Begehungen in Flying Fox Area

Easily up to the steep crack then max effort and popped off inches from the post-crux jug at the ledge. Second ever fall onto a cam. Ha Ha. Must be about 19.

Another one from the history books: an uncompromising line that reminded me of a commentary on the Spassky v Fischer rematch "they played chess like they played in the 70s". And so this climb: an unprotected 17 start (which never used to count), then straight up, with 10 bits of pro in the first half, then about 2 for the rest. Yep, pretty much an 80ft leadout up a juggy wall with a few overhangs before the angle eases off.

And yet a neat X in blue biro on the old guide I borrowed from a prolific ascentionist of the period showed he lead it - and probably with little worry - whereas I quaked over the crux overhang despite 2 solo devices and a knot backup on the B strand. Which prompted me to muse on the neurones in the young adult brain, and more pressingly, whether the beer in the Old Bank Bar Beer Garden was going to be cold, or bitterly cold.

Little wonder that the punters seen crowding Reservoir Dogs on the other side of the valley clearly prefer a more straightforward opening of stick clip and haul up, followed by 9 bolts in 20m. No neuronal abegnation - or exercise - required.

Original description stated "Poor protection on crux" but really not so bad in the Post Camian era. Four metres of easy ledges to the first break then 5 more past the former piton belay now rendered obsolete by a 50 yo Eucalyptus ensconsed in the corner. Avoided the horrors of the "easier overhangs" and no doubt easier massive leadouts by trending toward the corner, which, by the time I reached it, time really was out.

There's only time for one track on the short drive from K Town to the trailhead at M Town, in this case 3'47" of Marvin Gaye's What's Goin On. The intent was to check out Flibbertigibet, but the top of "Who's Lead?" proved both adequate rhetorical question, and easier to identify among the sawn off stumps adjacent to the powerline corridor.

Inspection on descent revealed this climb has returned to the state nature intended,with at least 10 species of healthy plants resident. Intention was therefore redirected to the arete.

2 Climbed right wall avoiding veg.

3 A-shaped chimney which brought on a little dry heaving or breathing.

Rapped down to try to find the P1 belay. Couldn't see it and got too late so bogged back up and bogged off Peter Martland.

Third obscure FF chimney I've done but hardly an inspirational first climb of the year. "A" form chimney that's part marsupial habitat, part hydroponic lichen greenhouse, part bomb shelter with fresh water supply, and part notional rock climb. Got so deep at the top I needed a headtorch to view potential placements, of bats if not cams. Difficulty involved forcing limbs into the "A" and backing upward, followed by a singular sideways sidle toward the light over the sucking void. Second crux overstepping a whippy multistemmed tree that threatened unspeakable revenge on nether parts, concluded by a simple trudge up the gully. Grade 11 going on 16, but hey, the view from the top!

SB: who climbed it, who named it, what does it mean?

A late start up a strong break: suitably bold. Squeezy bits in the flared offwidth. Out of the flare, sapling bent, some blood. Six bumped: or would have been if it hadn't still been hanging straight back off my harness. From the top of the chimney, step boldly, stentorian breath.

And halfway up the last light of the red sun burst, a split ball in the space between: Something Beautiful.

Cleaned climb in a environmentally sensitive manner to retain some lithophytic flora, viz. Gleichenia and Dracophyllum (ferns and stuff) whose roots bind dirt, and without digging out the base of every chockstone to prevent them falling, while excavating sufficient cam placements every 2-3m. I mean, plants were there before us and will be long after, so why not let them be, at least a bit?

As for the ascent, much easier having dug and checked the holes. All there, including the very funky side kneebar. Lay, lay away ...

Razor-sharp layaways into bottomless squeeze, what the heck? Made a lotta noise and burnt a lot of ATP, but was it actually hard? Let's hear it for the enigma of chimneys. Cleaned a bit on the way but more to be done before leading realistic.

Rapped down with difficulty, carefully replacing football sized blocks teetering on a frozen dirt waterfall to avoid slashing the rope below. Various lacerations from sharp veg and broken sticks lead thru the rope linguini and eventually to the rude solid soil - o joyful days, hymned by the raucous applause of cockatoos.

Off to scope several new mega-cracks, then back upward, staying as far out of the dirt as possible, and employing the full sweep's repertoire of splayed knees to spread hands-and-feet: "Leave me 'lone, guvnor, I'm doing me very best!". Poor blighters, covered in soot 'an all ... at least they 'ad a nice view, not like a real chimbly ...

Well at least someone's done it, so it need not be done again.

Inspiration came later that night in troubled dreams: the reason chimneys feel so hard is because you use more muscle mass! As simple as that. More meat, more heat, more bleat.

Excellent juggy goodness with a few interesting moves, even one modern? SS glue in carrot at about 20m right next to a cam slot. Climbed carefully as if on lead and even placed 15 small-med cams and some slings to prove it can be done. A lovely climb! No ancient piton belay visible.

Crux down the bottom, 10m up with only two bits of pro and things not getting better higher up. Mmm, probably not even 80s 'safe'. Musta got lost toward the top as got gripped on some sketchy overhangs. Or maybe did the Sultry-Homo-Nympho linkup. Spare us all.

Just looking at it made me feel bad, but forced myself to make the most of the 50 year celebrations. And wonders, despite blood flowing from a puncture or laceration on the way down, actually enjoyed the enterprise. Perhaps even more surprising, there were placements to be had. That said, probably more 14 than 8, but who knows how to grade chimneys these days? Could be time to start grading.

As I suspected, lovely position, great jugs and easy climbing, but not many placements toward the top for one on the sharp end. 20ft out from the last potential sling I heard a voice from the past from below "Leper, that's not grade 10!"

Can only claim the first pitch, traved in from right then digressed right at top into Megalomaniac. Plenty of breaks and cracks for stuff down below. Looks like a really good juggy journey.

Need real nads to launch straight up this one on the sharp end, guess that's why the original diverted laterally. At the 2nd drooping bolt I suddenly heard a voice from this future age and Pole 28 above "At least the bolts weren't too far apart at the crux!" Ha Ha. Applause to Crouch and Owens, no matter how much they digressed.

Soloed up a bit and stuck a red cam in an ironstone crack. Happy times beckon.

The problem with trawling museums for crusty old artefacts of a bygone age is the time takes to find them. By which time there's barely much of the day left to set up the vertical impedimenta of ascent for a few quick exploratory runs. Thus it was that I found Hair but a few yards from the marked Megalomaniac. The bottom of which cannot be more than grade 2, certainly easier than say, the lower bit of Hocus Pocus and indeed the steep bit of the Furber Steps. Which begs the question, does a largely unprotected 12m grade 2 leadout have less value than a grid-bolted 12m grade 8? Especially since you'd have to literally hurl yourself backwards to fall off.

Despite rightward re-routing of the thin white line I found myself finishing in the same place so can't really claim an ascent of Megalomaniac ... sigh

No sign of bolts or pitons either, although perhaps the trad-coloured spectacles were too focussed.