Ascents by Mitch Scanlan-Bloor having Trad CPR

Stellar climbing in the groove, loved it. Rock was dry with a strong south westerly.

Crux was the abseil! Found it very difficult to find the ledges on the way down. Acres of choss with wafer-like rock that crumbles underhand on most of the pitches. Amazing to start hanging 2m above the swell and kelp. Led pitches 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, & 9.

(Top pitch only). Hard to sum this one up. A climb that even the non-climbers know about. The cynical part of me figured it must be a bit of a novelty, but in reality this climb is amazing. Balancy, wandering, techy feet, perfect edges, a dash of cranking and in the most unreal location. It's the best! My proudest onsight by far.

Thank god for all those rests.

Did Battle Cruiser then P2 of this. Interesting techy climbing that shifts between a series of rounded parallel cracks. Fairly sustained from the ground, then eases off at about 2/3 height. Eats small cams!

Weird runout at the start and took a bit of mental gymnastics to commit to the moves before the roof but it was much better protected than I thought.

Couldn't even conceive doing the heel crux on last years trip, but stoked to put it together this time. Prolonged the Gramps trip one more day to brave 50mm rain to get the send after punting off the last throw the day before.

Feet copped the swell but it was dry from then on. Bring your most tenacious belayer!

Pretty easy climbing into a horror mono.

Movement wise it's pretty ace. Found the gear to be marginal though.

Pretty powerful off the ground then cruises to the top. Very well protected.

1 last route to eviscerate the final skin cells on my tips.

Lovely.

More an exercise of how much shit gear I could get in before the crux.

Sweet facey climbing and a tricky crux near the top. Eats small nuts so bring lots.

Poorly managed rope drag had me peaking through the final jam crack.

One helluva crux! Just have to keep on slithering.

Led pitch 2 and 4. Only a light rack of cams required, we didn't place a single nut the whole time. Doubles and/or pulley quickdraws handy to help reduce the rope drag.

Back for redemption on the top pitch after falling on second over summer.

Aptly named as I was continuously surprised by unlikely good holds. Double ropes recommended as the route zig zags a fair bit. One of the better 20s I've done for sure.

Had a crack on top rope. Those top moves are beyond comprehension for me.

Even with Dave Hoyle gear in I couldn't manage the flash after getting flustered looking for better feet. Went to the top, pulled the rope, retied and sent it. Hot tip; you just need to keep moving through the tricky bits! Lots of good rests break up perfect sustained climbing on brilliant slanting rails/finger jugs. By far the most amazing piece of rock I've seen. This place is worth the hype. Will be back again for sure!

Cool techy moves down low, then some fiddly smaller gear up top. Top out was run out and unpleasant...

Classy arete/face climbing. Amazing!

Kept waiting for the crux but it just didn't seem to come. Sustained indeed!

Felt much nicer the second time around.

Too much focus on the pumped forearms and not enough attention on the feet. Beautifully techy traverse down low, with a burly undercling layback of death to keep it fair for all kinds of folk. #4 cam protects the top crux perfectly.

This line really caught my eye last time I visited Araps. Bit of a mishap when I dropped half my nuts near the pin but thankfully this route just eats gear of any size. Stoked to get this one.

First trad lead in ~6 months and made for a spooky time. Thanks to Matt for the long belay in the cold.

Pretty hard for a 20... Finger crack at the top is super goey! Very well protected.

Sporty climbing with a techy start.

Wicked climbing but maaaan was it was slimey!

Stoked to do my first decent length of wide crack. Stacked jams blew my mind!

Burled my way through finger locks then watched my second cruise it with a layback...

Burled my way through finger locks then watched my second cruise it with a layback...

Tricky coming through the undercling onto the ledge!

Was wishing I brought a bit more gear by the end. Engaging all the way, really good.

Didn't have a guidebook so ended up on quite the adventure and we made a few bad calls on pitch lengths. In hindsight it looks like we missed the best pitch by tracking left at the end. Day started with us roasting in the sun, then freezing when the sun passed overhead. Loved the first pitch before rope drag had me deadlifting on the slab corner - never tried so hard!

Led P.1 and P.3. First go at a proper finger crack so was happy to grovel behind Nick for the 2nd pitch. Was a learning experience! Great line.

Top roped/dogged chimney after coming down Ramadan. Seconded Nick's mega pitch to the summit from the ledge. Fairly straightforward good climbing but a band of choss near the top severely detracts from the overall experience.

Wet crack and dodgy rock made this less enjoyable. Rock improves on the 2nd pitch.