Monday 3 December 2012

The Red Mist Descends


Mid Crux... Again
It can be really draining trying a problem over and over. And trying a single move for days on end can seem like a complete waste of time, particularly if you have the attention span of a goldfish, like me. Now, what was I saying? Oh yeah...I spied this beautiful prow about four months ago, but didn't even wander up to have a proper look at it until a couple of weeks later. I was immediately blown away by how perfect the rock was and how difficult each individual move would be. Initially, I was only able to do three of the eleven moves, but could conceive doing all but one of them.
I have done of lot of new problems this year and it has been incredible. Most of them have taken only a session or two to knock over, apart from the Taken, which due to its height proved more of an issue. But, I have lacked something really hard to throw myself at. This prow would be perfect. The crux is low to the ground, easily worked on without a spotter and it is close to home, so after work sessions were a go.
I have never spent that much time on a problem, nor a route for that matter. Normally, either I do the moves quickly and then the problem or I can't do a move or two and I move on. Not this time. I was pretty sure that the crux would go down, but I would have to train for it. It wasn't a power issue either I didn't think, but more of a body tension thing. So, I went to work on the swiss ball, at the same time as trying the problem a couple of times a week. Anytime that I sat down in front of the tele I would do some sit ups or stabilizing exercises. The benefits were pretty immediate. On an afternoon out with Chook, I managed to do the problem from post-crux to the top. I was chuffed and had a renewed sense of purpose. At times I was pretty dejected about the whole thing, I had tried the crux move at least a hundred times and was making very little progress. The crux is a weird move, a proper compression slap from a good hold on your right, underneath the roof, to a single pad, slightly off camber hold. You have a toe hook on the arete with your left foot and a scummy heel toe with your right. Left hand open-handing the arete. There was so much momentum, that every time I fell from the hold I would end up about a meter downhill from where my left hand had started.
Victors ledge. Matt and I laughing about my smooth top-out skills
It was draining too. Maybe three or four adult tries and then another ten weaker attempts and that would be it for the session. Day eight on the problem and I still hadn't done the move, I was getting cabin fever from sitting underneath the roof for so long, trying to envisage another way of doing the move. The session before I had paused on the hold and fallen directly underneath the holds, but that was the most progress I had made in four weeks. Matt and Vanessa were up for the weekend, which always boosts my psych. Since those guys moved here, I have been more motivated than ever. Their enthusiasm for climbing and general good humor is infectious, not to mention the fact that they know all the same movie quotes as me... Anyways, Ness was on camera and Matt on spotting duty. I got him to take a little weight through the move, trying to train my body to remember how to catch the hold. After a couple of attempts, with very little assistance, I did the move and then, after a brief rest, I did it on my own. I was elated. I was so happy, I considered just calling it a day there and then coming back to finish the problem. Matt and Ness were having none of it, so I tried it from the start. All of a sudden I was at the last move, but a bit of slippage and I was off. Normally, I would be pretty angry, but I was so surprised to get there that it didn't matter. Twice more I did the same thing. So close, but I was smoked. Ah well, I guess I could come back during the week with a spotter and get it done. Again, the guys talked me into one last go. And thank fuck they did, as that was the money shot. I cruised through the crux and slapped with renewed energy, until only the difficult top out remained. I slapped blindly to the top and missed the hold, but was so determined that I dropped my hand back and went again, grovelled around and then swung my body back on to the slab and rocked it out to the top. Red Mist was born. I gave it V12, but it may be harder, we'll just have to wait and see... Thanks again to all those who spotted me and provided moral support.

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Swingin Spring

Grosey, Blackbeard's Delight
White Shadow
Forgive me Matthew it's been a while since my last confession blog session. After a long and unusually wet winter, Spring has offered herself up for some primo sessions. After knocking over The Taken, I started working on another little area that I discovered near Halls Gap. It's been awesome too. Lots of varied rock, but a good, solid density of hard climbing. Fellow Red Chili and Wild Country sponsored wad, Scott Walter made his annual pilgrimage down to the Grampians to escape the humidity and general foulness of Sydney and to catch up with the newly expatriated Matt Tait and Vanessa Tocatjin, who were in residence at Arnie Acres. Our little party ventured out with much excitement, ready to do some cleaning and get our crush on. We brushed up the first bloc we came across, a grand distance of about 4 meters from the walking track. Initially, this was to be our warm up boulder, but it didn't quite pan out that way. Instead, the Sex Panther boulder was born. Here's a list of the problems that we managed to establish:

Scoots, battling the mantle on Musk Up
The Quickening


Sex Panther V10
Blackbeard's Delight V8/9
London Gentleman V10
Musk Up V9
Smelly Pirate Hooker V7
Not a bad start to the area...

Everywhere we looked there seemed to be more problems. After initially writing the area off as having only a handful of classics, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to return there day after day to establish new lines. Now called the Bleachers, there is a vast array of awesome problems there, from steep, hard, compression prows, to slopey, font-like classics, made for the technicians amongst us. I even managed to discover and ascend one of the coolest aretes that I have seen in the Grampians. Climbing just like a Grit route and with a similar amount of gear, it is an absolute beauty. It's just awaiting a second ascent now...
Blackbeard's

And a few more new problems:
The Quickening V10
The Walker V9
CMD V8
Evac V7
Force Code V9/10
Gangnum Style V9

Wednesday 5 September 2012

So Long Winter

Sometimes it is hard to write a climbing blog. I feel that a lot of them lack a bit of substance. “I ticked this and I ticked that”. I don’t know. Perhaps it is because I haven’t ticked a whole heap of late that I feel I have nothing to write about (I’ll mention names of a few meaningful things, tick list is on 8a.nu). Until I sat down tonight I wanted to write something along the lines of ‘Not much has been happening of late…..blah blah’. It is the usual way to set a readership up to not expect too much. I’ve used it before, in particular on the Captains of Crush blog and in time will use it again. The truth is, while there is no long list of ‘ticks’, a lot of stuff has been happening. I have had to look past the obvious to really appreciate what that stuff is.

Attempting 'Beefmeister' 32
As you’ve no doubt read in past posts, I spent two months living in Natimuk. A small town populated by farmers, artists and climbers 4 hours west of Melbourne. If you’ve climbed at Mt Arapiles you’ll know it. The objective of this stay was to see if liked working as Paramedic in Horsham, and try and get a whole heap of climbing done. Work was good, lots of down time to either study or in my case sleep. The new woody went up, along with a hang board and some other old school torture devices. The weather got cold, perfect for bouldering. And then it just kept getting colder and colder. Winter it turns out isn’t as much fun when you’re living in a shack. My skinny jeans and cardigans just aren’t cut out for it. I had thought being so close to quality rock and away from the distractions the city brings would transfer directly into big numbers and heaps of fitness. Alas my expectations were perhaps too grandiose. Most of my time on rock ended up being in the one area trying a couple of boulder problems without success. Other than that I bolted a new roof and attempted it a couple of times, before coming to a slow conclusion that south facing walls are no fun in winter. Eventually I decided to just train for a trip to Nowra, so while my housemates Gareth and Alister drank beer and ate pizza inside, I locked myself in the cold shed (had to be 0 degrees some nights) to get strong. I was dedicated and slowly over a couple of weeks started to feel the results. In my last week in the Wimmera, I managed to do a rather quick send of ‘Between Fear and Desire’ at the Mount. This was awesome fun because Zac and I did it in the dark after work with only a handful of torches on a bloody cold night! I also managed the 2nd Ascent (I think) of ‘Nomentum’ in the Gramps. This is a problem that Al and started working on around the time the guide was being written. There’s a photo of Al on it the guide actually. It is a 2 move problem that Simon Weill solved after I showed it to him. The name comes from the lack of momentum you have to gain the top. While these two problems were good to do, it was disappointing to not have achieved my primary goals. Not only because I didn’t do them, but because I didn’t even attempt most of them. I had expected to be crushing all winter.

Al Robertson on 'Concrete Petunias' 28
For 3 weeks in July the Shoalhaven caravan park was my home. I had travelled north with good friend Ash Hendy to escape the cold of Natimuk and to get back to where I feel the business is…..route climbing. Nowra is of course the home of powerful, accessible sport climbing. The Weather was a nice 10 degrees warmer than down south so made for perfect climbing conditions. I had been there a couple of years before for a couple of weeks, and had fallen for it. Nowra is like the ugly runt of the climbing destination litter. What it lacks in serenity, colour, size and adventure it makes up for in grunt and burl; two things that I have tried to improve on over the years to move away from the punting pumper of old. Last time I had been in Nowra, I had been close to doing ‘Dungeon Master’ before the rains came and prematurely called an end to the trip. 2 years later I felt stronger and generally better. I guess this notion stemmed from some consistency of late, something I feel that I generally lack. I was going to smash DM straight up and the move onto the list of things I had formulated. The list was about 10 routes of a similar grade and yep I was confident. I had done the time on the hang board and the woody. I had 3 weeks and I was psyched. Ash hadn’t climbed in a couple of months so the first few days were dedicated to getting used to the style again. The first few days went well. I had planned to stay of DM for at least a week to make sure I was fit. However it got the best of me and I put the gear up. All the moves felt easy. In fact when I lowered off I was sure it would go next shot. I retied and off I went, however I missed the first long move. I lowered off without working the rest of it. It had felt so easy when I put the draws on. I was going to tick this and then then all the other things on my list. Oh boy, can you see where this is going? It’s easy for me to see it now, however at the time it was rather less than obvious to me. I was so carried away by getting this one route done so that I could ‘move on’ that I was oblivious to simple mistakes in my sequence. I fell in the top section more times than I can recall. A few times, I fell with my hands on the lip. What a goose. I had expected to do it easily, because I had trained and because I was stronger, older and wiser? No, certainly not. I was frustrated to say the least. It took someone special, someone who doesn’t climb to help me break through this mental block.

Elmar Jerg on 'Dude Food' 29
One late evening phone call opened my eyes to the real problem, something I’ve already mentioned it in this post. An outsider to the climbing game could see that I while I set achievable goals, I was expecting them to be achieved merely because I had set them. There was a step missing. I had set goals, I had trained for them, but how do I put all that together to achieve them. I had to really think about it. The mental side of climbing is a tough one. I don’t think it is spoken about enough or at least well enough. Everyone has a campus board routine or whatever, but what do you do when the physical side of things is all good but you are still falling off. I haven’t found the answer, yet I feel I have found ways to deal with not knowing it (another post of two’s worth). During the process of looking for it, I had to decide if I really wanted to do DM because it is a fun climb. Or was it just because it something to tell people about. In the end I decided I wanted it. I took a step back and worked on some other routes, then came back with the new objective of linking DM with overlapping sections. Something I should have done from the start. Yep some of you will say that that’s the red-pointing process, and I say you’re probably right, but I am a slow learner. A few goes after this new mindset was implemented, I pulled over the lip and clipped the last bolt. It was a strange feeling. I was happy to have achieved it, but even happier to have battled through. I had learned a true lesson.

Attempting 'Meet the G that Killed Me' 31
 I had a bit of time left in the trip and some of the Victorian Boys had come up – Alister, Chris and Omar. Apart from hanging out with my best mates, the last few climbing days were spent trying ‘Beefmeister’. My strategy improved, and I only tried it a handful of times in a session. This route is a burl fest. I feel that I was pretty close, linking it in 2 overlapped sections a couple of times. I just need to get a bit stronger on under clings, because I would just fade on them at the start of the crux. Although I didn’t do it, I did go about it in the right way. Saved some skin, made sure I had enough time in the day, and worked it systematically. Perhaps another couple of sessions and I would have done it, perhaps it may take longer. Either way I am happy with my effort and really psyched on it and will attempt to get back up there soon. Not only was the trip north good for climbing it also allowed me to catch up with a bunch of awesome friends from Sydney and the Blue Mountains and of course ring-ins from Tassie and Austria.

New arete I Brushed up
Back in Victoria and I am working in Melbourne again for a couple of months. I needed a bit of break from climbing and it has definitely taken a back seat. I needed some time to sort out life stuff. You know all those bills and stuff with girls and coffee machines that get put on the back burner. Things that you think will make you more content only to find out that they don’t. Maybe it’s just me. Certainly seems those pesky expectations are rearing their ugly heads again. While I haven’t trained, I have headed out to the Grampians a couple of times. I spent an afternoon trying a project of mine at Little Hands Cave. This is a steep rising traverse that I bolted a couple of years ago. It’s very similar in nature to some of the Nowra routes I did. I was able to figure out a new sequence at the crux so stay tuned for its send. I have also been cleaning up few boulder problems in a new area in the Southern Gramps. These are going to be super sick, slopey and high. Stay tuned again.

After falling off a boulder. 3 busted ribs
No blog is complete without something not so great happening. Hmm maybe I need to re phrase that because I bet you’re thinking all that whinging above wasn’t so great. In fact, I suggest that the mental issue I was facing was a good thing. Climbing for me is an ever evolving entity. If I wasn’t able to get something out of it then I’d be bored and probably doing something else, but it does frustrate the crap out of me too. I feel I have been enlightened a little by getting through the mental block and this is great. My trip to Nowra, although a semi local crag was time well spent with mates, having a great laugh and doing something awesome. Climbing! So, the not so good bit: Again I was out at Mt Arapiles just 2 days ago. I stumbled up the track in the northern group to encourage Alister who was bolting a new project up there. I found a boulder that looks awesome. I grabbed the brushes from my pack and went about cleaning the top out. Somehow during this process I lost both my feet and fell off the boulder. I landed heavily on the slab below then was flipped upside down and somersaulted maybe 2 times, 3.5 meters to the ground. Luckily not landing on my head, but landed heavily on a rock. After a very few scary moments for Al, who had heard the crash landing from about 50 meters away, he was able to help me to walk to the car. X-rays at hospital showed no damage to my spine but revealed what I had diagnosed already a rib slightly askew. So the boulder is going to be sweet, it had better be for 3 broken ribs!







Wicked - I hope Spring brings on the sendage for everyone.

- Grosey

Back to my Routes . . .

Cul de Sac (31), Waterfall Area, NarrowNeck.
Springtime..... A time to clean the closet; all those skeletons, long standing nemesis projects that require that little bit of extra help . . . 
A light breeze, low humidity, a pumping westerly blowing up the Megalong . . . 

NarrowNeck has always felt like home to me;  free climbing DogFace horror shows or exploring other forgotten lines that have become out of vogue over the years.The inspirational John Ewbank was forging some of the most improbable bad arse looking lines  ground up, hammer and trowel gardening on the go! He almost seems lost climbing without his hammer still to this day.


I first got drawn into freeing old Ewbank aid lines climbing Gigantor on DogFace with Macca - an awesome gut churning atmospheric sandpit of a cliff, routes are constantly changing and strength does little for  uncertainty, if you cant stop your wheels spinning  it can often be a stressful pursuit. 


I can see why John spent so much time there, although I have always been attracted to the physical aspect of climbing, combining hard boulder problems high on a beautiful natural line, protecting it naturally seemed like an obvious challenge.  So when Macca pointed out the Cul de Sac, a soaring overhanging corner crack first ascended by Ewbank in 1968, my palms became sweaty . . .


It looked big dark and somehow intimidating - its on the west side of the 'Neck tucked in between a waterfall and Devils Hole, a wild route with  devious obscure moves.  The  crux is throwing for the top of the cliff  - a potential heart breaker finish! Over the past six years I have fallen from the last moves so many times I have lost count  . . . Plummeting, venting, hanging pumped limp, stuck  in space! 


It's logistically epic to work but on the first day of spring I started cleaning the closet, sending this beast of a line, being a personal best for me mentally and definitely a progression in my climbing. How hard?? I think 31 seems fair due to its devious nature and hard mandatory climbing, but only time will tell.         Zac Vertrees, Spring 2012.

Tuesday 4 September 2012

Whistling Kite Monique sends another big number...


Queensland classic went down....

Sterling climber Monique Forestier climbs Whistling Kite (32)! This iconic Australian trad test-piece is located at Frog Buttress in South East Queensland and was first climbed in 1988 by Paul Smith. Monique’s send is only the sixth ascent of the route and breaks a 5 year drought of tickage. Due to the difficulty of placing the gear on lead, all of the current ascents have been done with preplaced gear, as the thin seam that bisects the beautiful bulletproof buttress is lacking face holds and makes for extremely blatancy super technical climbing with not too many spots to stop and place protection. 

“it’s like a slippery snake; it’s hard to get a hold of it and it’s ever harder to keep a hold of it, you are either on, or you are off, there is no in-between”, says Monique.

With the small window to climb the route, as the sun hits the face at 9am, it allows only a couple of shots per day. After pushing to her high point higher, and higher each day and working out those finite details of body positioning Monique was successful on her 10th day! Another job well done.....
 





Wednesday 15 August 2012

The Grammar of Climbing

When I was first drafting this post in my head I wanted to use the term "a _____ of blocs" but realised that there is no collective noun for boulder problems (nor climbers for that matter). Collective nouns are mainly old-fashioned quirks of English little used these days, a gaggle of geese being the classic example and a parliament of owls or an ostentation of peacocks being other example that only seem to come up in pub trivia. Perhaps this is a topic worthy of considerable online discussion, as is a popular pastime of the modern climber, and to kick off the discussion I propose the terms "a crush of boulder problems" and "a stink of climbers".

So what started out as the long hoped for winter of doing every problem in the Sydney basin could more aptly be described as the winter of mysterious ailments, including a suspected spider bite that got a bit out of hand. While illness is usually not seen as a good thing, its humbling effect seems to bring the important things in life back into focus and makes you appreciate what you have. So although I couldn't always try the hardest problems, I rediscovered the unadulterated fun of climbing for its own sake without expectation, just enjoying being outside and moving over rock. And in the process I did a crush of lesser known but high quality boulders and had a great time doing it.

None-the-less, I neglected to fall off some none-too-easy boulders in recent weeks including Swoosh down at the Villas. This is quite a journey of over 20 moves with a burly butt-scraping start, a foot-first crux and a bulgy highball top out. I've certainly done routes that were shorter than this, and as at route it probably wouldn't be far off 32. Weirdly, when I actually did it I had no intention of doing so, I was just trying to get some linkage on the first section, but by accident I somehow ended up at the top. Luckily Sharik was there and could abandon his child for long enough to spot me as I sketched my way over the final bulge.
On the crux moves of Swoosh, V11 (32?)

I also did Fight Club at the Den the other day. Although this crag doesn't get much attention, it has some of the better rock in Sydney. The week before doing it, I went to try it one afternoon and as I did a u-turn to park I got pulled over by the police. It is illegal to do a u-turn at any set of traffic lights in NSW apparently, as the good constable informed me. This put a slight (and expensive) dampener on my session, but I got the moves worked out at least. The following week I did a legal u-turn on a side street and in between cups of tea and filling in the cross-word, managed to string the moves together from bottom to top in a climbing-like fashion as illustrated below.
Working on the winter tan on Fight Club, V10
So it seems that lately I have quite a gaggle of lessons: to have patience in the face of set-backs, that success sometimes comes when you least expect it, and that breaking road rules can be expensive.


Monday 6 August 2012

Vitality

Getting my clean on...

Relocation, V9, FA, gotta love when a plan comes together

Chook, trying Eyes Wide Shut, V9

FA, The Abyss, Psyched
Ah, but what a lovely sight the sun is. Haven't seen it for a while here in Moyston. We have had plenty of rain and then some. The fields are lush, lambs are appearing all over the place and the land has a renewed sense of purpose and vitality about it. And I am glad to get on board and drain some of that energy. After what has felt like a long wet winter, low on motivation, I have emerged, finally finding my mojo again. It's so great to be able to get amongst it again. So, here are a couple of pics from the last week or two...

Monday 23 July 2012

There's no such thing as bad weather there's just bad clothing

A good friend told me this about twenty years ago and its a mantra I've lived by ever since. So when I woke up to a rainy day where heading to the coffee shop for a brew seemed like the only thing to do, I was psyched to make the most of my day off work. Armed with my awesome Outdoor Research jacket and pants and my super cool new Asolo Goretex lined boots I was dry, toasty and ready for any weather the day could throw at me. It was grey and misty, poured rain and sometimes the clouds cleared so I could peak a look at some new cliffs too.

Its still a good 2 months until I can pull back on, but my shoulder rehab is coming along really well. I'm now doing lots of weights in the gym and the strength seems better almost everyday. After walking through the bush searching for new crags over the last few months and not finding anything, last week I decided it was time to head out on the rope and abseil down a line that I had spotted a few years ago. From what I had seen I thought it could be...ok, I hadn't been overly psyched by it, an arete up the right hand side of a greyish wall. But I love arete's and not being very steep it should be easy to bolt, it was worth a close up look.

Wow, that wasn't what I was expecting!! A steep orange wall was hiding around the corner,  I was pumped. I've only seen the top third of the wall as I travelled light and only had half a dozen bolts and they didn't keep me into the wall for very long. Now I have something to be psyched for, it's not going to be the quick rap down, bang in a few bolts and done job that I was thinking. Its my new mini expedition, over the next few months i'll work away at establishing the line. Doing small chunks at a time as not to over-do my shoulder. A rap station will also be needed for what should be about 3 pitches of fun!!



So with the rains, it was the perfect day to ferry some loads, now I have 140 meters of rope and a heap of hardware safely hidden in dry bags waiting for my next day out.

It's great to hang on a rope and get some air under the feet again and have that feeling that i'll be back in the game again soon!

Andy

Saturday 30 June 2012

Squamished




It was promised. I didn't really believe that it would happen, but the rain came and it seems like it wants to stay. I am sitting in the Squamish Adventure Centre, drinking great coffee, looking out on the Chief through 10 foot glass windows and watching the rain come down. There will be no action today. But, to be fair, a second rest day is probably not the worst thing that has ever happened. I climbed my first four and was destroyed. We visited Vancouver yesterday, ate yum cha, watched some Wimbledon action and cruised, but I'm still a little blasted, so happy to work on my caffeine addiction, a task to which I have shown rare dedication.

The view from my van in the morning.
Big Chicken, V10 

Anubis, V7
So, the first days of my trip have been amazing and I am absolutely loving Canada. Such a stunning country; rugged, primal and untouched beauty everywhere. The people are pretty great as well, many of whom share an Australian sense of humour with a few little extra quirks thrown in for good measure. A certain camaraderie and confidence that encourages the flagrant use of high-fives, outrageous positive-reinforcement of the most benign behaviour, but mostly just general good-naturedness that is hard to fault.
Oh, and the climbing is pretty awesome also. Four days of climbing in a row, did seem like it might be a little excessive, but it all turned out ok, especially since I was out with some great people. I hadn't seen Aimee and Reagan in six years, so kicking round the forest with them was a treat. They are great fun and always the best of company, really can't believe I have waited this long to visit them. But, as it always is with great friends, it seems like it was just yesterday that we were hanging out in the Gramps, fighting off heat exposure and plagues of flies. Ah, the memories...

Anyway, I digress, the guidebook contains a list of the 'top 100' problems in the forest as well, so trying to tick off as many of these as possible is a nice little mission to have as well. Over the last couple of days I've managed, Resurrection V9, a super classic highball with some nice long moves, Big Chicken, V10, (Video) Grampians style pulls between good holds on a steep wall and a heap of other moderates. Now it's just down to waiting for the weather to improve and fighting off the caffeine shakes...

Tuesday 26 June 2012

Squamish



Mind Bender V7


The Salad Shooter V10

Defender of the Faith V9
Well, after a couple of 10 hour flights and a layover in the smog capital of the world, Shanghai, I arrived in Vancouver. Gordo, aka the Gord, totally hooked me up, collected me from the airport, sorted me out with a van for my stay and delivered me straight to the blocs, well almost, we had to stop for coffee. Feeling a little west, due to the substantial time difference I decided to start off with an easy day and just get my eye in. This lasted for about ten minutes before I was dragged up to check out Mantra V8. After doing this in a few goes, the team assembled and we worked our way through the boulders, a throng of tiny specs against the imposing and impassive Chief, as it

loomed over us. What an amazing day. I did about 20 problems and one of every grade between V0-V10. A pretty decent start to the trip, though I did wake up feeling a little worked. I slept like a hero after the days exertions, a straight ten hour shift, uninterrupted. Bam!! A quick coffee and it was out to the blocs again with Dave Pearson, ex-pat ozzie, living large in Squamish. We had a great time, doing an extensive circuit through the forest, before he begged off for the day, while I had a walk around and checked out some potential projects. The place is awesome, no doubt and there are countless problems. After a scope around, I met up with an American couple and went over to try an absolutely stonker problem, called Defender of the Faith, V9, though it felt more like 10 or 11. It took a few goes to knock it over and is easily the best problem I've done so far. Slopey crimps, lots of tension and an all out chuck for the top. Perfect. Just hanging out waiting to catch up with my old buddies, Reagan and Aimee now. Can't wait to see them, it's been years and should be a fantastic reunion. Anyway, will check in again soon.

Thursday 14 June 2012

Nati Files

Hey Guys,

It's been just over a month since I moved to Natimuk and I am loving it more and more. The focus of the 2 month trial: improve the work/climbing/life balance, and consider a permanent move. So far so good.

Living in the centre of Victorian rockclimbing (it IS the smelting pot you are all picturing) would surely mean I have a load of cool beta to spray about the routes I've done. Hmm not so much. The first couple of weeks saw me getting used to the change of pace, a big change indeed. It is a slower more relaxed lifestyle and I think my new flanny shirt is helping with the adjustment. Unlike a roadtrip, I am still working full time and getting home after dark. We got a hangboard up pretty quickly, and have since got a woody up and running in the last week or so.

So what have I done? Well I've been getting out for a boulder for a couple hours before night shift, not much ticked, but some good progress on some old projects of mine. I've also been out bolting some news routes. I ticked one of these the other day, Exile On Main Street, 26. Not a hard one by any means, but a fun outing and hopefully the 'carrot-on-the-stick' enticing belayers up to The Plaza Strip, where I have another project equipped and waiting. Short and sharp sessions have been the go of late and haven't spent much time on anything. Recently completed Checkmate and The Overtaker, both 29 in a couple of shots, and finished off Naughty Tickle Town, 28. Although this one stumped me at the last move a couple of times, reminencent of when I blew the same moves at the top of Academia before doing it.....TWICE! What a muppet.

So plans for next few weeks up in Natimuk. Well, try my roof project at the Plaza Strip, and try to get some fitness up for a sojourn to Nowra in July.

Here are some photos of the last month, not all climbing sorry.
Final moves of Checkmate, 29

Have had better skin.

Horsham from top of Mt. Stapylton

The Goat Pen - our new wall.

Peace out

- Grosey

Wednesday 6 June 2012

Thursdays

Back in February this year I started a new job which, for the first time in a few years, is part time: I have Thursdays off. To start with, during the Sydney monsoon season, my Thursdays were generally taken up with surfing, yoga and working my way through the recipes of the Country Women's Association cook book (the ginger crisp is a winner). As the season has steadily changed I have more and more been venturing out to the boulders, including checking out some lesser known locales in the depths of Sutherland Shire. One of these is a spot called Abbott's Road, and in true Shire style there are only a handful of problems but one of them is a stonking roof line. I think it's a problem of Jumpin' Joe's called Crankshaft. On my first Thursday there I though I might do it in a session, but it took another two Thursdays before I actually did it (or at least, did what I thought was it). It is a lengthy number requiring three different camera angles to fit it all in (see below) and is a veritable polka of heel and toe maneuvers.

Anyway here's a little vid for you to watch when you're supposed to be doing something else. Enjoy.

Scoots



Crankshaft from Scootatronics on Vimeo.

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Access Denied

On Anzac Day, my friend Lisa and I set off on a short 5-day trip to the Grampians. Our mission was to complete our projects at Hollow Mountain Cave, Cave Man (V9) for me and Extreme Cool (V8/9) for Lisa. Last year, I fell five moves from the finish of this 20-move problem (I’m climbing the former Cave Girl version), and it’s been on my mind ever since.

So, on a cold and wet morning, we arrived at Melbourne Airport, picked up our hire car and set off in the driving rain. Four hours (a few wrong turns and one terrible coffee stop at Beaufort) later, we were greeted with sunshine and pleasant temps as we entered Grampians National Park. We headed straight to the Hollow Mountain car park, up to Loopeys for a quick warm up, and then down to business in the cave.
Starting moves on Cave Man V9.
The first session was dedicated to remembering my beta and making sure I can do all of the moves, especially the section where I came off last year. As I began inspecting the line, it seemed like something was amiss, something was not quite as I remembered it, then it hit me, one of my crucial holds near the start had broken off! I had to change my beta for the beginning, which forced me to climb it like a tall person. Instead of doing smaller moves (on equally small holds) to the pocket, I had to do a big move straight to it from the weird horn under cling thingy, essentially cutting out a move, but making it slightly harder. From there, the rest of the climbing was straight forward. After a promising few hours, I was excited to come back the next day and try it from the beginning.
Cafe @ Mt.Zero Olives.
Our favourite hangout.

Well, the following day didn’t quite go according to plan. We woke to overcast skies and rain. We hunkered down at the Mt. Zero Olive cafe (they make excellent coffee by the way) with other climbers, waiting for the weather to clear. Unfortunately, it didn’t and it was a forced rest day for us.

Thank goodness the sun decided to show its face on day three. Time to rock and roll! We got up to the cave fresh from a rest day, tried a few moves on the project to warm up, and it was all systems go. The first few attempts were pretty pathetic, but encouraging. A few more tries later and I was moving through the problem fluidly, right up until the end of the flake line, where beta amnesia set in and I promptly fell off. By mid-afternoon, we were joined by a big group of guys also keen to work Cave Man. Everyone was psyched. I was now consistently falling off going from the flake line to the incut slot before the jug. With the others shouting encouragement, I tried to push through the stopper move again and again without success. By late afternoon, it was time to call it a day. I was tired and my skin was sore.
Busting through the moves on the flake line.
With only two days left, we made the decision to have another rest day, in the hope that it will give us the edge on the final day. The last day came around all too quickly, and with only five hours left of bouldering, it was all or nothing. It was game on. Physically, I felt alright, but mentally, doubts were starting to creep in. My chances of success diminished with every fall on the same move. The last few shots got steadily worse, until it reached a point where I couldn’t even hold the beginning sequences together. It was a very clear sign that it was time to go home. It wasn’t meant to be…...not on this trip anyway.

In hindsight, while I went home disappointed, I did not leave disheartened. We had a fun few days in the Grampians enjoying the scenery, good food and coffee, and great bouldering. I can’t wait to come back in spring and do it all over again, hopefully, with good news to report.

I’m now back in Sydney training to get fitter and enjoying the local blocs.

Sheila