Ascents of Ozymandias Direct

Fun day out, solo in 11.5hrs.

Double rack, black totem to #4, single #5. Narrow cam hooks, few medium offsets and small nuts. Could have used some more/smaller offset nuts.

Great 2 day uneventful burn with Dan. Less enjoyable, more work and slower than anticipated but still a rad time for our first big wall. Very different mentality to free climbing.

Learnings: bring a small milspec camelbak with snacks to save faff with opening haul bags; a cam hook 'expansion range' is pretty large; more rope bags for belays and storing stuff; lightweight bosun probably better and faster than arranging ledge for belays; pre-clip most shit in haulbag before stowing to 'clothesline' for easy access and no fear of dropping if you need to remove anything; bring way more powerful headlamp for night fixing; bring more rated accessory cord; more large HMS boa biners; slide hammer nut tool was essential; .1.2 offset good for p2 and p3; rigid ledge for anything over 1 night; make more effort to transition properly to free; aiding is super rough on gear life expectancy, worth trading weight for durability for some things.

Aid onsight is a legitimate tick

Big adventure Did in two long days Great weather Tested out the g7 and taco ledge it's the way to go with the approach

Mashed up a few of the smallest rps on the 2nd pitch with my nut tool they were bomber placements

Another aid onsight thanks for the beta @bestofthecrag

First time aiding on gear, using camhooks etc. But was an epic time on the wall. Insane location and exposure.

Day 1: Walked in ~ 2hrs and then climbed to big grassy for bivvy with plans on fixing the next pitch. But had some haul line mishaps and ended up just calling it a day.

Day 2: 14hrs from Big Grassy to top out

Gear:

Double rack of friends to #4 Few small aliens + offsets 1 x set of RP's which I didn't use 2 x sets of offsets - micro to large 1 x set of BD stoppers 2 x medium cam hooks 2 x skyhooks (only used the hook for 1 move) 30 non lockers 10 lockers 2 x draws 4 x 60cm slings, 2 x 2.4m slings. Would take a couple more 60cm slings next time for anchors, tethers, rope coils etc. 8 x bolt plates Microtrax, grigri, atc, prusicks, jumars, Daisies, Aiders, Fifi hook,

Camhooks were great for moving quickly on the thin corners. Didn't take a #5 and ended up being able to make do on the final pitch with a couple old carrot bolts on the left hand face. All the available beta is great but found the route to be fairly obvious to follow with some incredible lines.

Three tough days in the sun. Slept at the base night before, then Big Grassy day 1, under Gledhill roof day 2 and topped out day 3. Awesome experience with great gear and exposure. But even after getting more water on the first night 4 litres per person each day was not enough on 30 degree days. Ended up severely dehydrated and with an upset stomach couldn't eat for the last day and a half which made progress really slow.

Either way this line is a serious undertaking. Glad we spent a few days practicing aid and hauling technique in the lead up and that we both have a wide range of rope skills under our belt. Definitely not the place or conditions to be learning new skills.

The nut off the fifth anchor is actually on the right at the base of the climb. Didn't realise that's where it came from until day 2.

Part 3: Yim and i spoke briefly on the walk out about whether we would become aid climbers, probably a fairly standard conversation to have after australias 'the nose' of aid climbs that initiates so many into the world of the big walls. Yim mentioned he was keen to use the skills for exploratory trips (new routes) one day but wouldnt really make established big walls a priority over free climbing. For me, it was time to come clean about my feelings for big wall climbing: Categorical fuck no, not interested. I cant understand why one would put up with all that faff, routine 3 hour belays, sleeping and eating like animals, all to not even climb rock? There were for sure some good moments, but on the whole, i recall being uncomforable, tired, abit stressed (probably more a symptom of poor preparation) and generally distainful that i could see a stack of 3 star free climbs from the wall that we had foregone to tether our way up this wall. Whats more is that we were doing the best aid route in the country with ideal weather conditions.

Im tremendously grateful to have had this experience and owe our mate yimbo a beer (that he'll not doubt drink a quarter of and go make himself a hot choccy instead) for book sourcing all our literature and coordinating most of the gear we used for the trip. I think alot of people never try things like this because they assume they wont like it or convince themselves their life is good enough to not bother having an experience like this; if it werent for yims enthusiasm and zest for new experiences, i would have been one of them. I suspected i wasnt cut out for big aid missions. I was right in this case. Im glad to know this now for sure. Keen to continue reserving my aid climbing for free routes a little above my paygrade and continue kicking around climbing rocks!

Part 2: The following morning, first light woke us and the beautiful views of the sun lighting up the porepunkah valley were juxtaposed quickly by the first event of the morning: Laying cable into a fucking sandwich bag. Yim captured the literal second of mine on camera and im not sure how i feel about it; yet to see the photo. Ill decide on instagram worthiness later on. We packed up the circus and i got into climbing (almost without the haul line). I got back to the start of the 22 and decided i was too cunted to put climbing shoes on and aided the pitch, something i still kind of hate myself for. It was my mistake at the end of this pitch though that dished us the biggest epic of the journey. I set up at the wrong anchors (the carrots at the top of the corner). Only 4m from the real anchor on the arete but the pig did not agree with being pulled up the slab on the 6th pitch and promptly got itself trapped on a bolt. Unable to lower the pig out of its predicament, yim used the hexagonal fixture on his nut tool to try to loosen the bolt, only to have the bolt explode out on him and fall to the valley below. We have included a separate note on the route description in relation to this, please refer to that if this is of concern to you. The pig was free and dragged up to the carrots. We made a pretty efficient go of the roof, yim evidently turned the corner on cam hooks, which i realised on the prussik up the corner above that was pretty free of trad gear. It was my job as seconder of the roof to free the pig and due to our anchor location, our poor piggy that wed become close with in the last day was about to take a king swing across the wall. I was reasonably sure all the waterbottle tethers had been prepared but i still couldnt bare to look as the load soared through the air along a sagging arc. The pig handled the exposure like a champ and didnt spray plastic and shit everywhere to our relief. Looking pretty good for time, we tucked into lunch at gledhill. The fang pitch (8th) was my lead and is a truly unique pitch, which i think can still be enjoyable (and awkward) as an aid lead. Supposedly 22 but definitely would be nuts to free. Yim got us to the plaque at about dinner time just as it was starting to dim and i knew after the haul line faff that i was about to become apart of the benightment club, after such an improbable run of all daytime finishes. The jap curry was now well and truly sour and even our hungry, depleted bodies were rejecting the concoction. Aiding the offwidth with the lights of bright(?) glowing in the distance was an oddly calming experience. "I prefer stars; natural light" yim hit back after i offered my thoughts. Ok mate. The no.6 that we only included on the rack upon recommendation from pauly and brad in the carpark on monday was as essential as a climbing rope to get up thr final 5m! Wrapped my hand around the tourist lookout rail at 10pm, ripped yim up the final pitch so we could commence the walk back to the car and our bivy spot at echo point which now seemed like the marriot penthouse.

Part 1: Lot of work for a 10.

Monday arvo was when the adventure started. We lugged the gear from the base of angels to the ground bivy at the base which was way harder than i anticipated. Bushbashing with a portaledge and haul bag is exhausting work and yim seemed completely depleted of energy; a great way to be at the start of a 2 day aid route. I have to admit i was within a hair of turning us around and not going through with the climb a few times on this approach, especially after the creek crossing. We found the base at 9pm and bived down. Surprisingly good sleep. Up at 6, i refilled our 8 waterbottles (which frighteningly were coming undone from their tethers on the walk in because i had incorrectly copied the knots from a youtube tute) and ushered yim to get to work setting the pig family up at the base (the big marn takes some encouragement to wake up at the best of times). We were on the wall aiding at 8ish. P2 was my coming of age with cam hooks; Only good experiences for me, but that all changed on yims lead of P3, taking no less than 5 (five) [V if roman numerals are your choice for counting] whips in half an hour. Id never seen an aid whip before but ive now seen 5. Impressively, he stepped out the top of the crux that had beat him up on a triumphant skyhook (!) and continued to big grassy. Having never successfully set our ledge up on the wall, i was keen to stop decorating our wall lodge with fixed lines and gear displays and get to making sure we could lie down for the night. It was yim that made the break through wed missed at kp which was loosening the fuck out of all the straps to fit it together, a fairly obvious sounding solution in hindsight, but with old gear, i fell into the trap yet again of assuming the worst of the uqmc club gear (sorry lachie). We had the ledge set at 6pm just in time to pack some food in before fixing the pitches above. This was one of the best moments of the wall experience, providing some reprieve from the anxiety of this big undertaking we were backing ourselves on. The japanese curry wed cooked 8 serves on was starting to sour abit but by portaledge standards it was fine. I fixed p5, wanted to free p6 (best 22 at buffalo) but didnt have enough appropriately sized gear so rapped down to do it in the morning. The sleep was again surprisingly decent on the ledge, and it turns out sleeping mats actually arent essential we found out as i lay comfortably while yim laughed and told me to look where my sleeping mat was. I thought it was under me. It was under my feet and 70% hanging off the end of the portaledge. Fuck. Dig heels in, do a sit up, and grab the mat that was all to happy to oblige to the evening breeze that was wishing to claim it as another piece of ozymandian space junk.

The plan:

Day 1: Pack, drive to Buffalo, hike to base of route, bivy at base of route.

Day 2: Climb to big grassy, set up portaledge, climb on and fix ropes for next pitches

Day 3: Pack down ledge, climb on. Either topout if moving quickly, or set up ledge at Glenhill bivy and fix ropes beyond.

Optional Day 4: Topout early before weather arrives.

The reality:

Day 1: Pack, drive to Buffalo, repack, start hike in. Realise starting the hike at 8pm in wet conditions with heavy packs was not wise. Bivy at carpark.

Day 2: Hike to base of climb with gear. Start climbing early afternoon. Climb P1 and P2, finish 11pm. Set up ledge at base of route and bivy.

Day 3: Pack up ledge, jug and haul to top of P2. Climb P3 and P4, haul, set up ledge on big grassy. Turns out with portaledges, the fly doesn't go on last. Climb half of P5, get confused about route direction and anchor location in darkness, build trad anchor, fix rope, rap back down to BG. Finish at 11pm.

Day 4: Morning thunderstorm. Lightning less than 1 sec away. Sleep until gear mostly dry. Finish P5, climb P6. Fix ropes and descend to BG. Finish at dusk, huzzah!

Day 5: Pack up ledge, jug to top of P6, haul. Climb P7 (slow). Set up ledge at Gledhill bivy. Bed down before dark, huzzah!

Day 6: Pack up ledge. Poop tube now full and topping out becoming urgent. Climb P8, haul. Link P9 and P10. Topout at 5pm. Haul. Collapse.

Some will look at this and see a pair of amateurs faffing around. And frankly, they wouldn't be entirely wrong. Most of what we did up there, we were doing for the first time. First time setting up a ledge. First time aiding anything other than a bolt ladder. First time using camhooks. First time hauling a pig. First time pooping into a bag while hanging in a harness. My first route at Buffalo! But I would counter that by highlighting that adventure is a function of the possibility of failure. We knew we were operating within our limits. Both of us had the technical and rope skills to finish - or fail - safely. Either of us could have found a more experienced person to drag our sorry hindquarters up the route. And while it might have been fun, less work, less stress, not to mention faster, we would have missed the adventure. In putting ourselves into challenging circumstances, circumstances where failure is a possibility, success is vastly sweeter.

We learnt a lot, and would do a bunch of things differently in future. Having a set of etriers for each person would make cleaning the roof much easier, as well as the jugging. Having food that won't morph into a 3 day zippy bag vinaigrette would be nice. Packing a haul bag so what you want next isn't at the bottom. Study releasable tie-offs for the pig, instead of trying to invent them on the go (Note to self: a slip hitch in a maillon can twist and get stuck). Back cleaning the roofs. Getting more comfy with run-outs on camhooks.

I am incredibly grateful to Jacinda for the trust she showed being willing to undertake such a massive adventure with me! You're a legend.

Stuck with the Gerard and Haydn after they belayed me on my free attempt at the first 4 pitches. Had a shit sleep at grassy basically hauled bags and sorted logistics as the fellas swung aid leads to the top. Hauling a 3 person pig solo is honest work 😂 they got a good bargain I reckon.

With the potential of more lockdowns to come it was time for a post-delta post-stitches out, pre-omicron, stretch of the legs on the old faithful.

Inspiring to see FAist Geoff with a crew crusing up Angels during the walk in (Aside: that mid-traverse webbing sling anchor on the walk in above the angels start really needs to be changed out, its bleached, partly underground etc. Other lines appear in OK condition). Walk in seemed much more erroded then previous from memory ??precip/more traffic??.

The gorge looked surprisingly busy (Busy for Buffalo, not acutally busy) with Brad taking a commercial group down the furer raps and Matt et al (team of three) doing a multiday ascent of Ozymandias direct.

After a 12.30ish start from the carpark and several fat chats on the way to the start only got to the base ~1530ish (not too much trash round atm) and fixed P1/2 and bivy'd at the base (Weirdly enough none of the usual possum nocturnal harrasment??). Finished the route the next day a bit later then I would have liked. Bringing a rope that was too short last time didn't help with linking pitches. Finished with several litres of fluid spare. Condies excellent, only slight seepage P1 corner.

Kit: Usual grigri1/backup knot belay, classic daisies/alfifi. 5?m lead line, 60m 8.4 rap/haul line.

P1/2 (P1 backcleaned, then linked), hauled together, P3/4 linked (ie to BG), P4/5 linked (rope too short, belayed from traverse bolts), P6 (roof) normal, P7 (fang) normal, P8 run short to bolts below chimney, P8.5/9 linked to lookout (2 part haul up chimney then from face below lookout, used lead line only).

Route was in fine condition, removed 1*unbranded 6mm finger-tight mallion from one of the lower belays. None of the usual gaffa tape edge pro as previous found. Smell of fresh urine (adds character IMHO).

Will try to do another clean up run early-mid next year - mostly small plastic wrappers around the base/left bivy area, one large metal pole (would be difficult to haul without cutting into smaller pieces).

Fixed infrastructure issues (would appreciate other opinions on this): ?change lower out tat on the P3 crux pin (the only long term solution is likely a crimped wire loop?), consider reviewing P1 start bolts (pin drive bolt off the deck, often used for ledge hang), p1 2nd bolt hanger spinner, lower out mallion/ring on rightmost bolt of glenhill bivy to remove tat, rationalise tat on fang pitch. BG bolts are situated pretty low for a good portaledge hang with room for the fly (at least for my usual metolius ledge, not sure for the other brands).

Malliom/ring combos on the lower belays might deter the intermittent tat build up from bails/projecting free climbers - any local rebolting funds around ?

2ish days. Climbed to Big Grassy on the first day and had a fun night in hammocks. Got to the Gledhill bivy mid-arvo and decided we'd rather climb into the night than sit in the hammocks, ended up topping out at about 1:30am. A memorable experience overall!

Our lack of RP's was telling on pitch 3. A solid try for our first true aid experience. Lessons learnt. Lowered off a bolt at 25m on pitch 3. Lucky to whomever gets my two wiregates! First time bailing off a lead, but I'm sure it wont be the last.

The most intensive climbing experience I've ever had. It was also my first proper big wall aid climb. It was an absolutely full on adventure! I feel very grateful to have shared in it such good company. We climbed ground up over 3 days in a party of 3 swinging leads. We took 2 hammocks and a small portaledge. Slept at big grassy first night, was a pretty tight bivy at gledhill the second night. We fully realised how slow and unnerving thin micro aiding is. I took a big whip on P2 when an RP and micro cam popped. It felt very committing leading our ropes up the great roof at sunset second day. The sunrise from Gledhill bivy was a definitive highlight. The fang pitch was ludicrously exposed, on par with the great roof. Mega at grade 22. I'd rap down again to climb that pitch! 3 days of consistent logistics was enough to want a break from aiding for a while.

I did it solo over three days. I thought this might have been a scary suffer fest, but it was type-one fun all the way. The best part was my hammock camp at the Gledhill Bivvy. I belayed myself with a Mad Rock Lifeguard and used Petzl Evolv Adjust adjustable daisies, which were often a pain in the arse. I've posted a thorough write-up here: http://www.chockstone.org/Forum/Forum.asp?Action=DisplayTopic&ForumID=2&MessageID=11767&Replies=1&PagePos=0&Sort=#NewPost

Planned IAD rematch after botching it last year, changed to 'natural light only' ascent because....because I forgot all my night climbing kit in the car. Classic.

Setup; classic daisies/fifi/alfifi. SP until end of P7, then grigri1. Croll used when backpacking. Rope ?60m but suspicious it may be a bit short. Would use a 70m lead next time, 60m rap line. Backpacked Ps 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, hauled others.

Departed carpark 0820hrs 17/3 Walk in - fixed lines in OK condition, sling on traverse could do with a change.

Pitches: D1- -Linked 1+2 (backcleaning p1) but needed to extend MP with slings as out of rope. -Linked 3+4 (as usual) -Kit check at BG revealed no headlamp -> changed plan to bivy and complete in daylight

Unplanned bivy BG.

D2- -Linked 5+6 (p6 OzyOrig variant), broke out rap line (again, a bit short of rope gear + 1st traverse bolt anchor) -P7 (started hauling) -P8-p9.5 run to bolted anchors below chimney/above ramp (no issues with 60m rope), backcleaned crack -p9.5-Top (only need 2*#4, 1#5, bolt hangers (pref wire hangers - bolt hangers popped during cleaning) draws). Haul line got a bit snagged in the 200m low stretch line still fixed to the anchors.

Arrived carpark 1945hrs 18/3.

Guess i'll have to try again next year =)

Housekeeping: -Gaffa tape cleaned from fang pitch again. -Crusty tat removed from vertically driven angle piton on p3 - will likely need replacement tat-skinny (cut) dyneema sling + nut tool should work as a replacement tie off - not clippable with biner.

Booty: -biner+dyneema quad at 1st belay please take (jammed biner, should open with some TLC). -Now rusty 0.75 X4 still on P4 yet to be cleaned.

Good to tick this off the to do list. Deliberately took it slowly to make the most of the solo experience. Rapped in late on Tuesday and bivied on Fuhrer ledge. Climbed to big grassy next day. Pitch 3 was harder than I remembered. Only climbed to the roof the next day after a late start then spent the afternoon on the portaledge. Had a large bird, either a peregrine or an owl, come and perch on the ledge suspension strap during the night. Woke up to see a feathery butt directly above my face. Climbed to the Gledhill bivi and fixed the fang pitch next day, then bivied at Gledhill. Climbed to top Saturday. Bloody hard work but satisfying.

Started out early on Tues, with a nice three day weather forecast. First pitch aided cleaned and hauled to DBB nicely. Second pitch steep thin crack up to 4 bolt belay. Third (crux) pitch saw Peter take some lead falls, one onto one of the bulges and sprained RH foot/ankle. Microcams (C3s) kept pulling on a few of the pin scars, aliens worked allot nicer, especially the offset small aliens. Finished at DBB on two carrots out to right. Fourth pitch back into the crack aided by Peter, up to two carrots before skyhook traverse to bush and easy free moves up to big grassy. Bivvied at big grassy with the portaledge. Second day opted to bail due to Peter's foot condition, which was the only real option. Rapped down to base leaving some carabiners and shoulder length slings. All in all a fantastic outing, we'll be back for sure, one of the nicest lines I've seen! Props to Jicinde and Claire who were on the free route and we had the pleasure of sharing the climb with! Absolute crushers!

What an adventure. Climbed over 3 days, we had to put a big effort in to get to the top of this one. First aid climb and first time putting all the 'big wall' skills to practice for me. Stayed in the portaledge at big grassy and the gledhill bivy. I think excessive preparation and stoke helped to compensate for the lack of big wall experience to get to the top. In saying that, a lot of lessons were learnt, and there are huge efficiency gains to be made by us. 3 days was the right call for us this time around, but now we know what to expect and have some ideas for better organisation on the wall, 2 days would be achievable next time. By far the most incredible terrain I have ever been in, the exposure was just a completely different level compared to anything I have experience before, and the climb had a pretty serious feel to it. Pre-climb quote - Rijan:"I'm gonna free climb as much as possible to go faster" Post-climb quote: - Anthony: "How'd you go on that 8m grade 10 scramble up to Big Grassy?" - Rijan: "I aided the F*#! out of it!"

What an experience. Two day ascent, rap in, hammocks on big grassy. Crux for me definitely above the roof on pitch 6 before Gledhill Bivy. The crack gets very thin with 8m of questionable RPs. Led pitches 2,4,6,8 (counted as linking pitches below big grassy).

Epic

Wow, that was extremely difficult and scary, but life-changingly exhilarating! It was great to succeed after being forced to give up after two pitches our previous attempt in May last year. I'm impressed at the speed that some people seem to be able to aid up these pitches; we were very slow in comparison. It took us three and a half days from the base to the lookout.

Thanks so much to Dave Dave for the loan of the ledge and bosun chair and for the beta. We couldn't have done it without those things. Thanks a lot also to Neil Monteith for the loan of the haul bag and some little cams. Thanks to Mungo Skyring for the loan of the black totem cam, it was a lifesaver! And thanks to Dave Burt for being an excellent all-round climbing partner!

Day 1: walked in, climbed pitches 1 and 2, camped on the ground

Day 2: climbed pitches 3-4, 5 and 6. Hauled the bag to big grassy and camped there on a portaledge

Day 3: climbed to the top

It sounds so simple written like that! It was not. I've written all the details in a chockstone trip report here: http://www.chockstone.org/Forum/Forum.asp?Action=DisplayTopic&ForumID=2&MessageID=11747&Replies=0&PagePos=0&Sort=#NewPost

Yet another OD run, 3p IAD cleanup run (late clean up Ozy-Direct-day), approx 16hrs base-lookout. First wall for nat and ger ! Relatively dry despite the rain this week. Walk in - handlines OK, crystal brook crossing OK. Bit slow on the crux pitches

Getting buzzed by some muppets drone on the roof pitch was a bit of a let down. Classic 2020.

Whaaaaat a bloody awesome experience made all the better by having the best company (in the form of the legendary Dave Cook). Dave has all the juicy details on his ascent, so refer there for the specifics of the day.

We embarked on our journey late in the morn, the sun was high and our excitement helping lift our pack loads filled with 2 days' supplies and gear for the wall. We reached the wall around noon after a few hours' of fun slogging and borrowed 14L of water from the bubbling creek below the wall. (I say borrowed as we returned it over time hehe).

For two days we quested up the wall, armed with gear loaned from dear friends including skyhooks, fifi's, and camhooks, etriers and daisy chains - bizarre tools of the dwindling now-sub-culture of our sport that were once common-place among one's rack. The goal was to free the climb the route free-as-can-be, though this goal fell quickly to simply getting to the top by any means due to the fact that the free climbing was tough, and we were unsure of whether the free line would lead us into territory from which we could not push further. And thus we resorted to delving into the dark arts of aid climbing in which I saw the light. CAM HOOKS AND FIFIS ARE RAD! The beauty of aid climbing for me is the refinement of systems, the technical problem solving of making your way up a wall by mostly means of equipment, and the intricate focus one has with the protection. That being said, I found myself missing the flow, speed and the organic nature of free movement over rock!

Learning the tricks of the trade through doing and without research/practice (on my behalf at least - sorry Dave!), we slowly trudged our way to our Big Grassy bivy at 8pm - one pitch below our day's objective - glad for a warm dinner and comfy first night's sleep on a portaledge where I had my best sleep of the trip!

We rose at sunrise and pushed through to the top, without much drama but a lot of excitement and awe for the position we were in. I gave the final 24 offwidth pitch a free-climbing crack, and got all but once move (with another handful of falls!), then Dave and myself topped out and hauled the haul bag up and slowly trudged back to the carpark, stopping to search for a the creek on the way to drink up as we'd long since returned the rest of our water back to the Gorge!

Perched up high on the steep granite with pitch after pitch of stellar climbing and immaculate rock, the gorge below dropping dramatically, and the sounds of the cascading creek and bird calls filling the space (and muting our climbing calls!), I couldn't help but feel like this must surely be the best route in Australia. The feeling of a yearning to return grew in me up there, and it has continued growing ion the two weeks since. I'll be back!

Again, huge thanks to Dave for doing this with me! Totally smashed the aiding and pulled us through the roof pitch which would have been super scary on lead!!!