Ascents in Valley Farm having Beta

Hmm, so this was supposed to somehow be 18 at the bottom an 23 at the top by our reckoning even though it hardly looked it … it wasn’t… but I still put in a reasonable effort at points though ultimately my feet failed me …

Somehow angled to convince ourselves this should be a 22 due to poor research… it wasn’t … in fact quite tricky and somewhat hard,… Dogged bits towards the top..

Finally, she goes down! Crazy how much I changed some of the beta since my first couple of sessions. Gave up on the rightward traverse in the crux (which makes it seem more like a 26) and went high on the left instead (which makes it a reasonable, but still pumpy/sequency 25). Great climb!

Draw hanging lap. Fell with my hand on the jug after the crux like a big pumped dumb dumb

Hanging draws and re-familiarising. Found some better heel-toe cam beta for the low crux

Turning into a bit of a mega-proj! Fell on the last move of the crux traverse from pump trying to get my foot up...sigh... Decided to try the left beta thats mentioned in the description and it went quite easily. Reckon I'll try this on link next time

Warm up to the crux.

Broke about 6 holds.

Route is unsatisfatorily vegetated for the modern ascentionist. Ground up the lower gritty slab then jugged the rest. Corner crack is fused, next crack clean apart from lots of ferns, and left crack choked with dirt & ferns. Whole thing could be freed after cleaning but better to leave it and attack Running Gun Blues.

Good as a long megapitch

Repeat.

Sooooooo good! Gotto be one of the best, right? From the 3rd bolt up, this is all pure class.

Great line filled with interesting climbing. The crux is confounding, but there are ways for the short and the tall.

Broke a potentially crucial crimp and tore myself a flapper. Luke proved the line still goes if you hug the arete a bit, no idea if it changes the grade.

Had to remember lots of things

Fell on long left hand reach. Matt figured out some nice beta for the feet when exiting the crux. Another day hey

Warm-up, sat at a few bolts.

Red-pointsight after Dave broke the crux crimp. Desperate arete hug and throw for a jug. Might be the way it was originally done anyway??

Solid for 25 or I'm just tired, not sure. Either way there's a hell of a lot of climbing to do, mega!

Got spooked at the 3rd bolt, and then basically the rest of the climb. Interesting warm up

Sent hanging draws. Totally forgot what I was doing from the 2nd last bolt onwards and got serious Redpoint jitters but managed to keep it together. Very memorable moves throughout. Would be 3 stars if the rock was a liiiitle more bomber.

Got a new highpoint while hanging the draws. The heel of the Iati was too stiff and the heel ended up slipping on the crux. Went back to the Oasi for the next go. I was even carrying a shifter and rings for the anchors lol

Felt soooo good! Thanks heaps to Matt for the beta on the headwall, would have been much harder without your help! Ended up hanging a 120cm sling from the bolt below the crux and could clip it from the slab rest.

Been wanting to try this one for a while now. It didn't disappoint, really nice climbing the whole way! Glad to go second once Nathan had chalked it up!

Finally managed to get back between all the wet weather, injuries and being distracted with other projects. Scarier than I remembered lol

Finally managed to link the whole crux sequence from pockets to jug. Colour me psyched! Route done in 2 overlapping sections.

Made it up to crux crimp, but right hand didn't feel strong in the 2 finger pocket. I've decided now to 3 finger crimp the front of the pocket. Did crux sequence again then lowered.

Made it up to crux crimp again but didn't have it well enough to properly start the foot sequence. Oh well! Getting the top section after the crux consistently now. Great progress today, can smell a send in the near future!

Wowsers! Cool climbing the whole way. A very distinct crux sequence had the brain churning for a bit.

Dropped it at a couple moves from the end of the crux. Sooo pumped, fingers were opening while my feet were on nothing. Done in two overlapping sections. Full value 25

Awesome variety of face moves. Couldn't do the crux move. Scabbed matt's beta for the top cruxes and they are really fun. Crux felt way too hard for me atm. Will eventually come back when it's open and I can crimp harder. Keen to see Lukey send!

Awesome variety of face moves. Couldn't do the crux move. Scabbed matt's beta for the top cruxes and they are really fun. Crux felt way too hard for me atm. Will eventually come back when it's open and I can crimp harder. Keen to see Lukey send!

One sit at the crux, plus reinventing lower beta due to a couple of footers disappearing. Keen to work it again once it's open

Beta sussing for Luke. All the moves go

Draw hanging lap, still confounded by 3 crux sequences up high on the arete. Matt then figured out some hectic beta for all three! Stoked to see all the moves go!

Linked to the main crux. Managed to get close to something on that move, but will need to keep working it. The higher two crux sequences really don't feel so bad! So stoked on this line!

Sadomastication Version 2. 3 shots today, totally destroyed. High point was just before the right traverse.

Little bit crunchy down low but once you've past that it's great.

Bloody awesome and really tricky. Don't cheat yourself, do the direct version. Will be back

Bouldered the start to reinforce the recovered memories ... what's that, loud grunting sounds dimly emanating from 43 years ago? Ah yes, it was hard then, and who knows harder now. Must borrow some medium hexes and get back onto it.

Hard to fathom why this was done from a modern perspective ... easily up past good breaks, a more recent gal carrot, then two more past the M0 move - pull on a bolt to surmount a largely blind bulge, or your no-hands friction mantle. Then run it out like crazy toward the arete with a few poxy wires in a bit of incipient crack and the odd modern cam, if you dare. And who does these days, with the "1 bolt-per-metre" rule apparently now mandatory on the upper cliff.

As for the DS visible from below, yes there are cam breaks below but the twin holes are blind, so no banana for the trad direttissima. And no reason to belay half-way on a single rusty 51 year old bolt when the modern rope will reach all the way.

As for the "attempt": part rap inspection, part old biner retrieval, part rope solo doggy-dog, part jug and part Sunday afternoon excursion. But hey, the sun on those distant cliffs, and the Megalong so lushly green.

Thought this was one of the old lines but it isn't. Rapped down and cleaned out some good placements, though more cleaning needed at the bottom. Funny how the view going down is brighter, and the warm Sunday wall becomes a friend. Got to the bottom late and flew up like a rat on two ropes. Back from retirement, back from the plague, back from obscurity, back from the dead: who said resurrection was supposed to be easy?