Strangely enough there was no smoke higher up in the mountains and I arrived in Medlow Bath to perfect climbing weather. I followed the trail through the scrub to a gorgeous lookout, then abseiled down to a wide rock shelf where the climbs began.
I warmed up on 'Stuck in the Middle with You' (19), a longer climb than what I have been used to which was a nice change of pace.
It was a gorgeous place to climb, after I belayed up Byron Cherry and I climbed 'Bohemiath' (20)., another great route. Very thin holds on the first pitch, but the view was fantastic, especially from the vantage point that Byron was taking photos from.
To finish the day Byron joined me once more at the bottom where we decided to climb 'Let's Get a Taco' (18).
It was getting late in the day and the only way back to the car was to climb up and out. The sun was fading quickly but we had to wait far too long for a couple on the same climb out to stop arguing half way up the wall and finish the route. Quite inconsiderate especially as they were quarreling about climbing too slowly but Byron and I managed to finish the climb in the dark and we were on our way back to the car.
After a pub meal and a few cold beers it was time for bed. I awoke early on Sunday morning to head out to Mt York to meet some random climbers for another session.
It had rained overnight and it drizzled all the way out there but I met with Bernard, Nate, Michael and Matthias and we decided to climb what we could.
We started on 'The Arrow and the Song' (15) and 'Monkey Girl' (17) before it got too wet to continue. We decided to have a go at some of the short, steep and hard climbs in a nearby cave. After a few goes I finished 'Scheme of Things' (23) before cheating by pulling up off quick draws to finish 'Careless Memories' (24).
By this time the rain had gotten heavier and my burgeoning cold had become full blown so I called it a day and headed back to smokey Sydney. Another great weekend.
More photos here
