I wasn’t intending to head out yesterday morning, as we are coming up to silly season on more than one front at home so weekends become hectic and some things usually have to slide.  So when Wiggins put the call out for people interested to play I initially said ‘no can do’.  However, I’m very lucky to have Lisa who said I should go out.  So at a rather sensible time Wiggins, Rongy and I drove down to Willyabrup:

I got proceedings underway, and after last weekend’s enjoyment of doing things a bit differently Rongy had decided today was a kind of no active gear day.  So we only had wires and tri-cams, and going one step further we started off attempting to climb using tri-cams only.  Bearing in mind that unlike Steve we do not possess anything larger than just above an equivalent no. 1 Camelot size:

While I did lead the first line to get us warmed up, you may wonder why Rongy is belaying Wiggins up the fine line of Inner Space.  Well seeing we had three I once again had the chance to get a few more angles for images.  So I dashed down to grab some gear to get into position for Rongy’s lead.  Getting back just in time to watch Wiggins negotiate the final steep headwall all smiles:

The waves were clean and crisp out to sea but closer to land it was more of a white boiling mass.  Light winds and a slight offshore were working in our favour today.  It certainly feels like the change of season is bringing more favourable conditions.  While the first line had a slight damp feel, we had a good feeling that conditions would only improve as the morning wore on.  That was going to be pretty important for Wiggins lead:

Rongy kept up the tri-cam only approach.  Like me he only took tri-cams up so there was no ability to be tempted to slip in wires in those places that we knew from past experience were just perfect.  This meant that we had to hang onto the holds that bit longer fiddling in the gear, which is probably not a bad thing.  We have many of these lines dialled and so it was good to slow us down so we could appreciate them that bit more:

Totally Awesome is very well named, and the middle portion in particular has very fine climbing.  Watching Rongy lead it from this angle allowed me to see another way to get through the gnarly upper section in what looked to be a slightly less intense way.  Truth be told on this section the use of tri-cams didn’t really slowing him down, which is probably a good thing:

Then after having to place some gear deep in the wide horizontal it was time to ascend that headwall one more time.  Two lines down and we still had the place to ourselves, despite the relaxed kick off time.  As Wiggins followed up he was not looking he usual smooth and focused self, and it transpired that in his mind we was already climbing the moves on the next route:

It was time to pack up the gear and move down towards Steel Wall.  Before we got climbing Rongy was keen to check out the routes to the north of the Stormcock Area, in particular Welcome to Arapiles.  This area does not have many routes and he soon saw why, it’s a bit choosy and ledgey.  Even Welcome to Arapiles didn’t really grab him, so we went back to Steel Wall where Wiggins was do the final mental preparations:

I scrambled about on the slabs next to the iconic Steel Wall to get myself set up and Rongy was on video camera duty in addition to belaying.  On this line Wiggins again only took tri-cams but these were only needed to for the first part, as after this Washed up Punks is a fully bolted line.  This time you could see he was more smooth and focused, taking his time and being very deliberate with every move:

Even when he was clipping each bolt he was looking ahead and preparing for the next move. Hardly even looking at the bolt or where the rope had to go.  He’d been on this line a few weeks back and had worked the moves in preparation for attempting his first clean ascent.  Today you could tell he knew what he was doing and he was certainly looking confident and calm:

This route is not the hardest on the wall, but is arguable one of the finest due to its sustained nature.  The steep wall, slightly overhung in places, doesn’t let up and while the handholds are mostly positive they are small, with the need for big moves in-between them.  Watching Wiggins climb is inspiring due to the way he can hang in a position and chill out, even when that position is pumpy and exposed:

He got the ledge under the final headwall and took a rest before taking on the final moves.  After all that finger strength sapping steep climbing the final headwall looked relatively benign with descent holds and only a few moves required.  But getting established requires a bit of grunt and then focus to keep the arms from pumping.  On those last moves after a long route even large holds start to feel insecure:

With one last move to get the glory jug he knew his arms were spent and for the first time on the route he spoke some words to indicate he was coming off.  Despite Rongy and I shouting encouragement for him to go for the last move he seemed to just fall back, and just like he had climbed the whole route even during his fall he was completely relaxed and calm:

After a decent rest he jumped back on and topped out with what looked like relative ease, making me wonder why he had given in taken the fall.  Regardless of the final slip it was a solid lead and hats off to Wiggins.  He was all good with it and simply said he knew that he could do the route, and just had to build up his stamina a bit more to be able to make a clean ascent:

I rapped back down and sat halfway down the wall to watch Rongy work through the crux sequence.  It’s at an overhung section, both hands are on a crimpy rail and you have to smear your feet and make a long reach up to a couple of slightly bigger crimpy holds.  It looks like, and feels like, a big move.  Us shorties have to work that a little harder at this section and Rongy does a bit of a dynamic move to get through it:

Before getting back down I couldn’t resist checking out Steve’s insitu gear, it looks like the pin in starting to rust but I’m sure it still gets used.  Then it was my turn on the big line, which I have only been on a couple of times many years back.  I was somewhat nervous and can safely say my arms felt like lead and my finger tip were on fire as I worked my way up.  When I topped out I flopped on the ground exhausted and hurting, it was a top lead by Wiggins:

There was time for one more climb and while I had earlier suggested Fishing with Dynamite using just tri-cams.  Common sense got the better of me and I lead it using the bolts that this sport line has.  It was a good call, while I managed to pull the route off it was a close call as my arms complained most of the way up.  Despite Rongy and then Wiggins also feeling the same we managed to save enough strength to carry out a few more rocks.  Rongy is setting up the newly refurbished Bunbury Dolphin Discover Centre’s marine aquariums, and each time we go out we carry a few more back:

The walk out felt warm.  Maybe it was the additional weight from the rocks we had in our packs and arms, or more likely it was the fact that there was only a very light breeze and the sun was now high in the sky.  The seasons are certainly changing, as we were lucky to spy a king skink basking on the rocks and then walking out this beautiful goanna was lazing on the edge of the walk track.  He didn’t seem to mind us even when we stopped to watch him for a bit:

The idea of climbing during the last few week have been canned due to uncertainty of whether we would get blown off the cliffs or drenched while trying to scale them.  However, this week the weather forecast had remained relatively settled, something we have not had for a what seems a very long time.  So taking advantage of the easterlies to send any salt spray from the waves back out to sea and warm sun Andrew, Rongy and I headed out to Moses rocks.  For those familiar with the area you may notice that the main beach is somewhat narrower and lower than normal:

It is hard to gauge just how much sand has been washed away but there were rocks exposed that we have not seen before and I reckon the beach is at least half the width it has been every other time we have been here.  It is worth noting that it was a very low tide today making the changed scenery even more startling.  Regardless of that the sand was still soft and while it was no worries walking in we knew what that meant for the walk out after a morning’s climbing:

Rongy kicked proceedings off, with a very fine (you’ll be happy to know Steve) tri-cam only ascent of Hand’s Up.  The rock had that “morning damp” feeling about it but that didn’t stop him practically running up the line.  The reason I note that is that seeing there were three of us climbing I was hoping to set up on top of the crag and take some images from angles that I would not normally get the chance to.  This didn’t always end with the best result as the image below indicates, he was having fun honestly:

We had decided we would stay on Hand’s Up Wall, so Andrew plumped for Gothic Streak.  We felt that he had to do this one, as he had just recalled taking his daughter up the climb and at the time only having wires to protect it making it a very nervous experience.  So this time he loaded himself down with the full range of gear and made use of most types.  It took a little getting used to using tri-cams, as it had been a while since he had placed them, but all his placements were bomb-proof:

The black streak which is present year round, and is where the climb gets its name (am I stating the obvious?), was the wettest part of the wall.  That really wasn’t a great surprise, but it was good to see it didn’t put Andrew off.  Better still he kept a cool head and used good technique to avoid the, at times, slippy holds sending him flying and testing his gear:

Belaying from atop was very pleasant, the sky was a glorious blue and the ocean was clear.  You could see right through the waves as they tumbled in, but unfortunately there were no dolphins to be seen.  After we followed Andrew up we left him behind on top not to take in more of the glorious vista but to fiddle about with one pesky tri-cam that he had placed a little too well.  I’m pleased to say that this was the only one that gave anyone any grief, and at least he could lie down on the job:

I’ve been working out on my wall and was quite content to allow Rongy, who had been away on a (non-climbing) road trip for some time and Andrew who had only just recently got back into climbing, to bag some leads.  So next up Rongy decided to take on a very fine line, and one that requires a very calm approach as the first piece of gear is high up and the landing is not very inviting.  Seeing he would probably push us down the slopey rocks with him we decided not to spot him.  Any guesses as to what the climb is before you scroll down to the next image:

Rongy you will be pleased to know that Victor and His Boa Constrictor is graded 17, not 16 as we talked about.  Now as the guidebook author/editor you would think I would know all these details, but as from discussions during the day it was evident I was losing my touch.  I blame old age.  Regardless of grade we all agreed that this line is very worthy and should get a heap more attention.  It is a great consistent climb with very fine positions:

Rongy again used just tri-cams, as well as one bolt plate.  This was good going as it is pretty airy and exposed.  Speaking of exposure, you may notice the odd image is a little more grainy than ideal.  Well the last time I was taking images was at a night time event, and while I had remembered to reset the exposure settings I had forgot to reset the ISO on my SLR (don’t I sound so clever).  So while I thought I had a swag of great images it seems we may need to repeat today’s experience so I can take them again (um not so clever eh):

Andrew was up next and rather than wait till the end of the session when his arms may have been too tired I gently suggested he take on the crag classic.  Wheely Things really is a true classic and also a little different to anything else at Moses rocks.  If you can jam it is a breeze (at the grade) but if you can’t it feels really, really, really hard.  Andrew has proven his ability to be unafraid of jamming, so he set off full of vigour and optimism:

It seemed that his climbing stamina is far less than what it used to be and despite giving it a good crack he had to hand the lead over.  So Rongy showed us the great jamming skills he learnt during some of his overseas and interstate climbing road trips.  He did confessed after finishing it that the climb was a fair bit harder than he thought it would be, and a number of the jams were a bit more technical than he had expected.  Um maybe my memory failed me again and I had sandbagged Andrew:

As we wandered back down I decided that I fancied Fat Slags… the climb of course.  So the boys permitted me to jump on the floppy end.  Now I have to confess at this point in time that despite there being three of us only two of us had brought shoes.. Um somebody really was getting very forgetful.  So another reason for me offering up the leads is that so far I had seconded all the climbs in my sandals.  It made sense therefore that I tackled my lead in the same manner:

I was going really well but then at the top of the slab where it requires some serious smearing, I slipped.  As I had an old pair of sandals on the soles were very worn and they failed me at the crucial moment.  Yes I have an old pair to take on jaunts such as this, and a good pair for work on which the grip is far better condition.  I tried a couple of times with the same result, so decided to bare all and took my sandals off.  It worked a treat and I cruised past the crux scampering up the rest of the route barefoot:

We decided that one more route was required before we left, and they decided I should take on another lead.  So I plumped for Many Hands, for which the guide (i.e. me) states gear can be tricky to find.  So seeing it could be a little nervous on lead and the fact that bare feet worked better than sandals I started that way from the ground.  Fortunately with tri-cams and Rongy’s offset micro RPs the gear was plentiful enough, and I thoroughly enjoyed the lead.  I’ve always considered Moses to be a friendly crag and I found out today that it is also friendly on your (bare) feet:

There was something nice about climbing barefoot.  Some might say that I have particularly gnarly and hardy soles, so I am biased in that opinion.  However, Rongy followed me up both Fat Slags and Many Hands in the same naked feet fashion.  I guess when you’ve climbed everything there is multiple times, and then climbed them multiple times only using passive gear you have to find the next way to spice things up… and I think we may have found it:

Everyone wanted to get in on the action so Andrew also took off the shoes and put toe to rock!  Just a warning to the next person who comes to climb this route, it may have a distinctive cheesy smell about it.  Now you may think that I am the one who is getting forgetful, and to an extent you are probably right.  But at least I can say that it wasn’t me who forgot their shoes, you’ll have to look back at the images above to check the footwear that was used and guess who it was:

The following image is again for people who know the area, we had really low tides all morning and just like the rocks we had seen on the main beach, the second smaller beach was also had a mob of rocks and seaweed pools exposed that I have not seen before.  It may have been a great day to get into the zawn but we will leave that for another day, as I am sure we will be back again in the not too distant future for some more barefoot fun:

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder… before we left we loaded our packs with rocks.  Rongy is going to be setting up a big aquarium and was after some rocks for habitat.  So we each took a few rocks in addition to our gear, and needless to say we all really felt our legs as we walked out on the soft sand.

Six in the morning seemed a reasonable time to meet in the Capel pub carpark, and Andrew was amenable to that idea.  What I kinda guessed but didn’t think, or more likely hoped, would not happen was that the mercury was low.  On the drive down it dipped to a mere finger numbing 1 degree and on arrival at the crag carpark it had only risen to 3 degrees.  Surprisingly neither of us felt the cold walking down and it was a glorious clear sky morning.  As we wandered down the rocks Andrew spied the red and white tape:

Seems that the official top wall anchors have been tested, and a good number of them must have failed to meet standard.  We both agreed that the standard was more than likely way above the expectations of us climbers, and had a giggle at how most of the bolts on the climbs would probably fail dismally.  Yet still we trust in them.  Having checked the forecast daily this week, Saturday had always looked a sure bet.  We were greeted with clean crisp waves rolling in with the spray being gently blown back out to sea by the light westerlies.  Perfect:

After the last few cool mornings out where the first climb had made our fingers go numb, we decided on a slightly different approach to get the day’s activities started.  Shorter routes and also not quite as challenging.  So seeking something that I hadn’t been on for a while I plumped for this one.  While it never felt too hard it did feel a little run out, and for some reason my body was not as fluid as it normally is on rock.  The good news being that my fingers didn’t go blue and it strangely felt quite a comfortable temperature:

I did do a bit of mucking about to belay off to the side in order to get the best angles for images as Andrew followed up.  This led me to a great hanging belay that I raved about just a little bit in my head.  Is it just me that thinks there is something beautiful about a full hanging belay?  Normally I have a keen memory for routes and every detail about them, but I didn’t recognise one piece of this puzzle.  Was it old age befuddling my brain or had I never been on it?  I’m not going to give the name away and will instead see which of the local climbers recognises it:

Andrew had taken a few images of me on lead, as yet I don’t have them and as usual I have rushed in and written the trip report up before being provided the additional images.  Um Steve did you not have some from our trip to Castle Rock last weekend that you were going to send me?  I digress, after Andrew had taken the images he slipped his phone into his jacket pocket, and when he went to take the above image on his phone it was not there.  Fortunately we found it undamaged and it looks like it fell out as he was belaying and not climbing:

Hence why on his lead he decided, as the image above shows, not to take his phone with him while climbing.  It has been a little while since he has been out, and his trips out have also been few and far between.  But today I was keen to ensure that we went lead for lead, he’s got the strength, stamin and skills it was more his head that needed sorting out.  So taking things one step at a time I encouraged him to lead Setting Sun.  Being fully bolted the gear would be one less thing to mess with his brain:

He did a neat job of the lead was on atop the wall, and I have to say I didn’t check if he used the anchors that had been marked as unsafe to use for his belay.  We both did a lot of wave watching today, the predicted rough sea seems a little tamer than expected and we put it down to the low tide.  So low in fact that there were rock bars exposed that neither of us recalled seeing before.  We were quietly hoping to see some dolphins cruise by and surf the cleaner waves, but with the lower water levels and exposed rocks our hopes were not high: 

During his lead Andrew had picked up on a detail that I hadn’t previously noticed.  The p-bolts on the route he climbed had a little lizard engraved in them, no doubt an indication of the brand.  The relevance being that he thought Howsie would be keen to see this, in view of his dad being called the silver lizard.  Andrew didn’t know why and it has got me wondering whether that was some secret code name for sinister operations he was entwined in, um Howsie please let me know before my theories get too obscure.  Thought I would also point out that this bolt looks, admittedly from only from the parts we could see, as being in way worse condition that all those marked as unsafe:

Shorter routes seemed to be order of the day.  This was no longer necessary due to coldness, but it was the way things worked out.  Andrew continued climbing on in a t-shirt after only the first climb while I still kept my buffalo on, for most of the morning.  I decided that after putting Mikie on Gargoyle way back, and watching him flail around on the crux sequence and never completing the line, I should give it a bash myself.  This line I did recall, and it was as tricky and pumpy as I remembered it.  We both did a bit of yo-yoing when the going got tough, but also both managed to get up it cleanly:

Next up Andrew liked the look of Brepus, a low grade line that often throws people due to the need to jam.  If you don’t jam the crux move feels many grades harder and leaves those people bleating and screeching about under graded routes and sand bagging.  Andrew however is not afraid to jam and as such made short work of the line.  On this line he also had to contend with placing gear, which also proved to be no problem as he saunter up the route only occasionally looking a little nervous:

Couldn’t resist another wave image, the winds were holding a steady westerly course keeping the spray off the rock and us.  We were lucky enough a little later in the day to look round at just the right time and see a pod of dolphins surf in one of the clean waves.  One of them even did a big jump out the back of the wave for us.  We stopped and watched for a while but they were heading north and into deeper water, so while it was only a one time show we felt very lucky to have got to see them at least the one time:

While we were down this end of the crag I was looking for something new to do, and my eye was drawn to the arête next to Gargoyle.  I’d looked at from below and above and thought there was a bit of gear low down before the arête really became pronounced.  Above that the shallow and rounded looking horizontal and vertical seams didn’t look like they would offer any more gear.  I was in too minds but Andrew kept indicating we could just escape left if we needed to so I went for it:

Two small tricams fitted beautifully at the base of the arête and as predicted there was nothing above.  Some of the holds looked like they could be loose so on lead it was a little unnerving as I left the gear some way below my feet.  It was luckily never too hard and I ran it out.  So became what I thought about calling Into the Light, just because of the image below and while trying to get a good shot of Andrew the contrast was simply too stark:

For those who a have a keen eye you may notice that on I had done my usual and mucked about with the belay location to get the best images for Andrew following me up.  Managing to achieve a second hanging belay, this one being off the wall to the left of the route.  After not needing to escape left and make use of the crack of Fairy Floss it seemed only right for Andrew to jump on that line.  A neat little climb that I discovered, after reading my own guide, had originally climbed the lower wall the way I had done the new route.  I reckon that was however only to get to the lower shelf, so thought it was still worth writing up the new line:

Most of our time had been spent in the shade, and that along with the fact that it was the first clear sunny day for a while pulled me towards Hope.  In the hope of finding the little carpet python sun bathing atop the flake.  Unfortunately it was not to be and the python was nowhere to be seen on the flake of Hope nor Glory.  Hope was however as always a great climb and today, just for fun, climbed with only a single set of wires:

Time was ticking along and we plumped for one more line, one to even up the leads and so looked for one that would not be too pumpy.  Was it because Andrew wanted something more relaxed, or did I push him towards it so I could carry all the gear out on second… no matter the reason the combination of slippery Slab and First Climb was a great choice.  This allowed us to avoid the steep hike to the top of the cliff with full packs, which usually make my legs ache, and to sort the gear from atop the cliff in the warm sun and with a great view:

We walked out, after yet another great session at Willyabrup, and discussed route names for the new climb and came up with a far better choice of Grotesque.

This weekend the weather was not working in our favour.  Wiggins and I had set our sights on Driftwood Bay at Willyabrup, but being on the west coast we decided to abort those plans when the forecast predicted 40km/hr westerlies combined with a rough sea.  Instead we headed for the more sheltered Castle Rock, on the east side of the capes.  It was a mixed morning of sunlight and loaming rain clouds, most of which passed us by:

I started proceedings with the fine slab of Stepping Up.  Thinking that it would be a nice warmup, but forgetting the small sharp holds.  Without having got our blood flowing yet our finger tips not only felt sore from the holds but also a tad cold.  The combined sensation being enough to make me pike out right at the top of the route so avoiding the second crux sequence.  Wiggins made his way up more directly but not without a rest half way during which is attempted to warm his fingers up:

Steve followed last, with the sun on his back he donned a t-short and made short work of the whole route.  Dancing his way up in style, without a hesitation and with a big grin across his face.  More impressively he had less than two weeks back had his right wrist fully opened up during an operation to sort out his abused and aging joints and ligaments:

Next I was keen to throw Wiggins on my recently creation, which Craig and I called Smear to Glory.  He hung about a while looking tempted to go through the crux moves without placing any extra gear.  Eventually his brain got the better of him and two more pieces later he pulled out of the sentry box and up the wall.  It was however a little disappointing that his style didn’t match the name of the climb, working his way up in more a face climbing fashion:

Steve however did not disappoint and he lay-backed the flake putting all his trust into the smeary footholds.  We had a bit of a chat about the grade and am happy to report that it is not a sandbag.  It would seem that Craig and I guessed the right grade for it.  Hopefully it will get a few more ascents as the weather improves, I can think of a few candidates I would like to throw at this one:

Steve was understandable not leading today, so it was up to me to choose the next line.  I really like the one I chose but always find it bit of a challenge.  I can safely say that there was nothing fresh about my style on Minty Freshness today.  I placed the first two pieces but with each foot and hand hold and each gear placement we were showered with flakes peeling off the rock.  It made for a very intimidating situation and again I piked out bypassing the crux sequence:

As I set up the belay a bank of clouds were drifting over and we had our first shower of the day.  It didn’t look like it was going to last long so I stayed atop and got myself comfy with a good view below me.  Wiggins seemed a little reluctant due to the weather closing in but did eventually jump on to follow me up.  He made short work on the flaky bottom section and was soon ambling up the much easier finish:

Steve didn’t fancy this one, his wrist could only cope with certain movements and this route would push the friendship.  Atop the climb Wiggins admitting due to the conditions he had put trust in holds that he may not have trusted had he been on lead.  The route certainly could do with a good clean up, which will only come when people start to jump on it again.  Not sure I should admit it but we may have under graded this one by a grade or two, oh well at least one of my routes here isn’t a sandbag:

Feeling just a tad weary Wiggins then opted for the very relaxed Corn Flakes, a pleasant flake which doesn’t hide any secrets or try to deceive you.  While it had just lightly rained on us the rock was quick to dry, and this route was in perfect condition.  You may also have noticed that other than for the first line Steve has subsequently been dressed in slightly warmer attire, the wind had picked up and was a tad chilly:

So with me piking out of cruxes, Wiggins opting for soft lines and Steve need to rug up I did start to wonder if we were all going just a little bit soft.  It wasn’t for that reason but more because I knew just how much Steve liked this route, that I jumped onto Well Rounded.  This meant a scary start with a high bolt and horrible landing if I failed to clip it, and bumping up the grade a few notches… what was I thinking:

After clipping the first bolt I managed to kick Steve in the head, hence why he is ducking in the image above.  A quick apology and then it was back to business, I vocally assisted myself up this climb which Steve found thoroughly entertaining.  He also tried to put me off at one point offering advice on the best holds to go for.  Despite all the shenanigans on this route I pulled off my first clean ascent of the day.  Steve was back to how he started stripping off for the camera, and romping up the route:

Wiggins then followed showing signs of fatigue that hinted at it being the end of the session.  I almost managed to get them to follow me up one more line, but with the weather closing in we decided I needed to can my enthusiasm and keep it for another day.  Now I haven’t mentioned it yet but we were very pleased to have chosen this place as we got to see several whales and a seal, curtesy of Steve’s watchful eyes.  The eagle eyed amongst you may spot them in the image below:

It was a short walk back to the car, and then we drove out as the rain started to fall again.  Were we going soft, maybe just a little and I feel like I was the biggest culprit today.  But you have to have days when you’re not playing your A game and things don’t go to plan.  It’s more about how you change your attitude on those days that count.  As proven today they can be just as much fun:

Thanks Castle Rock.

The Frenchman got back in town a few days back after having had a bit of a sware across a few continents.  On his return he was greeted by what some may hope to be the last of the coldness of winter.  The cold didn’t put us off and with today being the first day of spring we made our way down to Wilyabrup, with a bit of that in our step.  It was the earliest start for a long time, but not that early.  As Denis was leaving home Tom had a good old laugh at just how “late” a start is was in comparison to my usual expectations:

We met at 7am at the carpark and wandered down in the fresh morning air, there were puddles as we had driven in but the sky on the most part was clear and bright.  We plumped for a relaxed start, or at least that was my intention when I jumped on “The Unbolted and the Beautiful”.  I’m not sure if it was a flash pump thing or whether it was because the rock felt cold to touch meaning our fingertips became numb, but the first route felt hard and there were several times I almost took a fall:

I did remark to Denis when he topped out that I had vague recollections of previously finding this route that bit more pumpy than expected.  It was however a great one to kick start us into action.  While I was belaying Denis I heard a hello from behind to find Mick draped in ropes and gear.  We had a bit of a chat before he headed off to the usual suspects on which we was going to setup top ropes for the crew he had coming down.  What I do like and appreciate is that every time we see him here he checks out our plans for the day to avoid getting in the way:

He told us that he’d been down at Wilyabrup every day last week and on Tuesday and Wednesday it had bucketed down.  It was so hard that he had got soaked before the crews had made it down and claimed that there were waterfalls coming down some of the faces.  It was not hard to visualise this, as only last weekend the majority of lines were dry and in perfect condition.  Today water was still running down heaps of them, but that didn’t worry us as there were plenty of other options to keep us busy today:

Denis was not warmed up enough and was still feeling a bit weary, so I jumped on lead again and did another old favourite.  The image below should be familiar enough to most for me not to need to spell it out.  After the first lead I was surprised at how good I felt on this one and ambled up not needing to second guess any of the holds.  Denis too made short work of it even lay-backing up the main flake in true traditional style.  He did have to stop and think about the top headwall but with his lanky reach was able to get the best holds that bit easier than most of us:

Mick had set up all the lines and I was surprised to see he had even set one up on Fat Chance.  It made more sense when we found him climbing that one himself; before the crew had arrived.  It’s a line I was encouraging Denis to thinking about when we first came down.  He hasn’t placed much trad gear, but this one only requires a couple of easy to place pieces in-between the bolts so I reckon he’d be fine.  Today however was not the day and we’ll save it for another time when he has more of the climbing fitness back:

Instead we aimed for Steel Wall, but keeping things reasonable I took the first pitch of “Sirius”.  Steve, I hate to say it but the pin on your tricam is starting to rust, so while I still clipped in I had two pieces relatively close either side.  It’s difficult to find routes that are harder for tall people, but this line does have somewhat of a compression move.  It was pretty good watch Denis struggle just a little bit at the tricky move at the end of the traverse, where you have to mantle onto the ledge.  There was no reaching past that with his go-go-gadget arms:

The aim today was not to complete pitch two of the line I started but for Denis to finally get on the floppy end.  For this to occur we needed a sport route.  There are not too many fully sport routes at Wilyabrup, which were at a grade that suited the mood of the day but “Unclaimed” was a good choice.  Denis thoroughly enjoyed this fine flaky wall, as did I with a rope finally above me.  We had a bit of a chat and decided that we need to get back to Steel Wall when things warm up and repeat some of the other great, but harder, lines:

Mick was still waiting for his crew to turn up, so had been sat atop “Hope” like a garden gnome watching the shenanigans on Steel Wall.  He had managed to help me encourage Denis to have a crack at this line and I reckon that Denis was very pleased we had.  He was also pleased to hand the lead rope back to me.  Not wanting to clip any bolts myself today I plumped for what I reckon is the true classic mid-grade trad line of Wilyabrup:

I have not been on this line for some time.  “Golden Buttress” is one of the true greats with variety and exposure by the bucketful.  I have to admit to having been a tad nervous at the start,  as the traverse into the corner felt pumpy and I knew what lay ahead.  Denis hadn’t been on this one before and seemed to be going great guns until he got to the airy and scary bottomless blunt arête.  It took a few goes for him to commit to the flat slopey holds and then above he grimaced hard while trying to avoid barn dooring, which for the leader is high above the last runner:

He finally managed the tricky sequence and then romped up the last face on flakes that can only be described as suspect looking.  They are pretty well all there is and you have to fully commit to them… fortunately they are good.  As we climbed this lien a few drops of rain had fallen but the sky was mostly blue and we knew it would pass over.  However, from the way Denis had struggled at the crux section I kinda guessed this would be the last route of the day.  No matter, and as he reached the final holds we were both chuffed with having had a grand morning out:

As we walked back up the crag with our packs Mick was busy with his crew, so we waved at them as we passed and left him to it.

This morning we managed a quick trip out to a place that, rather surprisingly, Wiggins had not been to before.  There are a number of crags in-between the mighty Wilyabrup and Northern Crags that rarely get visited, and it would seem that some local climbers are also guilty of having ignored them.  So with another day of clear sunny skies and clean barrelling waves we graced the Organ Pipes with our presence:

Seeing Wiggins had not been here before I was more than happy for him to lead on.  With a rap rope to get down and no mucking about of changing gear over we managed to get a fair few lines in quick succession.  These “in-between” crags offer true old style traditional climbing, you have to watch the rock at times and the gear can be spaced, but with no bolts the lines need to be and are well defined:

We did consider whether the face immediately to the right of Crab Arête would go as an independent line.  Unfortunately two thirds of the way up the face got smeary and felt that bit slippery, just as the gear started to dry up.  So we stuck to the arête, and left the idea of bagging a potential variant FA for another day:

The crag classic also runs dry of gear, with nothing to be found up the fine rounded and flared flake.  So as you climb the last four meters you might fiddle something in, but it will never be that good.  The route also makes you work hard to find the best piece to protect the flake.  It took Wiggins a while before he was able to sus out where to place a solid cam, before effectively soloing out:

For such a small crag it has a great array of cracks, faces, arêtes, corners and other features; each line requiring a different set of climbing styles and skills.  That may be why I have never got bored of the place, despite having done the routes a bucket full of times.  My last visit being with Mikey when he was on his 10km challenge, when he bagged all the easy chimneys that had failed to be previously written up:

As Wiggins belayed me up curving capped roof of Spraying I was contemplating a possible new line that we had spied.   The damp feel of the smeary holds on the first few lines were putting me off a bit, and I was feeling a bit weary from a boulder at home the day before but the line was calling out to be done.  This may seem a random image for what I am talking about, but I thought I would include it to see if anyone could spot Wiggins:

I decided to go for it, as due to having seen the holds on the upper headwall as we rapped down so I was comforted that there was something there.  Some looked a bit blocky and flaky so they required a bit of inspection as I climbed it ground-up, as I hadn’t tested any or tried any of the moves.  Like the crag classic the last piece of gear is some four meters below the top, so it was a nervous finale but also very good.  So became Knocking on Heaven’s Door:

This got Wiggins all fired up and so he decided that, after checking the moves while rapping down, he would give The Reaper Man a go.  I didn’t have the nerve to finish the lead off when I tried it a way back in 2014 but it still made it into the guide as a top-rope problem.  He ambled left and right as he made his way up the first two thirds and then the top headwall that he previously thought would be OK gave him a bit of grief:

He won’t mind me saying that while he never rested it wasn’t a true ascent due to making use of the flake on the crag classic to get a bit of height.  That said he did top out online which was very impressive.  He had gone for it as he had in his mind that it was grade 17, where as in the guide we gave it 19.  After playing on it again today I reckon it is a solid 20.  Of course made all the more impressive by needing to finish the last four meters with no more gear (which is also the crux sequence):

The sun was swinging round and it was getting close to the time we were due to head out.  But we had time to sneak one last lead in, and Lou you’ll be very happy to hear Wiggins plumped for your route New Kids on the Block.  I didn’t tell him the grade and when I followed him up he said that he reckoned it was a solid 14, which was what we gave it.  Still reckon it was an awesome on-sight FA when Lou bagged this one:

Next time I head out with Wiggins we might drift a bit closer to the Northern Crags and visit Driftwood Bay for some more traditional fun…

It is customary for both Craig and I to provide each other with a birthday present of a day out on rock.  Craig can’t claim old man status just yet but is now only one year away.  So on this trip in preparation for that lofty age we had already decided to head somewhere to enjoy the simple classics.  The aim being to keep the grades low and enjoy a relaxed pace.  When that is the mood of the day the best place to go is definitely Wilyabrup with its longer lines:

We had considered starting on Sirius.  However, our unusually leisurely arrival time of 10’ish was not late enough to allow the warmth sun to weave it’s magic on that face, so we decided to head up Glory.  This is an often overlooked climb, while it was in glorious sunshine today it is hidden in the shadows of the neighbouring classic of Hope.  In the image above you may notice that I was belaying someway from the top of the crag.  Now I do usually like to have a good view of the second coming up but this time I went that bit lower for a different reason:

The season must be turning as today a small, maybe foot and a half long, Carpet Python lay basking on a flake.  It looked like skin and bones after having slept through what has been a wet and at times cold winter.  Despite both of us having a very close up and personal look and taking our time to marvel at the snake, it didn’t move once; other than the slight signs to show us it was breathing and alive.  We left it to enjoy the sun and carried on to finish the line:

On top of the route there was another surprise waiting for us, half a skull.  After our snake encounter I jumped to the conclusion that is was from a snake.  Elseya rightly pointed out to me when I got home that it couldn’t be due to the teeth, and it is in fact a bobtails skull now sitting on a shelf at home.  You’ll notice Craig’s was all rugged up in his Buffalo.  Despite being in the sun it was a little cool still.  The car thermometer at just after 8am, when I left home, had indicated it was only 5 degrees.  So while the snake indicated seasons are turning it may be a little while more before we start our climbing days at first light:

Not surprisingly we were not the first people at the crag, it was in fact quite a busy day down here.  Several crew from Perth were down, and below Pete is sampling the delights of Wilyabrup and what the SW has to offer for the first time.  With a traditional climbing background from Scotland it was not surprising to see him cruise up One for the Road without any hesitation.  Being was a tad too quick on the route I didn’t have the time to ensure that I didn’t include my shadow in the image.  We had a chat and he picked up on Craig and my Buffalo’s stating he used to sell them back in the homelands:

Craig had eyed up Hope from the moment we got down, which is why I climbed Glory.  That in was a great thing as we wouldn’t have seen the snake if I hadn’t.  Unfortunately another crew had jumped on it as we were walking down, so he had to wait before he could climb it.  The guys who had taken the images of us on Glory were on hope, so it only felt right to take a few images of them on Hope while I belayed Craig on another line:

This time we plumped for Sirius, still in the shade but after a climb we had both warmed up enough to venture out of the sun.  Craig was hesitant offering me both pitches, but I encouraged him to have a bash at the first one.  It didn’t offer him any issues and he cruised his way along the traverse line methodically not even stopping at the tricky mantle.  Steve you’ll be very happy to know that despite having lost your tricam it is still is great shape and no doubt others as well as we have been using it:

Photos were being taken all round so we were lucky once again to get a few images of us on the second pitch.  While the gear is round the corner the climbing on the arête and outer face is just too good to not make use of.  A bit easier to do on second as you can pull each piece out without needing to look too closely at it.  I however still managed on lead to stick to the arête and face for half of the route before popping round every few meters to place gear felt to be breaking up the flow of the route too much:

Before heading back down we watched Pete have a crack at Stainless Steel, not only his first encounter with Wilyabrup but he was also relatively new to the delights of bolt plates.  The second plate for some reason was causing him troubles so he placed a wire over the carrot bolt.  Despite managing to establish his feet on the ledge he is hanging onto, he couldn’t get in a comfy position to compose himself to go for the next bolt.  Yo-yoing this move several times proved too much, I suspect the main reason being due to be wary about the wire on the bolt a foot or more below his feet:

Hope was free so Craig set off up this fine line, and decided only to use wires.  We didn’t wander off to see the snake again, despite being tempted we thought it was best to leave him alone.  When Craig and I originally met and did Hope for the first time together I forget who was leading, but I do remember the opposing wires on the big hanging flake.  It’s something we both do every time we climbing it, instead of placing the obvious cam.  I reckon there is something strangely satisfying with just using passive gear:

On the way down Mick was heading out with his group.  We had a chat with him and in-between him bagging me out about the state of my previous harness and the state of my current shoes, he did say he was very happy that I had started the online conversation that had led to the recently placed line of bolts being removed from Inner Space Wall.  He had heard of someone considering a new line there and had told them not too, so was pretty mad when they were placed.  They walked out as we walked back down, we were not sure what was next on the list so we had a cuppa and pondered our next move:

Despite having decided to keep things relaxed, and in my head that meant nothing more than 14, something drew me to Rhys’s Rapid Retreat.  I haven’t been on it for a while and was feeling OK so we agreed to do that one.  It certainly is a good climb, but if truth be told having just talked about removing bolts this is a line that would benefit from a couple of bolts high up on the face.  This would create a more direct and much steeper finish, instead of sneaking round the corner to finish up the slab.  That said I can’t see myself ever placing the bolts:

It just so happened that wherever we climbed we did not seem to be too far from Pete trying yet another line.  That said this time it was the guy Pete had come down with, whose name I forget as I type away (sorry).  I watched as he tapped and tested the flaky holds of Unclaimed, as I named it when writing the guide.  It is not surprising that on someone’s first use of these holds that they may seem suspect, but chatting to them afterwards they were raving about the face saying how great it was, and it really is:

We had time for one last route before we had to make a move.  Craig didn’t take long to decide and went for Hitching, the route he was self-belaying himself up on my first trip to Wilyabrup twelve years back.  He went for the direct start, as usual without me belaying until the first piece of gear was placed.  He had in his mind the route was 16, but the guide say 14 plus an extra grade on the direct start.  That said we both found the mid-section, which is both thin on holds and gear, to be more spicy than we remembered.  It really is a true Wilyabrup sandbag, but also so very good:

As we walked back down we caught Pete at the headwall of Totally Awesome.  He was wandering left and right at the big break and couldn’t figure out which way to go.  It made us stop and think about these lines and the improbable headwall.  While the topo in the guide shows the lines, as you approach the headwall on lead and then attempt it there are no clear features to follow so it is understandable that people would get confused.  So due to the gear below we gave him a hint and he topped out on the holds of Inner Space with somewhat of a sigh of relief:

After another great day at Wilyabrup it was finally time to wave goodbye.  The clean waves had given us a great show and the slightly off-shore wind had meant the rock was in great condition, warmed up to perfection by the afternoon sun.  As we walked out we were already making plans for the next birthday present:

Happy birthday (nearly) old man.

Steve may be upset with me by sending this email so promptly, as he captured some images that show just how far I am prepared to go to get that perfect picture.  Maybe I can send a few of those round another time…

We’ve been back in the country for a few days now after a three and half week stint in Europe.  So what better way to get over jet lag than to get up at 5:30 to go climbing, and where better to go than the place I seem to have been drawn to for the last few trips out.  Last night was the longest full moon eclipse for 100 years, but it was mostly cloudy this morning so we only saw glimpses of the moon as we drove in and then walked to the crag:

As we got closer it started raining and continued as we walked in.  The ocean looked angry.  Big messy waves were tumbling over each other to get to the shore, creating a single blinding mass of white water.  The usual track across a small beach before the rocks was blocked by a high tide combined with the big waves.  The bay shown above would normally be a clean sandy beach, but was today exposed bed rock:

When we got to Moses we ducked down to look at the line Craig and I had put up on my last trip here, Nothing too Serious.  Today would have been a very exciting time to climb this one, and a wetsuit may have been advisable.  Much as I tried to gently direct Howsie to have a bash at this fine line we didn’t get back to it, heading instead onwards to the main areas which we were hoping would be a bit safer:

Hand’s Up Wall was of course high and “dry”, safe from the angry white water but not the drizzle, that was easing up, nor the recent rain.  The good news was that there was a slight off-shore breeze so we were not being coated with sea spray, well not as much as we might have been in different conditions.  Before we decided where to climb we dumped the packs and spent some time watching the waves and checking the different areas:

Rumpole’s Rocks were on the tick list, but today while the large boulders provided a level of protection the base was sopping wet and the occasional bigger wave would have dampened the spirits of any belayer. So we wandered along, and for those that know the area we stopped at Tweddle Dee and Tweddle Dum.  Even at this location some big waves managed to spray the base of the lines:

Next we checked the Zawn, not expecting to go in there but just to witness what it was like.  These are by far the most extreme conditions I’ve ever seen.  The boulder strewn base was visible between waves, but was swamped with every wave that came in.  During the big sets the place got smashed.  We saw several waves impressively crash all the way up the wall at the back of the zawn:

Back at Hand’s Up Wall we decided it was time to do what we came to do, the harness were pulled tight and Steve was first up for a lead.  I don’t edit any images I provide in these emails, and today was particularly challenging with the contrast.  The blinding white water making it hard to get good clean shots, but it also offered a few opportunity to capture the amazing atmosphere we lucky to have experienced:

The first line chosen, was in Howsie and my minds the worse possible choice.  Gothic Streak is aptly named for its black look, which is created due to being the line where water runs down most frequently.  We didn’t say anything and left Steve to it.  He climbed slow and steady, looking solid and not grumbling once.  As we followed up we were both glad he and neither of us had led that line:

The sun finally poked through the breaking clouds when we were all on top.  Looking north and south it was bleak, but the window above us allowed the sun’s warmth through.  The only problem was that it made looking at the ocean even more difficult than before.  It was a slow exchange of gear and wander back to the base, Howsie in deep thought about what he would lead:

He plumped for Many Hands, and made short work of it.  While this wall was still dripping wet this climb didn’t have the algae that Steve’s line had growing on it.  I still felt nervous on second, but the friction of Moses pulled through despite the wet conditions.  Trusting your footwork in these conditions made the lines even more of a mind game than usual:

I was, like the last time the three of us ventured here, happy to offer up the leads.  So next up Steve picked an unexpected line.  Maybe it was the draw of the bolts that made this feel a safe proposition, but Twist Till You Lock while a safe line still has some tricky moments.  It took several attempts to get the plate and draw onto the first bolt, and then after trying the first hard move several times Steve realised that maybe he had bitten off more than he could chew:

So Howsie stood up the plate and made short work of the first crux before enjoying the much more relaxed mid-section.  The top and harder crux proved a little trickier but soon he flopped over the horrible rounded top out.  Steve and then I followed him up surprised at how good the rock had felt on this line, was it dry or did we imagine that?  We dashed down for one last climb.  I led the crag classic, Wheely Things, a route that just like Moses never disappoints:

As soon as we had stuffed our gear in the packs the clouds rolled in and it started to drizzle once again.  We scooted back to the main beach, which like the small bay has also been smashed.  The waves at times reaching close the base of the dunes.  Large outcrops of rock, which we have not seen before, have been exposed where usually surfers, sun worshippers and the occasional person fishing would be lounging about on a sandy beach:

Moses, like the sound of the ocean today, was once again a roaring success.