I once again drove out west to the Blue Mountains where I met with Byron and Cherry to go exploring. We decided to check out 'Celebrity Crag' (consisting of Rock Hudson Wall, Cliff Richards cliff etc.) which involved a nice hike down a mossy and ferny gully before the path split off the main hiking trail.
Before we got to the short section of cliff we wanted to climb we had to crawl along a small ledge in the cliff, not an easy ask for someone with my frame and having a 70 litre pack full of climbing gear strapped to my back! I had to crawl on my stomach for the last short section, but once I was able to stand once more we were rewarded to the some great climbing in a beautiful location. With the sound of the nearby waterfall in the background we got started up the small selection of routes.
We climbed 'Johnny's Jalopies' (18), 'Butt Nuggets' (19), 'Mr Scumbag' (18), 'Anal Leakage' (19) and 'Hark! The..' (20) while we still had daylight. There was a all-to-brief hour of direct sunlight which helped to warm things up, but by the end of the day our hands and bodies had suffered enough in the cold and we returned to Leura for the night.
After a hearty meal and a round of board games it was time for bed and to rest for another day ahead.
It was slightly warmer on Monday morning (no frost as per the previous day) but a thick fog had descended on the town. By the time I had picked up Lucas from the train station it had turned to rain, but before long the brilliant winter sun had started to burn away the mists.
It was decided we should climb at Mount York as its location would catch the morning sun, and it did not disappoint! It was a stunning day to climb, hard to believe considering only an hour or so earlier the situation looked dire.
We climbed 'Currawongs & Chocolate Cake' (17) as a warm up, before moving to 'Sparrow' (18).
Next up was the phenomenal 'Exhibition Wall' (21), the first ever bolted climb in the Blue Mountains. The start was exceptionally thin, and the rest of the route was very sustained, hard moves all the way without many chances to rest. A classic!
The skin on my fingertips had already taken a beating from climbing the day before and a long indoor session a few days prior, but I wanted to make the most of the day while we still had daylight.
I climbed 'Spangled Drongo' (21) which had another very thin section that was brutal on my skin. Once that was done it was still too early to head to the pub for dinner, so I got on 'Crow' (20) for the final climb of the day.
Once again it was very thin and sharp at the start, but once past this section the climbing was quite fun and committing.
More photos here
