Moonlight climbing
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What to do on a Tuesday night when the kids are in bed and the moon is high?.get out for a climb of course! |
As April dawned the reality of the commitment became apparent, and all participants were questioning their ability to commit to such a bold undertaking. Commitments to his young family knocked Lyle out of the count at the last moment. I attempted to avert attendance by scheduling a quick business trip to Sydney the afternoon prior, however there was no escaping the mobile and Jase was soon in touch, confirming my attendance at the evening jaunt. Whilst the clear and moonlit evenings of the previous few days had given away to a moist and cloudy easterly, the decision was made to press, and after bed-time stories had been read, Jase was free, and we headed south to the hills, leaving the lights of Canberra behind.
Upon arriving at Booroomba we were intrigued to find a Subie already in the car park; had we been gazumped – was another group already on the rock, living out their ‘seize the moment' fantasies??
We did a quick gear sort, confirmed we had lights etc and humped-up to the top. Another quick sort, cxing of harnesses, and we were off to the descent gully – passing our predecessors enroute. Two punters escaping for the night, on to their 2nd bottle of red as they watched the mist envelope the valley below. A great place to be and nice to have them around albeit with limited capacity should assistance be needed.
With torches off we used the available moon-light and traipsed down the path. Careful not to do an ankle in the trusty Teves we paused briefly at the base of Determinant before assessing that perhaps 4-5 pitches may have us out closer to breakfast than desired, so we pushed on.
We'd elected to access the start of the 3rd pitch of Denethor – gained via the ledge which projects into the right side of the Northern slabs. We cracked out the Petzl's and sized up the task ahead. The guidebook came out and we confirmed the route start-point – careful to discern between “Zog” on the right, and the once repeated Grade 22 in the middle which would not have made for a pleasant evening.
After first considering then declining the lead, big Jase shouldered the rack and pressed on up – using just the moon and the eerie green glow of his cyalum stick he started off – opting to use the Petzl “when he needs it!”
It should be noted that upon racking Jase revealed that he'd left the extra runners up top, and whilst I was somewhat concerned about the use of solely six runners on a 30m or so pitch, Jase was unperturbed, and resolved to adapt as necessary – an imaginative belay may be required!
Jase continued up the leftwards leaning crack – delicately placing pro by cyalum as I zipped up my windstopper on the ledge and watched the glow of Canberra illuminate then recede as the mists swirled. It wasn't the clear night we were after, but nevertheless it offered a suitably appropriate atmosphere for our excursion; somewhat reminiscent (we supposed) of a Dougal Hastonish epic in Scotland or perhaps the Alps, and we at least dreamt we were in a similar realm.
After the mid-way ‘crux' Jase was out of sight and enroute to the belay – runout's unseen as he made it to the belay. A fine lead under arduous conditions. I chucked the pack on and followed on up; using the Petzl from the start, and assessing Jase's gear placement as I went. Some were perhaps a little less than excellent, but they had been placed under some duress, and a number of ‘bombers' had ensured his safety.
I scampered up to the ledge and we swapped the rack. I was to take the next pitch which traversed right before breaking up and right to meet the most-excellent flake of Ivory Coast. We pulled out the guidebook to confirm the route. Things look somewhat different via torch-light, and considering this was my first time on the route I was pretty keen to try and get it right. I traversed right onto the slab then assessed the route ahead; up and right, which Jase suggested was the way, else up and left, as suggested by the guidebook. The flake was apparently somewhere over the bulge, but already the doubt had started setting in. At 11 o'clock at night, on an unknown route, with no surety of the way ahead, and by feeble Petzl, my will was dissolving. I voiced my concerns to Jase, and after a little further discussion I resolved that Jase was the better man than I, and I retraced my steps to the belay. After some snappy rope work Jase was back on the sharp end, and I was back doing what I do best; hanging out on the belay watching the world go by below. A great time to be up there; watching the city sleep and the clouds coalesce, with a hint of moisture in the air.
Time was ticking, so big Jase soldiered off and assessed his route options. He placed a piece then surmounted the first spike, and soon he was exultant at having the flake in sight. He pressed on, again using his limited pro sparingly, and soon he was out of sight, throwing echoes into the night as he came to grips with the hollow flake.
I sat and luxuriated in the darkness as Jase cautioned me on the moves ahead; with limited pro it could be a good winger, but he powered on, paused briefly to take in the atmospherics, then topped the flake and again was soon shortly at the belay.
Again I donned the pack and followed the rope; eager to reveal the route. A classic by day and a classic by night it seems – a fine climb, but one that on this occasion I was happy to follow.
We both safely topped-out right on midnight and after a brew and gear sort on the summit, we were back to the car and homeward bound by 0100. Not everyone's cup of tea, and certainly a somewhat committing excursion, but a wonderful way of maximizing the hours in the day and getting that adventure in.
2006 Blue Mts Easter Rock Meet
Matt R.
Mick vdV. and I spent a few days at Easter in the Bluies, blowing out the cobwebs on a multi-pitch classic and climbing some harder stuff at Pindari and Boronia Point.
Keen to complete the long, 6 pitch Sweet Dreams (14) at Sublime Pt, Mick had me staggering down the descent path early on Saturday morning. Despite the ungentlemanly time of departure, we found the route chockers - a couple of bumblies* on the first pitch and some poms cheerfully queued below them at the start. Bugger.
Mick barely broke stride and, determining an alternate start would take us back onto the route at the start of pitch four, flaked the rope, tied in and started scrambling up through the choss. He ignored or failed to comprehend my weak words about the obvious lack of other viable routes on the wall, and the well known tendency of the cliff to break off in man-sized chunks except where well trod.
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Mick's selected ascent route was in no danger of becoming well worn. Indeed, its virtues, if any, were of the agricultural and mining variety. Mick pressed on, pulling away clumps of surprised ferns as he made his way up the steep wall. I muttered some encouragement and was rewarded with a shower of meaty blocks that would have had the Beaconsfield miners ducking for cover. Eventually, it was time to call for a stiff rope and climb on up, hoping Mick's anchors were good.
I had absolutely no idea where we were on the enormous chunk of sandstone to which we were committed. However Mick appeared in good humour stating ‘he knew where we were?I think this is Night's Mare'. I was not reassured, noting that this was how most of my benightings began. I was more encouraged by his words that ‘if we climb quickly, we may even sneak past the poms', and in this spirit of gypping some unknown and probably good natured fellow climbers I set off up an unlikely dihedral.
The rock improved in quality, the holds continued to arrive in the manner befitting a grade 15, and after a couple more pitches I found myself gingerly edging out to a stance on a steep ar?. My joy was complete with the view of a scowling lead climber well below my belay stance, obviously surprised by our arrival - we had indeed overtaken the poms and were back on route. Looking up, I observed the lead party on the last pitch, which included a 13 year old schoolgirl who was clearly climbing about twice as hard as I. Things were back to normal, or as normal as it gets when in the Bluies with Mick. The rest of the climb passed pleasantly on route, without rockfall, dropped gear, or any scuffles with the trailing British pair; and we enjoyed the great alternate ar? finish to what is a magic climb. Just don't ask me what the first four pitches are like.
* Bumblies being defined these days as anyone climbing a shade easier than you. I used to define bumblies in terms of outdated clothing, ancient gear racks and presence at unfashionable traditional crags, however all these attributes put me well within the category and are, therefore, not to be applied.
Kanangra Main canyon Dec 2006
Dave S.
Out came the map and compass again. The group decision was to push on. The hour and a half that was predicted for the walk out had come and gone and there was still a very big hill to climb with no real sign of a track. Eventually it was agreed that we had headed up the wrong gully and our route was adjusted towards the exit point. We topped out twelve and a half hours after starting Kanangra Main Canyon. It had been a long day but everyone had enjoyed what had been an excellent and challenging canyon.
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| Zac in the Slot |
The conditions were very dry and as a result the water level was relatively low. We decided to tackle the canyon via the slot, a deep crevasse in the cliff face next to the main waterfall, rather than the main face at the beginning of the canyon. The results, however, had been a little disappointing - normally this is a very challenging and extremely wet option but on this particular day we were lucky to get wet at all in this section. The decision by most of the group to wear wetsuits proved to be a little premature as the water throughout the canyon was not particularly cold and the majority of the day was spent out of the water.
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| AAA President showing how it is done |
Eleven abseils throughout the canyon ensured that technical skills were well employed and many of the tapes and cords used as anchors were replaced by the group during the day. The second half of the canyon proved to be the most enjoyable with a number of spectacular waterfall abseils and water jumps amongst the backdrop of towering sandstone cliffs and intertwining valleys of Kanangra Boyd National Park. The group carried four ropes - two 50m and two 100m nine millimeter static ropes. The two 100m ropes were carried in rope bags which aided in rope management throughout the day although the general consensus was that 60m ropes would have been more practical.
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| “I thought this was suppose to be hard”. Dave not at all perturbed by being first down the Slot |
While Matt only had to drive back to Sydney the rest of the team - Zac, Lyle, Josh and Dave had a much more challenging drive back to Canberra that night with several stops and a regular rotation of drivers. Kanangra Main is an excellent canyon and despite the lack of water is highly recommended for those seeking something a little different and a long and challenging day out in the hills.