Saturday 24^th August was Global Climbing Day so it was only right to get out for a climb.  However, despite the best endeavours from quite a few of the local crew the numerous plans that were hatched eventually ended with only one option.  I had hoped to manage two trips out, one in the morning to crank on the steep Welly Dam quarry routes followed by a more relaxed afternoon in the sun session on chilled lines at Castle Rock ending with nosh in Dunsborough (which would entice Lisa to come).  As it was the one option ended up being to stay at home:

There was one person who was grateful for this outcome.  Rongy had set off the weeks’ discussion about options for heading out on the weekend, and it all started with he and I agreeing on a trip out on Saturday afternoon.  That was until he realised that he was going to be covering someone’s shift at work.  So when all options for climbing on Saturday were exhausted, Rongy and I decided to head out to Kym’s favourite spot in our SW corner of WA… the Northern Blocks of Wilyabrup.  The obvious warm up climb had to be Banana Split:

Now as the image above and below show the sun was already high in the sky.  Rongy had come off a long week at work and was keen for not such a silly start.  We have had some crisp cold mornings, as we move from winter into spring, which he was also keen to avoid.  So we didn’t start the first route until 9:30 and so started the usual lead for lead, and for my turn I took the floppy end on Corpus Delecti.  I used to come here quite often and have done most of the routes numerous times, but since Kym has left my visits here are not as regular:

Now for the more observant you will have noticed that while I said we were going lead for lead, Rongy is in fact leading the second route.  Going back a few steps, I think I jinxed myself when Wiggins mentioned a solo Saturday morning trip to Welly Dam.  I asked if he wanted a BB, which got a little discussion going on the local WhatsApp group.  It’s term we used in the UK for a non-climbing person who is taken to the crags merely to belay, and hence becomes the belay bunny.  The relevance of all this being when I got to just below the point shown below my arms flaked:

Now when I say flaked, they got super pumped to the point they were painful.  I yoyo’d the section a few times but couldn’t bring myself to run out the last 4/5m above the cam that is well below Rongy’s feet.  I can’t recall the last time that I have been so pumped out on my first lead, and this occurred after warming up on a second.  So I decided that today I really would be the BB, allowing Rongy to enjoy the leads.  The only difference being that I did second every route.  So after following him up the third line was one of my routes Trust Your Instincts:

It’s an apt name as I was doing exactly that by becoming the BB.  While Rongy has climbed here a few times, his last trip to this area was many years back and in addition there are a number of routes that he had not done before.  This was one.  He was climbing strongly, making short work of the steep headwall.  The top of this climb was knocked off, something I discovered in January of this year when I came here to top-rope solo.  Having been up it again today I reckon the top out has been made a tad easier and so has also knocked a grade of the line:

Next up was another new one for Rongy, and one of Kym’s routes that he had kindly offered up the first ascent to Wiggins back in January 2015.  Graciousness, as Wiggins’s aptly named the route, is one that gives me grief.  The lower slab is reasonable but getting established on the right arête is far from a cake walk.  Back then we climbed it more on the arête but Rongy found a cheeky and (for him) easier way up the middle of the wall before stepping across.  So was this another line at the Northern Blocks that may be now be considered over-graded:

It was certainly feeling a bit toasty, there was no wind and we were pretty well in full sun.  The scare of cold early mornings is soon going to be a thing of the past and the tell-tale signs are coming out to prove it.  Flowers are starting to bloom, bringing the expected buzz of the bees.  I also came across my first king skink of the season, he was however a little shy and scuttled off under some shrubbery.  Not hidden enough for me not to see him, but hidden enough to avoid the lens of my camera:

Due the late start, time was ticking by but Rongy was climbing so well that it seemed silly not to get just one more route in.  The chosen line being the excellent Use No S.L.C.D.’s, again not proving too much of a challenge for Rongy who was on fire.  We had brought all the gear down at the start of the session, so I decided to carry up as much as I could on a sling.  This weighed me down and forced me to dig that bit deeper, as I occasionally grunted to get past the tricky sections.  While Rongy had made it look easy it is still a solid and like the others a very fine route:

Now in a recent email I made quite a big thing about needing to “even things up”, however today seeing I was not leading I was more than happy with the five great lines that we had bagged.  We did however rap back down one more time.  For me so I could carry the last bits back up the access track, and for Rongy so he could collect some sea anemone for his work.  If you look carefully you can see him hopping across the rocks, just in time to avoid the waves that were racing towards him.  Then eventually with bags packed it was time head out:

Despite having been a BB for a day, it was a great session and we both had an awesome time.  Maybe last weekend’s trip out to Eaglestone Rock with Craig took more out of me than I realised, still there are no regrets as sometimes it is nice to take the back seat and enjoy the lines with the safety of a line above you.  I got home to another sign that springs is on its way, this little bobtail was waiting for me on the driveway as I pulled up.  With the warmer weather more climbing options also come, so I need to get on my wall more often to build up my stamina:

Hope you all enjoyed Global Climbing Day, better put the date in your calendar’s for next year if you missed it this time round!

This morning I groggily woke up at 3am and my head and body felt weird.  I wondered if it was due to what felt like a long week at work, the impending damp weather coming or maybe the single stubby of beer I had succumbed to the night before?  I wasn’t sure if I’d get back to sleep but within what seemed a few moments the alarm woke me again, it was 5am.  Time to get up if we were going to snatch another session on rock before the wintery weather closed in again.  The compulsory sippy cups of tea were made, one placed on Lisa’s bedside table as I hoped she would get back to sleep and the other followed me as I quietly crept out of the house:

The night before our arrangements had changed.  Instead of needing to go via Bunbury to pick Rongy and Howsie up I was heading straight to the crag, which cuts 30min off my travel time.  It wasn’t until I turned the car on and looked at the clock that I wondered why I had set the alarm for when I did, I could have had an extra half an hour of sleep!  So I drove a bit slower than normal , also stopping to capture the lights of Bunbury from on high before the world woke up.  Even then I still got to the crag 20min before the others drove in, as the sky turned pink:

Once first light hits here it doesn’t take long for things to brighten up, so by the time we had donned our harnesses there was plenty of light to start climbing.  Neither Howsie nor Rongy seemed to be raring to go, um maybe it wasn’t just me that seemed out of kilter.  So we decided to start sensibly, with me racking the quick draws for the first lead.  As we pondered which route, wasting even more time than usual, we eventually started to make our way along the base of the crag and for some daft reason I plumped for BBQ:

The rock was in pretty good condition but felt cold to touch.  That along with heart not having been revved up to get the blood circulating at a quicker rate meant the finger tips soon went numb.  BBQ starts with a very fingery slab and after a couple of false starts I finally got going properly.  Rongy jumped on next, deciding today was not a day to lead every route and a top rope would suit just fine.  Then as Howsie was getting ready to jump on Andrew and Steve rocked up.  Steve came across and eyed up the line and was keen to jump on next:

It took Steve a bit longer than us to get ready before he touched rock.  He did his usual running around and throwing of arms about to get the blood going.  While he was running and flapping like a headless chook, Howsie had come down and was most of the way up the second line of the day… Savage Sausage Sniffer.  Unlike, what felt like, my clumsy and slightly out of body experience on the first line, Howsie was going strong.  He even hung on thin and sharp crux holds for ages before committing to the next moves:

We shifted like a herd from one side of the crag to the next, making use of safety in numbers.  Not that there was anyone else about, but seeing it was a very relaxed and slow placed morning, we didn’t fancy shouting between the groups to keep up the, what seemed like continuous, gas bagging that was going on.  Before I blinked Rongy had run up Ebony.  While Steve was going up second I eyed up Murky Corner, not having felt that strong on the last line it seemed the sensible option.  But then somehow I got distracted and found myself on Taj Vs the World:

There are not two more contrasting lines and while I went through the motions on Taj I was feeling a bit like a space cadet.  I then followed up Ebony feeling weary and only partially listening to the cackling that was going on below me.  I heard something about Howise wanting to try some Pommy granite, so I started to rant on about the spectacular granite cliffs of Cornwall in the south west of England.  It wasn’t until later that I found out they were in fact talking about herbal teas and Howsie was keen to try the tea that Andrew was drinking… pomegranate:

Steve was keen to jump on the floppy end and Murky Corner was a sensible one for him, it was also a suitable line for Andrew to follow up.  As he finished the line Howsie was again running up another route on lead with great ease, this time Gumby Goes Bolting.  He only faltered at the ledge where you can choose the hard direct line or more sensible left hand variant.  He choose the latter while Andrew was torn between more chitchat or climbing, he eventually plumped for climbing and battled up Murky Corner, which was the only wet route of the day:

It was a day of musical ropes, each line only getting one lead but multiple seconds.  We swapped ropes, partners and even belayers while people were still climbing on the other end.  In-between all of this it would not have been a social session without a cup of tea being made.  With five of us there this was entirely possible and while I started of the tea ceremony Steve had to finish it while I was cleaning one of the routes, I forget which now.  Eventually however, it was time for Howsie and Rongy to head off, while we decided on one more line:

Steve was keen to lead this cracking little crack on the carpark slabs, but he then discovered that for once he had not brought any trad gear.  He usually brings hordes of gear everywhere, even when we are heading to a full sports crag.  So seeing he was so keen to jump on this line we decided to go really traditional and lead it with pebbles.  Much I liked his enthusiasm for this approach, I suggested that maybe it’d be better if I took the lead.  After all he’s been through a fall would not be good.  He saw sense so off I set with a pocketful of rocks:

I got three solid chock placements in, they looked and felt bomber and all three of us were tickled pink with them.  Steve came up second and inspected them taking way too many images, and then leaving them in for Andrew to check them out on the last climb of the day.  It got me to thinking that maybe it could become a theme of climbing more routes with just pebbles and slings?  Steve and Andrew looked at me sideways, maybe I was still not thinking straight, but the idea is still rattling round in my head as I type this:

Now you may notice that Andrew is climbing in his sneakers above, reason being that he badly injured his ankles in poorly judged sky diving landing, it’s also why he didn’t climb too much today.  He topped out as the clouds, that were forecast, started to roll up the valley towards us.  We got a message from Howise who was already back in Bunbury telling us it was raining and as I drove back down the hill to the coastal plains it bucketed down.  Once again we managed to bag a successful climbing session in-between the windows of wintery weather:

After more rain resulting in another weekend in the shed last week I was busting to get onto some real rock.  I tracked for forecast which indicating heading north was the better option.  That worked well as Wiggins was home and keen to get back to Boomer Crag, up near Pinjarra, and this time hit the mini-sport routes on the roadside crag there.  Friday arrived and with it a change of patterns with the storm front now coming in north of us and we watched the radar indicate Boomer Crag was getting a drenching, which continued into Saturday morning:

On the plus side to the south the radar indicated no rain, so just after 6:30 this morning Wiggins, Steve and I were WhatsApp’ing away to decide on what to do and where to go.  Wiggins felt the chance of rain was too high, plus the temperatures were only predicted to be in the low to mid-teens.  Steve however was as keen as me to get on rock, and in view of him just having come of his six week bout of cancer treatment a few weeks back we plumped for Castle Rock, due to being both to the south and having a short walk in:

As we drove south and chatted he confessed that his energy levels were going really well, better than expected and the symptoms of his radiotherapy and chemotherapy were not impacting on his ability to “get things done”.  So I slipped into conversation that whilst Castle Rock is fun, Moses Rocks would offer a greater range of opportunities at more sensible grades.  It took but a heartbeat and Steve jumped on-board with the change of plan.  Soon we found ourselves at an empty carpark, we didn’t expect climbers but that meant no surfers were out:

Steve was chomping at the bit to place some trad gear and having a good knowledge of Moses Rocks’ flared, and often shallow and blind, cracks we decided that today we would only use tricams of which Steve has a full set.  He set off on the first led, I think he may have thumped me if I had suggested that I start the proceedings of the day!  It didn’t take him long to get up Pathetic Sharks, in fact he was in such a rush that he forgot something, but you’ll have to check the above image to work out what it was:

I plumped for some Classic Thrash next, an aptly named steep face.  Being in the confines of a narrowing chimney you have to work that bit harder to avoid from finding yourself resting on the opposite wall.  Great contrived fun, which made me realise that maybe I had worked harder than I thought at the Thursday night boulder round at Glen’s. My arms held out and I was rewarded with a great belay position. While the rock was damp, at Moses it has to be running with water and salt before you lose the great friction on offer from this granite:

As soon as we had arrived I think Steve had set his sights on the next line.  A line of many a nervous a moment and the occasional serious fall.  Hathersage is not a climb to be complacent on, and I will openly admit when Steve wanted to jump on it armed only with tricams I was a tad nervous.  He started well and soon had four good placements in, doing a bit of yo-yoing to rest his arms as he laced the crack. It was a good strategy as the next move requires you to mantle the shelf from where the upper wall only has small holds and minimal gear that is fiddly:

He mantled the shelf and then kept shuffling rightwards all the way to the arête, a cunning ploy as this avoids the scary, exposed crux sequence on the face.  It also provided him with welcome gear opportunities on the neighbouring line of Stanage Youth, which I have to say I was also relieved about.  Some might say that he still followed the line and that the routes are way too close together to be independent.  Maybe they have a point, but despite these lines being thirty years old this year no one has ever thought to change their description or complain:

As bagged a few routes on the Northern Blocks soaking in the sun and scenery, we saw a jet ski with two people on it bombing about.  We made some quips about not seeing the sense in a jet ski, and then one of the people jumped in the water and proceeded to surf.  Occasionally we would see the person in the water get a tow from the jet ski, using their surfboard like a mono-ski.  They were the only people we saw in the water despite the waves, looking to us, perfect.  We left them to it and moved on:

We headed over to Hand’s Up wall, while I was tempted by Kami-kaze Catfish on the Northern Blocks, we both agreed that today we should stick to the less strenuous and more relaxed routes.  So at the next area it was an easy choice of the crag classic, Wheely Things.  As you’ll notice this is the second image of me.  Steve too had his camera and was snapping away at every opportunity, and this time when we got back to Capel he handed me his memory card so I couldn’t sneak the email out without using some of his image of me:

While it may seem that I went a bit off line in the above image, I was only busy taking an image of all the tricams lined up in this beautiful crack.  It is certainly more fiddly putting them in compared to a normal cam, especially the larger sizes.  These larger ones also tend to walk a bit and you really have to make sure they are set well, while the smaller sizes are easy to set and walk less they can also end up in places from which it is hard to get out.  Amazingly there was not on placement today that proved really problematic in getting out:

We had indicated to our better half’s what time we would be back by, and Steve was keen to make sure we stuck to it.  However, we were also keen to get another line, which of course meant getting two more in.  As you seriously can’t finish a day’s climbing on an odd number of routes!  So rather than hit the usual lines Steve plumped for this one, called Many Hands. The rock was now in perfect condition and the rounded holds and flared cracks didn’t faze us at all, in fact this line felt the best of the day:

Neither of us could help but smile as we relished every hold and move, only wishing the route was twice or maybe three times as long.  The timepiece had just pass midday and with that the wind picked up, it was still in the right direction to blow the salt spray out to sea way but there was a chill to it meaning we had to don our tops when we were in the shade.  It’s a bit weird to be thinking that in the morning we had been procrastinating about rain and cold temperatures, yet here we were climbing (mostly) in the sun and wearing t-shirts:

I ran up one more climb, the slab immediately to the right of Steve’s last line.  While some routes at Moses are pretty close it is strange how the slab that Many Hands goes up is only one route, as there are two independent lines that do not share any holds.  Despite the guide indicating we repeated a line we are counting them as separate and hence an even number of climbs had been bagged.  This last line felt like it went by way too quickly, and soon the last tricam of the day was placed, with Steve learning my belaying techniques to get the best images:

The great thing about Moses Rocks is all the bouldering and mucking about that you can do.  Especially at Hand’s Up wall there are heaps of ways to down climb after the routes, here Steve is down climbing Pink Licker.  Before we had down climbed Hard Hands, a line that many years back Lisa and I subjected Elseya to her first (and last) outdoor top rope climb.  She hated it and was not happy at all, that said she was happy to climb many harder problems without a rope.  Some were pretty damn high, high enough for Lisa to need to close her eyes:

We packed up everything bar our shoes, which stayed on our feet.  The reason being was that I wanted to play on a little boulder I had seen as we walked in, it just looked too much fun.  We dumped our bags at the base and as we stepped up to it we realised just how short it was, regardless we still had to jam our way up the crack.  Now hold on you may say, that means you ended on an odd number.  So just to make sure we then bouldered up the face to the right, it was a bit spicier and also had a heap more exposure being right on the edge of a big drop:

Finally we took our climbing shoes off and headed out for real.  Seeing I was in front I decided to take a slightly more interesting way back to the beach.  Lisa is very used to my variant approaches on walks, i.e. avoiding the normal track.  As such we found ourselves rock hopping, walking over slimy boulders, traversing above rock pools and finally needing to climb out from the water’s edge to access the track proper, as the last section was completely wave washed and neither of us fancied going for a swim:

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: