More Time in Oz!

The last week has been a whirlwind of climbing here in Australia. I have dabbled in both trad and sport but the highlights for me have certainly been in the sport climbing (and sometimes mixed).

Tracey on "Krank 'N' Dangle" at Muline crag, Grampians

Firstly, after doing “Punks in the Gym” so quickly, I had surprised myself at what I could achieve already. I was keen to do more challenging routes in the area but there wasn’t anything really hard in Arapiles that inspired me. I had a looke at the f8c/33 “Somalia” which had last year only received it’s first ascent from Wiz Fineron, however I wasn’t inspired at all by the climbing or the line and felt it was more of a painful 1 move boulder situated next to some much better looking routes. I think “Somalia” for me would be something I would have to invest more than a few days into anyway and I don’t think I would be prepared to do that.

I seeked out only the best looking routes, those that really inspired me to climb them from the bottom t

o the top!

Ethiopia 30/8a+

The first thing I saw was “Ethiopia” 30/8a+. This was already on my ticklist. It’s famous outside of Australia as well for being outstanding climbing, but also because it’s largely placed protection and not bolts that are securing you. There are on the route 1 bolt and a carrot

Me climbing "Ethiopia" (30/8a+)

I believe that protect you from over halfway to the top of the route. As well as that there is one fixed wire and plenty of room for cams and other nuts all over the place!

I tried it at the end of the day with Logan Barber, an aussie friend of mine who I’ve known for years! Logan and I are planning big trip to the Dolomites in a few months time so it has been good to climb with him out here as well beforehand.

Me and Logan tucking into Breakfast at Natimuk before climbing :DMy onsight of “Ethiopia” didn’t go as well as I had expected. “Ethiopia” has a 7c+/28 variant called “India” that busts out right after the first crux. Unfortunately I didn’t even get past the first crux L I fell on the crux move going to a big slot in the wall falling onto the fixed wires. I spent the next 15 minutes trying various things but couldn’t get through. All until I found a vital way of holding a pinch on the wall, which I had not been using! As soon as I discovered this I cruised through it and was into the second half.

I was lucky, the second half of the route was actually quite easy and probably on 7c/27 on it’s own. There was a tricky crack sequence at the end that took some time solving for me, but once I had figured it out it was easy. A day later I came back and sent!!!

Lord of the Rings 31/8b

The next big hit on the list was the ultra classic “Lord of the Rings”. This is yet another historic route with a little bit of comedy gold as well. This route is famous world wide thanks to a picture of a keen local who is seen climbing the route solo wearing flip flops whilst drinking a pint. When you actually get on the route you realize how utterly mental this must be and it quickly becomes apparent that this can’t be possible!!!Heading into the final few tricky moves of "Lord of the Rings" (31/8b)

I found out that it wasn’t :P The guy was wearing his harness under his shorts and was clipped into one of the “Ring” bolts (hence the name “Lord of the Rings”).

The climb is cunning and challenging to figure out. All the holds are obvious but they are small and there is a lot you can do with your feet. I also figured out multiple sequences I could use to get through the main crux section but these all ended with slightly different difficulties on redpoint.

In the end, a Kiwi climber also working the route (James Gunn) gave me some of his beta and that worked for me nicely. I quickly despatched this afterwards, but not before taking a fall from the slab right before the chains… D’OH!!! Exactly what the guide says try to avoid!

Some say this might be as hard as “Punks in the Gym”? For me it felt a long way off, but it certainly doesn’t mean that for some it isn’t as hard… Just depends what you feel comfortable doing.

The epic story of “Lord of the Rings” for me is one that went crazy on Facebook. I jumped off the top whilst working one of the sections and the quickdraw that was clipped into bolt snapped!!! The quickdraw was a Petzl Spirit that James had equipped the routes with. The biner snapped in two, sending me flying towards the ground. Luckily, Tracey caught me before I hit the tree and I was only a bruised in my ribs and wrist.Snapped Quick-Draw!!!

The reason this happened is unsure right now. Speculations have gone from, dodgy Chinese knock-off Petzl biners to the potential that the biner cross-loaded. I believe that the dodgy home-made hanger attached to the bolt caused the biner to flip and cross-load as well as opening the gate and weakening the whole thing completely, then my jump was obviously too much to take and it snapped.

A scary predicament to be in but luckily everything is still in one piece and I live to climb another day. I would say to locals to re-place the dodgy hanger with a newer one, possibly placed in a way that won’t make it as easy for the biner to open? But I will leave that up to them…

Onsighting and some Quick Ticks

The rest of my time has been spent trying to onsight other routes. I was really happy to onsight the 28/7c+ “Slinkin’ Leapord” that climbs just to the left of “Lord of the Rings”. It didn’t feel hard on the onsight but I was shocked to see that it hadn’t actually had any previous onsights on 8a.nu which makes me think I might have had a lucky moment where everything came together for a good climb.

I fell on the last move onsighting “Wagalak” (29/8a) whilst placing quickraws. This was frustrating for me, it felt really steady until the last move but the hold was really spooged up and the conditions were really hot and humid. I came back on a much drier, windier day and did it first go! I really liked the style on this route, it felt way different to everything else I had tried beforehand in Arapiles. “Wagalak” is just a steep overhung prow on slopers and a couple of crimps.Climbing "Break and Enter" (29/8a) - This was a seriously nice piece of climbing despite looking a bit junky in this chasm :P

We spent a morning climbing higher up on the Bluffs. Logan was really keen for a 31/8b up there called “Leaps and Bounds” which he had heard was ok. When we arrived, I must admit I wasn’t inspired. The rock looked a bit crappy and the line wasn’t that obvious… looked a bit like a filler in and not something you travel to the other side of the world to climb. When I actually got on the climb, I was pleasantly surpised and the moves were actually really cool. Both Logan and I got all the moves dialed on our first attempt and we felt confident for a second go burn.

My second attempt at the route went really well! I stuck the crux move and scrambled my way through the next tricky sequence. Before I knew it I was on top clipping the chains :D A cheeky wee 8b to start the day! Logan was close to making it through the crux on his second go as well but unfortunately missed the hold which he takes slightly different to me due to reach, and he has left his quick-draws on it for the send later on in the trip.

Standing below "Leaps and Bounds" (31/8b) - Yet another line that looked rubbish from the ground but actually had nice climbing in it - No Punks though :PAfter doing “Leaps and Bounds”, I was on a high and was really psyched to do the 7c on the main face called “”. It looked like a mega line going straight through the most sustained and blank looking section of wall. The 26/7b+ to the left called “The Prow” was getting a heavy number of hits that day, it shared the same start, and so in-between their attempts I jumped on. Logan had mentioned that he had tried the 7c years previously and found it really hard, so I was expecting to battle. At about half-height, I saw a really tricky sequence ahead on some pinches. I did my best to read what to do from the rest and the I gunned for it. I managed to break through the slopey pinches that were felling rather wet and grimy as well, but the next section was totally blank and there was no chalk anywhere. I was starting to take a bit of a run out now and all I saw was a nut placement to secure the final headwall. I shook out at a rest and went for it! There was a few tricky moves at the top with another quite big run out from the nut but all was good and I came out on top. On the final few metres, a slackliner who was running a highline from the top of the tower to a wall on the other side was talking to his friends whilst hanging from the line, I heard him say “This climb looks amazing from here, I wish I had my camera!”. I wish he had too because it felt really exposed and I imagine the photo from the slack line would have looked wild!

Tracey climbed really well that day and made her hardest ascent on trad for the trip, “Thunder Crack” 21! That route looked really exposed and scary and I think it would bring even the strongest climbers to their knees without a good head on them.Nearing the top on this EPIC 7c that I onsighted - it even had a few gear placements!!! Does that count as Trad?

In the evening, we caught up with Logan’s good friend Aido who was also trying “Punks in the Gym”. I ended up getting on a 29/8a called “Break and Enter” that was situated just to the left of “Punks”. I had a flash burn with some beta from some guys trying it but unfortunately fell just short of the chains. I ended up finding a much better bit of beta for the last move and stuck it on my second go! YAY!

The next few days we spent climbing in the Grampians and Arapiles before heading over to Queensland. I am now in Brisbane for a few days, climbing at Coolum and The Pulpit :D 

Stay tuned for a blog on the Grampians in the next few days and my time in Brisbane :)

PSYCHED!!!