It is starting to feel like winter has arrived, at least for our slice of Australia in the far south west.  As per usual I checked the forecast regularly all week and it didn’t look to be changing from rain, rain, rain.  Then as we got closer it looked like there may have been a glimmer of hope as the 48hr forecast indicated Sunday would have clearing showers.  Then Sunday morning the radar while wet first thing looked like it might just be ok, so I put a call out for anyone keen to risk it:

Much to my surprise and happiness Steve, Kym, Howsie, Wiggins and Rhys (in order of those who said yes) all were keen to get out.  Others were working, in Perth, doing house stuff or too soft to admit the forecast was putting them off.  So we six hoicked to our usual easy access spot of Welly Dam.  You can tell we were prepared for inclement weather, as base camp was set up under the shelter and everyone was rugged up with beanies and thick cosy layers:

It has been an age since Kym has joined us at Welly Dam, so it was only fitting to offer him first lead.  He was keen-as picking the delightful Just Do It, which he promptly did in great style even starting and finishing direct to give it that extra punch.  Most of the route was still dry despite a number of big downpours over the last 48hrs, but the black streaks definitely had dampness about them:

Steve plumped for a more sensible warmup on Raging Torrent while Howsie set off on Savage Sausage Sniffer.  Rhys was being a far more attentive belayer than I, as Howsie inched his way up to the first bolt.  Not surprisingly no one else was climbing and no families were picnicking, but there were a number of car tourists who did the customary carpark loop stopping long enough to stare at us through their windscreens while in the warmth of their no-doubt air-conditioned vehicles:

Despite his self-professed gluttony the night before, which involved more snacks that any person should be allowed to eat without regurgitation, Steve was looking good and despite this potentially top heavy disadvantage managed the sting in the tail of Raging Torrent.  It seems that on the crag.com this climb doesn’t get rated by many, which surprises us as it provides yet another different climbing style at this place, but one that is more traditional in nature.  I of course had to say that as Kym and I developed it, but in all seriousness we do believe it:

It was looking like we had snuck in a good day and the rain held off except for a few light sprinkles that never really worried us too much.  This was however not the only pleasant surprise of the day.  With ropes flying this way and that as we picked off line after line Rhys was belaying Howsie up Gumby Goes Bolting, while trialling Steve’s anti-belayers-neck-crick invention!  Both he and Wiggins and found it worked pretty well, so maybe one day we’ll see this contraption on the open market:

Most of the rock was dry but the ledges and obvious water runnels were certainly not the best. However, at Well Dam you can usually find a dry line and as such with careful selection there was many an impressive lead being done today, such as Howsie bagging what we consider to be the crag classic Ear of Fear.  Wiggins gave it a bash on lead but after an equally impressive fall he decided against trying again.  This didn’t dampen his mood because like Kym he also managed to get a clean lead on Just Do It, so allowing him to strike yet another climb off his tick list:

Savage Sausage Sniffer was however was the line that saw the most ascents, with three leads being done and everyone jumping on it, with some of us doing it more than once.  Having left it a little late to try and lead it, Steve was unable to get it clean.  So it remains on his to-do tick list.  It was also the last line of the day to be cleaned so Steve had another bash on top rope to practice the moves, as the clouds darkened more than before and the temperature started to drop:

Most of us were done but Wiggins also wanted one more burl on the great Savage Sausage Sniffer, so we clear-up and then watched on.  As the sun disappeared it was definitely getting more chilly, so Rhys wrapped himself up in all the layers he could find, and conserved his heat by becoming a garden gnome:

Then as Steve belayed Wiggins the heavens opened big time, if you look carefully you can just make Wiggins out near the top of the quartz layback section.  It was never going to last long and the sun poked through a break in the clouds to the west, but above there were still rain clouds dropping their load.  This allowed us to capture some great images of the torrent that hit Steve and Wiggins:

Wiggins stuck in there and waited for the storm to pass, and luckily Steve was obliging.  Then he doggedly made his way up the now wet rock, with the familiar black streak of The Long Goodbye to his far left running like a waterfall.  Um it looks like I missed my chance to bag a clean lead on The Long Goodbye until things dry up in spring.  Oh well we all have to have some projects to aspire too at Welly Dam:

Amazingly after Wiggins came down and pulled the rope we were once again bathed in sunlight.  This seemed to give some people a second lease of life.  So what better thing to do than pull-ups inclusive of knee raises.  Rhys (who due to the warming sun had shed some of the layers and started to move again) and I also join in with this silliness J.  It was a grand day out and enjoyed by all of us who can now well and truly claim that we are not fair-weather climbers:

That is a good job because looking ahead things don’t look too great for outdoor pursuits unless you are prepared to brave the odd shower.  I’m sure some of us will still get out and about, and I’ll no doubt share our experiences with you:

The sun was breaking through the horizon while the land was shrouded in mist on this Sunday morning.  It is easy to tell that winter is coming due to the mornings starting later and later, I took this image at about 7am and is very typical of the country round here at this time of the year, moisture burning off, flat and full of cows:

This image is taken an hour and 45min later as we were walking into our destination, a place I hadn’t been to since July last year.  Bob’s Hollow is a bit of a trek both in distance and also the last section of narrow and rocky 4WD tracks.  It’s a long haul to get here, relatively, but is one of the most atmospheric spots to climb, better still no one else was here so we had the place to ourselves (to start with):

This steep juggy limestone cliff has become an extremely popular destination for the Perthites, so often you’ll find a mob of people here.  Today a few crew turned up while we were there but they mostly climbed down the far end.  Not that they were antisocial (most said hello!) but they wanted the more friendly lines.  I was however climbing with Kym and friendly lines was far from his mind.  That said we started sensibly on Puk Puk Sen (20 – or UK E2 5c).  This is Davo and it is only his third time on rock so I felt  bit mean having gone to Bob’s but he loved it here even if the climbing was a tad tough:

I led the first route and it was a sharp reminder as to how steep and pumpy the place was.  But my ankle is improving weekly, I’m now rocker boarding it, so it was time to turn up the dial in my training as Marky Mark (the machine) is coming to WA and we are hitting Kalbarri so I need to get strong.  Kym is looking sheep’ish here as he took my words a bit too literally and encouraged me to take on Magnus the Robot Fighter (22 – UK E3 6a), a line I have never been on before and one that would test where I was at:

The only beta that Kym gave me was where that crux of this fine line was the lower wall.  So with arms still feeling the first line I set off and cranked hard, making the crux look pretty easy.  At the cave I squeezed in as best I could to have a rest but my whole body was pretty stuffed by then.  So the flash/on-sight or whatever you call it was gone.  That’s said despite resting a couple of times I did all the moves, so I only need to work on my stamina before my next attempt:

Couldn’t help but include a picture of Kym seconding me, just to show the steepness of the lines here.  Davo decided against trying this one, maybe my panting in the upper half put him off.  I was however chuffed with what I managed but also ready to let someone else take the next lead:

So Kym feeling like cranking himself chose another line I’d never been on, Toy Shopping (26 – UK E6 6b).  This was really turning the heat up and pushing me into a grade I’ve never managed to get up.   Steve you’d hate the first high bolt and after that it was small pockets to a dyno – my response was ‘groan’:

Kym showed us the way making the for him semi dyno look not too bad.  After the dyno there were hard moves past the cave and to get established on the slab above where finally things relented.  Kym managed to pull off all the moves but not link them, he was however deservedly very happy with getting to the top.  The only problem being that it was my turn next:

As I grunted and groaned my way up this line Davo understandable took on the role of photographer and general layabout/relax person.  With a view like this you can understand why.  Interestingly with the five routes we bagged today I didn’t once turn my head and soak up this awesome view, so I’m pleased Davo captured it for me:

I manage all the moves and even found a static approach to the dyno, and I was very stoked.  But it took all of my strength and resolve to top out and yes I also took a few rests.  When it came to the slab the sharpness of the holds showed through and, combined with my rock hugging climbing style, they ripped into my knees.  My arms were stuffed but waiting for me when I got down were some energy boasting lollies:

Despite feeling completely spanked it felt like we needed another line or two, so we eased off the pedal and jumped on Right Fin (20 – or UK E2 5c) and then Constructive Vandalism (21 – or UK E3 5c).  I led the first at is felt sooooo good with descent holds for both feet and hands meaning no more close encounters with the rock.  The second which Kym led made my arms ache more than it should have, so we all agreed we had cranked hard enough for one day and wandered back to the car:

It was yet another awesome day out, hopefully we worked hard enough to deserve that satisfying ache and if not we’ll have to crank harder next time.  Couldn’t resist a driving image and no the camera is not at an angle, the car is.  The track really is rough as guts so I’m pleased Kym doesn’t mind driving in (thanks mate):

I had a choice today, fun at Castle Rock in a social sense or crank hard at Bob’s.  The choice was made but that doesn’t mean the crew that headed to Castle Rock are off the hook and I expect a bit of a write up please

With school holiday upon us, Elseya had a sleep over and so on Good Friday Lisa and I headed out back to the coast for a climb.  We had arranged to meet a few people there and Rongy was the first there, and we found him under the shady bush looking out to see through a window frames by brush.  There were some dolphins out in the waves bobbing about which he had been watching for about 15min.  So that is where Lisa sat and then promptly didn’t move from for an hour or two:

So with Lisa in the shade of the bush below with an awesome view of dolphins and picture perfect sets of waves coming in, I took the first lead.  It’s been three months since I’ve done any longer routes (relative to our patch), and before we got there I’d already decided there was one route I fancied bagging.  The Unbolted and the Beautiful is one of mine but I’d never led in solely on passive gear, as it is easier to whack in a cam on the steeper territory.  So today with one wire and tri-cams only (including two of Steve’s big ones) I did:

Steve and Karoliina had turned up soon after I had started, and not long after Geoff, Nana, Gav and Monica also arrived.  As I walked down, with pumped but very satisfied forearms, Gav was starting up the Setting Sun.  This is a route that is normally swamped with organised climbing or abseil groups, but today or at least the morning the crag was group free.  With a high first bolt on crimpy holds he gingerly inched his way up.  By the second bolt he looked back at me and mentioned that the dolphins were out:

I kinda knew that but instead of now bobbing about they were playing in the waves and full on jumping.  The last time we came out to Moses we got to see them surf three sets of waves, which felt like such a privilege.  Today however, there seemed to be several pods and they were all having a bit of fun:

Gav had made his way past the second and third bolt and had a comfy spot to turn and watch too.  .  Lisa and I reckoned on over fifty were out there, so I stopped focusing on the rock antics and took five to enjoy the view, which Lisa was also watched from her sheltered spot.  Eventually I left him to decide on whether to climb or watch and wandered along:

Lisa hadn’t moved and seemed in no mood to up on a harness or shoes, and who could blame her, with a great view out into the watery playground.  Time after time we would see them mucking about, and just when we thought that they were heading off to another part of the coast they would drift back again:

Steve had plumped for some Hope, a well-practised but also classic climb of the crag.  Karoliina was belaying, which was her first time of taking on that responsibility, and was under the watchful eye of Rongy.  So adjacent to Hope there are two contrived lines and Rongy was keen to try Faith, which then allowed me to keep a watchful eye on Karoliina’s belaying as Steve stopped posing and climbed on:

We were just high enough to keep an eye on the waves and I couldn’t help myself but snap just a couple more images.  It was a day when I was really wishing I had brought by SLR but I was stuck with the little point and shot, which didn’t do too bad a job.  Needless to say Lisa still hadn’t moved:

With Steve and Rongy on top, I wandered over to see how Geoff was enjoying his Peanut Crumble.  It must have been good as he was chewing his way up this long pleasant slab, and had nearly topped out.  I then jumped on second to see what all the fuss was about on Faith, I have a vague recollection of trying both these lines eons ago with Craig and dismissing them as not worth it:

Karoliina was already following Steve up and had got to the magic flake section of Hope when I caught up height wise.  Steve had duly put in rock solid gear mostly comprising tri-cams and she had done well to get them all out except one under the flake, which I helped with.  She then had to surmount the flake being careful of the resident Carpet Python, but that didn’t seem to faze her:

Just in case you missed it here is the fella, I’ve seen a Carpet Python on this flake probably one out of five times I’ve climbed this route and I’d like to think it is the same guy every time.  But after some ten plus years of climbing here he probably should have grown a bit more so maybe he had been a she and then he or maybe a her a few times.  Below Lisa had spied the surf life rescue helicopter, which often flies the coast looking for sharks in the more popular areas and was keeping a watchful eye out:

She had been hoping to see a shark today, but despite the helicopter staying a short while it wasn’t lucky enough to see one.  Eventually I topped out and Rongy and I agreed it was contrived and not that great.  It is possible that some holds have fallen off but at the two bolts it was impossible you stay on line unless you were seven foot tall.  Still it was considered a good adventure time:

When we got down Lisa had moved!  However, it was not to join in with the climbing but to find some sun to warm up, it seemed the dolphins may have eventually moved on.  We had has an almost two hour show which was spectacular, but now it was time to catch up with the others while watching the waves and soaking up the rays:

Gav was well on his way up his First Climb.  Another long route up a slab with a fine corner system, he had a bit of a nervous moment when getting established in the corner but had overcome his fears and pushed through.  So while he was topping out everyone else was back down wondering what to do next:

There seemed to be no rush and it seemed like a good excuse to browse the guidebook looking like we were trying to decide what to do; when in fact we all know that is just a way of not having to exert ourselves with climbing.  The wind which had been westerly had started to shift a bit and there was a slight onshore now bringing in some of the spray making for slightly misted views:

Rongy was going to head off early so I was more than happy to offer him another lead, which I was very happy to say resulted in a Pocket Full of Nothing.  Another of my creations originally called Hollow Promise until I realised there was another route by that name at Bob’s Hollow.  I’d never heard of anyone repeating this line and had found it quite intimidating myself, but he had prepped his head well and cruised up:

Just as I was about to follow up I noticed Lisa was testing the start moves of Hope, but I felt her to muck about and didn’t want to ask if she was thinking about…  I made my way up to the headwall and the slopey pockets that led the way through the crux sequence.  I teetered up but felt like I was pulling hard and the arms were tiring.  I managed it but found it tough going, shamefully after three long climbs was feeling pretty spanked:

Back on deck and Rongy was off, Lisa while having played on the start had no interest in climbing which I wasn’t so upset about as I was feeling the effects of the morning.  So we watched people watching, and here Gav is giving his brother Geoff some advice on the climb he had just led.  So Geoff had plumped for First Climb as his second climb, as Nana (nor Monica) seemed that keen on having a lead:

Steve meanwhile was styling, without poising (in this image at least) on Road Trip.  He wasn’t sure what to climb but wanted something not too hard and with good gear, foolishly he listened to me.  It must have been my old age but the gear was a little thin in places, which was beneficial as I was able to get in the best position for some good shots as the sun had crept round and I was no longer battling with the contrasts.  I was however right about the climbing and there was nothing too serious:

With Steve up and Karoliina about to follow I was no hankering to do any more but felt I should stay and make sure all Steve’s gear would come out OK.  So it was my turn to do some watching, and I was watching Gav now barefoot halfway up the crag providing advice and support on the section that he had got spooked on.  I asked if this was ploy for not getting on the pointy end himself, but he retorted with the fact that he had led two climbs, and seeing I had only led one I thought fair enough:

Soon Geoff was at the top, and seemed not to have any problems other than running out of medium cams.  He really should listen to his brother sometimes, eh Gav J.  Not much to say at this point as we were ready to head off, soon to be followed by Steve and Karoliina and then no doubt the motley crew of four.  So we were going to leave the crag in her same order we had arrived:

Steve’s gear mustn’t have been too bad to get out as Karoliina was close to finishing up when I found Lisa relaxing in a her first rock armchair of the morning.  But it was a pretty low grade one so it wasn’t; hard to get her out of it so we could make our way up the hill:

At the top there was just one more farewell to say, Geoff was busy setting up his belay looking pretty happy and content.  So he should another fine steady lead, lots of great waves, heaps of dolphins putting on a show and a great temperature giving us yet another great day out at Willyabrup:

After such a fun day out at Castle Rock the relatively newbie and returning cripple crew of the SW decided it was time for another trip out.  So we headed down to Moses Rocks, and Lisa and I were the second crew to arrive finding Wiggins at the top of the excellent Gothic Streak with Rhys eagerly waiting to follow.  Now Dazza just happened to be in Bunbury with his girlfriend Karoliina, and cottoned onto the fact we were heading out today.  He was unable to come along but she was keen as mustard, so had scabbed a lift with the boys.  It was only her second time climbing and it didn’t show:

Lisa and I took the opportunity to also follow up Gothic Streak and the rock was a little greasy, which made Lisa stop and think.  I’d hammed the day up as having lots of easy climbs so throwing her onto a greasy and slabby grade 15 to start with probably wasn’t that kind, personally I blame Wiggins as he led the route!  The conditions didn’t however seem to be worrying Wiggins and he jumped onto his third lead of the day on Many Hands:

Lisa didn’t seem put off and she followed Wiggins up his route as we all did, thanks for the patience mate J.  I can honestly say that the smile was not for the camera and it was another day of fun and laughs.  On the plus side for Lisa this climb was a tad easier than the first, but not so much so for Wiggins as the mid-section get run out.  So you need to sure of your moves to avoid a potential almost deck out:

I think I may have said (a few too many times in these emails) how much I love Moses.  It has an awesome atmosphere, gritstone like climbing style (which I love), and a never ending supply of boulders to muck about on which all makes it feel like a big candy store for me.  It’s one of the closest crags to the sea and today the steady northerly wind and strong swell was the cause of the greasiness on the rock.  It’s often the story for Moses, as the coastline is perfect for when the waves come in, helping to spectacularly send sea spray high into the air:

While Wiggins was leading Many Hands I got stuck into Well Rounded, another great climb that we all used to think was poorly protected.  That was until the mighty tri-cams entered our lives.  Now I can happily stitch the rounded and outwardly flared crack up, so much so I ran out of extenders before I topped out.  While I said before there were lots of smiles todays I reckon this image captured the biggest!  A top effort up the crack followed by a nervous moment to get over the overlap, not that you would ever be able to tell looking at Karoliina’s face:

Rhys got ready to follow up just as Glen arrived with Dean, another climber who used to frequent the Dunsborough climbing gym.  I reckon that if we had a new gym in Busselton it would do really well, that is a hint for anyone out there looking for a business venture and SW WA lifestyle.  I like this images as it shows the waves crashing below the first of Lisa’s rock armchairs, this one being a tad upright to be really comfy (so probably only a grade 10).  She is not one to come out and bag a heap of climbs, and often will describe herself as a one climb wonder girl so after two sterling climbs she felt it was time to kick back and socialise:

I had my own throne at the top of the crag, which commanded a great view.  So while Wiggins had his video camera perched on an extension pole over my head to film Rhys coming up, I sat and took in the view and of course a few sneaky snaps.  The reason for including this one being that Rhys is at the same place that Karoliina was and they both had the same reaction to this section which was ‘what am I doing here’.  This was closely followed by ‘keep it tight’ but one said it while smiling like a nutter and the other while grinding teeth.  I just found the two expression very contrasting, or am I just over thinking what to say:

It was just after I got back down that Lisa spied a pod of dolphins and we all stopped to watch them cruise up the coast.  Now with such awesome waves, which must have been pre-ordered for the pro-surfing competition that happened to be on, I was quietly hoping we’d see the dolphins surf a wave.  I was wrong, they surfed three waves one after the other!  With all the times I’ve been down you’d think it would be a sight I’d seen often, but this is now only the third time.  Not that it matters as I’d find this an amazing sight no matter how many times I may have seen it before:

I didn’t quite time it right, but if you look carefully you can make out the dolphins jumping out of the back of the wave just before it crashed into the rocks.  They are such amazingly agile and intelligent animals, enough said:

Now Lisa has a bit of a reputation when we have been out climbing.  She tends to seek out the perfect place to relax, and this was a fairly high grade armchair contender certainly beating the previous grade 10 upright version.  The reason for the move was primarily to get a bit of sun, but also make sure she didn’t sprain her neck while watching all the action.  It’s a hard life but someone has to do it:

While kicking back in the mid-teen grade chair she watched Wiggins lead Johnny Fartpants and no that is not a typo, check out the Viz comic – it’s a classic!  I was on belay duty so while he was climbing and as yet had not placed any gear I took the liberty of taking a few images.  Yes it is a bum shot but it is very artistic and the colours just worked so well.  Then it was time to put the camera away and belay, not that I really needed to as he led it clean.  He even stuck to the direct line making it a better climb, as it is possible to sneak right at the crux into much easier territory:

It was about now that Lou, Nana and Geoff rocked up……. what sort of time do you call that!  Geoff was not quite in the mood to climb having enjoyed himself a bit too much the night before at a social of a different kind.  But Lou and Nana were keen, so soon there were three lines on the crag being worked and this included a top rope (shhh).  Seeing my first lead felt so good and the ankle was holding up pretty well I felt the need for another.  So what better line to climb that the crag classic Wheely Things, and I’m afraid I only have a classic bum shot to prove I lead it.  But Kym you’ll be happy to hear I jammed my way most of the way up:

Wiggins was slowly upping his game and decided on one more lead plumping for Twist Until You Lock.  A very aptly named climb with a great start and exciting finish but unfortunately slightly easy mid-section.  He was not put off with my views on the route and showed us how to style a route, making it look way too easy as several people found out to their peril when they tried to follow up:

With the action on rock hotting up Lisa decided that she needed to keep up and went for a fully reclined and sun soaked armchair.  This one felt equal to Wiggins line for style, hence she also managed to bagged a grade 20!  The wind had by now had swung round and was more of a north easterly which was good news as it made it a slight offshore and that meant the sea spray went the other way and the rock was drying up.  In fact the friction was now near perfect as I found out when I followed Wiggins:

The top rope (shhh) that someone had put up (Glen – oops sorry mate I didn’t mean to dob you in) was getting a lot of use.  Being strategically placed over Cornish Nasty it also allowed people to have a bash at a few lines that were not quite so nasty.  This brought even more smiles although this time I think Lou was posing as she accused me of previously taking images when she looked weird.  Hopefully she will not mind this one:

Glen redeemed himself of the sins he had previously committed when he took on the mighty Gothic Streak, ground up style.  Despite having a nervous moment when he had to have a little talk to himself, and we offered lots of supporting encouragement from below, he pushed through and pulled of a good lead.  It is hard to tell in the image but he really was smiling at this point, as he had just gone past the nervous moment and was feeling more confident:

As the sun swung round and start to hit the walls, Rhys decided it was time to show some muscle shirt off style and I plumped on taking on the Cornish Nasty as my last lead.  I too had a little moment and had to have a talk with myself before pushing through, and I have to say I was very happy with the lead.  Steve you’ll notice that I’m fully using my left foot and it didn’t twinge (too bad), although this wasn’t a full on Raging Torrent style high step:

Finally it was time to make a move and Lisa had to leave her armchairs.  After much discussion there was consensus that a follow-up meeting at a local brewery was in order to analyse the mornings events or was it just drink beer and eat burgers.  Unfortunately, Lisa and I couldn’t partake and no Lou I wasn’t being selectively social, as we had to head off to pick Elseya up from her sleepover:

I can safely say that it was another great morning out and I’m looking forward to the next one.

After my failed attempt to get Lisa and Elseya to join us at the Book Shelf a few weeks back it was attempt number two. We had planned on a cruisey time down at the Playground for some bouldering and easy trad lines, but a howling westerly promising 60km/hr on-shore winds combined with a mid-morning high tide and +5m swell made us think it was not wise to be on that west coast. So there was only one option left and that was Castle Rock, nestled on the east side of the Cape it was sure to be ok:

When we got there Lou had already led up a fine flake, and had felt ok on it. A sure sign that the road to recovery was going well, this line is not in the guide but has been led numerous times. Lisa looked at it and um’d and ah’d but decided not to follow up just yet, after all it has been a very, very, very long time since she has donned climbing shoes and taken on the vertical rocks. Around the corner I found that Steve and Leanne were also there, but had other pursuits in mind:

So I racked up and led an easy line to the right of Minty Freshness, so Lisa could ease back into climbing. It was my first lead in several months, and some my question how when just two weeks back I climb one legged how I could now be back with two legs. Well my trusty physio, Steve, who admits to being a bit of a rouge with his advice has said that I could climb but had to be sensible. Plus he has advised me to lose my duck waddle (as Elseya calls it) and rotate my hips, which I’m fiercely working on and it makes such a difference:

In case you were getting confused no that is not me in the above image, Glen plumped for Cornflakes for his first lead and did it in style. I just happen to have been at a ledge and decided to stop to take some images, like you do. After topping out I set up a top rope and came back down where Lisa was keen and ready for action. As she put on her PPE Alan and Will rocked, Steve and Leanne abandoned the fishing and it was party on:

Like I said it has been an age since Lisa has climbed so I wasn’t my usual pushy self instead being quietly encouraging. After a false start during which she braved wearing my climbing shoes (several sizes too big and no doubt toe fungus infected) she bailed and had to wear her old shoes. Why didn’t she do that to start with – well since she bought them she has had major toe surgery and now as one of her big toes is now pinned together the shoes are a tad uncomfortable.:

With her shoes she was up and away, it took a bit of time to get into the swing of it and remember how to climb but she was soon up and then back down. Will then jumped on the same line just as it seemed we may get a bit wet. We had missed the wild wind and swell but the rain clouds were whizzing past and occasionally one would sprinkle us. It never lasted too long and the rock here is great and with a good breeze soon dries up:

Lou was up for another lead and decided to play on one of the wide cracks at the far right hand end of the crag. These are not listed individually in the guide but mentioned as a whole stating that none are harder than grade 12. One problem with these are that they are often wave washed and Glen duly belayed barefoot as Lou worked out how to start, again and again and again and again:

Now I mentioned that Elseya was also down, and it’s always easiest if we bring a ‘plus one’. Josh her dance mate loves mucking about on rocks as much as she does so he was the natural choice. In an earlier image you may have seen Steve hanging off this line he put up, which leads to the top of a boulder that is regularly used as a fishing platform. So they mucked about and never did ‘climb’ anything as in put a harness on, but bouldered about heaps:

After much struggling Lou finally got off the ground and managed to worm her way up this classic chimney. It really is a trad line full of charisma and charm – if you are not claustrophobic, like being squished in small places, enjoy fighting to get to you gear and then also fighting to work out how to place anything. So I love it, but others tend to think it is not that great. Lou did eventually get up to within 1m of the top and then gave up, a great effort and she was knackered. So Glen topped out and Alan finished it off, and all three of them hated the route:

While all that unpleasantness was going I jumped on Cornflakes and Steve led the route that Lou start on. It felt great to be back on the floppy end of the rope and my ankle held up well, although we shall see tomorrow if it starts to ache. Leanne followed Steve and was smiling all the way up, but whether that was because she was enjoying the route or happy that there was only one piece of gear to take out I am not sure. Howsie it seems that you have been bad influence on Steve:

Then disaster happened, Elseya and Josh found two crabs entangled in fishing line and needed help to free the poor crustaceans and eagle eyed Steve spied a fisher who had inadvertently caught a seagull. Look for the white dot and you’ll see Elseya marking the spot of the six legged creatures in peril and the hooked seagull was not far off. So Lisa and Steve charged off to help out. Not surprisingly they found that Elseya not one to be afraid of getting stuck in rushed over to attempt to catch and calm the seagull:

So with Lisa gone Will decided she would follow me up and did a fine job on this exposed line. Even managing to pull all my gear bar two pieces, one a trusty and well buried tri-nut and the other a perfectly fitting wire that had to come out in exactly the way it came in:

Operation crab and seagull rescue was still going on so after Will had followed me up Lou decided to come up this route for a second time. This time the tri-nut stayed put but the wire came out. Finally the triumphant foursome returned and I am very happy to report the crabs and seagulls were all OK and given a second chance of life. So afterwards Lisa finally followed up the line and once again did herself proud:

Thanks to Will for offering to take an image of the happy couple once again on rock together. The image almost never happened as Lisa was somewhat in pain and wanted to get those little rubber shoes off, but she gritted her teeth for a perfect smile before being lowered back down:

Then it really started to rain and looked like it may have set in, the less hardy or maybe more sensible of the crew retired to the cave while the others kept going and were rewarded as the clouds soon parted to let the sun back out. It really does take only a few moments for the rock to dry out and also for it to seem a bit too toasty (yes Lou I’m a wimp in the sun):

Alan was one who stuck it out and finally the rope I had put up at the start was going to be used for Minty Freshness. I mentioned this line at the start and it was game on Alan, Glen and then Lou all took it on and all agreed it was a challenge with its slopey holds and fairly sustained first 6m’ish. It is probably the last new route I put up before the guide was published and so based on the grade of 17 there was a bit of debate whether I had once again sand bagged people, I felt not it is just a different style of climbing. Back home I looked at the guide and oops I gave it a 16 so maybe it is a bit of sandbag, or you could consider it character building:

While the siege on the top rope occurred Steve was up for another lead and tackled Stepping Up a very fingery and thin start and finish that had everyone holding their breathe hoping he would hold on. Even more impressive was how he climbed past the first bolt to the better holds before using the carrot. It was nervous viewing as that section is supper thin and smeary and we’ve seen many a climber fall from there, but he stuck it and was looking good:

By then it was time to head off, everyone was fished out (well no one caught anything and nor did the reams of other people fishing or so it seemed) and climbed out. I have since found out that the crew went to Occy’s a brewery afterwards, and I would note that neither Lisa nor I was advised of the after fish/climb merriment that was planned! That said I think they all know me too well as the one who wants to get home to see his girls; who just happened to be with me this time. However, we did have to get Josh home so we probably would have had to say no anyway – maybe next time:

Finally Sunday 12^th March had arrived, and it was time to head to the Book Shelf for some fun on rock. A week and two days prior Lou was finally given the all clear to take her back and neck brace off, but more importantly was allowed to do some non-impact sport. This also happened to be a new crag for Howsie and he was a bit keener than most to get out there, so as one who is not known for his late starts I agreed to a 5:30 pick up:

If you read all my emails you will know that the Bookshelf is the ideal beginners place, so why not rehabilitation location for broken climbers who are on the mend?! It involves a lovely walk along the rock coast which some may say is not the best for a stuffed ankle. But having been to two physio sessions, got the low down on what I’ve done and what I can’t do, now wear an ankle brace I felt confident I could take the walk in on. Plus I was wearing something that many of you will not have seen me wear:

Of course we turned up there a few hours before anyone else so that allowed Howsie to jump on quite a few leads. Taking on the lines that appealed with me being the ever faithful belayer as the image below shows. While maybe I should have been spotting I went on the basis that as soon as he put gear on I should put him on belay, and due to his fitness and head space being so attuned with many a morning climb at Welly Dam I took advantage of his ballsie approach to the place:

That said even when I did have to put him on lead I kept an eye out to see what I could see watching me. I’m sure there was many a critter about but I was not lucky enough to spy the usual but still very beautiful crabs lurking in the dark recess of most of the cracks:

It had been forecast for possible rain, with high tide mid-morning and a swell of 2m… but a north easterly wind meaning off shore and perfect conditions. The sea was flat and calm and the temperature was great. So Howsie chewing up lead after lead while I diligently belayed him. The rain clouds did start to form but kept themselves north of us until midday and even then didn’t really threaten:

Eventually (what time do you call this!) the crew turned up and soon Glen jumped on lead, with Lou keeping as careful eye on his gear. Now you may remember the sorry tale of how Lou ripped her gear and decked out, so she had lots of questions with all the gear she saw and her confidence in the placements had not surprisingly taken a hit. Much as Glen has had good intentions to get on his woody other things distracted him (like sofas, TV, beer, etc.) that said he looked solid and didn’t muck about:

Geoff and Nana also came along (late… am I making the point clear enough?) so we had three teams beavering away. They have recently indulged on the most expensive aspect of climbing (assuming you don’t head out on remote, epic expeditions) and bought a rack. So were super keen to put some scratches on their shiny gear (which is something Howsie was not using much of):

After Lou ran up Glen’s climb (probably more from nerves and wanting to get up) she decided that she wasn’t up for a lead (which she wasn’t supposed to do anyway), but did want to place some gear. So she plumped for a low level traverse so there was no risk of an impact but it allowed here to put lots of gear in and then set up a hanging belay. It was a good way to put some gear in and hang on it to rebuild her confidence, and Alan had also turned up (even later than the others) so he gave Lou some more assurance:

Then it was Alan’s turn to jump on the pointy end, and for some strange reason felt the need to ask me and then trust me in my judgement about what might be a good line to try. After a few yoyos on the deceptive start he was up and away while Geoff and Nana seemed to be chilling after their climb and Lou was pottering about. It was certainly a very chilled but also enjoyable morning out:

Howsie finally decided to take on the piece de resistance of the Bookshelf, an eye catching roof that is as good as it looks. Up until now I had asked that he use only wires and tri-nuts on lead (cams being allowed for the belay), but with this beast I allowed him to use cams on the lead. For the first time he was not able to on-sight the climb so it was time to check the finger tips, take a few deep breathes and slow down. It was perfect timing as out to see we had a pod of dolphins cruise past:

OK enough mucking about, well in truth in this image he is taking on the right hand variant after having worked the left hand variant. By now he was starting to tire, not really surprising having to take on lead after lead and smashing out a fair number of lines:

After cleaning up the belay we found Lou doing what she wasn’t supposed to do, leading a route. But that said she had been super sensible and picked a chimney that wasn’t going to pose any risk of a fall, especially the way she wedged herself into it. It was great to see her back on the pointy end and enjoying it (unperturbed by the many watchful eyes):

Meanwhile Nana decided for a quiet, away from the crowd line for her second lead of the day. That said we caught her in the act and encouraged her to hang on even when the arms started to fail. She dug deep, held on, resting with straight arms in the right places and finished the route in good style, well protected and clean – nice:

So you may be wondering what did all day, well I seconded every route Howsie led (some with slight deviations) bar one. I purposely didn’t have a shoe on my bad foot and carried up a single sandal for the walk down. It was fun climbing one legged, hence I stuck to Drs orders (well physio) by not climbing on the bad ankle. A few more months and I should be back to two legged climbing:

It is safe to say that we all had a great day out. Howsie got to sample a heap of routes at a new crag; Geoff and Nana both bagged clean leads and scratched their new gear; Glen finally got out again and did it in style especially with his impressive second lead; Alan managed to beat the climb that previously had Jake stumped (while he trashed my brand new green cam); and Lou and I got back out there and did more than we thought we would and loved every second of being back out there.

After just over 3 weeks overseas in both England and France, during which I never touched rock, we got back to good old WA. I had a week and a bit up my sleeve before I was back to work, which happens to be tomorrow. So with a bit of spare time to get over jet lag, there was also the hope of getting onto rock a few times. The first trip was with Glen to Moses Rocks. A place for fun that is never too serious. He was keen to get into Freddy’s Zawn and being summer of course the conditions would be great, wouldn’t they:

Except it seems we have had a bit of a false start to summer, as the image above shows the walls were still seeping and covered in patches of black, wet and very slippery lichen. The good news was that the wave washed boulders at the base of this claustrophobic zawn were teaming with crabs of many sizes and colours. That gave me something to look at while Glen embarked on the first lead of the day:

It was the first time for Glen to get on rock for several months, as seems to be the theme with the local crew who seem to have had injuries in abundance. He’d already been checking out the guide book before our trip out and was set on leading Freddy Kruger’s Claw a fun climb that makes use of the rounded horizontal breaks up an arête. There were a few moves that made him stop and think but he soon was nearing the top despite being put off by a huge wobble (but pretty secure) chockstone in the chimney to the right:

While he led and I occasionally looked up to check progress and also had a look about for the best crab. This was the winner as it is completely different to the many other crabs I often find at these coastal places. The arms and pinchers are relatively large for its body compared to other crabs I find, which indicates to me it could be a mean bugger. This was reinforced by the fact that it wasn’t worried by my presence, and just sat there while the others scurried for shelter:

Back to climbing, and one reason that Glen was so keen to get out was to use his Christmas presents: A set or tri-cams. These passive caming devices are described by a number of stockists as being a bit cultish. That is certainly true here in the south west of WA as just about all the trad climbers we know off and that have encountered them have been swept off their feet by them. Steve of course being the tri-cam grandmaster with the full set right up to the big boys. Another interesting fact being that they invented by Greg Lowe in the 1970s, if CAMPs U-tube clip is to be believed:

I was also keen, despite the conditions, to bag a climb in the mighty zawn. So after umming and ahhing went for another of the older routes here bumping up a grade or two on A Wet Dream on Elm Street. This climb follows a face littered with horizontal breaks that all slope alarming to the left, making the rounded holds all feel that bit more insecure. It took me a few yoyos before committing to the crux section and getting on with it. Glen however resorted to other tactics at this point:

His excuse for having a whimper on both his climb and then while following me up were the conditions. Despite being January and in theory summer I too was amazed how wet it was, it seemed that it may have rained the night before as it was not salty and even the upper sections were sopping. While it added to the excitement I also made the point to Glen that it’s good to climb in all conditions to better prepare you for those times you do get caught out and can’t so easily escape:

We both agreed that with the waves seemingly crashing in closer and closer in the zawn we would move to another face. So Glen had his second bash at the classic Wheely Things, an awesome crack climb. Despite having better jamming technique this time round he once again lost the plot and piked out by escaping the system half way up. I reckon that slab and crack climbing are the two techniques that really help improve anyone’s climbing, so will be encouraging him to work on this route again soon:

I then maximised use of the new gear and led Hands Up solely on all six of his new tri-cams. It’s a great climb that is awful to protect, until you get tri-cams! The last time I did this route with them I reckoned they looked ordinary placements, but then Steve followed up and after attaching himself to each one and then falling on them. They all held even with his more substantial, than my, frame:

Now being January and the promise of a thirty plus degree day. However, with a strong south westerly coming off the ocean it had felt wintery all morning, so we decided to head to a face that was north facing with full sun. Hathersage is a route that Lou managed to deck out from and was amazingly looked after by Narana and Geoff until the State Emergency Service (SES) and St John’s Ambulance arrived, on mass, and she was helivaced to Perth. Glen happened to be with the second SES crew that arrived at the scene. So I was a little surprised he wanted to lead the climb:

Well maybe it was the graveyard that I found in a crevice near the climb, or the memories of Lou being stretchered out to a safe place to be winched up but he didn’t get much higher than the image above. Taking his first lead fall (while he had rope out to clip the next piece!) he decided to back off. So Lou you’ll be pleased to know he conceded it’s a hard lead, but that said he was perfectly safe with the use of cams:

Just to even things up I decided to repeat a route Craig and I put up back in 2009 called The Plough, which was named after the pub we used to camp at in the heart of the UK Peak District in Hathersage. The climb in true gritstone style has a bold and runout top, from which Glen reckoned I may have decked out from if I’d fallen. It was awesome and had me right on the edge, then despite the calls of “this is madness and desperate” Glen managed to second it cleanly. As we walked out we both agreed it had been a great day out:

Now Wiggin’s had been working on his boulder wall and added several sections, so he invited everyone round for a play on Wednesday. I had also managed to tee him up for an outdoor climb on Thursday morning, and based on his recent track record of injuring himself by going too hard on his wall I warned him to be sensible. Well luckily he was but I however was not… and while attempting the final moves of a no feet hand traverse on the top of the wall I slipped and swung back into another wall landing foot first on a hold – ouch:

Well that put paid to all climbing ideas for the rest of the week, and I spent several days with my foot up and iced, as it is now. Then on Saturday night most of the SW crew piled round Lou’s house for a Spanish fiesta night full of Spanish’s dishes, sangria and of course bouldering. A great night had by all, and of course I didn’t even bother to take my shoes. Others however did and below is the carnage that was left, me thinks some better quality crash mats are in order Lou. However, I was able to hobble about better than the last few days so I teed up a morning climb at Wellly Dam for the last day of my holiday:

So the next day I picked Howsie up and we went up the hill, now for those that read my emails you’ll know the climbing here is usually pretty full on. So why with a bung ankle, and my Housemaid’s knee still playing up, would I go here. Simple really… there is no walk in during which I might do something silly. Whether climbing is something silly is a whole other matter. So Howsie jumped on first lead so I could test my ability on top rope, and as long as I was careful with how I placed and applied pressure to my foot the ankle seemed to hold up okay:

We normally climb here early in the morning before work, as the day is only just waking up. As such the light is low and the time is limited, today however with a reasonable start of 7:30 at the crag and the whole morning to play we had a greater ability to soak up some of the other aspects that climbing gives us. Such as great views across the landscape, this one showing our lonely car and in the background Wellington Dam. The largest reservoir in the southwest of WA and all that water is now way too salty to drink and also in truth too salty for irrigation:

This morning we were also lucky to see more than the usual 3-5 red tailed cockatoos. There must have been a good dozen fly over and the cries of others could be heard from several direction across the valley. This pair was awesome to watch, a male and female who sat together and groomed each other for a good half hour. Just for these guys I wish I had brought my SLR camera instead of the handy point and shoot:

For my lead I plumped for one of the easier lines here, thinking it would be good because of the big holds and plenty of foot holds to choose from. It all seemed like the perfect choice until I got to the sting in the tail past the last bolt. A high left foot that takes all the weight and then needs to be used to push you up and left to a hidden hold and that hurt. But as Wolfgang Güllich used to say “you have to learn to push through the pain”. How do I know that… well I’ve climbed with someone who used to climb with him of course. So as I belayed Howsie up I made use of the freshly painted posts and adjusted my trusty crate into a foot stool. Now that was a comfy and welcome belay position:

Now you may notice something with this image, as Howsie raps down the climb I just did. It is strange but the last time we used this rope it was long enough and then some for this crag. But today it was only just long enough, in fact for some climbs the seconder had to make a few moves before there was enough rope to start belaying them. We are still scratching our heads as to why this is, as the rope has been used here before and we have never noticed this:

Now the next picture is not up for any real reason other than I really liked it. If I got all poetic I’d start to talk about coming out of the darkness into the light, or something equally corny. But I just liked it and being one of the climbs that gave Howsie lots of trouble it was good to see him cruise up it, while I on the other hand held on far too tightly but at least managed to get up without slipping off:

It was at this time that Steve and Leanne turned up and not having climbed outdoor much at all in what seems a long time, they set about conquering the easiest and shortest route on the main walls. They also came armed with sippy mugs brimming with hot tea that looked so inviting. So not needing to rush onward to get to work we put the kettle on and made a cuppa for ourselves:

With piping hot teat cooling down I then ran up Pocket Knife to warm us back up and prepare Howsie for his next led. He’s led this once before but is yet to get it clean. Red Alert could get its name from the dodgy low bolts, the loose flaky holds or the need to trust the small holds up an old blast hole. Regardless of the reason it is a fine line and stiff lead, and unfortunately his head said stop when the small holds appeared, so he pumped out and had to rest:

Meanwhile Steve was onto Welcome to Edges, the original warm up route on the wall. Only this time we convinced him to try the start an alternative but what we think is much more classy way, which he managed (maybe boosted by the coke!) and agreed was far superior. But you may be wondering why he seems to have a knotted rope hanging off the back of his harness. All will become clear later:

Craig had also rocked up in the big bus with his family and friends, another person who has been absent from climbing for a very long time. However, with a trade as a mechanic his finger strength never seems to dwindle (but his stamina does) and he managed to second Red Alert without a slip. The main reason for this image is to show the loose flaky holds his right hand is on. These are very loose and even more so than I remember when I was last on this before the UK trip:

So when I went up I had a wiggle of the small flakes, which without too much trouble popped out. This then led to some more small loose rocks falling out and so it went on. Eventually a flake about a meter long and a foot wide broke off while I was simply using it as a musical instrument. You can see it in the background with the turf ripped up where it landed. We’ve had a good look at the line and decided we have made it safer and the route is probably the same grade:

Craig promptly led Murky Corner to set up a top rope and allow the family and friends a chance to try climbing. The two ladies did well getting half way up but then one of the young girls (I’m guessing no more than 10) went as high and threatened to pass their high point and embarrass them. It was a close call but we called it a draw and they were all chuffed to bits and madly keen to have another bash another time:

This image shows why Steve had his yellow tail, it was to allow Leanne to get past the low bouldery section of the climb. It’s simply too hard for her and requires a dyno which she knows from past experience would simply burn her out. So the rope allowed her to get past this and enjoy the more consistent upper section – what a good idea! She was also being taught how to clean the route after seconding and did a neat job of this on the two climbs she went up:

Now there is a route that I would like to aspire too. I’ve led it before, but not clean, and just before I left to go to the UK I bottled on it half way up, scaring myself silly. Go Go Gadget Arms is a fierce and unrelenting climb, the steepest at Welly Dam and boasting sections of super thin crimpy holds. It also happens to share the start and finish of Red Alert (or vice versa) and so we had left the rope up to try it. Craig sensibly walk away at this point, while Howsie and I had a bash.. a very bad bash:

We both dogged up pulling hard on the draws in several sections and at one point it was all too much so he took a seat to ponder on the next improbable section. Now we have both climbed here heaps and so have a good sense of the grading, with a lot of people saying the routes are well under-graded. This is one climb that we both felt that was even true for Welly Dam standards, so maybe my aspiration to lead this one clean is a bit of a fantasy:

After our embarrassing shenanigans there was time to squeeze one last route in to even up the leads, before Howsie would be whisked away by Nadia and Fergus for a sumptuous lunch at Hackersley Winery. So with only 9 min till the prearranged 11:30 finishing time I jumped on Ebonie Road as I knew it well but it wouldn’t be a giveaway. So Nadia timed me and I reckoned I needed 4min. I hadn’t however accounted for my ankle or tiredness, which made me stop and think more than usual but I was up and back on the deck (having been safely lowered of course) in 4 min. Howsie then managed to get up and down in the remaining 5 min and the day was saved:

Except that by now my ankle was craving recovery time. That said Steve (who happens to be a physio) agrees with my approach of a little bit of exercise, i.e. not to the point of (too much) discomfort, can be a good thing to keep mobility. The recovery time was not however to come just then as I belayed Craig up Ebonie Road and then Murky Corner so he could clean both of them. Then Oyukha kindly made me a very yummy and welcome fish finger burger and cuppa before I headed home:

Back here I have spent way too much time typing this email, but it has meant that my foot has been raised and rested. With luck we may be back at Welly Dam this Thursday, and maybe I’ll get forced to attempt the first lead on the recently refurbished Red Alert!

Thanks to everyone for reading and also to those present that helped make it yet another a great morning out.

A couple of weeks back Geoff and Nana witness a ground fall by Lou, who had taken them out to show them the ropes of trad leading. It was a nerve wracking experience for all three of them, with Lou being helicoptered out and luckily only having hairline fracture damage in some of her upper vertebrae. So I offered to take Geoff and Nana back out, as they were keen not to be put off and the sooner they got back on the horse the better. Unfortunately Nana was on call so couldn’t make it but Geoff, as well as Gav and Monica were all keen:

Now where better a place to take a budding trad leader but the Book Shelf, probably the shortest crag in the South West but full of easier grade climbs that provide plenty of protection. Monica was keen to lead first and had her eye on a climb called Cheeky Monkey, but the start looked a tad awkward. So based on my recent discoveries of possible under grading, by yours truly, I went up the line first while she decided to start on The Bulge:

We didn’t tell Monica what we thought of Cheeky Monkey other than it was good and had gear. So while she and Gav eyed it up it was time for Geoff to rack up. Now we must all remember what it was like when you first start lead climbing, not knowing what might be needed so taking the lot. That was however is not a bad thing, as despite the short nature of the climbs here I wanted him to place lots of gear:

While Monica started up that awkward start we discovered a second Cheeky Monkey at the crag, well it was all in the name of helping out. The start did indeed prove a little too tricky and nervous for Monica, but as Joe Cocker sung “with a little help from my friends” she managed it:

Geoff however did not need my help and was soon stitching his way up another Sterling classic called Glory Boy. I mean that with all sincerity (honestly) as Gav remarked how he really enjoyed the lines that Steve had established. But back to Geoff: we started with the all-important directional piece and then he put in way too much gear, which I was very happy about as it gave him the practise that was needed:

Meanwhile Monica was going great guns and may be mistaken for a third monkey at the crag, as she aped her way through the final horizontals. Did she enjoy the route, well I think the answer is yes and we had a bit of a discussion about this. Why would we be here if we didn’t enjoy getting out and climbing, and when you are feeling happy… well then every climb is a good one:

Geoff topped out and set about getting the belay sorted. He has set up top rope anchors and his gear in the climb was looking good so I left him to it and went to watch the waves for a bit. Once again think back to when you first started, it often took longer to set up the belay station than lead the climb. Well just like when I come up behind a learner driver, I simply kicked back and took my time and what better place to do it than here:

Gav followed Monica up and was at the top just as, yet another, chopper flew past. I didn’t keep count but we maybe had four go over. Definitely not all out picking up Lou imitators, but probably checking for sharks not that the surf conditions look great:

Geoff was all set up and ready so I followed up and inspected each piece both on the climb and in his belay, all of which were well placed and solid. Yes Lou he used cams as well as hexes, wires and tri-cams. This place is definitely much safer with cams as a number of the cracks and breaks are flared or parallel:

With two leads under Monica’s belt it was time for Gav to show some muscle, and he decided on A Cracking Line. Short yes but it is also consistent with a slight off vertical lean that makes this small climb pack a punch and keep you honest. With the slightly less well protected lower wall below him he contemplated the upper wall on which his arms started to show signs of pumping out:

Geoff however was all fired up and eager, or was it me pushing him. So I sent him off to see what he could see and what he liked the look of I Don’t Know. A bit steeper than his last lead and he needed to hang on all the way up. This didn’t help as I made him stop and put in intermediate gear in spots where I could see he wasn’t comfortable. The fool complied, but I was impressed to find he put in great gear under pressure. Then at the finale he raced up, maybe to avoid me saying “hold on a minute just put one more piece in”:

On this line he also had to make use of more smears, something many people really seem to have an aversion to. Shame really as it is a great technique, but then I hear so is jamming which is something I tend to try and avoid(!). Lead number two sorted and well led, now for another belay station:

Despite waning a bit on his last lead Gav jumped straight back on Not So Thin. Without me there to tell him to put more gear in, not that he would have listened to me anyway, he made short work on this one. As did Monica on second:

So as Geoff setup the belay station I had a look about in the rock pools spying fish, anemone, limpets, crabs and other delights. This pool however caught my attention and I saw several faces in it, including the evil Darth Vada which is kinda topical. Not only is the a new film out which I’d love to see on the big screen but we also have our very own Stormtrooper friend! Back to Geoff and I have to say his belay was with placements within 90 degrees, all directional and all tensioned:

After I made him work extra hard on his lead, Geoff was more than happy to follow me up a line (he, he, he). So I picked Tick and Flick. Now this is not a hard climb but what he didn’t know was that I was going to, and indeed did, lace it. Not because I was scared but more to give him the chance to check out some more placements and also to make him have to hang about and fiddle fart about getting them all out:

Now just before I had started on my lead Gav was eyeing up another one of the easier cracks, but I felt he should go a little harder. So I made the suggestion that he had a go at One Too Many (you may remember this one Craig). It also happens to be the climb that Gav and Monica seemed to be eyeing up when we first got here, as you’ll see if you scroll up and check out the first picture. The tables had turned it was Gav who needed “a little help from my friends” at least with the hand being more decently placed this time:

It seemed that I had maybe been a bit too hard on Geoff and the magnificent seven (bits of gear) was simply too much. The funny thing was that he couldn’t get the very first one out, which was put in from the deck. Then after we got back down I and then Gav had a go but the bugger refused to come out, despite jiggling about in the crack. Um was this karma coming back to bite me, well probably… but after lots of efforts Geoff went back to it and gave it one last (in his words) half-hearted attempt and out it popped:

One last climbing image, Gav gave his climb a real good shot and even took his first trad lead fall but his arms were really tiring now and so he had to bail. He kindly offered me the lead and I promptly found a lovely hold that he had completely missed, doh! It was certainly a good climb, and he followed up after with satisfaction as he managed a clean second:

So it was time to pack up and for me to wave goodbye to SW WA rock for a short while. It was a good place to come today, both to help Geoff get back on the horse and also ensure I didn’t do anything too silly with my housemaid’s knee. But that is another story that I might tell another time:

With that you’ll have to wait a while before I get back on the computer with more SW WA rock antics. So for now thanks for reading and have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

We are lucky to have a mob of varied crags in the SW of Western Australia but there is only one crag that is fully trad with not one bolt in sight. Smiths Beach is a place I stumbled on in late 2010, at about the same time as Kym did, and promptly sieged the place lapping up ground-up on-sight first ascents on every trip during a blissful couple for months:

We’ve had a fairly dry and on occasion hot stint here so it was a little surprising to find the rock wet, and not the greasy wet that sea spray leaves but a clean rain type wet. Rain was forecast for later today but it seems that maybe there was a shower overnight as well. I’ve sent a few emails out about this place so this time have focused a little more on the landscape in the following images, so there won’t be as much reading (did I hear you say – phew {um now that I’ve finished it, maybe I lied}):

Howsie went first on the delightful The Drunken Sailor; a wide crack that has all the hall marks of Smiths with wide rounded cracks, slopey holds, (mostly) good gear and awesome friction even when wet. With just two of us you’ll have to excuse a few bum shots J. I was really hoping he was going to climb this line proper trad style and worm his way up the inside of the upper crack, but all our early before work sport climbing at Welly Dam took a little while to get out of his system:

We fully intended on having a pretty chilled morning session, just for fun and also a reprieve from the hard climbing we have been doing week in week out at Welly Dam. The grades never got to serious today but the climbing style was so very different making some of the routes feel that little bit more of a battle. Fortunately there is plenty of gear here and cams come in very handy as per this one, but why did I take the image I hear you ask. Look again and see if you can spot why (she/he wasn’t very happy):

I managed to get past him/her and ambled up this fine right slanting crack line of Seafood Extender, which made me smile all the more as it has the perfect sling placement. Being full trad I don’t think this place gets a lot of action and that compounded by being the end of winter meant that many of the breaks were a bit gritty. Easy to avoid but care was required not to shower the belayer too much:

We had picked the south’ish facing wall to get going on for several reasons. First it gets the early morning sun and when that hits it can get toasty, but probably more importantly it has some lower grade routes that are great to warm into the place. So as Howsie headed up The Crow’s Nest he worked his way into the sun as it climbed higher in the sky. This route has a wicked finale with an elephant’s arse finish that you have to really stretch to reach and blindly grope to find the best hold. Even with Howie’s ape index advantage it took him a few yo-yo’s before he committed, a bold and very cool on-sight lead by any standards:

As I belayed I look out across the bay and the boat launch at Canal Rocks was looking pretty empty. Not any great surprise, the ocean wasn’t looking the best and in the distance darker clouds were looming. It was just a question of when they would hit:

Glen and Lou recently visited this place and didn’t have the best of times. It’s short but pretty bold climbing and not for the light hearted or beginner. That however was not the only reason, they had attempted a route that you’ll see later and a 40cm long piece of an undercut flake came away and mashed Glen’s finger. There were claims of blood all over, and while we found no signs of it we did find the offending piece of rock that had split into two. We took the best looking piece back with us for Glen. Anyway the point of my rambling being that as I followed up a foothold crumbled away, which we only noticed when there was a loud crack as it hit the deck:

With the sun being on and off the south’ish face it was time to head to the north’ish face, with its more serious routes. I gave King Arthur a bash but, just like the first time I tried to put this route up in November 2010, the conditions had me scared and I ended up sneaking right at mid-height, which is a climb called Lady Guinevere. That said it was a great climb and once again we pondered on whether it had maybe been under-graded or whether it was just today’s conditions:

One of the things I love about this place is that everywhere you look there are great views. The rock features on each side of the zawn and even in close proximity to the zawn all seem to change in colour and features. The most aesthetic being the rounded windblown formations:

For his next lead it was to be Excalibur, and just to his left at waist height is where the undercut flake fell from. This is a fun climb but since I first put it up most people have taken the direct and slightly easier start (much to Glen’s peril) so it was satisfying to watch Howsie tackle the start as it had first been climbed. It certainly made him think a fair bit more, or was that just the wet rock and potential for more holds to fall away:

This is the south’ish facing wall of the zawn that we started on. The routes to the right are well protected following well featured cracks, but the routes on the left have far boulder starts. The blank lower wall isn’t much better as you get closer, for holds or gear, and the ramp below slopes down into the sea. Um ones to play on only during good conditions and certainly not today:

I was ready for the last climb of the day, and plumped for one I have shied away from ever since I put it up. It’s not that Sir Lancelot is untrustworthy but, Craig not sure if you remember this one, the gear at my feet is certainly dubious. I have not heard of anyone else attempt this climb as a fall from where I am could be nasty if that dubious wire did fail. The climbing is however lots of fun and with a cool head and a bit of breathing better gear can be reached just a bit further up. Needless to say I was smiling from ear to ear at the top of this one:

It was always intended to be a short session so with six very fun routes under our belt, and a few strangely nervous but very satisfying moments that you only really get when you trad climb, we scrambled out of the zawn. The rain had held off and continued to do so until mid-afternoon by which time we were back home:

One last image of a very funky home that we spied while walking out. It is probably an inch long and made up of tiny sticks stuck together in a way that created a great pattern. The silk thread at the top that was attaching it to the rock gave away that it was a cocoon, or so we think:

In a week’s time I’ll have a month or two break from climbing so you’ll get a rest from what has been a weekly update of my/our rock antics. Hopefully have excited and encouraged you to get out and about.