Whilst I have been quiet on the email front for few weeks that is not to say that I have not been getting out.  It’s been a strange summer climbing season so far, you’d expect everyone would be busting to get out but it has not been the case.  For our local crew there have been a variety of reasons including people studying, objectionable job rosters, general life, and of course injuries of which I report yet another in my last email.  As it turned out Glen had every right to say that his foot “hurt like hell”, as he managed to sustain a clean break to his talus.  If you are keen to watch a bit of GroPro footage of the gripping bone breaking moment check out his story and video (Weekend Whipper: How to Break an Ankle):

Two weeks back it was again all quiet on the climbing talk front so I shouldered my pack ready for my second top-rope solo trip of the year.  Another beautiful cool blue sky morning on Wilyabrup rock in perfect conditions, only marred by the smell of the rotting roo carcass on the way in!  After a couple of runs of each of the six great lines I still had the crag all to myself.  Last week Rongy and I headed out, he’d not been climbing much and so wanted a cruisey morning of fun.  We did exactly that but this time a southerly made the already cool morning chilly and wintery, and in addition the rock didn’t feel that great and friction is everyone on Wilyabrup rock.  So we will blame that for our seemingly lack of ability on that day:

Yesterday I headed back to Wilyabrup for a third successive weekend with Howsie.  Another early 4:30 wakeup time to get there for just after first light and just in time to make use of the facilities, which I’m only telling you in case you were wondering why there is an image of a doorway above.  Starting a day-off in darkness seems a little crazy, but all is forgiven when you arrive at your destination in time to watch the world wake up.  We of course had the place to ourselves, but we didn’t have to ponder too long where to head too.  Despite Howsie having climbed here many, many times he confessed that there were heaps of routes he had never been on.  That didn’t mean to say he had climbed all the routes within his capability, so today he was going to be breaking new ground and take all the leads:

We started with Sirius, one of the very few two pitch climbs at Wilyabrup.  It’s quite staggering that he had not been on this before, it’s the iconic easy grade line on the majestic Steel Wall.  A face that can be seen in many a coffee table climbing book.  Like Rongy he too has been relatively absent from the outdoors, so the first few pieces of gear took a bit longer to place.  However, once underway he made short work of the great traverse across the face of Steel Wall.  I might add that Steve’s insitu pink tricam that I have often photographed and included in my reports has gone, if you want to see why check out Wiggin’s really cool video (Washed up punks training laps):

An interchangeable belay was set up so we could swap over, remember Howsie was to be the leader for the day.  So I settled down and watched the waves as he set off on pitch two.  Up the arête and round the corner to follow the fun rounded cracks with an impressive amount of exposure falling below him.  One of my favourite images that I have taken was of Wiggins leading this pitch, and it is deservedly included as an introductory image to Wilyabrup in the South West WA Rock Guide.  Atop the crag we shifted the rap across and went back to the belay at the end of the first pitch, where I settled in once more:

The first bolt on this line is relative high, depending on your stature.  For me care is required in making the first clip.  However, with an extra four inches of height on me Howsie has a reach that allows him to at times make some sequences a little easier, or where sport climbing comes safer.  This line was never claimed, despite someone going to the effort of bolting it.  So when writing the guide it seemed appropriate to simply call it Unclaimed.  A dull name for a route that deserves more attention.  It’s a ripper with thin delicate climbing for the first half, and just when you think you’ll never sustain the climbing, and that the route is a complete and utter sandbag, the holds become increasingly more generous.  As such it’s a real test of your mind, and Howsie’s was in perfect tune:

The next chosen route took us back down to the same belay and another climb that starts from the traverse of Sirius.  In truth it is the upper part of a climb that starts from the deck, but the first half is substantially more difficult being almost 50% harder.  Hence for us mere mortals the upper half is both long enough and worthy enough to be climbed in isolation.  So it was back down the same rap for one last time, um maybe one day I’ll buy a rope protector.  We again made use of the same belay set up.  This time it did however require a bit of clever rope work, just to make sure that me belaying 4m off line didn’t result in any gear being pulled:

This line was of the same grade as the last, so well within Howsie’s capability.  I jumped on this line at the recommendation of the local outdoor adventure tour operator Mick; he stated is was right up my street.  He was not wrong it’s very good, but interestingly I’ve never seen anyone else ever attempt it.  In truth it is not as technical as the last climb but being full trad and with gear that is hard to find and place earns the grade.  Any energy saved by having less technical climbing is quickly lost by the time taken hold on trying to protect the line.  Added to that the gear, certainly to start with, is verging on marginal.  It is not until this fine wire placement comes that a degree of confidence seeps back into your body to steady the nerves:

By the time you get the above wire in you are already a fair way up (as shown below), so this line really can mess with your head.  Mick was right it really is my kind of climb, and as it turned out Howsie’s too.    A couple of moves after the good wire some reasonable gear can be found as shown above, and then the gear runs dry almost to the top of the crag but on thankfully better holds.  While it may seem crazy to have belayed from the side for this line the images of Howsie on lead were worth it, unfortunately however for you I couldn’t overload the email with them.  Jumping on this line again certainly makes me want to lead it again:

We kept the rap line in place but moved away from Steel Wall, Howsie had already set his mind on which routes he wanted to bag next.  The Unbolted and the Beautiful, put up and named by yours truly after there had been some dodging route development in the early 2010s.  So off he set with clear instructions on ensuring a good multi-directional carcass catcher first piece of gear.  I was hoping to get a few different angles of someone climbing this line, and the only way to do that is to have the (relative) freedom to move about:

I was very pleased that he led the line as intended.  I’ve witnessed a number of people sneaking into the vertical crack of Thunder Thighs, which takes away the excitement and uncertainty of the crux sequence.  That said the upper section is equally good, the wall steepens up and there is a bit of a runout to reach the first good horizontal and bomber pro.  As I was happily wandering about checking out angles I got a fright when another climber asked if he could pass by.  He was heading to Steel Wall to top rope solo some of the classics, so as he wandered along to set up I followed Howsie up yet another fine lead:

Now you may think that I’m not getting much of a work out doing all this top-rope soloing and then letting someone else take all the leads.  I do however take my time going up, checking holds and gear placements, both used and missed.  I also fully sort the gear taken out as I climb, as only someone as OCD as I would, forcing me to stay in positions for longer even if they are at times less secure positions.  For his next chosen route he confessed that he had followed Mikie up it once, but had not led it himself.  As he set off on Rhys’s Rapid Retreat I was pleased to see the multi-directional carcass catcher being placed first:

He worked his way up to the small capping rooflet, above which balancy crux moves require some serious focus.  He seemed to freeze for some time eyeing up the options. It was almost as if he was looking for an invisible positive crimp or maybe jug to pull past the next move, and each time he moved up it showed.  This crux however requires high footwork and trust in a low, small and slopey side pull.  His arms were starting to go, and from my experience of watching Rhys climb this line the move to back under the rooflet is difficult and even more so when tired.  So when he tried it I wasn’t overly surprised, and was ready to catch him, as he slipped with well-placed gear close enough to make it a safe fall:

It was a great effort, being his sixth successive lead on unfamiliar routes each being physically or/and mentally sustained at their grade.  After a brief rest he fired past the crux with confidence and made short work of the remainder of the route.  I cleaned the line and when we got back to the bags it seemed there was plenty of time for one more route.  Understandably Howsie was more than happy to offer the lead over, so I decided on a line that I backed off just the previous week with Rongy.  Left Hand Crack is a good test piece in its own right.  However many years back Kym and I climbed a variant finish, which is what I backed off last week:

You almost climb the entire vertical Left Hand Crack route before stepping left to establish yourself on an large under-cling on very marginal feet.  I was happy in that the initial crack posed no difficulties, and in fact felt really good.  You then have to stay in a tenuous position sort some gear and then tentatively move left.  Despite it being late summer the under-cling was wet, making me more nervous move much more slowly and hold on that much harder.  It’s a great traditional thrutch trying to under-cling and then move into unseen (but incredibly good) jams, all the while wondering how you are going to get any gear in and added to that having to trust slopey smeary footholds:

The footholds do improve and finally the hanging block turning into a much easier side pull, but all that came well after my mental energy had been well and truly sapped.  After resting on the gear part way along I managed to finish the line off in an extremely vocal fashion, only realising after the event that I had a large family observing my antics from the ledge that can be seen in the background.  I’m very pleased to say that Howsie followed in great style and managed a clean second to wrap up a very fine morning’s climbing.  All that remained was to pulled the rap line and pack up, and having all the gear on top of the crag meant our legs were thankfully saved from the walk back up the crag:

With a New Year’s resolution of quitting the smokes and beer Glen was keen to try out and see just how awful or not it would be getting up for an early climb.  Word had it that the usual crags were likely to be busy, due to an organised trip by the Perth climbers so today we decided on Cosy Corner.  This is the most southerly crag along the South West’s Cape Leeuwin/Naturalist coastline, and as such takes a little bit longer to get too.  Glen was up and raring to go at 5 when I picked him up, and by 6:30 we were at the crag and ready to rap in:

There were two cars in the carpark ahead of us, who had camped overnight.  So we let them be and walked off along the cliff to get set up from the platform that leads to the gentle introduction climbs to this area.  While there is a scramble down, and it is possible to boulder along the black basalt rocks at the base of the cliff we opted to rap in.  The tide was low enough to make the scramble less risky, but it just seemed to make sense to rap in and save time:

Being a new location for Glen I set things off on Crystal Corner, which set the scene for how things would go today.  The sharp rock bit into our fingertips, which were still feeling cold.  Bomber gear was on hand when most needed, as you climb on rounded cracks and flakes which will happily slice your skin if you didn’t take your time.  That may not make the place sound inviting but the routes are fun and you can’t beat the location.  As any good real estate agent will say, location is everything:

Not only had Glen not been here before, it was also his first time of leading in some time.  Feeling bit rusty he was keen to ease back into the feeling that only being on the sharp end can give you.  So I sent him up what would normally be the warm up climb called Bland, which it is not.  Plenty of gear, good holds and fine moves which he enjoyed thoroughly.  He will hopefully have some footage on his GoPro, but it was playing up a bit so we shall have to wait and see:

This place looks like it should have stack so routes, but much of it is ledgey and blocky.  Hidden gems are to be found and I have my eye on two walls that I reckon will yield half a dozen or more lines.  These will be left for a future jaunt down this way.  It has always felt like it is a long way to come for a climb but really it wasn’t that far and maybe my trips here can become a little more frequent.  I’ve only been here four times in 13 years, and that includes today’s visit:

For now Glen and I were aiming to enjoy a chilled climb and the fabulous belay positions with the water lapping just below our feet.  This included repeating the very fine Crystal Cut, for which the first third feels like you are climbing up a wall of quartz.  Spreadeagled positions and a big reach onto the headwall all the while trying not to allow the crystals to cut you.  It feels a little unnerving knowing how brittle quartz can be, making pulling on the holds that bit more exciting:

All the while Glen had been spying a wall that has no routes on it yet.  It looked long with a few good sections but also a bit easy angled.  So we talked about chucking a rope down it to see if it was worthy, but first we decided to finish this section of the cliff off by climbing the last route.  Bad Directions is a Steve and Leanne route.  Steve somehow managed to mistake a rib for a corner (how we will never know) and so became this fun line.  It does however have a worrying large flake half way up, which Glen said was “flexing”:

I just laughed that off and told him to follow the line round the flake.  He eventually went for it and I think he surprised himself when he climbed the left trending crack with tiny feet holds on the slab.  He was finally trusting his feet and looking good.  The flake was still worrying him so he went further left and placed a high piece of gear in the climb I start us off on.  That was someway off to the left, before he gingerly stepped back right to get onto his line.  Once above the flake it requires gaining a ledge that is somewhat awkward:

He was looking and feeling confident.  So much so in fact that he passed the obvious easy and bomber gear before trying to mount the ledge.  Once he started he couldn’t reverse the move and almost slipped, he tried again and this time called out that he was off.  He fell initially down but then swung wildly left, tumbling over himself as the piece he had placed off to the far left took tension.  It looked pretty spectacular and immediately afterwards he was talking to me, which was good but he did manage to injure his ankle:

Being a well-trained State Emergency Service volunteer trained in vertical rescue he managed to undertake a self-rescue, as I looked on helplessly from below.  Luckily the rap rope was within reach and he used a couple of prussics to get to the top, tie off and then belay me up.  I was greeted by one bloodied knee, one swelling ankle and a big smiling face.  He managed to get to a good position where we took his shoes off and I placed a compression bandage, a little tighter than normal, round the ankle that was forming an egg:

The good news was that his knee that had been plaguing him for some 18 months or more was absolutely fine.  We decided that while the adrenaline was still pumping through his body, it was probably best he tried to hobble back to the car.  Leaving me to throw everything into the two bags and pack horse them out.  As I looked over my shoulder I saw him inching his way out like an old man:

As I strode across the rocks I wasn’t catching up with Glen.  As I got closer I could see the carpark was packed.  Despite all these cars no other climbers were in sight, it really is a place that does not get the attention it deserves.  Either that or we have a different view on and/or reason for climbing to others. Despite the little mishap Glen has already committed to coming back to Cosy Corner, it’s charm had certainly caught his attention.  We briefly discussed the last route and agreed it may be a tad of a sand bag.  That would however not be due to Steve, but probably me if my memory serves right:

Like all the people who flock here for the beach, Glen was also following a growing crowd.  His crowd however was that of local climbers who seem to want to stuff up their ankles, now making it number three is a short period of time.

With the thought of a hot day an early start was on the cards for this morning.  I had in mind where I wanted to go, but it did depended on who was keen to get out.  As it was no one was available so for the first time in a long time I went out by myself.  Seeing it was going to be just me I guessed I’d be moving pretty quickly, so I didn’t leave super early.  By 6:30 I was all set up and at the base of the first route of the day, looking out to ocean a broken wire hung from Peaches, an aid route I’ve never been on, but maybe next time:

Going back in time to April 2012, I did the first ascent of Trust Your Instincts an alternate, and to me more logical, finish to Power Your Mind.  In my last email I mentioned that the top of this route had changed, with the final blocky finish having disappeared.  Eagle-eyed Steve had also noticed in the images I provided that the block sat back from the edge of the belay ledge was also gone.  It is possible that this block had been pushed off taking with it the top of my route.  The question I wanted to be able to answer however was how would my route climb now:

This was the reason I had decided to head back to the Northern Blocks of Wilyabrup, plus it has been a long time since I have climbed this route and the many fine adjacent lines.  So I rigged up a positional anchor for the top rope, a lesson was well learnt on this very line and not forgotten.  Wiggins will know what I am talking about!  I chose to start on this route, as it was the easier of the two lines I had in mind on the east face.  Facing east the sun would hit this wall as soon as it rose above the horizon, and I was keen to climb it when it was still shady:

It was harder than I remembered, so much so that I took a rest part way up to figure out the moves.  I could blame it on the flash pump but won’t do that.  After topping out, with just the one rest, I decided that I should climb each line today twice.  So I went back down and climbed it cleanly second time round.  I’m glad to say the grade stays the same despite the change to the top out, the climbing just ends a little bit sooner but that does not detract from the quality of the route.  I then moved just one route to the right:

This required a slight adjustment to the rope lengths off each anchor, and then I went back down again.  Green Stone was to be the hardest route of the day, and I remembered it being a very nervous lead.  A fingery and reachy start leads to some good hand holds on steep ground, i.e. don’t hang about too long or you’ll pump out.  From here you need to simply trust the rounded flake (shown above) and layback to glory without barn-dooring off.  When Kym led this in late 2017 he didn’t place gear in the flake, making for a long 3m plus runout and a very nervous belayer:

After my two laps it was time to head round to the west facing wall, which would remain shady for much longer.  This required me to move the entire anchor setup, which gave my arms the chance of a well-deserved rest.  The northern Blocks don’t get heaps of traffic but judging by the chalk that was on the next set of lines I’m guessing there were some recent visitors.  Every potential hold was chalked up, so much so that following the chalked holds would have taken me off route in some situations.  Today the rock was in perfect condition so while I dipped my fingers into the magic white powder a few times, I really didn’t need much at all:

In case you were wondering what I was using to top rope, I had my trusty ascender that I had bought along with some tinsey-tiny micro wires way back in the mid-90s during a trip to Italy.  I’m not sure what possessed me to buy the ascender, as it hardly got any use in the UK or indeed Alice Springs.  The ridiculously small wires have however been used plenty of times.  The ascender finally started to get used here in WA, and was getting a big workout today.  The next line to fall was Corpus Delecti (above), again climbing it twice, which may seem strange.  However, I have to say every line was quality so I really enjoyed doing them twice:

Next on the list was Digital Delecti, a feisty and fingery face climb.  Different from the others in that it is mostly bolted so doesn’t follow any continuous crack lines or flakes.  For this reason it feels more desperate and I noticed my forearms starting to slightly ache from today’s workout.  With each climb on this face there was a need for some refinement of the anchors, which allowed me short rests between routes.  Then before I jumped on the next line of Use No SLCDs (below) I had a longer rest, as I stopped to watch a huge pod of dolphins lazily swimming past:

It was then time to move the entire anchor setup onto the final and easiest line of the day.  The classic Banana Split simply had to be climbed.  Not being a direct line up the wall I placed gear in this one to keep the rope directional.  By this time I’d had my shoes on for two and half hours and my feet, more specifically my big toes, were starting to complain with still two laps on this route to go.  The first lap wasn’t too bad, as I was once again absorbed by the very fine climbing and I even jammed the entire way along the top curving crack, avoiding the other available holds just for the sake of it:

Then back down and one final lap, for those keeping track that makes six routes and twelve laps.  Now my feet really were ready to escape the confines of the shoes and despite being the easiest line of the day, by the time I got to the top curving crack my forearms were also starting to properly complain.  About half way up I found a good stance to rest up and looking into a crack noticed this little fella.  As I got closer to get a better look I could see him try to shrink further back into the crack.  A sign to move on and stop stressing him out, and finally top out and take my shoes off:

A leisurely pack up was followed by the luxury that the Northern Blocks provides, a walkout without needing to scale the height of the cliffs.  It was certainly warming up and by the time I got back to the car I was ready for some air-conditioning.  There were a few other cars parked up and one crew was only just getting ready to walk in, with probably less than an hour before all walls would have full sun.  I drove out and the thermometer indicated it was just a tad below 30, and I muttered to myself mad fools:

Yesterday Rongy and I plumped for the Northern Blocks at Willyabrup.  The option of routes here are less with more being that bit steeper and harder than at the main cliffs of Willyabrup so they don’t see as much traffic, by others or us.  We’d decided on dropping into The Terrace, which mean abseiling in and climbing out.  A narrow limestone gravel shelf providing a perfect ledge to wander along the base of the crag that sits quite high above the coastline.  Despite the vertical separation this is a crag that is susceptible to salt spray and can fell greasy, but today it was not too bad at all:

We started the morning off gently.  Wandering up a couple of warm up routes on the far left of the shelf.  One of the routes is in the guide, being the crack line on the left wall in this image.  We also climbed a vague line a bit further to the left, which continued up the shallow flakes that can be seen in the upper wall.  I wasn’t sure about this line so Rongy started the day on it and it proved to be a worthy route.  We didn’t pay that much heed to it being a new line so didn’t talk about names but we should write it up:

As we were doing the first two lines, we spied the above route.  A good looking crack that obviously took plenty of gear and would probably be OK.  Another line I wasn’t sure about but that didn’t stop Rongy leading it and making it look stylish.  Unfortunately he found chalk on the route so it wasn’t our second FA of the day, plus as I typed this with the guide by my side it became clear it was first led over forty years ago.  I then jumped on a route that has scared me a bit in the past, the wall to the right of the arête.  While the holds felt big and solid on this occasion, at the grade it was still a solid and very fine route:

Considering we were at The Terrace and despite me talking this place up a bit, the first four lines of the morning were relatively sedate.  So it was time to bump things up a bit.  Kym you’ll be pleased to know that this started with another ascent of your fun line, which also happens to the be the longest on this crag.  The start moves made Rongy think once or twice but once he got past them he blazed up the rest of the line.  We did take a few moments at the bottom to check out the towering face with the capping headwall, a technical route of Shane’s and as with most of his routes one that commands respect.  We left that line for another day:

There is a climb here that I’ve followed Kym up twice.  On both occasions when I’ve seconded it I’ve really struggled to get up the route clean.  However, after a relatively successful attempt at similar graded lines in Albany just last weekend I decided I should give it a go.  The start moves are reachy and so whilst technical require a bit of momentum to get them, on both occasions I manage them but almost slipped.  Then came the crux of a rooflet that is surmounted on thin holds, that lead to more forearm burning thin holds.  So it goes on but the angle does easy for the final wall.  I did some loud talking to myself at those desperate moments, which helped me manage to get up it clean:

Feeling very happy with myself and having lifted the bar Rongy decided to check out just how strong he was feeling, bumping it up three more grades.  He started strong and was moving well.  The first high bolt gives me the heebie-jeebies, due to the landing the possibility of slipping off the terrace onto the rocks below.  But he climbed with confidence, clipping that one and working out how to get to the next one.  Unfortunately from his stance he was a mere inch or so away from reaching it.  He has not being climb as much as the old days and so his stamina was not what it used to be and his arms gave way:

After a bit of air time he sensibly decided to bail on that line and leave it for a day when he would hopefully be feeling stronger.  Not wanting to take his lead I let him decide what was to happen next, we had no choice but to climb out.  The obvious line was the one that I have climbed on every trip here.  That said it doesn’t make this leaning flared corner crack any easier.  The higher you get the more strenuous the stances are, right up until the glory jug can be snatched at the top.  I followed Rongy up and was a little surprised at how much my arms were burning up on the upper section.  As I snatched for the glory jug I was quietly grateful Rongy hadn’t preserved with the harder line:

We wouldn’t normally end a day on an odd number, I’m a bit OCD like that if you didn’t know.  Today however we both left like we had bagged some good lines and were also suitably tired.  I did have a little voice telling me to do one more line to even things up , but my arms were saying “end it on a glory run up your past nemesis”.  Before walking out I did however look at the line I had in mind, also wanting to show Rongy the route as he hasn’t been on yet.  As I looked at it something looked different with the top section, and sure enough the finishing blocks have all fallen away as shown by this now and then montage:

I’ll have to come back for that one to see how the rock fall has changed the line, and Rongy too now has unfinished business here…

With the promise of a cool dry day just one month into Summer what better place to visit than Smiths Beach.  With the sun hitting the walls of the zawn early in the morning it is not a place to go to on a hot day, that plus the fact that it has been a staggering eighteen months since I last climbed here made it the perfect choice for a quick morning session with Howsie:

I kicked things off jumping on the crag classic, which is also the first line to fall at this crag.  The rock was a damp.  Maybe from the swell, surely not the small amount of rain we had yesterday morning?  That would have dried by now but the rock didn’t have that salty feeling when it has been hit by spray.  It was all a bit irrelevant because as I made my way to the final slopey diagonal crack I heard Howsie say it’s going to start to rain:

It came down hard and the rock, gear and rope were all sopping wet.  Both Howsie and I were a bit shell shocked as to how full on the first climb had felt.  While we could have blamed the rain we knew that wasn’t entirely it, so we dialled back the grade to make sure we could survive this session with some dignity.  The good news was that the bank of rain was passing us over, as we made our way to Murphy’s Boulder out of the zawn and on the seaward side:

While the rock was wet the lines looked more relaxed and we picked off Over Extended and Murphy’s Scramble.  Both lines were really enjoyable but still had that Smiths Beach seriousness about them.  Looking at the guide I wondered what drugs Craig and I may have been on when we graded them.  So we climbed them with care and then passed on the option of the inviting open project in the face comprising a wrinkled curving crack, with no obvious gear:

With the rain having moved on and the sun hitting Harbour Wall each time the clouds parted, the rock felt better.  Still damp but not wet and starting to dry up, so Howsie set off up The Drunken Sailor.  It looked like he was going to climb the wide crack just like Kym likes, grovel style.  However after looking like he would disappear from sight he popped back out and climbed it without getting sucked in again:

The reason for his one disappearance was the need to place a bomber hex deep in the recess of the crack.  I was only just able to reach it, despite climbing the route as Kym had taught me too.  The first time I hit this line Kym made a “strong” recommendation/suggestion that for full value you need to get into the crack and worm your way up in very traditional style.  Howsie couldn’t help from laughing as I inched my way up with what could definitely not be called style:

We then popped over into the smaller of the two zawns, a wall on which Howsie has only done one route before.  So he plumped for what looked to be the driest and most likely line to have good protection.  Deceptive Looks was a good choice, enough spice to make it real but with also with great holds in-between the nervous bits.  The only issue with Smiths Beach is that the grainy rock at times makes you wonder just how brittle the holds might be:

There was time to squeeze one more line in, so I offered the pointy end over.  Partly as I had climbed all the lines here before but also Howsie was climbing with more confidence today and I didn’t feel the need to push myself.  That is my excuse and I’m sticking to it.  Sandy Sunday was a perfect choice, climbed in the style Craig had intended with no venturing into the chimney just to its right:

I think it is fair to say that while we walked in with confidence we walked out feeling a little less so.  We had fun on the lines we picked but they all had that slightly serious feel to them, there was an issue with trusting the rock at times and also some of the gear (but not all).  Smiths Beach certainly packs a punch and today we were on the receiving end.  Despite it being an old stomping ground I feel the need to start to revisit this place more often to get my head back in the game:

T’was the morning before the night before the night before Christmas and while many of you were tucked up in bed a few of us were up at the crack of dawn.  The almost full moon was out and lit up the driveway as I walked to the car.  By the time I was just 5min down the road the sky was waking up:

As I drove up Pile Road and made my way up the hill the moon was slowing inching its way down behind Bunbury and it was full daylight.  Normally on a trip out for a before work climb, which would only have been half an hour earlier, I would have seen many cars but today there were none on the entire trip:

After making my way up the hill only to drive down into a hole, a way that Collie was described to me when I first arrived in WA, the sun was peaking over the horizon.  It had been 18 degrees when I got in my car and it hadn’t changed much during the hour journey.  As suspected it was going to be a warm one:

Dan rocked up with Jo and his dad and we decided to start sensibly on Block and Tackle, seeing these lines would soon be in full sun.  While we had the place to ourselves there were the tell-tale signs that other climbers were not far away.  This and six other lines having draws on every bolt, and that was way too much crag booty for it to have been accidently left behind:

Jo was nursing a pulley injury on her rude finger, and dad well he was sporting all the usual old age issues of a body that has been worked hard during its younger years.  So as not to tire them out too quickly only Dan and I played on the next line of Shock Therapy, again making use of the draws already there and again bagging a line before the sun hit:

Welcome to Edges was the next line to fall, again on someone else’s gear, and at that time Jakke turned up.  It was to be his first experience of climbing outdoors.  This route has a fitting name for that prestigious occasion, which was made even more special seeing he was christening his new shoes and managed a clean ascent:

Soon after Steve and Leanne rocked up and not surprisingly Steve plumped for his favourite route of the area Raging Torrent.  He too was sporting injuries and alignments.  While he managed the first clip without complaining about its height (but only just), he didn’t have the strength to pull off the last crux moves:

As Jakke was enjoying the edges and Steve battled with his alignments I sent Dan up a line that didn’t have pre-placed draws.  Attack of the March Flies seemed a fitting one to test him on seeing he was climbing so confidently.  He pulled through the multiple cruxes and only had to reach for the glory jugs at the end but slipped at that final moment:

Leanne has not been out climbing for it could be a few years so it seemed a little ambitious to be setting off on what some regard as a sand bag route.  Being a traditional style climb it only really seems a sand bag route for gym junkies and sport climbers.  That said there is certainly an advantage with height on this one, something Leanne is lacking a little:

Another, self-confessed vertically challenged person, Jo managed to get on the floppy end taking on This Murky Corner of my Mind.  It took a little mind control and talking too to encourage her up this line, but she managed it as did dad.  This line too had pre-placed draws and the owners had still not appeared, maybe it would become the biggest haul of crag booty ever:

Dan picked was drawn to the aesthetic quartz layback arête of Savage Sausage Sniffer, and there were no complaints from Steve or I on that choice.  We kept a few top ropes up and Raging Torrent was the climb that had the most attention, it also proved the most problematic for most.  As the fun continued I direct Dan towards Taj Vs the World after which I jumped on Ebony Road:

It was not until we were on these final lines that the owners of the draws started to drift in car after car after car after car.  I lost count of how many people rocked up but I’d guess over 20.  City Summit was having it’s Christmas do and they had arrived and climbed by torch light last night, and then partied hard at Potters Gorge hence the late start.  The crag suddenly felt like a crowded house with ropes going up all over the place:

It was coming up to 11 and the mercury was over 30, so one by one we drifted off leaving the big crew to crank on.  It was a great morning and no doubt to be repeated next year… if not before.