the ropes with trad.  Eric showed a lot of patience and a natural ability to calm situations down, which was great as leading on trad certainly made Ram very nervous and uncomfortable.  In fact I can only recall Ram leading on trad twice, and each time he hated it. In those days Eric seemed to run up most routes, he is also the only person that I have ever seen climb Hired Gun direct.  Most people traverse in from the left to avoid the long dynamic moves that get you small crimps, which you have to yard up on:

The two Eric’s had a boulder wall and kept themselves strong.  Eric had great finger strength and great body coordination, which isn’t always the case for tall lanky people.  After a few years Eric disappeared from the local climbing scene, but he was still not too far away.  He still got my write-ups and we occasional chatted via email.  Finally a few years back he dusted off the cobwebs and came back out, not quite as strong but just as chilled and open for adventure.  I found out that he had dismantled their boulder wall and was looking to sell the holds off.  Great timing and the 150 odd holds complemented what I had bought for my new wall perfectly:

We managed a few outings, and at Boomer Crag I discovered that he was scared of spiders.  He came across a huntsman tucked away in the crack of Boomer Crack.  Managing to hold it together, he still had that ability to stay composed and finished the route.  A week or so later just before departing on his holiday to the Blue Mountains things changed.  He was unexpectedly offered a job over there and it became a job interview and house hunting trip.  So our planned next trip out just before Christmas never happened. He is however still going strong on the many Blue Mountain crags and keeps asking when I might get the chance to come over.  I’ve not managed it yet, but will one day:

My memory is a bit skittish… my first memories of climbing Western Australia, after migrating over in 2011 was texting a guy from the motel in Bunbury where I lived for the first month. I got in touch with Rhys via a forum on the Climbing Association of Western Australia website, and he invited me to join in for bouldering at a buddy’s place, which turned out to be Rongy’s shed.

I remember being a bit shy, and I’m not sure if actually went over in the first week, I think I made and excuse that I couldn’t go ha ha. I recall going to the PCYC with my friend, also called Eric, and bumping into you, Rongy and Howsie. The first thing we had to do was fill out the waiver forms, and either you or Rongy welcomed us to “the land of paperwork”. I still remember these words when filling in tedious forms today!

You kept encouraging us to climb and try harder and harder routes until we fell off, which is something that you like to do in general isn’t it? We didn’t climb outdoors together much, but met at the PCYC once in a while.

Then one day we bumped into each other again at Wilyabrup, and when I climbed Fat Chance I took a few whippers, including one huge one. You were taking some pictures, one of which ended up in the guidebook that I never bought until years after. Now I’m very proud and eager to show this image in the guidebook to others. It is a very cool picture, maybe even my best climbing image to date. So thanks for that.

Up to this point, we still haven’t actually climbed heaps together. Then, the day I shall never forget! At Wallcliffe while belaying a new climber on a newly bolted route that was not very well cleaned, a half fist size rock came down and landed on my big toe. It was quite a memorable few shitty seconds, you guys were there and gave me some sympathy. Luckily not too much, as you then encouraged me to climb a few more lines which I did.

After my toe had healed, which took some time, we had a few sessions up at Welly Dam together before I stopped for a few years. We didn’t get back in touch until you bought a bunch of plastic holds for your home wall. There were a few trips to Wilyabrup and one up to Perth before I moved over East.

The one thing I’ll always remember about you mate is your eagerness just to climb and be outdoors and enjoy nature and climb, climb, climb. You are one of the most efficient climbers I’ve seen moving on rock and rigging gear, I have to say sometimes it looks like you are flying not climbing!

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

Glen is another one that came from the State Emergency Services fold, I’m not sure how he came upon our climbing crew but I’m certain it wasn’t via Andrew.  Glen is the clown or larrikin and the one you can count on to do something not very sensible.  He never climbs too hard on lead, but will give harder stuff a go if there is a rope above him.  His preference is trad, and with trad the risk of something going wrong is conceivable greater.  However, he does place good gear and when a route permits plenty of it.  So much so that he might wear himself out placing it all:

He’s certainly capable and has been out heaps with us, but he is inconsistent.  Despite having had the encouragement to climb with his mate Leigh at places like Arapiles over east, his well-intended training programs can easily be unhinged by the temptation of a beer or two.  He likes the social side of climbing, isn’t overly keen on early starts and is quite vocal about it.  I have managed to get him to the crag at first light once and he confessed it was very worthwhile, but not so much that he ever wanted to repeat the experience:

He is probably the one that will push hardest for a pit stop at the beer farm after a mornings climbing.  Some are easily swayed by this but I have only succumbed once, with Lou’s insistence that the veggie burger was to die for.  They must have been good as they were sadly sold out and I have not been back since.  Glen is one of the more active people on our local social media group, continually throwing all kinds of random stuff at us.  Needless to say while he loves to get out for a climb he is easily distracted, and if the weather is looking dicey, the start is too early or if the salmon are running he is quick to bail:

The want is certainly there, proven with his mass of climbing equipment and his boulder wall. We went through a few years where we would meet at least one evening a week at either Glen or Lou’s wall. These events became less about training and more about a catch-up and general play on the wall. This suited Glen as he could make use of Lou’s brain to assist with his study, enjoyed jumping on the wall and to boot for a period we started to bring food along too. These session could include copious amounts of raw unrelenting banter. Glen would dish it out in bucketful’s. He could certainly give it out, but he could also take it when the tables were turned and they often were:

One reason that Glen has not been very consistent on rock, is his accident prone nature.  The first major incident I knew of was when he slipped on his boat, which was in his front yard, while wearing thongs.  He cracked his knee and eventually needed surgery.  This started to come good until he kicked a tail gate to close it and aggravated the injury.  He was finally coming good again when down at Cosy Corner poorly thought out protection led to an unfortunate fall, and he broke his foot.  Now I must confess this happened to be on the route I mentioned in Steve’s write-up, and which Dan and I suggested may only be a grade 9.  Having been on it several times now it is probably fair to say it is four or five grades harder.  After he fell and knowing what the likely prognosis was he had the ability to compose and self-rescue himself up the rap line, which was pretty impressive to witness:

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

While everyone I’m writing about is keen to climb, for some it is more in their thoughts.  Howsie is definitely one who wants to physically get out as much as possible.  He climbed at the PCYC with his brother Mikey, Dazza and Mark.  While I climbed with all of these guys outdoors for a short period, Howsie is the one that this has continued with.  His love for nature and exploring is something that I can relate too, we both get just as much fulfilment from finding interesting animals or weird plants, as we do from our time on rock.  The images in our adventures are testament to that:

Howsie is calm, collected and cool on rock.  Composure and focus are maintained on seemingly blank faces with no protection, or when bolted routes have scary ground fall potential.  Many say that I show this quality, and maybe there have been times, but they are not so frequent these days.  So it is great to get out with someone who will go for it so I can do so with the safety of a rope above me.  Howsie mentioned our early morning before work Welly Dam trips.  The big year was 2016 when we climbed almost every week enduring not just the dark starts and wetness of winter but also sub-freezing temperatures when you couldn’t feel your fingers.  And regardless of this we never walked away from those trips wondering why we bothered:

In fact no conditions are bad conditions for Howsie.  We have been on many trips away.  The thrill of a new location and different rock brings out the kid in Howsie and a childlike excitement begins to surface.  One that can’t be dampened by conditions or fear.  That said while we have both taken risks we have also moderated each other’s, at times, overly confident approach and have never had a bad experience.  Howsie like me will extract every possible moment of climbing out of a day.  That said Howsie will be the one to say he needs to top up his energy levels and have a break, so we would always be prepared with plenty of food and drink to keep us going:

Many of our trips out have been overnight, and camping out is all part of the experience.  Howsie loves a banter in the evening after a day out, and this is one area we do differ as I’ll crash early and then get up early.  While I can sense he is keen to keep talking at night, he has never complained when I’m up first and making a brew!  At times there is a need to cram in just one days climbing, and when you are seeking out new locations the travel time begins to increase.  We have been known to spend a big day at a crag, one for which the round trip travel time has been in excess of six hours.  Getting to the crag for first light and getting home in the dark.  On the journey home feeling weary behind the wheel his keenness to have a chat is very welcome:

It may seem that he spends all of his free moments climbing.  And then some more again as he is always being keen to squeeze just one more climb in before we pack up and head home, something I have not been known to discourage on our trips.  However, he does an impressive job of balancing many passions.  Music takes a lot of his time being an active member in a band, and he also works in the environment profession and does a lot of volunteering.  Then added to that he has Nadia, Fergus and Frank to consider.  Occasionally Nadia has to be the voice of reason that will rightly make Howsie reconsider and adjust where he spends his time: