Telstar

With the weather finally cooling and my climbing trip to the states soon approaching, it was time for some more trad climbing. Pete decided that we should try the 80m multi-pitch trad route called Telstar (19), so I left Sydney before dawn on Saturday and made my way to the Blue Mountains.

We drove out to Mt Victoria and took a corrugated dirt road out to Ikara Heads, parked the car and followed a fire trail out along the ridge.

The skies were grey, threatening to rain, and as we made our way across the Asgard swamp the winds started hammering along the cliff line.

The route was pure trad and well outside of my comfort zone to lead, so Pete racked up and set up the first pitch. He reached a chossy ledge under an imposing roof and put me on belay.

I started up the crack, being buffeted by the winds as I went. I had a thinner diameter rope (for rappel) trailing from my harness, the higher I got the more the rope was whipped around by the immense wind. I eventually reached the cramped belay ledge, swapped gear, and Pete began the second pitch.

The climbing from this point involved wedging yourself up and onto a tiny ledge while placing small pieces of protection in a thin crack that ran above the roof. From there, you had to wiggle yourself out into a chimney, out past the ledge, the ground 40m below. There was no protection past this point, any slip would cause a big swing into the air, out of reach of any rock. Luckily for me, Pete kept a cool head and climbed out past the roof, turning around in the chimney, then up the face for a few more metres until there was a spot to place some protection.

I sat and belayed, pushing the thoughts of falling out of my mind. Soon it was my turn. I tried to get up onto the narrow ledge, but couldn't. The weight of the trailing rope was weighing on my harness, and I just couldn't contort my body into a small enough package while at the same time doing a reverse dip to try and sit on something solid.

I had to resort to pulling onto some of the projection so that I could pull myself up and out to a point where the ledge got wider and the roof higher. From this point I had to squeeze myself into a chimney and wriggle out towards the face, twisting and contorting until I could reach a hold. From there it was only a few metres to the next belay, but the exposure was unforgettable!

The last pitch started up a vertical crack, Pete made short work of the section and before long it was my turn again. Looking down, I saw that the end of the 60m trailing rope had wrapped itself around a dead gum tree branch due to being flailed about in the wind. I gave it a few tugs but it was going nowhere, I untied it and began to climb.

Again I struggled, unable to figure out the crack climbing required, so I pulled on some gear to aid past this section and climbed the last part to the finish.

We were once again exposed to the gale for winds, we found a slightly less exposed spot, racked our gear, and went looking for the rappel. Our idea was to abseil with two ropes, tying them together to make the second 50m abseil to the ground. This was no longer an option, but we found with enough rope stretch that we could land on a detached block at the base of the cliff line and scramble the last few metres down to the ground.

By this time it was late in the day, after a few mouthfuls of warm coffee we packed our gear and headed back, making it to the car just as the sun set. A memorable climb to say the least...

Butterbox Canyon

First canyon of 2018! I tagged along an expedition to Butterbox Canyon at Mt Hay, just off Leura in the Blue Mountains. It was a surprisingly cold morning given the recent heat wave that has struck most of eastern Australia, but the skies were clear and it looked to be a fantastic day for some adventuring.

 

The winding dirt road led to a beautiful lookout at Mt Hay, once the others arrived we set off down the well signed path. Things warmed once we descended the track out of the cold wind, after half an hour we signed the log book and continued until the first abseil point.

The drop was relatively straight forward, a good introduction for some of the crew who hadn't abseiled before.

Following that there were a few more smaller drops, mostly dry, until eventually we arrived to a constriction that required a plunge into the frigid water and a swim to continue. Wetsuits were definitely welcomed, the water was fresh!

We finally reached the main drop, a two stage abseil down into a narrow constriction. Singular beams of light would peak past the walls and high tree canopies, highlighting random spots in the canyon, lending a sense of grandeur to the already stunning canyon formation.

Once at the bottom it was another short swim to a ledge where we pulled off out wet clothes and lay in the sun to warm. There were two more dry abseils until we came to he the exit and started the long and occasionally steep hike back up to the car.

We contoured the cliff line following a well worn track, pausing at a small cave overlooking the valley while a group ahead of us tackled the short rock climbing section. It was the perfect place to pause, soak in the scenery and take a breather.

I tagged onto the climbing rope of the group in front so I didn't have to be belayed from below by our group, once on the ledge above I set up a belay of my own and helped the rest of the team up.

The climbing was relatively easy, but made more difficult by wet canyoning shoes and heavy back packs. Everyone climbed well and shortly we were back on track heading towards the cars.

Seven hours after setting off we made it back, the late afternoon sun casting a golden glow over the surrounding areas. A great end to a fun adventure!

More photos here

Canyoning in the Blue Mountains

With the recent heatwave hitting Sydney and temperatures rising above 40 degrees, the last thing I wanted to do was spend the days hanging out on searing rock.

With that in mind, when the offer came in to spend the weekend in the Blue Mountains canyoning I jumped at the chance.

By the time I left Sydney on Friday night the storms had subsided, it was late by the time I arrived to Cathedral Reserve camp site where I quickly set up camp and fell asleep.

It hadn't rained overnight and although the forecast was for afternoon storms that weather looked promising. We were on the trail by 7 AM, walking from the Mt Wilson Fire Station car park towards the Wollongambe River. An hour later we crossed the river to head back up a steep ridge to the first canyon of the day, 'Geronimo'.

We stopped to put our wetsuits on and gear up, then descended into the canyon proper. The abseils were pretty short but tricky due to the wet, mossy and slick rock. In between abseils there were occasional swims and lots of wading through cool water, but we made good time and it wasn't too strenuous. After a couple of hours in the canyon we emerged back into the warmer waters of the Wollongambe and had a quick lunch.

We then re-hiked back up the ridge but crossed down onto the eastern side to find 'Horseshoe' canyon. We hiked a little too far up the trail, which mean a few dirty abseils and a bit of route finding before we eventually found the start of the canyon. This was a much shorter route but it was still a lot of fun, especially the deep abseil and swim to exit the canyon.

We were back in the Wollongambe river and as we hiked back to the cars it started to rain. For a few minutes it even hailed, but it was sporadic and not big enough to cause any harm. Very heavy fog rolled while we were getting changed out of our wet gear, and we returned to the camp site in low visibility.

A hot meal and a few cold beers knocked me out, it was early to bed in the light rain for another day of adventuring to come.

Given the inclement weather we decided to do just the one canyon, setting off from the Fire Station to head towards 'Why Don't We Do It In The Road'

It was a pretty easy walk out to the start, then few dry abseils and a long leisurely walk down along the stream. Towards the end of the route there were some longer abseils and some nice deep pools requiring some swimming to get through.

By the time we got out of the canyon the sun was shining, so we relaxed next to the river to dry out and warm up. From there it was an easy walk back to the car park, then a long drive home.

A great introduction to canyoning, I can't wait to get back out there and do some more exploring!

More photos here

Blue Mountains

I hadn't climbed much at all during the xmas break, so when my climbing friends were back in town following their own adventures it was time to spend some time in the Blue Mountains.

I caught up with Jen and we decided to start the day climbing at Heathcliff. We arrived mid morning and had a few hours to get some nice long routes in before the sun peaked over the cliff and rendered the crag unclimbable.

Heathcliff is a gorgeous place, a bit of a walk in but that tends to keep the crowds away and we managed to get on the climbs we desired.

Hiking out with a heavy pack in the heat make the lethargy kick in, even though it was late afternoon we still had plenty of time before the summer sun receded, and on a whim we decided to climb a multi-pitch route at Sublime Point in Leura.

We didn't start climbing until around 6 PM, but Jen and I set up 'Smack my Pitch Up', a grade 20, 120m climb up some stunning features.

I lead the final pitch, and spent the last moments of the day belaying Jen whilst reclining against  a comfortable tree, awed by the setting sunlight across the valley. A stunning way to finish any day!

That night I followed a friend through very ominous and heavy fog to a secret camping site in Blackheath. It rained overnight but by the time we were ready to get going on Sunday morning the rock was mostly dry. Especially nice was the temperature, a cool thirteen degrees, almost twenty degrees lower than some of the days gone by!

After doing ten pitches the day before I wasn't in any hurry to tick a lot of routes, so Veronica and I went to small crag in Medlow Bath for the morning. We didn't pick shady crag so the climbing was generally hot and sweaty, but we still managed a few decent climbs.

A decent return to climbing in 2017, but I'll be happier when the weather cools a little.

More photos here