Mt Gibraltar

Instead of the apocalyptic rain arriving as forecast the weekend turned out to be clear skied and sunny.

Last minute plans were made to to head south to Mt Gibraltar, near the town of Mittagong. It was an amazing day for climbing, still pleasant in the rock even in full sun.

The climbing was very slabby, only the tiniest ripples in the rock were available to smear feet on, requiring delicate and deliberate moves. Not a style of climbing that I do often, but it was nice change.

After a couple of challenging climbs we attempted an open project, a bolted climb that hasn't seen an ascent yet. We gave it out best but it was too difficult, but it was fun to try to figure out the mind and body bending moves.

It was mid-afternoon so we decided to climb a nearby multi-pitch to the summit, rather than hike out from the ground. The first pitch was a simple short slab, the second pitch started with a short section of laybacking up a decent sized crack.

It was my turn to lead so I started up the crack, making my way to the top I grabbed a hold on the arete and put all of my weight on it to haul myself over the top. The next moment I'm falling, pulling off a large section of rock, thankfully falling away from any ledges and heaving the rock well beyond my belayer.

I ended up suspended in air below my belaying, having pulled him into the air during my fall.

Undeterred I made my way back up the crack, successfully this time, before onto some more slabby climbing. The sun began to set as I belayed Patrick on the final pitch, we topped out in fading light to a beautiful sunset.

The only thing that remained was to haul our bags up the fixed line we abseiled down in, then a short walk back to the car and home.

More photos here 

Easter Long Weekend

Easter long weekend, clear skies, time to go climbing! With all the rain Sydney has endured during the last few months it had been far too long since I had been out of the city and enjoyed a proper weekend of climbing.

We left Sydney pre-dawn to beat the holiday traffic and took the trip to Tianjara Falls, an isolated spot about three hours south of Sydney. It was a stunning day and apart from some friends we met at the crag we had the whole place to ourselves. It was a nice change to be out in the wilderness without crowds and climbing in almost absolute silence.

The climbing was great, after a couple of warm-up routes we got on progressively harder climbs, ending the day on a tricky, thin and sharp climb that I got close to getting clean. Maybe next time.

Rather then head back to Sydney we instead camped out overnight at a nearby bush clearing. It had been an early start, and after a hot meal and some red wine it wasn't long before bed called.

Saturday was another gorgeous day, perfect weather for climbing. We had camped nearby the next crag, and after a few kilometers of actual four wheel driving we made it to the cliff line.

Rather than hike in we set up a fixed rappel rope to get down, it took all of my core strength to remain upright during the long abseil to the bottom wearing a hiking pack full of climbing gear.

Once again we had the cliffs to ourselves and a small group of friends. The climbing was great, lots of varied routes in a beautiful remote location. Apart from the trashed Landcruiser that had somehow been driven off the top of the cliff (quite an effort, never underestimate bogan ingenuity) it felt untouched.

After a decent amount of climbing the day before I wasn't too eager to push myself, but after ticking some great long and steep routes I tried a few harder things. I got shut down on them, but it felt great to do better than expected. I was running out of strength and skin, so we called it a day. After a afternoon bush coffee enjoyed in the peaceful setting we made the long drive home to Sydney

I love exploring new places, and I can't wait to return to get on some more routes. There is plenty to keep me busy, and with ample places to bush camp, no crowds, and a fun and muddy 4WD access it ticks all of my boxes!

Photos here

After a day of rest I was eager to climb once more so I joined a friend at Vaucluse to climb at the nearby sea cliffs. It was another stunning day, and climbing so close to the sea was a great way to spend the afternoon. We warmed up on a really steep and exposed route at the end of the cliffs which drew a small crowd on the boardwalk across the gully.

As the light was fading we jumped on a couple of shorter climbs, scrambling out of the gully a few moments after the sun faded. A great finish to a perfect weekend.

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

West Face of the Mirrorball

Jen and I headed out to Pierces Pass to tackle 'West Face of the Mirrorball', a four pitch, 120m (grade 19) climb.

It took us about half an hour to hike out to 'Lunch Ledge' where we needed to do two rappels down to the base off the cliffs, the second section being especially exhilarating.

Once at the bottom it was a short walk to the base of the climb, and soon after I was leading pitch one. Compared to my last multi-pitch the climbing was easy, the rock was solid and it was nice climbing in the shade.

We made short work of all four pitches and were soon back on the 'Lunch Ledge'. We both had places to be so we called it a day after a few hours of really enjoyable climbing.

More photos here