Hot Rock down under?
Pia takes over from Dunc at the climbing end of things and Fi swaps truck for a bus to go on a climbing road trip Hot Rock style across Oz. Pia takes up the story;
From Sydney we started our adventure in search of the ultimate luxury crag
– we wanted a climb with the Sydney Harbor Bridge in the background.
There’s an oft used photo of Catherine Destiville climbing with just
such a setting, and after a little searching, and some help from a friendly
local, we were there and ready to climb it ourselves. Mark, our resident hard
man, lead out through the impossible looking roof, and after only a couple
of rests, and some opportune photo stops, he was at the anchors. Kev, Aeon
and I all gave the route a good go, but there was much muttering of “must
get stronger” and “am a bit out of shape” to be heard. It
was a gorgeous setting, and an excellent way to begin our Aussie Hot Rocking.
After
this great day and some memorable nights in Sydney, we were on our way to
the beautiful Blue Mountains. Sandstone cliffs rising out of a sea of eucalypts
as far as the eye can see, and sixteen happy, hopeful Hot Rockers on their
way to climb them all! We had some fun days at Mt York, where we were introduced
to our lovely local, Macca, and eased ourselves into the Blueys style of climbing.
After spending a few good days with the group climbing at Mt York, Mt Piddington
and the Dam Cliffs, Mark, Gary and I decided that something a bit more adventurous
was in order – and it came in the form of the Dog Face.
We
picked our challenge carefully (carelessly says Stig)– a 3 pitch, M5
aid route up Gigantor, the obvious line up the impressive looking Dog Face.
What we were not initially aware of is that the climb is situated underneath
“Landslide Lookout” – so named after a large part of the
cliff fell away in the 1930s, creating the vertical beach that is the Dog
Face. We were optimistically late getting started on our route, and after
Mark’s deft lead to the first belay station, decided to cash in our
remaining daylight hours on an earlier beginning the next day.
Day two involved me wanting to pee my pants in terror as I abseiled into free space on a single 8mm haul line with a haul bag attached to me; watching Gary create better sized cam placements by pulling out some rock (ie sand) as he tested them; feeling my kidneys cry out in pain after 8 hours in hanging belays; and being amazed/horrified at the varying states of decay of the bolts at the second belay station. The day culminated in watching Mark step up on a sky hook, and seeing the rock beneath it shatter into a cloud of sand, and then seeing his next piece pull, before he came to rest beside me at the belay. It was at this point that we decided that we had seen enough of the joys of aiding, and escaped up our cunningly left abseil lines. An altogether amazing outing!
The Wolgan Valley is an amazing climbing destination, but after so much British-type
weather, long walk-ins and trad gear, Hot Rock was in the mood for some easily
accessible, easily palatable bolt clipping, and it doesn’t come any
easier (or better) than Nowra. So, after a quick stop at the lovely Len’s
for tea and showers, it was off to Nowra we went!!! Not only did the campsite
have running water and flushing toilets, there were hot showers to be had!!!
There was gorgeous weather, the world’s best walk in (a 5 minute canoe
ride across a beautifully clear river and then a 2 minute walk); there was
a wildlife park and wombats! Plus, the climbing was fantastic!!!
Many
of us pushed ourselves a bit at Nowra, but possibly the most impressive were
......., on her first ever lead (Lucifer – 11); Chimene, who upped her
leading grade by three grades (Butthead – 17); Peter, who returned to
join us and showed us all how strong he is; and Macca and Aeon, who on top
of climbing strongly, took out two of the three top places in the local karaoke
contest!!! Fine Hot Rocking style, boys!
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Nowra also offered us some excellent side excursions, including a trip to the wildlife park, a girls-only climbing day, and a couple of outings to wonderful Point Perpendicular. Here Hot Rockers experienced some fine climbs, some excellent exposure, and the chance to photograph some passing hump-backed whales!! Ex-Hot Rocker Angie came for her final visit to Nowra and Point Perp and showed us her usual strength and style, and Nic and ............., and Mark and Macca showed us all how stylish sea-cliff climbing is done with ascents of Rock the Clock (22) and Rex Hunt’s Love Child (21).
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The last stop on our Sydney to Melbourne leg was Mt Buffalo, Australia’s
premier granite climbing area. Though a beautiful place, the bushfires earlier
this year have had a devastating effect, closing many of the walking tracks,
and even damaging some of the climbs. Luckily, this did not prevent ............
and Guar from putting up some new routes. Hot Rock opinion on Mt Buffalo is
varied, to say the least. From “fantastic” (Mark and Macca after
completing Ozymandius Direct (18 M4), to “I’m never f—king
climbing here again”(............................ after their epic on
Mother of Pearl).
While
Mark and Macc were overnighting it on Ozy, ......................... and Nick
and Chimene decided they’d try a one-star, 5-pitch, grade 14 called
Mother of Pearl. This was the beginning of their problems. The route was light
on gear, covered in burnt debris, and where it wasn’t burnt it was slippery.
The climbers couldn’t communicate with each other (or the other pair
of climbers) over the sound of the waterfall beside them, and both ............
and Nick took massive lead falls on the slab due to the moss. After waiting
at the top for more than an hour without sign of the others, ............................
decided to walk home alone.
Four
hours later, dehydrated and covered in soot, they walked into camp. It was
just after dusk, and no one had seen Nick or Chimene since the bottom of the
crag.............. and Janys thought that they would have backed off the climb,
and tried to hitch up the road after seeing the trouble the first pair had
had with the climb, but an extensive driving search in Alex’s wonderful
rescue-mobile, and much shouting and shining of head-torches proved futile.
So, we made a plan. In true Hot Rock style everyone was ready to rescue, and,
at 8am when Alex and I knocked on the ranger’s door to report Nick and
Chimene as missing.
The
Hot Rock campsite was a busy place, with rucksacks being packed, first aid
kits checked and water bottles filled. Unfortunately/fortunately, the rangers
asked us politely but firmly to stay put, and leave the rescuing to them.
To our immense relief the rangers at Mt Buffalo, and all their connected organizations,
are amazing, and they had people searching and the SES on its way almost immediately.
And at about midday, just after the rescue helicopter and the climbing rescue
team had left Melbourne, ......... and Ranger Kev found Nick and Chimene slowly
but surely making their way out of the Gorge. They were about 20 minutes away
from making it out themselves, and were in good shape aside from their dehydration,
and the nasty bruise on Nick’s back from his fall.
After a few days at ex-Hot Rocker Anthea’s house in Melbourne, and a fun night out, we made our way to the world famous Mt Arapiles, looking for some good weather, easy walk-ins, and, most importantly, some fabulous climbing. We were not disappointed. Arapiles suited Hot Rock down to the ground, whether it was Macca working India (an overhanging grade 28), or Chimene and I on Eskimo Nell (a 5 pitch 10); whether it was Guar on Tannin (19), Nic and Stig on Aardvark (18), Gary and Sab on Tiptoe Ridge (5), or all the boys on Kachoong (21), there were wonderful, exhilarating, fun routes to be had by all. Even Fi climbed (Arachnus – 9, and Syrinx – 11), so it must have been good!!!
However,
we knew Araps was not the only excellent climbing spot in the area, so we
headed over to its nearby neighbor– the Grampians. First stop, Mt Staypleton.
Despite the beauty and appeal of Taipan Wall, most of us Hot Rockers (being
mere mortals) don’t climb hard enough to warrant more than a drooling
look at its grandeur, so we were off to Summerday Valley, and its more appropriately
named Wall of Fools. Summerday Valley offered us some wicked routes, and a
chance to show off our recently improved skills.
We went to see the sea (which was easy enough), and to try out some of that famous Australian surf (which proved to be a little harder). The Twelve Apostles were beautiful, the other sea stacks impressive, the rainforest walk was gorgeous, but the surf was flat. For hundreds of kilometers we drove by the ocean in search of a wave to catch, and what did we see? A lake. An endlessly smooth body of water with barely a ripple, let alone a wave as far as the eye could see.
However,
being Hot Rockers, we decided that there was no point in whinging, and that
the next best Aussie sport we could try (though not for the first time) was
the art of drinking. Torquay is a pretty small town at the eastern end of
the Great Ocean Road, but it has an excellent wine bar, and a regular bar
next door which plays funky beats until the early hours of the morning, and
Hot Rock enjoyed both to their fullest extent. A very enjoyable outing was
had by all.
From Adelaide, we were off to Moonarie, our last climbing destination in Oz. I had been promising stifling heat since almost day one of the Aussie leg, and we’d been plagued by Hot Rock weather all the way, but finally Moonarie produced the goods – 41degrees in the shade, and more flies than you could possibly imagine. And we’d been at Araps – our fly imaginings were pretty good to begin with!
Despite
the heat, Mark, Peter and I thought we’d try the 40min uphill walk to
the crag anyway, but about halfway there, with no plant larger than chest
height (so no shade), Peter and I decided to have a rest, and discovered that
we couldn’t sit on the rock because it was so hot that even through
our shorts it burned! To us, that put climbing out of the question, and so
we headed back to camp, but not so our determined Mark, who gallantly persisted
in order that we be fully informed of the wonderful climbing we were missing
out on.
Coober Pedy – one of the driest places in Australia, and what happens
when Hot Rock goes there? It floods. Camped in our underground caves (because
that’s what you do in Coober Pedy), we awoke to the sound of thunder,
and the sudden realization that we were no longer dry. In a very brief period
of time our caves were not just damp, they were filling with water, and soon
three of the four caves we’d been sleeping in were 5 inches deep in
water, and the fourth was seeping! 
We
are currently working on a marketing strategy to sell our rain-creating talents
to drought-stricken farmers around the world.
Luckily
for us, all that rain meant that Uluru (The big red rocky thing in the middle)
and Kata Tjuta were not that hot when we were there, and we were able to enjoy
our visit (and subsequent highway dance party) in the relative cool. A beautiful
place, and a wicked Hot Rock night. And we were on our way to Alice for Christmas,
where we would say goodbye to Loaf and Smurf our rental vehicles, and hello
to the short trip up to Darwin and the end of the great Australia stage of
the Global Challenge!!
