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 I 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.

This weekend I won’t be getting out on rock, so I thought I would share with you our before work Welly Dam training session. On Friday Howsie, Rongy and myself met in Bunbury at 4:30am and jumped into one car to head up the hill. As we drove the short 30min’ish trip out of town the day was waking up before us in a splendour of colour, while we were discussing what the morning had in store for us. We had all picked a couple of climbs we were keen to try and we had all set our sights on the high side. That created a quandary, who would take first lead as none of our desired routes were what you might call a warm up:

So with indecision in the air I bit the bullet and plonked my trusty crate at the base of the Long Goodbye. I’ve played on this line a few times recently and this was to be attempt number 4 if my reckoning is right. By rights it’s Rongys route, but I bolted it on his behalf and then waited maybe a year before he sent it. For some reason this route has caused me a few troubles, but today as I started the conditions were good (with low humidity) and I was feeling good. The move to mount the slab above me is probably the crux, and a very nervous move on lead. With a clear and focused mind I planted my left foot on a slopey hold on the slab and delicately pushed up to reach the ledge above:

Then it all went pear shaped. So I will need to come back and retry this one another time before I can claim a clean lead. On the second attempt I got the move, but then above this I feel on all three of the hard sequences. Call it a flash pump thing or whatever you will it was by far my worst attempt on this line to date, whether on lead or top rope. However, as Rongy rightly said we all have our nemesis and this route looks to be one of mine. Both Rongy and Howsie managed to get up with far amount more grace, and the good thing for me was that for the next two routes I would be on second:

Rongy was up next, and he went straight for T3. A powerhouse of a route that goes, and goes, and goes. We all love this line and it is one I managed to bag just recently. That said he climbs the first section different to me, I go left of the bolt and he goes right so after watching both he and then Howsie I gave it a go and was pleasantly surprised. But wait this is not about me, so dial it back a bit. It took a couple of shots for Rongy to work the bottom sequence, and then with one third down comes the relentless shallow corner. It looked like he was going to style his way up this until the second last bolt where he got the sequence wrong. While still doable it makes it much harder and impossible to reverse. Um maybe two of us had bitten off more than we could chew:

Howsie was up next and he had his sights set on the left hand variant to Attack of the March Flies, and despite feeling spanked after the first two climbs he carried on regardless. Before I rapped down after cleaning the anchors at the top of T3 I decided to hang about and take a few pictures from a different angle. Rongy was doing the right thing as belayer watching carefully until Howsie had clipped the first bolt, why is this relevant… you’ll see later:

Howsie was in fine form and the tired arms didn’t not seem to be troubling him at all. Another consumer classic of the crag this route has some committing moves and requires good focus. He steadily moved up covering familiar territory in the bottom two thirds, and was looking strong and confident. The sun began to peak over the top of the crag as Howsie finally entered new territory. So the pace slowed and he took his time to test each hold and move as he got above the penultimate bolt:

Then without much warning he slipped and that made it three out of three to Welly Dam. Of the three of us Howsie was the closest to bagging his line, and he admitted afterwards that it was more the nerves that got to him, as at the same height the right hand variant feels very sketchy and the bolt is hard to clip. What he didn’t do, as he found out soon enough, was commit to the move and find the jug that the left hand variant offers from which to clip, but hopefully he’ll remember that next time:

So all of us, feeling somewhat put in our places, the question was what next. I was pretty set to try the other line I had in mind, Chasing Mason hadn’t been as hard as I remembered it the last time so… four out of four to Welly Dam L. A silly rushed move cost me the clean lead as my right foot slipped of a smear as I made the move to the small but critical hold on the bottom wall (an image of this hold is given a little later on). The rest of the route yielded surprisingly well, and it also gave Rongy a chance to work the bottom sequence as the last time he tried it if had him foxed:

Now I mentioned that the humidity was pretty good this morning, and we have found over the years of climbing here that we can tell if we have a chance on some lines based on this climatic factor. The hard granite doesn’t soak up the moisture and any humidity results in the rock having a slightly slick feel about it compounded by any sweat we may add. When you are relying on holds such as this one, which is the next hold Rongy went for after the position in the above image, on a wall that is slightly overhung it really becomes a make or break factor. The last time I tried this route I just couldn’t stick this hold but today it felt great:

Two down for me and the clock was ticking, we were spending more time than usual on these lines today. So Rongy dialled it back a grade for his line, and unlike Howsie he didn’t have a diligent belayer watching his moves as he worked towards the all-important first bolt. Well how am I supposed to get the good images while I belay or spotting? It was probably a good thing to jump on Rock Therapy as it suited the state of our arms, with good but spaced holds and places to take a breather in-between the moves:

It only really thinned out at the top and we have done this line enough times to have a good memory of the best holds. That said the ones to go for with the left hand are deceptive from below and if you get the wrong one… five out of five! No excuses, we will need to dig that bit deeper next week:

With the clock inching towards 8:30 which is when we would normally be on the road, Howsie made a brave decision to go for one of his nemesis… Taj Vs the World. He’s led this so many times but it has yet to yield. This may be in part as we climb it direct as opposed to sneaking left which makes it a bit easier and less sustained. With the pressure of time and arms feeling the morning workout the small side pulls and layaways felt like hard work:

So much so that it made it a clean sweep for the mighty Welly Dam and it was then six out of six, just going to show that the early bird doesn’t always get the worm! This last fall did however allow me to get an image that is very similar to the one of Howsie falling of this very route, which made it into the SW guide! With a short rest he was back on and finished it off allowing Rongy and I to polish of the last climb of the morning. The question now being do we back off a bit next week or go just as hard, it is training after all:

Hope you all have a great weekend, I’m kinda pleased not to be going out myself as I’m still feeling pretty sore after being battered by Welly Dam.

Now once a week it is quite normal for me to set the alarm and be out of the house heading to Welly Dam for the almost weekly training session. However, that happened on Wednesday this week when Rongy, Alana and I went there and today was Saturday. So after a night of noisy neighbours with barking dogs, slamming car doors and loud chatter at about 11’ish and then 1’ish I woke up surprisingly fresh and even beat the alarm. The drive out of Peppy was made all the more special with a very specky crested moon and lots of adult and joey roos hopping about:

I picked Kym up from Dunsborough and we made our way to Castle Rock beach, by which time the sun was already well above the horizon. Kym has not been out much lately and was in need of some rock therapy, well that is my excuse for getting out today and I’m sticking to it! Knowing that family life should take precedence we agreed on an early start and finish. This was also in part due to the days warming up a tad, and as we got ready for the short walk in it was already 14 degree:

Today however we did not head for the great, small in stature but mighty in routes, Castle Rock. Instead taking a northerly path to Copper Rocks and we timed our approach well. With the early morning light giving us full appreciation of why it is so named. Nestled right on the water’s edge it’s a place best visited on calm days and now summer is here that will be most days:

Of course as many of you will have realised today was not about ropes, gear/bolts and running it out. Today was a very different style, one which I don’t often and probably to infrequently indulge in. With each of us shouldering a boulder mat this would be my first proper boulder at Copper Rocks and my fingertips were tingling in anticipation:

We didn’t muck about and got stuck in. A gentle warm up on the big scopes to start with. Big being the operative word, and you’ll see Kym styling up these, while stretching out and all in bare feet. I followed up after a false start, which happened when I was suddenly reminded of the rounded slopey nature of the rock here. For yet another weekend I was lucky to climb at a different place, with a different rock type that required yet another different climbing style. I still marvel how lucky we are with the varied geology of the SW:

As we warmed up the swallows were darting about catching the morning flurry of insects. Unlike Cosy Corner where I imagine they rarely need to contend with people here they see us on a regular basis. Mostly fishing, occasionally relaxing enjoying the area and of course sometimes bouldering. They didn’t seem too worried about us being there and every so often would perch on a scope and simply watch:

Right-o the warm up was over with all too quickly and we were into it. Most of Copper Rocks is steep, and as such the grades here tend to be high (for me). My last boulder session, also with Kym, was down Whaleback Boulders many, many months back. It was an awesome time and we did heaps, but it is also more slabby and there were many problems in the V1-V3 range. Not so here as I was to find out:

I let Kym show me the way on each problem and was pleasantly surprised to smash the first one with relative ease. That said I could feel the fingers stretching out on the small crimpy holds that had to be used to get over the bulge, and wondered how they would fare. The good news being that we couldn’t blame the rock condition if we failed it was perfect:

That said the next line was a tad harder and as such Kym diligently cleaned the essential holds with his trusty toothbrush. I still find this a strange practise but can understand it as when caked in chalk and grease the holds soon become far less effective. This is one of Tom’s problems and as I was to find out not one for me, there is no way I could use the hold Kym was cleaning here, well not today:

It required some pretty strenuous moves to get going and then a hand match on that horrendously small and slopey hold he had cleaned. I managed to get a hand to the hold but that was all slipping and sliding off onto the mat the few times I bothered to try it:

As for the next move forget it, a slap for a sloper! One thing I was quickly reminded of was the need for full body tension and maximising the use of all points of contact during bouldering. Short powerful moves and little time to hang about unless you are on the easy stuff. Try as he might Kym was simply not able to stick the next hold and eventually had to admit defeat and move on:

A quick break during which I kept an eye on the swallows. Just like last week at Cosy Corner we came across a nest, but were unsure if there were chicks. The good thing this time being there were no lines that got close to the nest site, as there seemed to be no chalk around it. Either that or people were respecting the swallows and were leaving them be:

Next line, and no it never did get any easier here. Kym was trying a variant, a hard one put up by Andy Lampard who is a local bouldering guru having put up some ridiculously high grade problems. Still this one Kym has managed before so he set his sights on the task to hand and tried and tried eventually unlocking the sequence. It’s pretty obvious where he was going to next in the image below:

The next hold really wasn’t much considering it was a dyno to slap to this hold, and the next hold was even less inviting. It was inspiring to watch but again beyond me, damn I’m beginning to sound like Sinead! I was however glad to have brought my big camera as that allowed me to run about and get some good shots:

I may not have done the direct Andy Lampard problem but I did have a bash at using the same higher holds by doing a variant to the line. It took me several goes and I tested the landing many times, but the elusive jug at the end of this traverse evaded me and we eventually moved on:

Next up was the classic of the crag which had a V3 start but if completed the finish bumped it up to a V6 – who am I kidding! It was however easier than the lines Kym had just been playing on so why not give it a go eh:

Kym romped up the first half in style, and looking through the lens I didn’t really take great notice of how he did it. But I could tell it was steep, required good body work and had a series of holds that did not give me great confidence. Even more so when I saw the look of concentration on his face:

He managed to get almost up the final moves several times but kept slipping. This gave me a great opportunity to take more images of this line than any of the others we played on. Here he has just got onto what would seem to be the crux hold, but as I was to find out that was the easy’ish bit:

The hardest part was getting the left hand up to the equally small hold and then pulling through to the next hold. He again dug deep and managed to pull it off:

My turn. It took a while to figure out the bottom half. It was like learning to climb again placing heal hooks and using body tension to a far greater degree than I normally do, Kym was patient and talked me through it. My main problem was that I kept trying to face climb it, but that simply wasn’t going to work on these steep problems. I did eventually manage the bottom half of the route which felt very good:

So Kym kindly made sure the two small crimpers were in the best possible condition for me. He had confidence in me as I normally I relish on small crimpy moves. I was able to attempt the top half without needing to go through the motions of the bottom so had a bash and managed it with relative ease. So with renewed confidence it was time to try ground up:

While Kym was dabbing away I heard the familiar sound of the Carnaby Cockatoos, and sure enough a small flock of them cruised past screeching out as they went past. So to take my mind of things I took the time to snap a few images of them ambling along:

That distracting didn’t last long… I kept trying and each time managed to get my right hand to the crimp but failed to get the left up despite having made the move when I practised the top. My footwork and stamina were both were failing. That unfortunately was not all that was failing and the little red dots were telling me to try something else or risk flaying part of my finger. So I bouldered up one of the only V2s here and enjoyed the more reasonable holds:

Time for a rest so we had a quick bite (thanks Megan) and a drink to get some energy back. The swallows kept watching us as we munched – see if you can spot the one in the image below. But unlike gulls and other birds we often come across they didn’t seem interested in mopping up the crumbs after we had finished:

Refreshed Kym showed me some of the other problems including this chestnut, which is his own unfinished problem. It starts right underneath the rocks with barely enough room to lift your body of the deck, so any drop in body tension means you have to start over:

It looked awesome climbing out from under the boulder to traverse along the bottom scoops with a series of twists and turns to maximise the hand and foot holds. It looked pumpy and I didn’t even both asking what he reckoned it went at:

It also looked very funky, and he went through the motions several times getting to the same hold and then running out of gas. So the problem was not been extended today, and I’m sure he will continue to work it. I gave it quick a bash but really didn’t get very far, so enough said:

One thing that I did manage, was to see the swallows go into the nest. Up until then we were not sure if the nest was in use but sure enough they did pop in and out. Taking food in and removing the excrement sacs. They were so quick that it was not possible to catch them in the nest but I got close:

There was another V3 which looked reasonable, so I decided to give it a bash. A sloping rail on a (surprise, surprise) steep wall. It didn’t look that hard and I hear that Tom simply campus’s the whole rail. I soon found out why, as the feet were awful. I know my bouldering skills are not that good but this was evil. I gave it several attempts and even got to the end of the rail once or twice but, but simply didn’t have enough left to get to the jug:

Most of the time this was the position I was in, as I looked up in wonderment and still unable to work out the footwork required to haul my sorry arse up this short problem. It was however a very comfy spot to lie:

So I gave in and let Kym show me the moves, he made it look more stylish but still failed to get any further slipping out of the rail as he approached the left-hand end. So we decided that maybe it was time to call it a day. While it may seem we didn’t do too much we had spent close to two hours and our bodies were telling us that enough was enough:

Before we walked out I had one more look at the nest and for the first time we could see the chicks; just like at Cosy Corner there were three. Well it was time to leave them alone and head back to Kym’s for a cuppa and some pikelets:

We agreed that maybe we could sneak a boulder in one day after work. With longer days it would be quite doable so in a few weeks we might sneak out and enjoy the evening light, which will also be when most of the boulder will be in shade. Um, but we could also head to Castle Rock with the rope and gear as both are equally close – nah I need to practise my bouldering:I was back on the road home to see my girls by 9 and the temperature was up at 28, damn I was glad we had an early start (stop laughing Lou!).

I wasn’t going to go out this weekend but I simply couldn’t resists the urge to say yes to Wiggins when he texted to say there was a Saturday morning met at Wilyabrup. In truth our house is probably a more relaxed place for the girls without me there, as my need to ‘get things done’ tends to make them feel like they should also be doing things. Excuses and rationales for me going out climbing aside, as I drove down at 6’ish for the meet I was wondering if anyone else would be there:

As a friend once told us (several times) fortune favours the brave and it came true on this occasion. I could see the sky was clearer in the direction I was heading and we were greeted with mostly blues skies, but better still dry rock. This morning’s mottle crew comprised Andrew (who hadn’t climbed on trad for over a year), Wiggins (who seems to have injured himself on his Ben Moon woodie just before every opportunity to climb outdoors for as long as I can remember), Steve (who is going in for knee surgery next week, so should be being sensible) and Ryan (who hadn’t been outdoors since our recent trip to the Blue Mountains):

With a crew of five I had the chance to bring out the big guns (camera) and do my mountain goat routine and dash about checking out the best angles to snap that cover shot. I brought out the SLR last week at Moses too and get a few remarks on the images taken, so that in part inspired me to do the same this week:

So with a bunch of mostly battered and knackered old cronies they set off, picking fun but relaxed lines so as not to do any more injuries (whether physical or simply denting pride). Willyabrup has a fine selection of lower grade climbs, but today there were several groups coming out so a number of the easy lines soon had ropes being thrown down them. Luckily we picked two that the groups tend to stay away from:

Wiggins took a steady pace up Glory, taking his time to find the best holds on the overhang more so due to the lack of gear below him than it being particularly hard. Now I’m not sure if it was because he knew I’d be taking photos (when don’t I?!) but he had forgotten to wear his helmet (so Tara). After this climb he realised the error of his ways and the tin pot was soon in its rightful place:

Meanwhile Ryan ambled up Hitching, and seemed unfazed by the lack of gear on the crux section. It seems that the weeks of not climbing had dented his ability or calm approach, as he cruised up the thin moves with just a micro wire that was getting further and further below him:

Both parties topped out almost at the same time. Wiggins had to suck in on the finally run out slabby section. While we had blue skies the sea was, like last week, pretty choppy. This time however there was minimal sea spray and the rock was in great condition. Not one to miss out on a climb I dashed back down to follow Wiggins up, just because it was the longer route:

Then back up the top to take advantage of more top down photography. This time Steve was on the point end, and was determined to have a crack at Top Gear and started in great form looking strong and comfortable. His confidence was boosted by the placement of several tri-cams, which as you may remember are his favourite type of protection. It was a shame that the top ropes were up by now, and it was impossible to avoid them in some images:

Andrew was also up, his first trad lead in at least a year. So he set his sights on Tom Thumb, which may seem to some an easy bag based on the grade but it was a nervous runout start. Soon he was placing gear and making sure every wire and hex was a solid placement:

It didn’t take him too long to work his way up this fine line, topping out in the sun that had just bathed the top of the crag. He later confessed to feeling pretty nervous but it didn’t show and it looked like he was climbing in good style:

I was busily running between both climbers to make sure I didn’t miss the best parts of each climb, so I quickly dashed back to watch Steve attempt the crux of his line. It’s a pumpy, very exposed and awkward crux. Much as his hands look solid the silk nature of the rock means that any sweat makes the hold feel pretty average. He gave it a number of great attempts but  eventually ran out of gas:

I left Steve to keep trying and dashed back down to follow Andrew up, which freed up Ryan to head over and follow Steve up. In truth I’m not that keen on Top Gear so was far happier having fun jamming up Tom Thumb. When Andrew and I came down the fate of Steve’s lead was all too apparent:

So Andrew and left them and went across to climb Totally Awesome. I was feeling good and the climb felt so good, even better for the fact that I only used tri-cams to protect it. There is something nice about using just one type of gear, it makes you think that bit harder I guess. Anyway as I belayed Andrew up I could see the other three had got up their route, and Ryan not only led it but also then gave a bit of a master class on how to get through that crux:

Andrew had picked the line that I led, but it was a bit more than he was ready for so it took a while for him to work his way up. His forearms were pretty pumped on the steep lower wall but he eventually worked the sequence and slapped for the thank good holds:

One of the problems with tri-cams is that they can be tricky to get out at times. This is especially true for the smaller sizes, when it can be tricky to try and get a nut key in to work them loose. Luckily the one that gave him the most problem was just above a good ledge, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it was never really stuck he just wanted to rest his arms before the finale of this climb(!):

Wiggins was next up and asked me what he should try next. With most of the good easy lines now in use by groups to directed him to Hole World, knowing it was a tad tricky but having faith in his abilities. He certainly made the start look easy but then got stuck at the steep wall. Well if he had read the guide he would have expected that:

As he was trying to work the wall out I wandered off to see if the King Skin that we spied earlier had come out and sure enough he was basking in what Lisa would called the dappled light. There was enough sun poking through for him to keep popping out and then when climbers went past dash for cover:

Back to Wiggins and in time to see him give it a really good shot. Unfortunately he popped off and as the ropes tightened his top piece managed to lever off a decent sized block. If you look closely you might see it hurtling towards the deck, and fortunately Steve was on the ball and managed to avoid being clunked on the noggin:

OK so the rock was pretty hard to see, so below I have enlarged the image so you can see it. Check out the bottom left corner:

So with that little episode and I can’t blame him, Wiggins retreated (and probably cursed me for sand bagging him). With half the route led someone had to finish it off so Ryan volunteered and was subsequently seconded by Steve, Wiggins and myself. Sirja I hope you are happy now that you have seen that Ryan is OK and well and still climbing like a demon:

Meanwhile Andrew fancied one more lead so took a mixture of gear from the four racks that had been brought along and mucked about with it on Orryjohn. Tiered as he was kinda enjoyed the climb, finding it a bit strange. I didn’t drill down to why he felt that way as I really like the route. However time was ticking by and with all the gear mixed up it was time to sort it all out and head off:

It is fair to say that with all the thrills and spills it was a very entertaining and satisfying reunion of the old boys, and a great send off for Steve as he will now need to be very sensible and stay away from climbing until his knee is completely healed and ready for action. That means Top Gear will have to wait some time before he can have another attempt:

Lou had finished all her Uni assignments for the semester so was keen to celebrate with some trad climbing. Having had not such a great experience at another good easy access trad spot, Smith Beach, she plumped for Moses Rocks. This place has the second largest collection of climbs in the area, with the most southerly buttress being called Rumpoles Rocks. This buttress is rarely visited and neither Lou, Glen, Steve or Leanne had been there before:

Lou got the ball rolling and plumped for Jugs Galore, as she thought that there would be plenty of big holds. It’s a routes I put up with Wiggins and sure enough there are good holds on it but you have you also trust your shoes on smears and work a few rounded holds. That, added to the glistening (one of my phrases that Craig with be familiar with) nature of the rock, which the image below hopefully shows, meant the climb messed with her head more than it should have:

As we finished the first line of the day Steve and Leanne rocked up and soon we had two lines in progress. Glen was quicker off the mark running up Hot and Spicy, which is far from that being a very relaxed, easy but nicely consistent climb. He chose a more sensible grade than Lou to start on, but even still managed to drop a wire down a crack that was just too deep to allow him to retrieve it:

Steve told me that he was feeling good and climbing well, so I suggested Chillies and Garlic, a fine looking corner system on yet more rounded holds. I wasn’t sure if I had sand bagged him, but he loves his trad and is the local tri-cam master, and this place simple eats them up. So with his perfect gear options I was sure he would be OK:

Meanwhile Lou followed Glen up and had to resort to squirming deep into the crack to try and retrieve the lost wire. Luckily it was at a decent ledge making entry a little easier, but no more comfortable. Moses is a compact small grained granite that usually provides great friction. Despite being small grained it is easy to take bark off and Lou managed to scratch herself up a bit more than usual to retrieve Glen’s runaway wire:

Hats off to Lou who gave herself that extra extension by securing her nut key to her shoe using the Velcro straps (take a moment to check it out in the image below). Only then did she manage to hook the wire out. It’s pretty amazing the lengths we will go to avoid losing gear or just how long we sometimes may spend trying to get that booty gear that was too hard to retrieve by others. The feeling of success does however make it all worthwhile:

Back to Steve who was by now negotiating the upper section of his climb and seemed to be moving up with somewhat more urgency. I even noticed a few non tri-cam placements sneaking in, but he insisted he was fine with the route, he was just wanting to get up due to the wet (read into that glistening) condition of the rock:

As Leanne followed Steve it was my turn for a lead. Despite offering it up as I have lead all of the climbs here before, both Lou and Glen were keen for me to jump on the pointy end. So I plumped for another of my creations called Hexed. I remember it giving me problems when I first led it, and sure enough I had to pause and think about the crux sequence for some time. The rock condition didn’t make matters easier but eventually I inched my way up, and both my seconders also had a fine old time on it:

As Leanne made her way up and Lou and Glen followed me, the sun was working its way upwards and we were soon belaying at the top of the crag in full sun. It’s sting could be felt but luckily with a westerly facing crag we could still climb in the shade. It was predicted to be a hot day reaching the high twenties and we had a late (by my standards) start to the day I left home at 7am. Lou always has a laugh at me for being a wuss when it comes to climbing in the sun, but then she is a bit of a blouse when it comes to early mornings. That said Glen is no early bird either so I lost out this time:

We descended about the same time and Steve and Leanne decided that Rumpoles Rocks, much as being a lovely spot, was simply too wet for them to carry on. So they decided to head to some of the other sections of Moses that were hopefully a bit higher and drier. We however were keen to keep jumping on stuff that neither Lou nor Glen had been on before so we stayed put:

Lou was up next and went for another aesthetic line of rounded flakes on Yogurt, which went at the same grade as her first lead. In this image if it was good conditions you’d see the biggest crag in the area, Wilyabrup, but with a reasonable swell and choppy sea the salt spray was pretty full on. This didn’t allow the rock to dry very quickly and also coated everything in a metal corroding layer of salt:

Lou once again showed her ability to not trust smears and made the climb a fair bit harder than it had to be. This then meant that she placed a few more bits of gear than was necessary, resulting in the obvious. Afterwards she told us we should have done what Ryan does and tell her she has placed enough gear and to get on with the climbing! Oh well maybe next time, all that said she loved the climb (as we all did) which is what counts:

You’ll see that this crag is pretty close to the sea, but the belayer is protected by a rock wall. It can however be a bit disconcerting as the swell and tide gets up and the waves crash into the wall sending spray high into the sky. As the day wore on the both the tide and swell was on the rise, and occasionally a set of waves would make us stop and wonder if we were going to get really wet:

Just a short distance to the north is a rock pool up on a ledge. With no rock wall for protection this was getting smashed on a regular basis. Being so close to the sea and seeing, hearing and almost feeling the waves is one of the great attractions for me. Yes it can make the rock ‘glisten’ that little bit more than you may like but for atmosphere it is awesome:

Eventually Lou beat her nerves (with yet a few more bits of gear in) and was nearing the top. Glen and I gave her a good ribbing about the ten bits of gear she had placed, seven of which were all within the middle 5m and all of which were bomber! That said we all know it is part of the head game of trad, and it was obvious where her head was not. But enough of bagging her out, she got up the route and really did enjoy it:

While Glen was seconding up I took the time to take a few more pictures of waves and rocks so for a few images I’ll stop typing:

Back down and time for Glen to jump on the line that had attracted his attention the moment we had got here. Olive Oil is one of the original climbs here and is great fun. A steep lower wall leading to a slightly overhung headwall. Unfortunately the sun was getting to the point where it was making it hard to find the next hold, and while it didn’t stop him it did make him yo-yo a few extra times before committing:

Once above the lower wall it was time for the glory run. I had told Glen that I would have a great purchase from which to get some stellar shots. So he took it upon himself to be the perfect model taking his time, stopping a few times and generally posing. That was unfortunately also his undoing and when he got towards the top he realised all too late that he had not left enough gas in the tank to on-sight this classy and very fine line:

Still as promised there are a fair few good shots not only of him looking stylish on the route, but also the great background of crashing waves, sea salt air and this time a glimpse of the great cliffs of Wilyabrup far off in the distance:

My turn next and now the sun was all over the crag leaving hardly any bits untouched. So without thinking too much I chose Finger Licking which has a lovely finger crack to start with before a south facing wall just right of where Glen had been climbing. One reason for picking this line was the upper section at least being in the shade. Howsie notice the knees, you need to start Romwod’ing it(!):

Not wanting to hang about in the sun for long I didn’t take my time and was soon heading up the musical flake on the upper wall. If you hit it there is a nice tone, but that also makes you wonder whether you should be pulling on it. But with glistening rock and the only other option being small slippery smears I decided to just go for it. Fortunately the flake held for another lead (plus two seconds as both Glen and Lou hung off it too):

With two leads each, a glistening crag drenched in both sunlight and salt spray, and a rise tide and swell leading to more frequent crashing waves we decided it was time to bail. Glen was keen for one more lead but I was pretty tired (being in the sun does that to me) and Lou had to get back to the books, as despite having finished her assignments she still has one exam to get through:

As we trudged back along Moses Beach Glen spied a small bird which didn’t want to fly off, which I promptly recognised as a Hooded Plover. These small sea birds nest on dunes and beaches, often next to debris and making their nest by simply scooping out a bowl shape in the sand. As such they are often disturbed and in the area the species is becoming more at risk. So as soon as I got home I was on the phone to the Department of Parks and Wildlife, knowing that they have previously cordoned off areas around these nesting birds to give them a better chance of survival:

So we took a wide berth and kept going. We got to the car at about 1:30pm and the sun felt very hot, but we were a little surprised to find that it was only 23 degrees. However, after a short drive inland where we were away from the sea breeze the thermometer quickly rose and crept up to just over thirty. Um next time I may need to encourage Glen and Lou that an earlier start would allow them that extra route:

A 4:30 departure and Craig and I were on the road north to an inland crag near Pinjarra, just for something different. As the sun poked over the horizon at 5:30’ish it had a red hue due to the controlled burns that are being carried out as spring sets in:

An hour later we were at the crag and I threw Craig onto the pointy end for his first lead (and climb) in a long time. This climb is never too hard but awesome being sustained from start to finish. There are not many routes t Boomer Crag but they are worth repeating. That’s lucky as this was my third trip here:

It’s a short 20m crag but situated high above the valley with a view of the coastal plains stretching away. Being surrounded by bush and loads of grass trees there is the continuous sound of birds, and even better lots and lots of red-tailed black cockatoos who happen to be one of my favourite:

My lead next and jumped on a slick rounded arête, both previous times I seconded this one and found it nervous. It’s a full value slabby arête with smears and crystal pulling moves, and being on lead focused my attention and I loved it:

As I belayed Craig up the sun was poking its head over the hill but the way the crag is situated we could still climb in the shade. It was just the belay at the top when we would be in the sun:

The arête didn’t trouble Craig one bit, so he hadn’t lost any of his climbing technique:

So I got him to lead another slab climb of equal grade, which was full trad and most of the gear in the first half was small, small wires. These unnerve many people, but we are both used to using and trusting small gear. He had a bit of Elvis going on, but managed to lead it clean even keeping his head with a decent runout in the midsection:

I then lead the crag classic this great crack, but no images I’m afraid. It is a stonking climb, and it was the first time I had led it, having offered up the lead on my last visit with Howsie. On the rap down we noticed a new line but I hadn’t heard about this so I had no idea what grade it would be, but it looked fun and doable:

Four climbs down so time for a cuppa. The good thing about climbing with Craig is that he always brings a thermos, so it was time for a cuppa at the crag and a breather to contemplate what next as the grades were about to go up a fair bit:

After a bit of debate it was agreed that I’d try a climb I’ve eyed up on each visit that just begs to be climbed. Howsie it is as good as it looks. I twice went for a reachy hold and just got it before my other hold pinged off, so it was an exciting lead. But my parent head kicked in towards the top and I bottled on one move. No stress it was awesome and we both loved it:

I did attempt the new climb but failed miserably, it was steep, sharp and reachy – oh how looks can be deceptive! So I plumped for another line that was graded 21 but man was the start impossible so I did a batman start. I then carried on with sharp holds that threatened to pierce my fingertips, with the bolts off to the side away from the holds. It was a very bizarre line. Having seen me work hard on it and with steadily rising temperatures as the sun rose in the sky Craig was not that keen. So it was time to pack up go to the Pinjarra bakery and head home.