Ascents in Oceania as Pink point by Paul Frothy Thomson

What a journey! Surprise send, after spending the morning on Simmo's route, and only tackling this at the end of the day with a view to sorting out the "send logistics" (with a route this long, steep, and wandery... It's fair to say that it's involved).

There's just so much here to remember, and with it being so steep, you're always on a timer to get it done. Steep, gymnastic, and sometimes quite technical. Would be megaclassic, but the rock is only about as good as Sunny Side Bell, so far from the best the Blueys has to offer. It's almost too hard to sum it up at an experience, even with the copious amounts of hyperbole I can command

2 Full days working the bottom 26/27 arete, and the effort I originally put in to climb Gaze a Gazely Stare (as well as a few repeated laps for fitness and training). On the send, I committed to constant 5m+ runouts to avoid dealing with rope drag.

2nd shot total. Scrapped by way up this with the help of some funky crux beta from Michael -necessitating some gnarly foot-above-head insanity to work with my physiology- which was key to my success without working the route. It's far from over even after sticking the roof, and I felt like I was questing desperately all the way to the anchor. Highlight of the Bruny trip for sure.

Had to come back to get this one squared-away. Still had to try hard, but felt in control the whole way. If the rock were better, and the access not so irritating (though to be expected for this part of the world) this would be a proper classic. Still very worthy, though.

2nd shot. Put in a proper good effort on the "onsight" and just didn't find a single hold mid-crux. Committed, tried hard, read the route right. Gotto be happy with that.

A 5m section of hard arete climbing on P2, but the rest of the pitch is only about gr23.

Still cool, but looks better than it is, and its quality is tempered by the hideous 1st pitch, and the terrible equipping. Bareback is better.

Bring 4 x Bolt Plates, a 0.4, 0.75 and #3 cam -to supplement some crazy runouts and the bad bash-in carrots.

2nd shot, placing 2 of the 3 bits of trad gear I used. The Onsight attempt was 1 fall reaching to the incut hold at the end of the crux, then clean to the top. Absolutely stunning! Perfect rock, sustained and unrelenting climbing. Every rubbish sloper can be made great with 1 extreme body position or another. Exciting runouts. A true Climber's climb with inspiration in Spades.

Finally! 4th shot today. 6th shot this trip. 18th shot over the past year. The most shots ive ever given a climb by a lot, and despite the grade this might be my hardest tick to date (and almost certainly gr27 in reality). Demanding, demoralising, destroying and rewarding. Every shot today I was getting through the crux and struggling above (especially getting into the offwidth). Finally, right on dark it all came together. Soooo psyched!

With some TLC, this could be a classic in the same vein as Walking Wounded. Very thin and technical climbing up an appealing red face, broken up by two roofs, worth a lap.

Finally! 2nd shot today (in the dark... any darker and it would be unclimbable without a headlamp). PSYCHED! 25th Redpoint Shot total (with 8 other laps to equip/inspect/warmup over the duration). What an epic journey for the tick: struggling with conditions (it was all down to 1 hour of good conditions each day as the sun went down, during which I attacked this), a severe knee injury, 50 other Projects, and the tough approach to the Boneyard (40min walk up a hill + 12m Jumaar + Ledge Life). When it went, it was still a good fight as I struggled to see in the dark. By the end I was only using 3 pieces of trad gear in the crack, and running it out the whole way.

2nd shot today, 5th total. The first few laps were a debacle trying to cleanup the route, find the holds, and solve the sequence puzzles. But as it came together it was immensely rewarding. Airy and exhilarating climbing (the previous bolt is usually far below your feet before you clip the next one), with complex, sustained technical climbing up an incipient offset seam, though no real "stopper" crux. I absolutely love this style, and this angle, and the equipping: "safe but intimidating". Maybe not particularly hard for 27, but even the original version must have been quite nails for "26".

3rd shot.... a surprise Send as I power-screamed my way up the route. As the guide says: punchy boulder problems separated by good rests. Varied climbing with some long tough sections giving it a sustained vibe despite the rests. Great rock and a cool position. Deserves more traffic. The traverse start is quite gripping.

4th shot today via the original Will Monks version. Surely the all-free version must be 27++? Doesn't look like much, but climbs spectacularly. The lower half is completely independent, and is classic Taipan bulge-y oozing with a gripping trad start. The upper half is simply spectacular and sustained techo slimper-ing. I had to make a fair bit of noise to coax myself up this as my last climb of the trip.

3 days of effort. Fell off after the hardest move at the top at the end of my 1st day, then spent ages never making the same highpoint. Awesome, wandery, run-out climbing, with a decidedly traddy-vibe despite being a sport route. 7 Bolts in 35m is exciting, though. Probably not hard at the grade even without tape gloves or jammies, though this route does suit me fairly perfectly.

Gnarly to be climbing 50m thin techo face at this grade (with oodles of exposure) on trad and the odd bash-in carrot from the dark ages. I took a monster whip onto a sad-looking bashie on my first lap today (after skipping a bolt through the crux), which was rather heart-stopping. Complex climbing with a very hard crux, surrounded by awesome 24ish feature-climbing on gear.

2nd shot. Classic climbing, but the dubious rock renders it "very good". A surprisingly bouldery and sustained outing, with only one real rest on the entire route. My first lap took me 1.5 hours to put together the beta (though route was clearly untrafficked), and to send it I had to go all guns blazing with lots of noise, clipping bolts at my ankles, and a bit of whimpering. For a face climb, this one runs a surprising gamut of moves and styles.

First shot today as a warmup, but I Top Rope Solo'd this clean 4 months ago, so can't claim the flash

Awesome face climbing start on great rock, followed by a steep, exposed arete that is fairly easy but for a single sequence. With numb hands this felt tough!

Proper alpine conditions today. Quite torturous.

1st shot today, 3rd shot total over a few years. Felt easy-ish (vaguely remembering the moves), but still tricky, and no giveaway at the grade, with 3 distinctly hard sequences. A true classic in the style, and a worthy onsight for any climber to aspire too. Committing!

2nd shot. Rarely climbed and with a counter-intuitive bouldery crux... I had no hope onsighting this as a warmup. Pretty good, and less contrived than it looks. A rad bouldery crux at the first bolts sets the ball rolling, just in time to join Deathrow at its rather exciting crux.

First time leading this, though I've seconded it a few times so I can't claim the flash. Did the direct start (definitely getting harder and harder as holds keep on breaking). This climb feels easier on lead than on second. Some cool climbing with interesting moves, and not too hard.

03 July 2011.

Wow! Dream send! Repeating this rarely climbed hard-trad testpiece of the era of Wolgan hardmen has blown my mind! 1st lead attempt, with pre-placed gear (8 bits of gear and 3 bolts) in part because the MISSING PITON on the middle (hardest) crux means the moves are done well above a single #4 wire in marginal rock to stop a 10m ground fall. I would be willing to do placing gear now, though! Boulder-problem lower crux; techy, strenuous trad-pro middle crux, and powerful fingery trad-pro top crux.

2nd shot, punted the onsight (though considering the mitigating factors I really didnt set myself up well to achieve it). Didnt feel too bad 2nd shot. Balancy thin arete with a single cruxy move. The 2nd bolt is in an utterly retarded position.

3rd shot. Onsight ended between 2nd and 3rd bolt at the top. Stripped the route, then bungled the final moves like a punter. Stripped out all but the bottom 5 pieces of gear and sent 3rd shot. So, as the first few bits were still in situ, guess I can't claim a true red point Absolutely stellar upper half on crazy-shallow dimple-pockets. I found this really hard at the grade, but talking to others I may have been following the bolts at the top too directly. Regardless: brilliant.

2nd shot. Went for the true onsight, had a bit of a battle putting on the crux draw, then fell off the only hard move on the route. Very flashable with a bit of beta for the crux. Would be 24 elsewhere, or probably gr23 for "the point" (based on the routes put up in the same era). Short, but punchy and awesomely exposed. Bring a few cams (0.3, 0.5) for the finale. Replaced the poxy belay sling.

2nd shot. A very hard crux, but also quite a few other hard moves. Surprisingly sustained, and very committing, with 2 proper exhilarating runouts. Wild moves and cool holds the whole way. Super steep!

I almost took the biggest fall possible after botching the upper crux at the height of the runout, and deciding the press on with smeared feet and fading fingers. My heart definitely skipped a few beats there.

Originally attempted ground up. Took some falls, but was ultimately stymied by dirt and moss at the lip. Rapped in, cleaned 'er up, and went agsin. Took a huge lead whip right at the end on my 2nd shot, and sent 3rd shot on pre placed gear.

2nd shot. First lap was a bit of a debacle, but my first redpoint burn was a controlled cruise -wasn't even pumped at the top. Super funky grampians-esque start, then a burly and technical crack and arete finale. Steep fun in an exposed position.

Totally botched the start sequence and pumped out, then went back to the ground and sent. Probably about gr20 from the first bolt to the top, but the start is gnarly and slippery.

3rd shot today, 6th shot total. Utterly stoked to tick this inspiring piece of rock. Should've gone 2nd shot today, but my smeared foot slipped as I grasped the final mingen crimp before the juggy finale. Like a harder version of Toyland Direct, but better rock and fewer stances. The fluid technicality of the crux felt more amazing after each lap, but the insecure top slab never felt anything other than heartbreakingly precarious. A great test piece.

Utterly stoked! 2nd shot today, 6th lap total (incl. top rope laps). On the 1st shot I had a random foot slip on the last hard move of the crux, but on the Send it went flawlessly. 13min from setoff to topout according to my phone. So much extreme, tenuous stemming and tiny movements relying on friction and tension to stay on the wall. Stressful and intimidating, but very rewarding. This was the 4th (and last) of my big adventure goals to be knocked off in the past year.

2nd shot. Onsight ended 30cm from the big horizontal ledge as I continued to move my right hand up the seam and the seam ran out! 2nd shot was smooth sailing. Hard to grade, as it climbs like a sustained V3 boulder problem for the first half, then quite easy second half. Funky moves up pockets, left hand slapping up a fused flake feature, while right works an incipient seam. Marred by dubious rock, and bolts (all of which are 1 move above the obvious clipping stance). Bring loooong draws!

Been wanting to do this for a while. 3rd shot. Onsight was a throwaway (its kinda hard to work out where this climb goes at first), 2nd shot I pumped out just before the jugs. 3rd shot was pumpy as hell, but controlled for the Send. Some dubious rock, and kinda short, but fun, steep climbing that gets easier as you go. Guarded by a bouldery crimp-traverse start. Bring a rack of wires, and BD #1 and #0.5 cams, and a long sling to sling the bollard at the top for an anchor.

The onsight went well (and was super solid) EXCEPT for the bolt-protected middle crux, which took me quite a few falls to work out. With the sequence sorted, that move (and by extension, the entire climb) went down soundly. Great face climbing with spaced but safe gear and a few tricky sections. The finale up the flake is exhilarating, but DAMN that flake is as giant and as hollow as they come!

Free from above the 2nd bolt to the top (33m) with 1 point of aid at the start of the route. A mega classic route guarded by a V6+ start. I could do the start move sometimes, but never linked it. Above it, radical steep face climbing on trad with a punchy face-crux, and beautiful, aesthetic rock. The sort of climbing I adore.

On JengA's gear at the top. Balked at the start on the flash attempt (1m off the ground) like a pussy, then cruised it 3 seconds later. Desperately thin footwork at the start (and probably bouldery if you're short) leads to runout trad bliss up the corner and out onto the fake to the anchors. The slightly wet thin holds at the top added a dose of spice. A true old-school classic. The first 2 bolts have now been replaced with rings... Thank god!

Dream send! Is this the best climb I've ever done? On JengA's gear (all placed on his onsight attempt, and left quite runout). Ticked 2nd shot after 2 big falls on the flash attempt. Consistantly thin (though with an obvious crux sequence), the sideways slopey crimps are draining on the arms, and make for tricky, slippery footwork. I fought tooth and nail for the tick. The juggy traverse to the arete caught me off-guard for the last super-runout techy move to gain the arete. Exhilerated!

2nd shot. My onsight attempt was an absokute debacle -I just couldn't seem to get my head around it, for some reason.

Then, when I figured my beta, the 2nd lap was kinda cruisy, I didn't get stressed or pumped. Weird?

Objectively, its classic, slippery, burly, steep crack climbing, with a ruthless start.

2nd redpoint attempt, after a TRS rehearsal. Took a huuuuge fall on my first RP attempt. Short and hardly a "line" but cool rock and moves, and crazy sustained for a face climb.

2nd shot. Hard and intimidating for an onsight warmup. Fell off with a surprise slip mid-crux on my onsight attempt (after getting through all the sketchy, dodgy traddy bit), pulled back on and went straight to the top. No giveaway at the grade, with some exciting trad runouts at the beginning and the end. The crucial loose block at that allows you to protect the traverse isn't merely hollow, it actually moves! Rad climbing and a wide variety of moves.

2nd shot. Bungled the onsight high up (after the hardest climbing) when I totally misread a sequence (trying to use a footer as a hand-hold). With no chalk, and kinda dirty (first lap of the season?) it was a bit of an epic, but it was my onsight to bungle . Brilliant face climbing and surprisingly well protected, with 3 or 4 tough sequences amidst the epic 50m journey. Could really be done safely with no bolts, and the bolted "direct" start (which people clip the bolts on to protect the scary opening moves leaving the corner onto the face) could totally be called a retro-bolt, by making the boldest part now bolt protected. I refused to clip them on principle, and just committed to the fall-potential.

Second shot on in-situ gear.

If you ignore the faff (read: choss and doddle) to get to the roof, and the fact that the roof itself is comically short, the climbing itself is bloody outrageous -especially given the era of its first ascent.

Rather bouldery roof moves to gain the offwidth, after which the climbing is weird (read: fully-inverted feet-first climbing), but not too hard. The rock itself was surprisingly good for Glenbrook Gorge.

2nd shot. So much fun!!! After seeing all the broken gear on this one, I decided to do an equipping lap, then smashed it second shot. Steep, juggy, intimidating pumpiness through outrageous steep terrain. Im pretty chuffed to say that I reached the anchor completely unpumped

I then downclimbed it to clean it

P1 - Onsight (low angle slab following an incipient seam with lots of wires, but not so good rock); P2 (Linked with P1) - Pink Point (2nd shot - Gnarly steep crack that overhangs 8m to the pea pod. The crux section is devious and intimidating and super old-school. I had a loooong onsight attempt with probably 20min in the crux steepness before bungling it (the credit goes to Steve for unlocking the beta, after I whipped and came down). The send (with gear in situ) was solid and fun); P3 - 2nd Clean (17ish? Mixed rock quality but fun and continuous wide climbing).

Done! (But in poor style - pre-placed gear). 9th lap TOTAL. Im nicknaming this climb "7 metres of madness" and for those 7m its all on. Looks 23... climbs nails. Super-complex, varied, long sequences with hideous hideous feet... I havent climbed a crack like it in the Blueys (though im sure theres a few in Indian Creek). Its been a great and epic journey to this point (not the least due to the arduous access), now for the true trad redpoint.

2nd shot with gear in-situ. A super-high quality roof crack climb, but incredibly sharp -the name is apt! I'm currently rocking some of the worst jam scars I've ever scored.

Had a good onsight attempt that I'm fairly happy with, falling off right as I gained the stance in the roof proper, after having hung around for ages getting pumped trying to figure out the awkward transition.

The bolts may have made sense at the time of the FA, but they need to go now, methinks. I'll be back (once the scars have healed) for the greenpoint

An absurd line through the roof crack above the start of P4. Roof jams, Heel-toe above head, and some steep cranking on gear. Took me an annoying number of attempts to send.

Still needs to be done placing the gear on lead (its a mission to clean it, and we were racing a storm).

Repeat. Good climbing at the grade. A few runouts but the climbing is pretty safe. Jonas took the alternate end to the right and up the overhang. Since I was using his gear, I did the same. Probably adds a few grades to it.

Second shot today. Stoked! Red point attempt was defeated by the amount of WATER under the roof after the crack. No time for another shot placing gear today. Pink-point was done adding 1 piece of extra gear from my first shot, meaning 10 placement locations over the length of the climb (14 bits total, with my gear nest before the face moves). Glad to finally get it, felt challenging but well within my reach. Now I just need the crack to dry out so I could do it placing ALL gear on lead.