The forecast was looking good with a few clear calm days leading into and continuing for the weekend.  So not to miss out on an opportunity after being holed up in the shed for the last few weeks I put the word out.  The original plan was for some south coast adventures with Kym in the amazing surrounds of Albany, but that didn’t pan out this time round.  So it was a local trip, which worked out well as Wiggins was back from the mines.  We plumped for fun stuff at the main faces of Wilyabrup:

It was a lazy start and we didn’t get to the crag until 11am, where we met Mark someone we had only acquainted ourselves with through technology until then.  With light winds and the sun on our backs it was very pleasant indeed.  Not surprisingly with a break in the weather there were a number of cars at the carpark, and several parties down at the crag.  Wiggins headed up Hope with just a set of wires and tri-cams to get us warmed up, not that we intended on doing anything harder.  I then checked out Verbosity and deemed it was dry enough to go:

The image above shows that the limestone sections of Verbosity were dripping, which was Mark’s undoing.  On a separate note as we were walking down from Hope we passed the couple who had been climbing nearby.  Both Wiggins and I tried to engage with them but got mere silence or curt one word responses with no eye contact being made.  Then as we walked across to our next line, we passed another couple doing laps up Steel Wall.  They were more friendly and I had a bit of a chat with them, restoring my faith in my ability to communicate:

Despite Mark’s one slip we all really enjoyed Verbosity, it certainly felt a bit more thrutchy this time.  On lead I completely wedged myself into the wide crack.  The cam placements felt less than ideal. As I wriggled the gear deep into the crack I rained fragments of limestone on Wiggins.  After the crack the face climbing above was in great condition, making it feel like the pace eased off considerably.  As we walked back to our rap line we passed one of the not so communicative people who had just led Stainless Steel, this time I got about four words in response:

Mark was recognised by the non-communicative climbers and stopping for a proper chat, during which he told them who we were.  It transpired that I have been in email contact with them several times before, and they said hi through him.  He has not done much leading and was happy to allow us to take control.  Wiggins was going to jump onto Sinuosity, but I suggested going up the original line, which follows most of the same route and is called Thunder Thighs.  Looking at the guide I’m not convinced there is a 3 grade difference between these two lines:

Now before heading out this morning I was instructed by Steve to make sure there were images of me.  So as Mark followed up second I found a comfy spot from which to take a few images, and soak up the rays.  The perfect time to take a snap and keep Steve happy.  It was a slow paced and relaxed day, so the image is fitting.  Both Wiggins and I admitted to feeling a bit tired when we first started, so we continued at the gentle pace quiet enjoying the longer than normal breaks in being on rock due to climbing with three:

As Mark started to follow Wiggins, another couple had turned up and were climbing Hope.  The leader was at the last section for what seemed an eternity.  So long in fact that both Mark (who in this image hasn’t started yet) and I had followed our line, while he had only just set up his belay to bring his partner up.  I had a little chat with him, and he said that the long slabby top-out with no gear had unnerved him.  Wilyabrup has a tendency to do that on a number of climbs, we’ve just become accustomed to it.  Again my faith was restored in my ability to be social:

Mark was starting to feel his lack of climbing fitness and was on the edge of saying he would head off.  We managed to convince him to stick about just a bit longer, in part by suggesting a couple of shorter lines.  So I set off up Tom Thumb Direct Finish.  This is another one of those climbs at Wilyabrup that is a tad run out, and today the holds felt a tad greasy.  Seeing we were hitting lower grade routes, my chalk bag was back home so I sucked it up and had to keep moving with considerable distance between me and my last piece of gear:

They both followed in good style but Mark said that was it for him now, as his toes where shot.  So we headed back down, as Wiggins had another lead in mind.  Just as Mark was about to head back to the bags to collect his stuff the “silent ones” came by as they were leaving.  They chatted to Mark asking if we had left any gear on any routes, as they had found crag booty.  I tried to get involved in the conversation, but got very little response and no eye contact.  As they left Mark and I looked at each other in dumbfounded bemusement as to what had just happened:

At least I can say that it was not just me, as Wiggins had received he same treatment.  That is unless he received the silent treatment due to being associated with me?  No matter, the sun was out and we were still climbing.  Wiggins proceeded to lead the only sport route of the day, Setting Sun.  A route that had obviously seen action today, as it was very chalked up.  That at least took a bit of greasiness away from the fine rounded layback section that can feel very unnerving in wet conditions.  Of course it wouldn’t have been right to end on an odd number:

So I went in search of carpet pythons on Glory.  We hadn’t seen any when we climbed Hope but they can often be seen on this line too.  It was certainly feeling a bit toasty now and we were quietly hopefully, but ultimately disappointed.  The climbing however was great fun, I led the line only using tri-cams making the bottom roof a bit spicy.  Looking out from the belay, as Wiggins followed me, Steel Wall was empty for the first time since we had arrived today.  In fact we had the place to ourselves, as all the other social and not so parties had headed off:

It was however also time for us to pack our bags and head out.  One last rap down to sort our gear and then take the long walk out.  The sun was not quite going down but as we walked out we could feel a chill in the air.  We felt very lucky this weekend to have sampled some real rock on such a wonderful sunny day, during which we even saw dolphins surf the waves.  Looking ahead the wintery weather will come back for next weekend, with a forecast for rain, rain and rain.  If that holds true another shed session is likely to be on the cards:

One thing I can safely take away from today is that whatever I may think about myself being a tad antisocial and hermit like, compared to at least some others I cannot be classed as socially inept!

After a bout of wild weather promising slightly damper conditions I put the word out there for this weekend, which didn’t look too bad.  Wiggins was keen, and after I suggested I was open to a late start he promptly suggested a 7:30 meet in Capel.  The timing was great as I got to see the sun poke it’s head out on a fresh misty morning.  It was not however quite what I meant as a late start, as the mercury would only reach the mid-teens today.  Wiggins told me later that he thought 7:30 was late for me and didn’t want to push it any more:

Mileage was the aim of the day, and that considering the likely less than perfect conditions we aimed for Driftwood Bay.  This little crag gets very little attention, nestled between the cleaner, more accessible and in truth more solid crags of the main Willyabrup cliffs and the northern blocks.  It however provides nice length routes, each of which are varied and fun.  With little action the rock can be suspect in places, the lower band comprises a soft and after rain mushy basalt and there is the occasional bit of decorative limestone coating the granite:

As we drove to the crag we did wonder if we were wise going out, as it rained on and off for most of the journey.  We continued on regardless as out to the west the sky was brighter and we could see breaks in the cloud, and with light westerlies forecast we were hopeful.  While winter brings inclement weather it also brings the joy of watching weather systems and procrastinating about what will come.  Something that can drive Lisa a little potty, especially if it is a bigger full day or overnight trip being planned, as this can go on for a month before the trip:

While as you can see there was some seepage, there wasn’t a huge amount and the main cliffs were pretty good.  The lower black basalt felt as dodgy as ever, and with no gear placements (not that they would hold) it allowed me to take a few images from afar as Wiggins made his way up to more solid rock.  Wiggins wanted to come here because he hadn’t been before and also it was a perfect place to get some mileage in, he had however forgotten he seconded me on this line when I put it up way less than five years back.  So Cauliflower Soup was our first tick:

While the grades are low it is hard to run up these routes as the rock often looks broken and fractured.  While it gives that perception it is mostly good, but a cautionary knock is often required to check that is actually the case.  It certainly has more than its fair share of suspect rock, but that is really because it doesn’t get the traffic the other crags do.  The gear is wonderfully varied and allow true old school placements where slings and other passive gear come into their own, one of the reasons I like this place:

Below you can just make out the bay that give this crag its name, a small area where piles of rubbish often collect.  A great place to go and see what can be salvaged, but today despite the recent bashing the ocean had given this coast there was relatively little to be seen.  In true trad style we setup old school belays often making use of a single boulder to rap a sling or rope round.  No doubt some will frown upon our approach in this age of bubble wrapping things and needing to have layers upon layers of backup plans and safety:

We of course went lead for lead, now that we realised that Wiggins had in fact been here before.  I did however, try to leave the gems of the place for him to lead as he obviously would have no memory of them.  Not to say the lines I picked were scrappy, this one in particular was the stand out I led on the day, a fine start up a crack and flake system that provided consistent interest and intrigue, and one put up by none other than Steve.  Old Crate is a another example of what I love about the place, corners, flakes, arêtes and overlaps all in one fun packed route:

Wiggins picked one of his own creations next, Pick Pocket must surely have been a line that was climbed in the old days of the 70s to 90s before we came along.  There was however no record of it so we bagged it in September 2014.  It was loads of fun and halfway up he came across a surprise.  While from our scan from a distance it had seemed there was little beachcombing opportunities we had a chance to recycle some crag booty!  Wiggins found a wire that jiggled about, too fiddly to get out on lead but not for me on second with a rope above me:

Considering I have recently been climbing in temperatures that reached the high twenties, and today was a mere mid-teens at best, it was getting surprisingly toasty.  We had been right to keep driving as blue skies abound and the light winds did little to stir the air.  So despite the waves crashing in we were not being covered in salt spray, and instead we were soon in T-shirts soaking up the rays.  We even spied a couple of skinks lurking in cracks, watching carefully as we placed gear in the entrance to their homes:

It is possible to walk to the base of this crag, but it is a bit of a bush bash and so it is much quicker to walk along the goat track along the top of the cliff.  The track is a bit loose and you need to tread carefully to avoid tumbling over the edge in a few spots, all adding to the adventure of the day.  To rap in I’d brought the second and shorter half of an old retired lead rope.  The other half was fully retired a few months back, and this half may follow suit after this trip.  This shorter half wasn’t quite long enough for today but we managed, by down climbing the last bit:

Crab Slab was next on my list, the one of the first routes put up at this crag way back in the 70s and with great passive gear placements.  Wiggins and I agree that there is nothing more satisfying than a solid hex placement, it slots in and just looks like you can hang a car of it.  This is probably the most chilled line here due to having the best rock with ample gear.  For this reason it was also the route I sent Alan up to pop his trad leading cherry in October 2013.  It is also the day that we put up a few fine lines including one of the crag classics:

It may look like Wiggins is repeating the first route of the day, but the first line had gone left round the nose and up the arête and slab.  This line follows the wide corner.  There are two must do routes at this crag, and this 70s epic called Integrity is one.  I advised Wiggins that small wires were needed.  So he promptly set off without them… and had to run it out on what even I would call less than perfect gear.  The first half of this climb is particularly awesome, on solid rock often requiring complete faith in full smears for your feet, which fortunately stuck today:

I then took on another of the old routes having to trust some large creaky flakes up the start, not just holds but to place the gear behind too.  They are probably good and I gave them a good tug, but we agreed that we probably wouldn’t want to put them to ultimate test!  This route probably had the sketchiest move of the day.  Stepping onto and up the slab from this position is particularly nervous, probably more on account of the gear below than the moves.  I find a strange satisfaction from these situations, which is another reason I love this place:

Now I mentioned earlier how we had found some crag booty for recycling and it would only be right to make use of our new piece of gear, which I have donated to Wiggins seeing he saw it first.  It was only used once, by me of course, and was aptly used behind one of those creaky flakes just add extra spice on spice!  In this world we really should be recycling more, I somehow doubt that Wiggins is of like mind with this particular find.  I suggested a soak in some oil and it might come good, so next time you are out with Wiggins it might be worth checking his wires:

As the light westerlies brought the next bank of cloud overhead Wiggins set off on the last line of the day.  Sure Footed is the second must do route here, the lucky find of Alan and me and a fitting end to the days climbing.  As I followed up, with a pack on my back, the tricky bottom crack made me work and I knew it was time to call it a day.  I like to stick to even numbers, but if you have kept track we hit seven lines.  I managed to keep it together and we didn’t rap back down, instead packing up and heading out after carefully along the track:

Having just been back to the UK for a quick one week visit to help sort through belongings, go on tip runs, pack boxes and dismantle furniture at my folks place, where they have lived for 40 years I still had a couple of days before I was due to go back to work.  So what better way to get over my jetlag by going climbing:

It has been a fair while since I have managed to get Steve out for a climb.  Seeing he was not working on Tuesday I picked him up after dropping Elseya off at College and we headed for Welly Dam.  Key reasons for choosing this place being that there is no walk-in, it was near Bunbury, and of course we both love the routes here:

Seeing Steve is not climbing fit, or so he would profess, we interspersed the session with a couple of tea breaks.  Allowing us to prepare for the next round but also to catch up on life.  We had picked a picture perfect day… the rock was in great condition, humidity was low, the sky was blue and the temperature was lovely:

Considering Steve has not been out for a long time we were doing pretty well.  We were being sensible and not pushing the grades, knocking off Murky Corner, BBQ and then one of Steve’s favourite routes Raging Torrent.  The route has been the debate of so many people about being a sand bag and scary due to a high first bolt, so it is surprising that Steve loves it so:

He was so excited about going up that route that he forgot to take his belay device up, a kid in a candy store jumps to mind.  Pocket Knife was next and it was on that one that the cracks started to appear.  He made more of meal than needed at the start, but then composed himself before climbing the exciting flake and corner gracefully:

In view of feeling so good today Steve then decided he’d like to take on Savage Sausage Sniffer.  It was warming up and the tops were off.  The start this time posed no problem, and even at the start of the great quartz layback he was climbing in a powerful style and turned around and gleefully said “I’m feeling so strong” and “my forearms are recovering so quickly”:

It was literally 30 seconds later that his arms and forearms gave in and he dogged his was past the quartz band before managing to make the final moves up the bulge and headwall more cleanly.  Definitely time for that second cuppa, during which the red tailed cockatoos flew by.  Then to round up the numbers he had just enough energy to slap for the last hold on B Young:

Now you may have noticed that Steve was on second every time, he was being careful in view that he was on drugs, 24-7 chemo to be precise.  Steve’s attitude has been to enjoy every day to the full.  Also exercise has been proven to increase the ability to beat cancer, so I was pleased to have helped on that front.  On a positive note the treatment is going really well:

Seeing I had Wednesday off as well, and the fact that our power company had decided to undertake critical maintenance work in our neck of the woods on that day, I had no choice but to go out.  So I headed down to Cosy Corner.  The opposite direction to Elseya’s college but Lisa had kindly offered to take her in, so we all left home at 8’ish but in opposite directions:

This time I was going solo and had in mind to knock off, as usual, six routes climbing each one twice.  I had already decided on which lines to pick off, being the areas that Glen and I had not got too when we came last (and he broke his foot).  I wanted to repeat a few of the lines I have been involved in putting up over years to see if they were as good as I thought they were:

A strong north easterly was blowing, but once over the edge I was shielded from the wind.  The swell wasn’t too bad and so I could start every route from low down, occasionally feeling a bit of spray around my feet as the waves rolled up the wall.  I started on two lines that Howsie and I had put up in late 2016, named Three Little Birds  and Away from the Nest:

It was then time for the highest wall.  Starting on Indecision, which Dan and I put up in mid-2015.  Next up were two routes from way before my time, the deserved crag classic Loose Lips and Chick Point. The second being a route that doesn’t get as much attention as it should.  The last line of the day was Escape Hatch, which Craig and I put up on my first visit here in mid-2006:

I was pleased to find all of the lines were really good.  They were also in great condition, while winter should have set there was no seepage and not a damp patch to be seen.  Before heading to the car to make a cuppa I checked out a small wall that I have often wondered about.  On inspection I reckon there may be a couple more line to be had… maybe next time:

Safe to say I was over my jetlag and it was back to work on Thursday, which was also the day that winter finally hit… I doubt the crags will be in as good condition now so had timed my two days out perfectly.

Saturday morning I was up at 5:30, not for climbing well not entirely.  Elseya had a course in Perth that was due to start at 9am, so we were on the road early to make sure we got there on time.  After dropping her off I headed out to the Adrenaline Vault to while away a few hours.  It’s one of the bouldering gyms that have been popping up in Perth over the last few years, and the good news is that for bouldering you can go solo.  It was fun but I think I went a bit hard and fast, climbing up and down all the easy stuff and a fair few of the next level ones before hitting the red routes.  The place was just about all overhung and some of it seriously so, it was a real workout:

When I hit the red routes I teamed up with some guy from Brisbane, who had been stranded in Perth due to the gas works in the north being shut down because of the looming cyclone Veronica.  He was tall, too tall.  For every move he did I had to make two or at times three, but that pushed me and I was willing to the point that my fingertips were raw and the calluses on my soft office worker hands started to pop off.  I was glad I only had just shy of 2 hours to climb before picking Elseya up!  The next morning I was sore, so very sore, but I had committed to go out for a “real” climb.  Craig and I plumped or Moses Rocks for a bit of ocean views and fun lines:

It was a low neap tide but the swell would be coming in rough, that with a seaward breeze made for great conditions.  The rock was dry, none of that greasy salt spray feeling, and the friction was perfect.  So we started on a little line I had been keeping an eye on to hit one day, sandwiched between two lines that Craig and I put up way back in 2009.  Craig belayed from round the corner where the rock was dry and the water was hopefully not going to get him.  Despite his belay perch looking dry he anchored in just in case, as I traversed in and headed up the narrow pillar:

I’m a bit of a slow starter and need a warm up climb or two, today was different I think I needed the whole day to warm up.  That’s not true I was suffering so much from the day before that I never really got into the flow.  Moses however, has an ability to make ever visit fun and this first climb did just that.  Originally it looked like it may get a bit tricky and nervous in the second half but it never presented any great problems, just satisfying rounded friction holds in a great position.  We reckon it may get a 12 at a push, so yet another one to add to the bucket of climbs we have done here that we have not bothered to write up:

Craig’s last trip out was on his birthday in August so he was happy for me to take the lead, what joy!  So next up was an old favourite for some but not others.  Hathersage just had to be climbed, I’ve probably said it before but this is the first route I ever climbed in WA… well attempted to climb, as I was soloing.  I got as far as Craig is now before I decided it was better to back off.  In today’s dry conditions this route was a gem, and Craig was looking comfortable and smooth.  Making me think that maybe he should have a pop on the floppy end as well:

There was one line that was drawing him in, I certainly didn’t fancy leading it but he was comfortable that he could get to the carrot bolt and have enough strength left to then pull through.  While I set myself up an anchor, off to one side with a directional piece below the climb, he prepared himself.  I had to giggle as he popped a bolt plate in his mouth before setting off on this Shane Richardson route, a name that implies it wasn’t likely to be easy.  I’d never been on Spoilt Bastard, yet another line named after a politically incorrect Viz comic character, so we were about to find out if the theory was right:

With a good position I managed to get some great images of Craig on lead, but decided to use this one of me giving it all.  I had to yoyo a few times, with each attempt going from the deck up.  It’s a proper roof that has some horizontal stances.  All that steep jugging the day before would have set me up for this route, if there had been a few more recover day in-between.  My muscles screamed out, but I finally pulled off the long reach up to rounded but surprisingly satisfying hold above the bolt.  From there it became less horizontal and more relaxed, but that doesn’t take away the impressive lead for someone who hasn’t climbed for over half a year:

Being satisfied with his lead the rope was handed back to me.  We were working our way rightwards along this broken set of small walls and buttresses, so I decided on a little number on Red Wall call Pickup.  Kym put up this variation on the original route call Hickup and it is worthy line.  I have to admit to once again struggling to hang on and probably climbed the route three or four times before I linked it all and topped out.  Craig in his casual manner took his time and looked comfortable all the way.  Too comfortable so I handed him the rope to pick the next line:

It wasn’t a hard decision, over to Hands Up Wall to hit the crag classic.  The wind was swinging round and starting to come from the south, there was a distinct drop in the temperature and we wrapped up again.  Wheely Things is all style, and while Craig climbed the route I ran round checking out multiple angles to get the best images.  He never once looked on edge, however after following him up he said he didn’t really wanting to look down.  Confessing that seeing me dancing round and checking out angles or anything else that catches my eye was at times a little disconcerting:

I love Wheely Things a great jamming route and one if you get right never feels too hard.  Today it felt surprisingly good, in fact the most comfortable route all day.  Maybe not needing to hold onto the rock with the palms of my ripped up hands helped.  After enjoying that so much we decided one more route was in order, I had been ambitiously looking at the harder lines but ended up deciding to dial it back and cruise up Hands Up.  While I set myself up to watch Craig follow me I spent most of the time watching the waves crashing in and out of the zawn.  Moses has to be the best crag for watching waves:

We were both pretty shattered but felt there was time for one last play a little slab that always looks appealing.  I’m sure I’ve played on this before and found a couple of lines that were not too bad.  However, today it felt thin and technical.  We worked a few vertical problems and then this last long rising traverse to sap the last of our mental strength, shred the last remnants of skin from the tips of our fingers and make our toes screaming out to be released from our shoes.  It was another top day out at Moses Rocks, but I have to admit I was so very glad to flop onto the sofa when I got home:

This morning we had intended to go to Moses Rocks.  During the drive, as Andrew and I were chatting it was however obvious that a rethink might be a good idea.  It was not so much that we needed a place with more relaxed grades, but maybe a place that had routes that felt more secure.  Moses is a great place if you don’t mind rounded smeary friction holds and a “more than fair share” of shallow flared cracks.  So we instead headed down to Wilyabrup and on arrival, as predicted, there was a strong seaward wind.  That meant we would be sheltered from it on the crag and the spray that the 4m swell would no doubt send into the air would be blown back out to sea:

We toyed with the main area but Andrew had been on most of the easier lines there and so for something different we went to the Organ Pipes.  It had also been a little while since I’d been here myself, close to seven months in fact.  It’s one of the lesser visited crags but I never get bored of it myself and think it is underrated, as it has a fine range of good old-school lines.  Unsure of where his head was to start with I set things off up a fine arête.  Feeling quite good I ambled up the second half forgetting to place any gear, before setting up and allowing Andrew to come up looking like batman with his cape being blown in the wind:

The air hung a little on the heavy side this morning and with the slightly raised humidity the rock was not quite perfect.  This did mean that after first route the jackets came off and we soaked in the comfortable temperature.  If we had known that we were coming here we would have brought a second rap rope, as the walk down isn’t that pleasant and is quite long.  Fortunately a large boulder sat atop the main face and that allowed us to set up a system that wasn’t too much fuss, and one that also benefited us in other ways later on:

Me running it out on my line had not put Andrew of giving leading a go.  So off he set up the steep wall on a great crack and shallow corner, his line (purposely chosen) had more options for gear and he seemed to be making adequate use of the opportunities.  As he approached the last third he moved quickly without placing anything and then stopped at the top looking about as if he’d hit a road block.  For a while I had to focus my attention, rather than my camera on him.  At least until I realised that he was only checking out the best place to set up a belay:

The base of the route was on a bit of a slab, so I padded across this and pulled the rope after me placing it into a neat pile ready for him to take it up.  I thought I had better not start climbing and leant back on the face to watch the waves, hoping to see a pod of dolphins.  It was a perfect day to see surfing dolphins, with crisp clean and sizable waves.  It was unfortunately not to be and despite both of us keeping an eye out we didn’t see any.  Just as Andrew started to pull the rope up I looked down and saw something.  Wiggins you may recall what went missing in August last year, and seven months on there is was rested on the little plant next to the rope:

So my lost black tricam was found once more.  The pin wasn’t showing any signs of corrosion and the print on the label was less faded than the tricams that I had on my rack.  However, the sling was looking a little furry.  After inspecting it Andrew just laughed as I put it back on my rack.  In my mind it can stay on there as an emergency piece for when there is nothing else left or that will fit, at least until I replace it.  So if anyone is out climbing we me and needs to use a black tricam you may want to inspect the sling, it’s pretty obvious which one is less trustworthy:

The next route is a lovely corner with a sickle shaped roof.  Very pleasant climbing up the corner that never gets tricky until you near the roof, which is where it starts to curve over your head to the left.  The hand holds become more “interesting” and as you step away from the corner the feet become more slabby, it’s a great position and seems quite improbably.  A few short moves later the arête is gained so it is not too bad, but as you can see by the concentration on Andrew’s face, it requires a degree of focus:

He then decided for his next lead it was time for a bit of fun, and plumped for one of the chimneys that Mikey had led approx. a year back during the sprint finish of his challenge to lead 10km of routes without any repeats.  I didn’t mention it to Andrew but I did think that his sport climbing rope work (i.e. rope over the shoulder until the first piece) on this lead was a bit misplaced!  It was while Andrew was mucking about on this climb, thoroughly enjoying himself I might add, that I spied another potential new route:

So next up I attempted a ground up FA of a yet to be named climb, which probably tells you that I didn’t manage a clean ascent.  This steep little number seems to have been overlooked by anyone to date.  The wall was wide enough and provided just enough holds to make it independent of the cracks and chimneys on either side.  I managed to get to the final headwall but was thwarted after that, the smeary holds to get established on a high undercling were just too greasy for my liking.  Especially seeing if I full committed the gear started to get further away from my feet and there was still a way to go:

We played on the line a few times and it definitely goes but will need a dry day and level head.  After that bit of top roping it felt like we had already slipped into bad habits, and so what would it matter if we finished off the morning with a few more top ropes.  In truth both of our arms were starting to feel the morning (or more to the point that last route) and the intention had after all been to just have a bit of fun.  The rap anchor was perfectly placed to allow us to finish off on three lines.  The crag classic up the crack and flake, my creation from my trip with Wiggins up the left wall and also another one of my projects up the right wall:

The humidity hadn’t left us and really showed on my old project up the right wall, the seemingly featureless face that provides the crux sequence was far more problematic for me than on my last trip here.  So after my one lap on it today, interspersed with me spinning off it a few times with increasingly more painful finger tips, I had no desire to try and lead it.  I showed Andrew the last piece of gear on the line, which if I failed to nail the crux would need to withstand not just a good length fall but also the pendulum that would result from the piece being off to one side.  If it didn’t hold I’d hit the deck that was 10m below:

Considering Andrew was after relaxed lines today, by the time we were done the day had proven to be quite a workout and he had done really well.  He even suggested to me that he needs a trad route to focus on and project.  The idea being to hopefully encourage him to get to that bit more.  I now have three trad projects at the Organ Pipes, two are sensible’ish and one may be a little silly.  I did suggest he took one of them but he didn’t seem too keen.  One thing is for sure I won’t be attempting a lead on any of them until we have a proper dry day and the rock feels good, either that or I need to learn to hang on like some of the wildlife:

So it began again early Sunday morning.  The first rap into Wilyabrup was as the morning light was taking effect, this image was later in the morning allowing a crisper image.  We thought the morning may have felt crisp after it had rained all day long on the Saturday, but it soon warmed up.  Better still our gamble that the rock would be dry despite all the rain paid off, at least on most routes.  Each time we rapped down my trusty old, retired from leading, dynamic rope we were covered in green flecks of material that were detaching from the sheaf due to the belay devices, um maybe it is time to retire this rope:

Why Wilyabrup… well several reasons including it was Howsie’s choice as he had his eye on a line I mentioned during our last visit.  Secondly I had a plan.  Having had it suggested that I was maybe going soft, as a result of some of my recent write-ups, I decided that I needed to toughen up.  There were a number of indicators pointing me to this notion: firstly as I have mentioned before the climbing video called Odyssey, which brought back my old ethics of attempting ground up ascents no matter the difficulty; and secondly, I’ve just read a book call The Black Cliff which is all about the history of Clogwyn dúr Addr:

We started the morning gently a lap on Hope, which I always enjoy, carrying only a single set of wires for gear.  Then Howsie jumped on Thunder Thighs, a route he had not been on before.  As I belayed I had a tickle on my ankle only to find a bull ant checking me out, with two more very close by.  So my attention moved from climber to biter and making sure that as I fed the rope out I didn’t inadvertently come into close contact with an angry bull ant.  Soon I was following Howsie up this very fine route, as I contemplated my next route:

I’d only climbed once on the Clogwyn dúr Addr or Cloggy as is more often than not referred to, and I realised that in my North Wales write up the place didn’t even get a mention!  My climbing partner at the time got spooked by the place, a shame as the place is steep in history and has amazing routes.  The book released in the early 70s was a riveting read, with many epics since the early 1900s through to the late 60s.  Hemp ropes moving onto nylons with some reservations; only slings to start with moving onto pebbles and then pegs.  Thirty meter runouts were not uncommon and often the boldest leaders had no one to follow them up, so they would unrope and finish the route by soloing up.  These guys were serious hard men:

So after absorbing all this bravado from both the screen and pages I decided to take on the route, which just a few weeks back I had top roped with the intention of Wiggins doing a bit of filming.  After the gentle warm up routes I stood below the wall and chatted away happily as I started up.  The tri-cam I suspected looked OK, as long as I didn’t swing to the right on a fall.  Then it was the committing move up to the horizontal rail, the point of no return.  I mentioned that casually and in the next second pulled up to be greeted by wet holds.  Fiddling gear into the horizontal wasn’t easy, I had to pull up each time on tiring arms to check it.  Every time it looked dodgy:

So keeping in mind Joe Brown’s attitude of two pegs (but not more) being acceptable on any one pitch I clipped the rusty looking peg.  No longer quiet so chatty and relaxed I inched through the crux moves to step rightwards before reaching up to gain the upper crack, and then it was game on.  Gear looked fiddly and my arms were tiring, so I didn’t hang about too long looking about.  The peg was getting further and further away and the dodgy gear I placed next to it popped.  Keeping in mind the stories I had recently read I pushed on.  I almost slipped off at the top before managing to flop over the edge feeling both exhausted and exhilarated.  My arms hurt, it’s a short but sharp route and strangely I felt like I wanted to climb it again, but preferably in dry conditions:

Howsie lapped the route up and came away feeling like he couldn’t back off the route that had inspired him to come back to Wilyabrup.  So soon he was starting up Steel Wall, heading for the more sensibly bolted Pascals Route.  Not having been on this line, or Simply Suicide that shares the same bottom two thirds’ish, he had to find his way and I gave nothing away.  This meant hanging on the steep start as he figured out the best way up the first crux section.  Once on the ledge came the second very fingery and the most committing crux section.  Crimping down probably harder than he should have his forearms were now starting to tire:

He managed to get within 6m of the top of the route, only one more bolt to reach and then it would have been the glory run.  He attempted to reach it a heap of times but kept falling off, eventually after three quarters of an hour he had no choice but to give up… he was out of gas.  I reckon the old boys would have been proud of his tenacity even though it didn’t pay off this time, although they may have sneered at the “drilled in bolts”.  The only drilled in bolt (singular) on Cloggy was put in by Pete Crew while on lead in 1963, it was chopped in later years as gear options increased.  Feeling good I led the pitch and Howsie managed to cruise the upper crux sequence, bearing down on a sloper to gain valuable inches to reach a better hold and then heave over the bulge:

It was still relatively early on this trip so we had time for more.  Due to the way the arms were feeling after the last two routes we decided to dial things back.  A pleasant amble up Setting Sun was followed by yet another bolted route of Fishing with Dynamite.  The last route was just easy enough to be achievable but hard enough to provide a final workout, and sap our arms of any strength they had left.  No matter that three of our routes weren’t trad and scary and the other two were easy trad lines, I think that while I attempt to shake this going soft image one scary route on each trip out is enough to get the ball rolling.  After all the other side of my old attitude to climbing was, and always will be, to enjoy being out and climbing no matter what the grade:

Atop the last climb we got chatting to a travelling climber, who was taking his girlfriend out on her second outdoor climbing trip.  Despite his years of climbing experience and obvious ability his belay looked dodgy to us, and then he showed us his rope…  the sheaf was not wearing like my trusty retired dynamic rope but was completed disintegrated in parts.  The core was exposed but he showed us that it was still in good condition to make it OK to keep using for a bit longer.  We were pleased to be leaving before anything untoward happened, and rest assured that trusty dynamic rope retired from leading has been permanently retired:

The dawn of a long weekend was upon us and early Saturday morning I was at Smiths Beach, as the light was changing.  My aim was to grab a quick climb in before we had to head to Perth for Elseya’s dance competitions.  It was a bit of a surprise to see so many surfers already milling about both in and out of the water so early in the morning.  I realise they like (some) climbers are early risers but I always though cloudy, low light periods were when you were of higher risk of becoming shark bait as you pretend to be a seal in the ocean:

It was a cool morning, with darker clouds looming out to ocean and they looked like they might bring rain.  While the rock was dry I could feel the moisture hang heavy in the air as I rapped into the zawn for the first line of the day.  The rock here has plenty of friction and today it didn’t feel like it had that salty coating this place can get.  So while it was likely to be a bit sweaty due to the rising humidity, and with the possibility of a shower I was confident that should hopefully not stop me from cranking:

After a long break of having been to Smiths Beach, I recently climbed here with Howsie and since then I’d been keen to head back.  The lines aren’t that long but certainly feel intense on lead, so there are not many people who are keen to join me when I mention this place.  Today however I was flying solo (again) and that allowed me to eye up the steeper lines of the very photogenic Camelot Wall.  Named so due to the rock lending itself to those active and passive camming devices, I reckon it’d be hard to lead any of the routes without them:

The intention was to start from the right and work my way leftwards.  The main reason being the easiest line I had in mind was at the far right, allowing me a warm up route.  Another advantage was that if the swell started to pick up there was less likelihood of being hit by the waves.  They get channelled in through the narrowing rocks and at times can hide the pillar from view as white water is thrown deep into the zawn.  I hadn’t checked the ocean conditions so didn’t know what was to come, and to start with a few waves were getting pretty close:

I have to admit that despite having a rope above me I was nervous about the second line on my list.  King Arthur is the direct version of the first line I ever climbed here.  Craig and I came here and eyed up all the lines on this wall, plumping on what seemed most feasible.  As we climbed the rain set in, and that added to the shallow, flared vertical crack made it on that day just too scary a proposition.  We instead avoided the direct line and used the chimney to its right, so creating Lady Guinevere.  We didn’t complete King Arthur until about a month later:

I’ve recently watched a climbing video called Odyssey.  Climbers well above my lowly status were on-sighting epic traditional lines in England, typical of the British ground up climbing ethic.  Climbing the lines I had put up at Smiths Beach with that same attitude back in 2010, such as Lady of the Lake, made me realise that (as some have put it) I’m possibly starting to “go soft”.  Lady of the Lake in particular is a line of that former form, the shallow very flared crack with some dubious rock and no gear is pretty intimidating.  In fact I’ve never seen anyone climb it and since the first ascent that includes me:

The last line on the wall for the day was to be The Holy Grail, a very fine line but sparsely protected.  It felt nervous on the first lap but second time I started to wonder if it earns the grade I originally gave, from a technical perspective certainly not. However, from an on-sight perspective and taking into account the position, gear and risks it is probably reasonable.  Keeping in mind my “softening up”, the one line which I have been on numerous times that I do think is a bit of a sand bag relative to the other climbs here is King Arthur.  But damn it’s good:

While the sky was still cloudy there were patches of blue appearing.  Unlike last weekend I was spared any rain, but sweat was dripping down my face.  As I topped out on the second lap on this last route the sun started to light up the opposite wall.  This place heats up quickly when the sun hits the walls so it was time to pack up and head home.  Before packing the bag I scrambled across the other side to take a few snaps of Camelot Wall.  Of particular note and in stark contrast to my recent trips to Wilyabrup is the distinction lack of chalk, this place doesn’t get the attention it deserves:

Scrambling back to my pack I decided to solo up Child’s Play, which is by far the easiest recorded route here.  It was so much fun that I decided to impose my top-rope solo requirements of climbing it a second time.  This also allowed me to take a rare selfie.  The 12 second timer on my camera didn’t allow me enough time to get very high but now I’m immortalised in digital pixels you get the picture.  Then it was back home and time to get ready to drive to Perth and watch the dance troupes do their thing:

Last night the final few acts were hip hop, and a couple of the troupes provided us with what came across as a very aggressive, angry and almost intimidating routines.  This added to the screeching banshee fans who were sat right behind us made it was both Lisa and I agreed an unpleasant end to the dance competitions.  We drove home straight after with our ears ringing getting home just before midnight.  I woke up about 6:30 and made a brew, threw my gear into the pack and headed out to Castle rock.  As I walked to the crag my ears retuned to some sense of normality and were enjoying the sound of a big mob of short-billed black cockatoos, as they feasted on gumnuts:

Finally after a several weeks of wondering when it might happen again Mr Blue Sky came out to play.  Which I will qualify with “on a weekend when I wanted to climb”!  Castle Rock gets early sun so I ran the risk of sweating off the rock with a slightly later start.  However, there was a cool breeze and that helped keep it sane start to a day that was predicated to go above 30 degrees.  With dry rock and a warm but not too hot sun, and once again going solo, I managed to climb all the lines I had in mind bar one.  That one was just a bit to testy for me today.  Um maybe before I soften up anymore I think I need to get on the pointy end again:

Back in time when we lived in Central Australia we used to work at Ooromina Homestead.  On one occasion a local film company was showing an American crew around.  They were scouting for rugged outback cliffs on which to shoot a car advert.  I can no longer remember which make of car it was, but the local fella thought I’d make a good candidate for the person scaling the cliffs to get back to their car.  Sadly nothing ever came of that, but today came a second chance to be on the other side of the lens:

I met Wiggings in Capel and as with his past films he wanted to record the whole adventure, and this meant attaching the camera to the car as we drove out of Capel.  Before we got to the highway we pulled over to take the camera off the car, and it was then he realised that the lens cap was nowhere to be found.  So we retraced our foot and tyre tracks back to the pub carpark, and as we drove out of capel a second time we spotted the lens half a kilometre away from where it had been no doubt fallen off the bonnet of the car.  So it was “take two” and we were back on the road:

The sky behind us was a mix of clear skies above with distant clouds, clouds which looked like the burning embers of a dying fire.  Back in the UK the old saying is “red sky at night shepherds delight, red sky in the morning shepherds warning”, I didn’t know till now but the original rhyme is an old maritime verse and it has been around for a couple of millennia.  This morning the skies were red, which meant that clear skies to the east were allowing the sun to light up the underside of moisture-bearing clouds.  The saying assumes that more potential rain clouds are coming in from the west:

We all know what assuming does, and after all who bothers with old folk lore when you have a weather forecast.  Both Wiggins and I had been checking it during the week and the morning was to be dry with only the very light chance of a very small sprinkle in the late afternoon.  The forecast was proving right as we turned onto gravel road of Wilyabrup Road.  We stopped here and the camera was mounted on the car one more time.  This time we made sure that the lens cap was placed somewhere safe.  As we drove in we saw plenty of roos in the adjacent paddocks, but none of them hopped out in front of us now that we wanted that to happen for the footage:

On the walk in things were looking good, no wind, a cool morning and dry conditions.  Then as we came over the crest of the Leeuwin ridge we saw what was coming.  Out to ocean and both north and south of our chosen destination there was a hazy look, which would normally only mean one thing.  Sure enough as we got within 100m of the crag rain started to fall, even by Craig’s standards.  Not only that but as we stood on the edge looking out the wind was obviously coming from the north straight down the coast.  While these conditions don’t faze me climbing wise they were certainly not the best conditions for filming:

I’d come prepared to top-rope solo, allowing Wiggins to run about and film the events.  It was also his first time of using his Wiral® LITE outdoors, which is a suspension cable system on which you can attach your camera.  The good thing with this system being that unlike drones it can be used in confined spaces and through trees.  We remained ever hopeful that the weather would clear up, so we agreed on the best place for him to set the cable up a choice predominately made to make sure we could avoid the wind (as much as possible):

I then set myself up with a few warm up lines running up Inner Space to start with.  Unfortunately it didn’t seem that optimism was going to win the day on this occasion and while the rain would ease off a bit, each time it came back in.  I’d done two laps on the first route and conditions were not looking great, so Wiggins understandably had not put his camera on the cable.  Seeing I was on top rope I simply moved the system across to Water Fall Second Folly and went for two more laps, hoping that by the time I’d come back up things might improve:

By now the whole face was wet and dripping.  For those that know the compact gneiss that forms Wilyabrup, a layered hybrid of granite and sedimentary rock, they will realise that it is not absorbent and any water makes those slopey holds pretty spicy.  That added to the steep headwall on which handholds are everything made the climbing extra exciting.  I needed to focus pretty hard to pull the last few moves.  While Wiggins didn’t want to get his fancy-pants camera gear wet there was always my trusty and beat-up point and shot, with which he caught some great images of me pulling faces as I focused on those last few moves:

With two climbs in the bag, no filming done, the cable system packed away and rain falling in every direction we were just about ready to pack up when I mentioned this climb as one I had my eye on.  Wiggins suggested I give it a go anyway, so off I set up Real Woman Accept It For What It Is.  A strange name and I have no idea of the history or whether it may be deemed sexist or not.  That said back in 1985 when it was put up I’m sure they didn’t worry about political correctness quite so much.  I’m not sure of anyone who has led this climb, the bottom half seems to have no gear and it is pretty steep and sustained:

My arms were burning as I topped out.  Wiggins then kindly reminded me of my self-proclaimed ethics of doing each route twice when I was top-roping, um… So back down I went for “take two”.  Truth be told the second lap is usually more comfortable for me and I even spotted a possible tri-cam placement in the lower wall that might make it a slightly more sane lead.  The top out is certainly protectable but pumpy and I wonder what it would feel like to be hanging on those holds while fiddling gear in.  One to ponder when conditions improve:

This climb would have been the perfect choice based on where the cable system was previously placed, and as it happened the sky had started to clear up after my two laps.  So we agreed that I’d take a rest while the system was set up for a second time, so we could get some footage.  Wiggins went back down Left Hand Crack to set up the anchor point for the cable, you may recall that being a line I’d been on during my last two trips to Wilyabrup.  Not today however as it is the low point of the shelf and as such was today running with water:

Next task was to run the cable to the second anchor point, he’s got a 50m and 100m cable so it can span quite a long distance.  While it may seem a difficult system to set up for these sorts of locations, bear in mind that it has been designed equally for dealing with those locations that drones just can’t go.  This was a relatively easy setup and he had things in place pretty quickly, fortunately he was using the yellow cable so you can see it in the image.  There is also a black cable which would be less obvious in footage when the camera angle can’t avoid the cable.

The final part being attaching the remote controlled pulley system, with camera attached.  By now my arms were feeling fully recovered and ready for action, and I had no concerns about the climb that scared me earlier today.  However, just as he placed the camera on the cable a few drops started to fall, the clouds moved in and that heavy greyness fell around us as the drops became more frequent and heavier.  Geez is it really summer, and what went wrong with the forecast?  Yet another “take two” as the camera went back in the bag and we decided once again to pack up:

This time we walked out, and as we did the sun came out and while it was only in patches it really did look like it might clear up.  We checked the weather forecast and that hadn’t changed at all, no rain predicted and no rain having been identified as having fell at the closets weather station.  We decided not to go back down but we did stop for a short while on the final part of the track back out.  The system was set up between two trees and I walked up and down the walk track with my pack on doing my best to act natural:

So while there will be no climbing footage from this trip at least Wiggins got to trial the system.  Next time the weather gods will hopefully be more considerate, the forecast might be more accurate or who knows we might put faith into the old folklore or just cross our fingers and go for it.