Bouldering at White Rock Reserve

Taking a break from outdoor climbing, I spent a Saturday morning bouldering at White Rock reserve in Browns Plains.

Damien and I set out looking for some decent spots, and we settled on climbing at 'The Underground', a great sandstone cave that offered shelter from the sun.

Fun and pumpy bouldering, with the majority of the problems being mostly horizontal with featureless mantling to finish. Definitely a good workout, I'll be back to work more problems soon.

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Tradventure on Mt Maroon

Ever since I heard there was rock climbing on Mount Maroon I wanted to tackle a route. I have done the hike to the 966m summit before, but very few multi-pitch bolted routes exist on the rock so going trad was my only option.

Only one problem, I don't have the experience or skills to properly lead a trad climb. But I know someone who does!

Chris, Evangeline and I set off to Mt Maroon before dawn on a gorgeous Saturday morning, driving through farm lands shrouded in mist, until we arrived at the start of the hike.

Gearing up for the climb, we set off around 7:30 AM on the trail which would lead us to the east face, and the route we had selected to climb.

An hour later we arrived at the gully, we left the track at this point and scrambled around rocks and boulders until we found the start of the Ruby of India route.

 

I must admit my resolve was briefly tested when I saw the east face wall loom high above the ground, knowing that in an hour or so I would be placing my life in the hands of small cams and nuts placed in the many cracks on the wall. But fear is the mind killer, and I was with experienced trad climbers so rationality quickly overcame any doubts I had.

The described route had five pitches at grade 16, but with no bolts or anchors to follow we were able to choose our own adventure. Chris was leading all the pitches, and using his judgement he set the first belay station with only a few metres of rope left on belay. We climbed the harder variant pitch, roughly a grade 18, but nothing out of our range.

After Evangeline and I had joined Chris at the top of the first pitch, he set off again, setting another belay station over 60m above our ledge. The climb of the second pitch was even better, with lots of exposure and different types of climbing, and the higher we got, the more amazing the view became. It was such a thrill to look far below and see the ground through the haze.

One more pitch of about 30m took us to the summit, we climbed up and over the edge feeling exhilarated, it was a tremendous thrill to finally tick Ruby of India off my list!

After a brief rest we decided to abseil instead of making the hike down in climbing shoes. We searched for a set of ring bolts set into the rock and set about abseiling down. We tied our two 70m ropes together, and I set off over the edge, down the vertical, featureless cliff face. After untangling the ropes I scrambled along the cliff face until I found the next set of anchors, attached my safety cord and settled in for Chis and Evangeline to come down.

Once they joined me on the ledge we started pulling one end of the rope through the rings above. The aim was to pull both ropes down, feed a length through the second set of anchors, retie the ropes and abseil the last 60m to the ground. Halfway through pulling the ropes through we realised we had forgotten to until the safety knot (so we couldn't abseil off the end of the rope), which then proceeded to get stuck in the anchor rings above. We were unable to climb up the cliff (using the second rope for safety) as the cliff face was featureless.

We decided to abandon the stuck rope, fix the remaining rope to the current anchor and abseil down using a single rope. It was getting late in the day, too far gone to hike back to the top to recover both ropes, so we headed back to the car for an ice cold beer and returned to Brisbane, planning to return the next day.

Another early start on Sunday took us back to Mt Maroon where we set off at a fast pace to hike to the summit. I carried another 70m rope, we reached the top, freed the stuck rope and abseiled back down to the next fixed rope. Checking for any knots we pulled the ropes through, retied and abseiled back to the ground with all three ropes. Back to the car for another beer, then home.

After a weekend full of adventure I returned home on Sunday sweaty, sore and exhausted. I'll be back to lead and find my own way up Mount Maroon, but for now I'm content.

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Double Island Point Camping

After a rainy weekend of being stuck indoors courtesy of some cyclones bearing down on South East Queensland, I needed to get out and spend some time in the great outdoors. Luckily a friend of mine had just bought a 4wd and was keen to take it off road for the first time. The timing couldn't be better.

Needing no additional urging I threw a few things in the back of my Patrol and we took off north to Double Island Point for some beach camping. We arrived on Friday night, set up a small camp, had a celebratory beer and retired to our tents to the sounds of the crashing waves.

We were up bright and early on Saturday morning, it is hard to sleep in when the morning sun comes streaming into your tent. We fired up the kettle and sat down on the dunes with a hot cup of fresh coffee.

The skies were clear and the sun hot even in the early hours of the day. Naz was keen to get put some sandy kilometres onto his Pajero so after lunch we drive to the north shore while the tide was low. I went for a swim in the beautiful clear cool water, while Naz walked up the beach to do some fishing.

Twenty minutes later he pulls in a 58cm flathead, caught on soft plastics, which went straight into the esky for lunch.

We made our way back to camp, for another coffee and toasted hot cross buns and relaxed in the heat of the day. After cooking and devouring the huge flathead fillets for lunch, I took Naz for a drive into Rainbow Beach for supplies (ice and beer). We were back to camp in the late afternoon, and after a session of beach fishing catching nothing but small dart, we settled in for the night with some ice cold beers.

Shifting our chairs to the dunes we ate dinner in the dark, under clear skies, watching the lights of the trawlers out at see and listening to the crash of the waves.

Another early morning start as the sun came streaming in the tent, we took one more drive to the northern side of Double Island Point for a swim and some more fishing. Once again there were only small fish around, so we drove back to camp for breakfast and more coffee. Feeling the sting of the sun even in the early morning we decided to pack up camp and head home before the heat got too oppressive.

We made short work of the camp site, and were heading back to Brisbane while the tide was low.

A fantastic weekend, perfect weather to relax on the beach. Apart from the horse flies at plague proportions I couldn't have asked for a better weekend getaway.

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Brunswick Heads

To celebrate my Dad's birthday I drove south to Brunswick Heads to meet up with my parents who were staying in a great caravan park right next to the Brunswick River.

The weather cleared up so after lunch so we walked to a nearby inlet for a swim. The incoming tide cleaned out the murky water and we swam in the beautiful clear, refreshing river. We walked around town afterwards, then set out for a leisurely kayak while the sun was setting.

After some delicious pizza at the great local pub we made our way back to the caravan park where I quickly fell asleep on my camp stretcher.

Another quick refreshing swim in the river in the morning, before heading back to Brisbane. A very relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

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Back to Zeitgesit

I took Chris up 'Zeitgeist' (17) on Mt Tibrogargan, getting in a nice fun multi-pitch climb while the weather was good.

Photos here

Crack climbing at Frog Buttress

Time for a lesson in trad climbing! No bolts, just a selection of cams, nuts and hexes placed in rock cracks to protect falls. A perfect way to spend a Saturday!

We left Brisbane in the early hours of the morning and drove through the thick fog to Boonah, where we stopped at Mount French and made our way to the world class crag 'Frog Buttress'.

Our first route was 'Witch's Cauldron', a 12m grade 12 climb. Usually this grade would be trivial to climb, but being unaccustomed to crack climbing, hand and feet jamming, not to mention climbing on trad gear, it was a tough start to the day.

Luckily Chris (a seasoned trad climber from California) was there to teach the finer points of this style of climbing, and lead the routes to pre-place protection (cams, nuts, hexes) for us to use. After two leads of this route (including a fun climb up through a chimney) we moved on to something more challenging.

Our next stop was 'Smoked Banana', a 40m grade 17. Described as a classic Frog Buttress climb, Chris lead again (excellently placing protection) and then it was my turn to lead. Jamming up the first parallel cracks was easier this time, it was a little harder past the ledge where only a single crack continued.

I managed to jam my way up this, climbing higher until I reached an overhanging section, made possible to ascend by several chockstones jammed between two larger slabs.

Past this section the rock opened into a body crack. This is where things got interesting. I had been climbing with a small backpack containing a water bladder as by this point the rock was in full sun. I was already bathed in sweat, but the body crack was so small that I had to throw my backpack down to continue.

Even then, I could only barely fit into the crack. My shoulders and chest were wedged tight, I could barely move sideways, let alone gain leverage to get any higher. Running out of options and not wanting to bail on the climb, I went for it. Sucking in my chest, getting any leverage I could from my hands and feet, I rose slightly, then exhaled to jam my chest against the rock. I held! Again and I again I repeated this tactic, after a few feet the crack widened and I was able to smear my hands and feet on the rock to get some more purchase. Eventually I was free of the crack, and back again climbing. It was a short but exposed finish to the anchors, topping out over the rock I let out a yell and sat down in a pool of my own sweat to take in the view. An incredible climb!

We drove back to Boonah for an ice-coffee and lunch, before heading back to the crag in the late afternoon.

Feeling tired but still having a climb left in me, I opted to lead 'Shit Heap', a 10m grade 14. Climbing first I also placed all my own protection for the first time. I found the route difficult, the cracks either too big or more often too small for me hands. But I endured, placing cams where possible, gradually jamming higher and higher. I topped out, un-roped, and climbed down the 'stairs' behind the route to the bottom. Chris was up next to check my gear placements, and they passed the test! (I also rested on a cam for a little while when leading, quite unnerving when first putting all your weight on it).

I was done for the day, but Chris decided to climb 'Dave Mank's Electric Gorilla' a 20m grade 18-20. He cruised up the crack, showing us all how things are supposed to be done.

It was late in the day so we trekked back to the car park for a cold beer, sorted all the gear out and headed home.

An incredible Saturday, I couldn't ask for a better introduction to trad and crack climbing. Amazing rock, gorgeous views, I left tired but elated. I'll be back for more.....

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Banished for Infidelity

More climbing in the early new year. Marie and I made our way back to Mt Tibrogargan in the Glass House Mountains for some multi-pitch sport climbing. We decided on 'Banished for Infidelity', a 170m, six pitch climb.

It was a great climb, up nice slabby rock, through brittle and loose flaky sections, into a cramped roof that required stepping out around the corner and attempting an exhilarating crux over 70m off the ground.

The climbing got easier past the crux, and with a little path finding made it to the end of the climb. We were rewarded with a stunning view from an amazing vantage point. After a few snacks we started back down.

The abseil back down was tricky and frustrating, many times coming to the end of the rope (with multiple safety knots tied) and having the next belay station barely in reach. Add to that lots of branches and dead trees that required bypassing, not to mention sore feet and tried limbs, we were very happy to get our feet back on the ground.

Six and a half hours after we started climbing, we touched back down after successfully completing the route. Where we were immediately set upon by hundreds of mosquitoes so we made our way back to the car for some a nice cool drink and something to eat before heading back to Brisbane. It was a hot and humid summer day, and I drank over four litres of water during the climbing, sweating most of it out but worth every moment.

More photos here