Booroomba Climbing Day with the CCA

The Canberra Climbers' Association held another successful Booroomba Day on Sunday, 26th October 2008. The idea behind the CCA's Booroomba Days are to give climbers who don't have trad experience (or want to get out of the climbing gym) an introduction to outdoor/trad climbing. Booroomba is a great place to do this as there are plenty of lower grade routes and plenty of multi-pitch climbs to choose from, and everything from cracks to slabs - the usual granite menu.

We all met as per usual in front of the Tharwa Store for general introductions and to organise climbing teams. There were about 20 people all up in the end, with the number of leaders down a bit from last time due to a mass exodus to the Wolgan for the weekend by numerous beard strokers so as to stuff themselves full of dead goat. Due to the need for more leaders, I put my hand up to lead Sunstroke** (9), a nice, not too scary, three pitch slab climb which the guidebook says is 'one of the original routes done on the Northern Slabs, following the line of least resistance'. I hitched up with Owen and Chris to climb as a team of three.

We headed off to the Booroomba car park and made the slog up the hill, which always seems so much more fun with a fifteen kilo pack. I had to take it a bit easier this time as I was just recovering from a nasty cold, but that stomp up the Booroomba hill is great for clearing the lungs. I spared a thought for wallwombat on the way and reflected on how much fun he was missing out on by not coming along.

We organised ourselves in the 'top camp' area, signed off on the clubs climb register and headed off along the ridge to find the descent path to the Northern Slabs. This isn't so easy at the moment as the scrub is growing back thickly after the effects of the bushfires, and the ACT has had some good rain in the last couple of months. The path along the ridge of the Northern Slabs at present winds its way through waist high shrubs, concealing the path further on and making route finding difficult. We found the top of the descent path without getting too lost, and the top of the descent path is well marked with a couple of large cairns.

The descent path is nasty, with broken dirt interspersed with a loose scree of small granite rocks. At times you could almost glissade down the scree, and care had to be taken not to knock rocks down on those further down the path. I'm glad I didn't have my usual procession of porters with me carrying a gramaphone, typewriter and case of champagne.

As I mentioned, the scrub is growning back thickly at Booroomba, and due to the winter climbing lull and low level of access, the area around the base of the far Northern Slabs is especially thick with shrubs and saplings. Finding the way into the start of Sunstroke was not easy, but we got there in the end despite my attempt to kill Chris with a couple of soccer ball sized rocks (see, isn't it so much more fun than going to a climbing gym?).

We surveyed the bottom of the climb and I talked to the other guys about procedures, calls and general technique. Everyone was happy, so I led off up the first pitch. Sunstoke is a great Booroomba introduction climb due to the fact that it has a bit of everything - some committing slabby moves to start, up a chunky rain groove that you can get the toe of your shoe right into, then traverse diagonally to the left following the obvious break to the first belay, a slabby traverse on the second pitch over to the next belay, then a tricky move up a vertical face to a lovely, long, easy angled slab climb to the top. Owen led the second pitch, and I finished by leading the third, running the whole pitch out as there is not really anywhere to place pro anyway, and I think you've got to be trying pretty hard to fall on the third pitch of Sunstroke.

At the top of Sunstroke there is a nice stout tree to belay off, and a 50m rope just makes it. I'd recommend using a 60m rope though as we only just had enough length on the first and third pitch.

I was sitting at the top of the third pitch, on belay, waiting for Chris to head up to me, when I looked down at the big, dirty, rocky ledge in front of me, and noticed one of my Metolius screw gate 'biners sitting there, a couple of metres away. I knew I hadn't just dropped it, so I was a bit confused as to what it was doing there, then the penny dropped. Just before winter closed in I'd led Sunstroke with another mate - I'd been missing one of my Metolius 'biners since around that time, so the mystery was solved. My 'biner had sat there all of Winter waiting for me to come back. Booty is sweet, but there is something sweeter with your own booty!

We cleaned up the ropes and headed back to the top camp, grumbling as we went about the access path and how we should get a tick just for the approach. We sat down and had a bite to eat and decided to call it quits for the day. We'd had a hard approach and a great climb, but the long necks at the Tharwa store were getting just too damn attractive.