Leleana Julie Makini Reese
Born 7th April 2008, 2.9kg
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Welcome Leleana
Welcome to the world Leleana - it's going to be one big adventure!
Leleana Julie Makini Reese
Born 7th April 2008, 2.9kg
Leleana Julie Makini Reese
Born 7th April 2008, 2.9kg
Friday, 25 April 2008
The Fortress Revisited
I finally got back up to The Fortress, ACT, with Widewetandslippery and Wallwombat (of Chockstone fame) in early March, 2008. We did a more extensive inspection of the crag this time and decided on doing Blood On His Lips (16) first - nice easy crack and great as a warm up.
Blood On His Lips (16), The Fortress, ACT
The climbing is easy up the crack, but there is a small slab move at the top which messes with your head if you haven't had to smear for a while.
Widewetandslippery on the lead.
We then headed back up to the main outcrop of rocks and had a go at Flying Arkwright (16). This is such an interesting looking crack that you just have to do it. Remember this was first climbed as a solo effort in 1975. It's changed a bit since then - at the bottom of the climb the bushfires have sooted up the overhanging wall at the start - you have to lay back with your feet against the wall and it's as slippery as featureless marble. Widewetandslippery proved it was doable on the lead. It's got a great little off-width at the top to exit.
WW&S leading on Flying Arkwright. Me on belay, contemplating how my new Fantini ethics will help get me up the route.
We abseiled off the top of the rock, as the guide-book-suggested grovel down the exit crack didn't appeal to us. The belay bolts have been chopped, but there is a big boulder that you can sling a rope around - just don't let it get caught around the bottom of the boulder.
We next sized up Sentry Duty (15). Sentry Duty starts as a double crack, leading to a sentry box half-way up the climb.
WW&S doubling his on-lead crack fun on Sentry Duty
The sentry box provides a good resting ledge before attacking the crux. The granite changes at the top into real hand ripping stuff - jambing is painful! WW&S was smart and taped up - I had to hang in the crack for a bit to unstick the biner on the end of a cam - it had turned sideways in the crack and did not want to move - my feet were turned side on in the crack and stuck fine - the hands were not so fine - I had to grab the rope for relief before the biner would play nice. Great exposed move out of the sentry box though.
Nick having painful jambing fun on Sentry Duty - sentry box beneath
The Fortress is a great spot for an easy mornings climbing. There is a bolt ladder (3 bolts) on the north western side of the big mushroom rock on top - the bolts looked good and will have to go at a later date!
Blood On His Lips (16), The Fortress, ACT
The climbing is easy up the crack, but there is a small slab move at the top which messes with your head if you haven't had to smear for a while.
Widewetandslippery on the lead.
We then headed back up to the main outcrop of rocks and had a go at Flying Arkwright (16). This is such an interesting looking crack that you just have to do it. Remember this was first climbed as a solo effort in 1975. It's changed a bit since then - at the bottom of the climb the bushfires have sooted up the overhanging wall at the start - you have to lay back with your feet against the wall and it's as slippery as featureless marble. Widewetandslippery proved it was doable on the lead. It's got a great little off-width at the top to exit.
WW&S leading on Flying Arkwright. Me on belay, contemplating how my new Fantini ethics will help get me up the route.
We abseiled off the top of the rock, as the guide-book-suggested grovel down the exit crack didn't appeal to us. The belay bolts have been chopped, but there is a big boulder that you can sling a rope around - just don't let it get caught around the bottom of the boulder.
We next sized up Sentry Duty (15). Sentry Duty starts as a double crack, leading to a sentry box half-way up the climb.
WW&S doubling his on-lead crack fun on Sentry Duty
The sentry box provides a good resting ledge before attacking the crux. The granite changes at the top into real hand ripping stuff - jambing is painful! WW&S was smart and taped up - I had to hang in the crack for a bit to unstick the biner on the end of a cam - it had turned sideways in the crack and did not want to move - my feet were turned side on in the crack and stuck fine - the hands were not so fine - I had to grab the rope for relief before the biner would play nice. Great exposed move out of the sentry box though.
Nick having painful jambing fun on Sentry Duty - sentry box beneath
The Fortress is a great spot for an easy mornings climbing. There is a bolt ladder (3 bolts) on the north western side of the big mushroom rock on top - the bolts looked good and will have to go at a later date!
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Square Rock ACT
This trip was a preliminary recce of a grander scheme – to check out the crags at Mt. McKeahnie in the ACT. When I was up at Legoland with Brother Colin, widewetandslippery and wallwombat last week, I spied across the hills and far away a massive granite crag that was lit by sunlight on an otherwise gloomy day. I pointed it out to the other guys and became determined to find out what it was. On checking the topo I figured it to be Mt. McKeahnie. I studied a few of my ACT walking guides and found that there is a walk in to the McKeanie trig, then from there it is a couple of kilometres along the ridge to the top of Mt McKeahnie proper. One of my guides suggested visiting Square Rock, which is off the track on the way to the trig, and had a photo of some fine granite boulders. With a name like Square Rock, you've got to have a look, and I figured the walk in would be a good study of what the access to the ultimate objective would be like (and I hadn't done any exercise all week).
Square Rock is a big granite crag way down Corin Road in the Southern ACT. The ACT Granite guide notes it as having 'a great position and some good climbs', but a very long walk in. Woos bags, it's only three kilometres. I drove down there at lunchtime on Saturday, the plan was to assess the walk-in and maybe do some roped solo climbing (yep, I am Nicky No Friends this weekend...). To get there, you drive down Corin Road for 13.5 kilometres and there is a car park at Smokers Flat – well signed etc. The initial part of the walk parrallels the road, but then cuts across it.
Square Rock Track
Not far up the track there is a walkers register. Better sign in just to be safe. The track is open and well stomped. It climbs gently through open forest, and any stairs are well formed out of solid granite blocks. As you rise to the ridge granite outcrops and boulders start to appear and your brain clicks into climbing mode and can't help but spot small lines and problems.
Boulders on the track
I carried a pack with a full climbing kit and rope, as well as a couple of litres of water, so by the time I got to the 'Square Rock 1 km” sign, I felt like I was only just starting to warm up (i.e. things stopped hurting). The last kilometre in is easy through undulating forest. The nice thing about the forest here is that it was obviously not completely hammered by the bush fires, and a lot of the big trees have reshot and in a few years the walk in will be in full shade most of the way.
A sign of good things to come...
Square Rock is a classic ACT granite crag in the style of Orroral Ridge, but more vertical and less bouldery than somewhere like Legoland. There is lots of rock there. There is a metal tourist stair onto the top of the crag, and the main boulder on the top of this has a couple of climbs on it. Changing of the Guard (24) is obvious by the line of bolts with older style hangers. I scrambled down to the left where there is an obvious gully, and got a much better idea of the extent of the crag. It's all cracky, slabby, chimneyey granite goodness. And no other metal to be seen on the whole crag. There's lots to be climbed, with plenty of soaring exposed lines, as well as many smaller typical granite problems.
Sorry, no photos of the crag yet. Guess where my batteries went flat.
I poked around and picked out lines and scrambled back up through the guts of the crag. The only real climbing I ended up doing was soloing up a small chimney so that I didn't have to walk around that part of the crag. There are only three named climbs for Square Rock in the guide, so for practically the whole place you just have to make it up as you go along. My mind had changed about doing much climbing there as the car was a long walk away (if you had a busted ankle) and I was going to a party that night that had free beer, so discretion is the better part of ensuring your fair share of the said free beer. Also, it was really worth it just to get in there and have a look for future reference. (I should mention that as soon as I put my boots on to do the chimney, I stood on a flake of granite that was on the ground that snapped and gouged my shin as only granite will do which suddenly made me feel more mortal at the base of a big empty crag).
The walk back out is really easy due to the path dropping gently most of the way. I stopped off at one set of boulders next to the track and did a few gentle boulder problems just to get my hands on some rock. You could spend plenty of time just checking out the bits of rock that are scattered along the Square Rock walk.
Views along the track
Square Rock itself it definitely worth a visit. It would be a nice crag to walk into the night before and camp – especially in summer where making an early start is the preferred option. The track is so good that you could walk in at night with head torches without any problems. It's also nice to go to a crag that feels undeveloped - I can appreciate where the anti-bolting crew are coming from. Next, Mt McKeahnie!
Square Rock is a big granite crag way down Corin Road in the Southern ACT. The ACT Granite guide notes it as having 'a great position and some good climbs', but a very long walk in. Woos bags, it's only three kilometres. I drove down there at lunchtime on Saturday, the plan was to assess the walk-in and maybe do some roped solo climbing (yep, I am Nicky No Friends this weekend...). To get there, you drive down Corin Road for 13.5 kilometres and there is a car park at Smokers Flat – well signed etc. The initial part of the walk parrallels the road, but then cuts across it.
Square Rock Track
Not far up the track there is a walkers register. Better sign in just to be safe. The track is open and well stomped. It climbs gently through open forest, and any stairs are well formed out of solid granite blocks. As you rise to the ridge granite outcrops and boulders start to appear and your brain clicks into climbing mode and can't help but spot small lines and problems.
Boulders on the track
I carried a pack with a full climbing kit and rope, as well as a couple of litres of water, so by the time I got to the 'Square Rock 1 km” sign, I felt like I was only just starting to warm up (i.e. things stopped hurting). The last kilometre in is easy through undulating forest. The nice thing about the forest here is that it was obviously not completely hammered by the bush fires, and a lot of the big trees have reshot and in a few years the walk in will be in full shade most of the way.
A sign of good things to come...
Square Rock is a classic ACT granite crag in the style of Orroral Ridge, but more vertical and less bouldery than somewhere like Legoland. There is lots of rock there. There is a metal tourist stair onto the top of the crag, and the main boulder on the top of this has a couple of climbs on it. Changing of the Guard (24) is obvious by the line of bolts with older style hangers. I scrambled down to the left where there is an obvious gully, and got a much better idea of the extent of the crag. It's all cracky, slabby, chimneyey granite goodness. And no other metal to be seen on the whole crag. There's lots to be climbed, with plenty of soaring exposed lines, as well as many smaller typical granite problems.
Sorry, no photos of the crag yet. Guess where my batteries went flat.
I poked around and picked out lines and scrambled back up through the guts of the crag. The only real climbing I ended up doing was soloing up a small chimney so that I didn't have to walk around that part of the crag. There are only three named climbs for Square Rock in the guide, so for practically the whole place you just have to make it up as you go along. My mind had changed about doing much climbing there as the car was a long walk away (if you had a busted ankle) and I was going to a party that night that had free beer, so discretion is the better part of ensuring your fair share of the said free beer. Also, it was really worth it just to get in there and have a look for future reference. (I should mention that as soon as I put my boots on to do the chimney, I stood on a flake of granite that was on the ground that snapped and gouged my shin as only granite will do which suddenly made me feel more mortal at the base of a big empty crag).
The walk back out is really easy due to the path dropping gently most of the way. I stopped off at one set of boulders next to the track and did a few gentle boulder problems just to get my hands on some rock. You could spend plenty of time just checking out the bits of rock that are scattered along the Square Rock walk.
Views along the track
Square Rock itself it definitely worth a visit. It would be a nice crag to walk into the night before and camp – especially in summer where making an early start is the preferred option. The track is so good that you could walk in at night with head torches without any problems. It's also nice to go to a crag that feels undeveloped - I can appreciate where the anti-bolting crew are coming from. Next, Mt McKeahnie!
Saturday, 2 February 2008
The Fortress - ACT Granite
The Fortress
We went climbing last weekend at The Fortress, a small granite crag on Corin Road, in the Australian Capital Territory. This is a classic granite tor that has a nice variety of interesting, though small, climbs.
Brett inside The Fortress
We were interested in the crack climbs, and ended up climbing Sentry Duty (15).
Brett in front of Sentry Duty
The Sentry Duty crack lays off to the left, leading to a 'sentry box' ledge just past half way. This allows you to get some good protection in before you lead up out of the sentry box, which is the crux. There is a big juggy hold just up to the left as you come up out of the sentry box, then onto the top is easy.
Nick leading on Sentry Duty
The Fortress is a great place to climb on Summer mornings, and looks like it will be great for warmer winter afternoons. The access is also fantastic, as you can drive up a forestry road right to the crag.
Friday, 1 February 2008
Open Source Software in the Solomon Islands
Hi all,
I was just reading an email from a Solomon Islands Information Technology Working Group mailing list about the latest computer virus getting around Honiara. This gives me the excuse to come back to one of my favorite subjects - Linux. Computer viruses get around Honiara like the latest Flu or bout of Redeye. The reason for this is that the vast majority of people there are using pirated software that is not updated. Running freeware antivirus is just not enough to prevent the spread of data and time destroying malware.
Next time you have to blow away a computer, consider loading the latest version of Ubuntu 7.10 - it's fantastic. Reasons to consider it are:
- You will not be prone to being attacked by viruses etc.
- It is very fast to install, and comes with staka software all loaded at the same time - no swapping five disks to get your basic operating system and office software etc. onto the machine
- It integrates perfectly with Windows and Mac machines - OpenOffice 2.3 is a great office suite - it even loads Windows fonts automatically now
- If you are trying to do something and the codecs or drivers are not loaded, Ubuntu will ask you if you want to load the software (this requires an Internet connection) - if you say yes it will go and find the software and load it
- The amount of high quality software available with Ubuntu is staggering - there is drop down list menu item that says 'add / remove software' - this shows you a list of software that is available to you - tick a menu item on something you want, and it will download and install the software and all the dependencies automatically
- When I loaded Ubuntu, it recognised and set up my HP three-in-one printer/scanner/copier without having to load any additional drivers - same goes for my Kodak digital camera - Windows will not do this
- if you want to get geeky and start doing more technical things like web site design / photo manipulation / sound studio production / (ke kara!) programming - the tools are all available - there is no need to load pirate software or time limited demo software
Also consider running Linux on your servers - especially file servers. I had fantastic success in Honiara running Linux as a file server for many organisations in town - I also ran Clam Antivirus so that any infected files that were put onto the server were dealt with (and the good thing was that none of the Viruses could affect the file server itself). Apart from the incredible stability of the file servers, they themselves always stay virus free.
Give it a go!!
I was just reading an email from a Solomon Islands Information Technology Working Group mailing list about the latest computer virus getting around Honiara. This gives me the excuse to come back to one of my favorite subjects - Linux. Computer viruses get around Honiara like the latest Flu or bout of Redeye. The reason for this is that the vast majority of people there are using pirated software that is not updated. Running freeware antivirus is just not enough to prevent the spread of data and time destroying malware.
Next time you have to blow away a computer, consider loading the latest version of Ubuntu 7.10 - it's fantastic. Reasons to consider it are:
- You will not be prone to being attacked by viruses etc.
- It is very fast to install, and comes with staka software all loaded at the same time - no swapping five disks to get your basic operating system and office software etc. onto the machine
- It integrates perfectly with Windows and Mac machines - OpenOffice 2.3 is a great office suite - it even loads Windows fonts automatically now
- If you are trying to do something and the codecs or drivers are not loaded, Ubuntu will ask you if you want to load the software (this requires an Internet connection) - if you say yes it will go and find the software and load it
- The amount of high quality software available with Ubuntu is staggering - there is drop down list menu item that says 'add / remove software' - this shows you a list of software that is available to you - tick a menu item on something you want, and it will download and install the software and all the dependencies automatically
- When I loaded Ubuntu, it recognised and set up my HP three-in-one printer/scanner/copier without having to load any additional drivers - same goes for my Kodak digital camera - Windows will not do this
- if you want to get geeky and start doing more technical things like web site design / photo manipulation / sound studio production / (ke kara!) programming - the tools are all available - there is no need to load pirate software or time limited demo software
Also consider running Linux on your servers - especially file servers. I had fantastic success in Honiara running Linux as a file server for many organisations in town - I also ran Clam Antivirus so that any infected files that were put onto the server were dealt with (and the good thing was that none of the Viruses could affect the file server itself). Apart from the incredible stability of the file servers, they themselves always stay virus free.
Give it a go!!
Sunday, 13 January 2008
Red Rocks Gorge - ACT
The crag at Red Rocks Gorge in the ACT is open again. It is closed between the 1st of August and 1st of January to allow the Peregrine Falcons to crap all over the crag in peace. I don't mind, I like taking a crap in private too.
Iceman (aka in non Chocky life as Gavin Evans) and I met at the Kambah pools car park around 4.30pm. It was a perfect Canberra summer afternoon - temperature in the high twenties, no clouds, and a touch of a cooling easterly breeze. We planned to climb Red Rocks Gorge, which is about ten minutes walk further upstream from the Kambah Rocks crag. We weren't sure if we'd make it across the river to the crag, so we were both wearing nylon shorts and sluggos in the event of a swim.
The walk in from the car park takes about half an hour, but you then need to spend at least another twenty minutes finding a spot to cross the river, which at the moment is flowing fairly well. The guide says there is a goat track leading from the main walking track down to the river, but due to no-one accessing the crag for a while, and the recent rain, it looks like the goats have not been doing their job.
We finally found a spot to cross the river at the Northern end of the crag. The water was about waste deep and required careful foot placement as the water is flowing fairly strongly and the river bed is a jumble of rocks. Make sure you have your mobile phone etc. wrapped up in plastic bags.
Red Rocks is very impressive on first sighting. A highly featured orange cliff that soars above the Murrumbidgee River. The river itself cuts through numerous small craggy gorges and boulders that we though had plenty of potential for some short deep water soloing. The other nice feature of the climbing there is that the crag is in full shade later in the afternoon in Summer. With the combination of shade and the breeze blowing along the river, the conditions were perfect.
The Neither of us had been to the crag before, so we poked around a bit trying to interpret the topo (nice simple colour one - available at Mountain Designs in Canberra). We eventually settled on doing the two easier sports routes at either end of the crag, Ingrid Bergmann (16) and Willie the Pooh (16). There was also an interesting looking trad climb, Corner Crack (14), which we filed for future reference.
We started on Ingrid Bergmann, with Iceman leading. The crux, as I was to find, is quite interesting, and Iceman got flash pumped on it trying to find the move through it. He rested for a few minutes then had another crack at it, moving up easily this time and making the lower offs with no problems. Seconding it was a bit easier as I was able to following Iceman's chalk marks, though the move through the crux was a challenge. The climb was a bit short (10m), and with a bit more time it would be nice to pump some laps on it. The only problem we found with it is that because of the recent rain and climbing ban, there was heaps of dirt covering certain sections of the climb. A bit more cleaning would greatly improve it (or is that just winging? Maybe I should just take my own advice and "toughen up Princess!!").
We then walked along the base of the crag, working out the routes according to the topo. There were some really nice looking, and much longer, 18s and 20s (Instant Inches, Red Sorghum, Tahini, Bosch Imperialist, Willy Wonka) that would be great to have a go at when we had more time. It also looked like there was the potential to put up a few more lines there as well. The dried head of a Galah lay at the bottom of the cliff as evidence of the previous residence of the falcons. Galahs still look like they are laughing even when their heads are detached from their bodies.
We got to the other end of the crag and checked out Willie the Pooh. It was a little hard to decipher at first as four climbs start in the same spot, but by getting back from the crag a bit it was easier to spot the lines of bolt plates up the cliff. Iceman headed off on lead again, determined not to get pumped again.
Willie the Pooh, even though not hard, has some great sections, the characteristics of each one being quite different from the next. The start is chunky and straight forward, the next section is a blank wall with some small holds and blocky ledges on the left hand side and top, you then move up into a blocky bulge that has some thank god juggy ledges as you come over the bulge, then the top out is over a smooth slab that leans into the cave that holds the lower offs. Iceman was hooting when he got to the top. On seconding it, I could see why. It was a great little climb with enough variation to please the whole family. And no dirt this time. Again, it would be a great climb to chuck a few laps on.
The sun was just setting as we started to pack up the gear, and I just happened to find a six pack of VB in my backpack. We had a beer and looked at the climbs to the left of where we had just climbed. They had a lot more height in them and looked much more challenging. We agreed to come back later and give them a crack.
We had a fun and soggy crossing of the river again, and finding the goat track back up to main path was more of a challenge than the two routes we had just done. The strategically placed Native Raspberry and the odd weedy Rose bush made for prickly route finding. We made it to the main track without too many scratches and slogged back to the car park with another beer while talking standard post cragging climbers crap. We arrived at the cars without much light to spare at 9pm.
I can highly recommend an afternoons climb at Red Rocks, though give yourself plenty of time. The walk in and out is much more of an epic than the climbs themselves.
Iceman (aka in non Chocky life as Gavin Evans) and I met at the Kambah pools car park around 4.30pm. It was a perfect Canberra summer afternoon - temperature in the high twenties, no clouds, and a touch of a cooling easterly breeze. We planned to climb Red Rocks Gorge, which is about ten minutes walk further upstream from the Kambah Rocks crag. We weren't sure if we'd make it across the river to the crag, so we were both wearing nylon shorts and sluggos in the event of a swim.
The walk in from the car park takes about half an hour, but you then need to spend at least another twenty minutes finding a spot to cross the river, which at the moment is flowing fairly well. The guide says there is a goat track leading from the main walking track down to the river, but due to no-one accessing the crag for a while, and the recent rain, it looks like the goats have not been doing their job.
We finally found a spot to cross the river at the Northern end of the crag. The water was about waste deep and required careful foot placement as the water is flowing fairly strongly and the river bed is a jumble of rocks. Make sure you have your mobile phone etc. wrapped up in plastic bags.
Red Rocks is very impressive on first sighting. A highly featured orange cliff that soars above the Murrumbidgee River. The river itself cuts through numerous small craggy gorges and boulders that we though had plenty of potential for some short deep water soloing. The other nice feature of the climbing there is that the crag is in full shade later in the afternoon in Summer. With the combination of shade and the breeze blowing along the river, the conditions were perfect.
The Neither of us had been to the crag before, so we poked around a bit trying to interpret the topo (nice simple colour one - available at Mountain Designs in Canberra). We eventually settled on doing the two easier sports routes at either end of the crag, Ingrid Bergmann (16) and Willie the Pooh (16). There was also an interesting looking trad climb, Corner Crack (14), which we filed for future reference.
We started on Ingrid Bergmann, with Iceman leading. The crux, as I was to find, is quite interesting, and Iceman got flash pumped on it trying to find the move through it. He rested for a few minutes then had another crack at it, moving up easily this time and making the lower offs with no problems. Seconding it was a bit easier as I was able to following Iceman's chalk marks, though the move through the crux was a challenge. The climb was a bit short (10m), and with a bit more time it would be nice to pump some laps on it. The only problem we found with it is that because of the recent rain and climbing ban, there was heaps of dirt covering certain sections of the climb. A bit more cleaning would greatly improve it (or is that just winging? Maybe I should just take my own advice and "toughen up Princess!!").
We then walked along the base of the crag, working out the routes according to the topo. There were some really nice looking, and much longer, 18s and 20s (Instant Inches, Red Sorghum, Tahini, Bosch Imperialist, Willy Wonka) that would be great to have a go at when we had more time. It also looked like there was the potential to put up a few more lines there as well. The dried head of a Galah lay at the bottom of the cliff as evidence of the previous residence of the falcons. Galahs still look like they are laughing even when their heads are detached from their bodies.
We got to the other end of the crag and checked out Willie the Pooh. It was a little hard to decipher at first as four climbs start in the same spot, but by getting back from the crag a bit it was easier to spot the lines of bolt plates up the cliff. Iceman headed off on lead again, determined not to get pumped again.
Willie the Pooh, even though not hard, has some great sections, the characteristics of each one being quite different from the next. The start is chunky and straight forward, the next section is a blank wall with some small holds and blocky ledges on the left hand side and top, you then move up into a blocky bulge that has some thank god juggy ledges as you come over the bulge, then the top out is over a smooth slab that leans into the cave that holds the lower offs. Iceman was hooting when he got to the top. On seconding it, I could see why. It was a great little climb with enough variation to please the whole family. And no dirt this time. Again, it would be a great climb to chuck a few laps on.
The sun was just setting as we started to pack up the gear, and I just happened to find a six pack of VB in my backpack. We had a beer and looked at the climbs to the left of where we had just climbed. They had a lot more height in them and looked much more challenging. We agreed to come back later and give them a crack.
We had a fun and soggy crossing of the river again, and finding the goat track back up to main path was more of a challenge than the two routes we had just done. The strategically placed Native Raspberry and the odd weedy Rose bush made for prickly route finding. We made it to the main track without too many scratches and slogged back to the car park with another beer while talking standard post cragging climbers crap. We arrived at the cars without much light to spare at 9pm.
I can highly recommend an afternoons climb at Red Rocks, though give yourself plenty of time. The walk in and out is much more of an epic than the climbs themselves.
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
Nail Biter - Gibralter Peak, ACT
After seeing a photo of Nail Biter (16) - (Gibraltar Peak) on Chocktone's 'Guess The Route' forum thread, I made up my mind on what I was going to climb on the following weekend. The photo of Nail Biter showed a classic looking granite crack - but as I was warned - short. Upon further investigation I also found out that THAT was the climb on the back of the ACT Granite guide.
I lined up my cuzzi bro Brett to climb with me on the Sunday. He'd just spent the last six weeks on the couch (literally - for two weeks over Christmas he didn't even move to his bed to sleep), so it was time for a bit of a weekend workout. As it turned out, it was a perfect day for it too. Calm, clear skies, and not too hot.
Gibraltar Peak
We drove into Gibraltar from the Corin Road side, but where the map notes pine forest, there was nothing but regenerating bush. The 2003 fires had obviously creamed the place, and it has not been replanted since. The road wasn't too rough, but the recent heavy rain had carved some good sized ruts into the road surface. We managed to get the Hyundai Getz go anywhere vehicle through most of it, until we got to one that was just not crossable, so we had to leave the car and walk in for the last few kilometres. A large four wheel drive would be highly recommended if you don't like walking uphill in the full sun with a heavy pack on your back for a few kilometres.
The final walk up to Gibraltar Peak is a good warm up. The peak is a prominent pile of very large boulders, so it was almost impossible for noobies like us to get lost. The fire trail starts to rise steeply up to the top of the hill, then a solid set of granite stairs lead into the guts of the large granite boulders.
Even if we hadn't gone climbing, the walk would have been worth it. The view from Gibraltar across the Brindabella Ranges and the ACT is brilliant. The mega pile of granite boulders that make up Gibraltar Peak are very impressive. A veritable feast for any lover of granite climbing. We had a bit of a poke around, and over the first rise, there it was. The Nailbiter Spike. We bashed around in the bush a bit, trying to find the paths through the boulders. As with the base of Booroomba, the regrowth after the bush fires is really thick, making many of the well worn paths obscure to start with. We made it to the base of Nail Biter without any problems, and made a good inspection of the climb.
Brett in front of Nail Biter
The start of Nail Biter is quite accessible. An easy slab slopes up to the start of the crack. On first view the crack itself looked very climbable, just wide enough for hand jamming, but on further inspection I noted that the face on the left hand side of the crack stuck out about six to eight centimetres more than the face on the right hand side. I could see from the start that the approach would be to layback up the crack, with hands grabbing the right hand side and feet firmly planted against the left hand side. Even though the climb looked relatively easy, it had the extra benefit of exposure, being on a big granite spike stuck out on a hill with slabs dropping away from the base.
I hummed and hawed a bit, trying to get my brain into climbing mode, when Brett suggested that he lead the climb. I was impressed with his eagerness, but I wasn't impressed that he had never led on trad before, and that he had spent the last six weeks on the couch. He was adamant though, so I offered to set up the first bits of pro just to make sure that the start was safe. He started strongly, and made it up to about a third of the way up the climb, where the crack has a prominent wedgy 'V' in it that you can wedge your foot into for an easy resting point. The crack then thins a bit, and the face bulges out, forming the crux of the climb. Brett placed another couple of pieces of protection, stuffed around for a bit, then the lounge lizard training started to take effect. Brett got pumped really quickly and started to loose strength. He hung off a cam for a bit, then had another go, but to no avail. I lowered him down, then suggested we take a break and that I would lead the climb from there on.
Brett on lead
After a break, we changed gear around and Brett got on belay. Laying back up the crack worked beautifully, and I made it to the 'V' section quickly. I checked Brett's pro placements, then reached up as high as I could and placed a nut and clipped the rope in. At first I attempted to climb the crux face-on to the crack, but I wasn't getting very far. I then thought "what the hell am I doing?" - the crack is made for laying back. I changed my stance to laying back, and I blasted up and through the crux. I was going so strongly that I didn't stop and place any pro, and by then the face was starting to round out, so I was fairly safe. The only problem though was being in the lay back stance as the face started to flatten out. I was grovelling a bit as gravity took over and started to smear the right hand side of my body against the rock. A few more moves and I was at the top. I clipped into the belay bolts on the top and was elated.
On top of the Nailbiter Spike
After some water and a look around, I set the belay to bring Brett up. He moved fairly strongly, had a bit of a hang before the crux again, got laying back under control for a bit, then as he came over the bulge where the face backs off, he changed to a front on hand jamming technique and moved up strongly. "That's the trick!" I thought. Instead of grovelling over the top in lay back mode, change to a front-on hand jam. Brett made it to the top and we shook hands and marvelled at the view for a bit. I then lowered Brett back down so that he could clean a couple of the bits of pro that had been left in place. One thing that we had to be careful of while doing this was getting the rope caught in the crack. We had to unweight the rope a couple of times and flick it out of the crack. I cleaned up and had an easy abseil back down.
Brett on top
The day was starting to move on by then, as we had made a late start. We thought about the long walk back to the car and the cold, homebrewed fermented yeast health drink and ready to barbeque pork spare ribs that awaited us back at the house, and decided to call it a day. We had achieved our objective - climb Nail Biter. It may not have been in the finest style, but we had learnt a lot and would climb it with style another time.
Nail Biter - classic crack
I lined up my cuzzi bro Brett to climb with me on the Sunday. He'd just spent the last six weeks on the couch (literally - for two weeks over Christmas he didn't even move to his bed to sleep), so it was time for a bit of a weekend workout. As it turned out, it was a perfect day for it too. Calm, clear skies, and not too hot.
Gibraltar Peak
We drove into Gibraltar from the Corin Road side, but where the map notes pine forest, there was nothing but regenerating bush. The 2003 fires had obviously creamed the place, and it has not been replanted since. The road wasn't too rough, but the recent heavy rain had carved some good sized ruts into the road surface. We managed to get the Hyundai Getz go anywhere vehicle through most of it, until we got to one that was just not crossable, so we had to leave the car and walk in for the last few kilometres. A large four wheel drive would be highly recommended if you don't like walking uphill in the full sun with a heavy pack on your back for a few kilometres.
The final walk up to Gibraltar Peak is a good warm up. The peak is a prominent pile of very large boulders, so it was almost impossible for noobies like us to get lost. The fire trail starts to rise steeply up to the top of the hill, then a solid set of granite stairs lead into the guts of the large granite boulders.
Even if we hadn't gone climbing, the walk would have been worth it. The view from Gibraltar across the Brindabella Ranges and the ACT is brilliant. The mega pile of granite boulders that make up Gibraltar Peak are very impressive. A veritable feast for any lover of granite climbing. We had a bit of a poke around, and over the first rise, there it was. The Nailbiter Spike. We bashed around in the bush a bit, trying to find the paths through the boulders. As with the base of Booroomba, the regrowth after the bush fires is really thick, making many of the well worn paths obscure to start with. We made it to the base of Nail Biter without any problems, and made a good inspection of the climb.
Brett in front of Nail Biter
The start of Nail Biter is quite accessible. An easy slab slopes up to the start of the crack. On first view the crack itself looked very climbable, just wide enough for hand jamming, but on further inspection I noted that the face on the left hand side of the crack stuck out about six to eight centimetres more than the face on the right hand side. I could see from the start that the approach would be to layback up the crack, with hands grabbing the right hand side and feet firmly planted against the left hand side. Even though the climb looked relatively easy, it had the extra benefit of exposure, being on a big granite spike stuck out on a hill with slabs dropping away from the base.
I hummed and hawed a bit, trying to get my brain into climbing mode, when Brett suggested that he lead the climb. I was impressed with his eagerness, but I wasn't impressed that he had never led on trad before, and that he had spent the last six weeks on the couch. He was adamant though, so I offered to set up the first bits of pro just to make sure that the start was safe. He started strongly, and made it up to about a third of the way up the climb, where the crack has a prominent wedgy 'V' in it that you can wedge your foot into for an easy resting point. The crack then thins a bit, and the face bulges out, forming the crux of the climb. Brett placed another couple of pieces of protection, stuffed around for a bit, then the lounge lizard training started to take effect. Brett got pumped really quickly and started to loose strength. He hung off a cam for a bit, then had another go, but to no avail. I lowered him down, then suggested we take a break and that I would lead the climb from there on.
Brett on lead
After a break, we changed gear around and Brett got on belay. Laying back up the crack worked beautifully, and I made it to the 'V' section quickly. I checked Brett's pro placements, then reached up as high as I could and placed a nut and clipped the rope in. At first I attempted to climb the crux face-on to the crack, but I wasn't getting very far. I then thought "what the hell am I doing?" - the crack is made for laying back. I changed my stance to laying back, and I blasted up and through the crux. I was going so strongly that I didn't stop and place any pro, and by then the face was starting to round out, so I was fairly safe. The only problem though was being in the lay back stance as the face started to flatten out. I was grovelling a bit as gravity took over and started to smear the right hand side of my body against the rock. A few more moves and I was at the top. I clipped into the belay bolts on the top and was elated.
On top of the Nailbiter Spike
After some water and a look around, I set the belay to bring Brett up. He moved fairly strongly, had a bit of a hang before the crux again, got laying back under control for a bit, then as he came over the bulge where the face backs off, he changed to a front on hand jamming technique and moved up strongly. "That's the trick!" I thought. Instead of grovelling over the top in lay back mode, change to a front-on hand jam. Brett made it to the top and we shook hands and marvelled at the view for a bit. I then lowered Brett back down so that he could clean a couple of the bits of pro that had been left in place. One thing that we had to be careful of while doing this was getting the rope caught in the crack. We had to unweight the rope a couple of times and flick it out of the crack. I cleaned up and had an easy abseil back down.
Brett on top
The day was starting to move on by then, as we had made a late start. We thought about the long walk back to the car and the cold, homebrewed fermented yeast health drink and ready to barbeque pork spare ribs that awaited us back at the house, and decided to call it a day. We had achieved our objective - climb Nail Biter. It may not have been in the finest style, but we had learnt a lot and would climb it with style another time.
Nail Biter - classic crack
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