A weekend of no climbing at Arapiles… the Pines Plaza is back in operation though
Dawn just outside of Natimuk
Juergen solos Trapeze (11)
Bouldering in the shade, spotters are go
Vicious scorpion
Kangaroo lazing at the bottom of Tiger Wall
No, I’m not actually going back to Tasmania. Well, not at the moment anyway. But here are a few more photos from the trip, just to prove there really was some climbing, and I wasn’t just touring around notable Tasmanian climbing locations. Most of the places we climbed at, we were the only people there.
Boer heading up Cordon Bleu (15) at Freycinet
I second up after Boer on Cordon Blue – damning the stuck nut.
Bouldering on the beach at Honeymoon Bay. This rock was actually thoroughly manky, and swathes of sand and debris would come off any time you tried to do anything.
All throughout Tasmania, we kept seeing hoards of surfers. So many cars had surfboards on their rooves – it was ridiculous, I’d never realised Tassie was a prime surfing destination. Anyway, apparently this is one of the places the crazy people surf. And Cape Raoul, off in the background – I’d really like to climb there.
Seakayaking in Norman Bay
Jamming in volcanic rock above the ocean
Bouldering on Squeaky Beach
Rock hopping on Squeaky Beach
Sunset silhouette, Squeaky Beach
The world’s most mediocre climbers have discovered a dangerous new way to defy gravity — free soloing above a lake, which sometimes has swell from passing motorboats, which makes it really extreme, and totally hardcore.
I’ve just seen the future of climbing. It’s not on Everest, or a wind-lashed Patagonian spire, nor is it on some gargantuan wall in Yosemite Valley. It’s in West Virginia, on some sandstone cliffs above Summersville Lake.
I insinuated myself into a clan of cragrats, practitioners of a new mode of climbing called “deepwater soloing.” I was bobbing in the swell from passing speedboats at the mouth of a gaping cavern, watching the 31-year-old American phenomenon Terence ‘Vegas’ Kudo perform on an as yet unclimbed route he was calling ‘Vegas in a Blender’.
…. back to what you were doing people, there’s nothing to see here.
Oh, and we did things on dry land too. I’m not sure why. Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun … to play in a suntrap.
Today’s title brought to your courtesy of a random quote from johnnyb. Today’s images brought to you courtesy of the EOFSO – Equal Opportunities for Stalkers Organisation, as well as Vegas (first image, and squad of ninjas), Boer (second image, sound effects and staff twirling skills).
Weekend at Old Rag… Early morning pancakes, lots of sun, hiking up the mountain like little pack mules, loaded down with climbing gear, sweating like crazy, gloriously evil granite crack climbs, thunderstorms and rain at the end of the day, soaking wet trekking down off the mountain through brilliant green landscape, bright orange geckoes lazing on the road, cooking dinner sitting on the ground next to the ute, dragging aching legs to hike out to a campsite, collapsing in the tent and melting into the ground with exhaustion … fun :)
Now excuse me while I go and throw my laptop out of a window. It will not stop crashing… and crashing… and crashing. In fact it won’t even get through startup without crashing now.