등정들 Cosmic County Area에서 Paul Frothy Thomson에 의한

Back in 2019 I came a hairs breadth from freeing this for the First Ascent after sieging it for an entire season. A year later Nigel did the FFA, and since then I've had this in the back of my mind as an "obvious project to return to for a gr30 slab I know I can do".

Trying it today, I did all the moves "okay" (certainly better than my first days of trying it back in 2019) though it would still need a tonne of effort to put it all together.

But you know what I realised? I just really don't enjoy this style of razor-blade crimping much anymore, and I'm not so desperate to chase my first gr30 to suffer it for the sake of the grade. Honestly, I'd rather climb something steep (though it suits me less) and have more fun.

This is a proper slab/face test piece, and substantially harder than it looks from below. If you're still vibing that style, this is definitely your cup of tea. Now, after 18 years of climbing, I know it's not mine anymore.

Clean repeat on TRS. There was a toprope hanging down it, so I did a second warmup on TRS. Felt about gr22 today, and just a joy to climb. I also found 3 no-hands rests in the top 2/3rds! Maybe the Blueys best pitch of crack?

Clean to the bolt above the "Bryden Allen move" as a warmup, then lowered. Apart from the stupid runout between the 2nd and 3rd bolt, this all felt pretty chill, and super fun. I forgot how good this is.

2 shots. Still haven't quite latched the dyno (getting closer, though), but the move immediately after is my crux. The rest of the route felt easier than a year ago, but still lots of work to do.

Warm up - Just up to the upper crux (2nd last bolt) where I jumped off. Makes for an awesome warmup that way. Damn this one's a good'un.

2nd shot today. By far the hardest of the "Grade 25 Trilogy of Face Classics at Cosmic", and quite a fair bit harder/more sustained than Aesthetic Images. Very sustained, with four demanding cruxes, but all of the bolts are in really bad condition, and the runouts on this at two points are downright dangerous.

EOD lap on Second to see if this one is worth the effort. Fell off at the first crux, rope stretch sent me back to 2m off the ground. Then climbed clean from 2m up to the top. Would that I had lowered those 2m (of grade 18 ). With maybe 2 more bolts and a bit of TLC, this could be a "very good" R-rated route, as it currently is, it's a "good" R/X. Some great hard moves on mixed-quality rock, but basically a death route to climb absent headpoint.

Clean repeat. Some weird equipping, but engaging, sustained face climbing that gets thinner and more desperate all the way to the top. Maybe a bit overbolted in the top half.

Clean repeat. A bloody great warmup, even after all these laps.

Clean repeat. A proper gnarly sequence off the ledge. The hardest moves (and possibly the coolest) on this wall of the Freezer. Got to try hard.

Clean repeat. Yep, the start is still the best bit. Linked into the top of Rat$ for some added challenge.

2 shots. Clean to the roof (25ish to here?) and did most of the headwall as a link, but there was a single crimp sequence to turn the roof (on bad feet) that I didn't really figure out. Hard to say if it would be possible for me if fresh. Some gnarly runouts down low, but still probably the best "slab" of the 3 hard routes here. The headwall is also great climbing, and nicely scrubbed now.

2 shots. Clean to the roof, and eventually put together all of the sequences, but a single move doesn't yet feel "realistic" for a link. I also had a lot of trouble with my fat fingers getting stuck in the "magic pockets". Regardless, the entire top 1/2 is powerful, punchy sustained steep climbing, and nice and clean now

2nd shot. More pumpy and less cruxy than Ha Ha, and certainly more fun. Not too hard at the grade. I even got my hands totally back to front at the crux and had to improvise the entire sequence like that (trust me, it looked as absurd as it sounds) but managed to get up it. The entire finale is also pumpy fun.

Clean repeat. Generally quite pleasant, but the sustained technical upper half is where it really shines. Better than I remembered!

Clean repeat. Would be 24 but for the gnarly crux (made worse by the utterly abysmal bolt position). Glad to repeat this cleanly today without the debacle at the crux I'd had to tick this previously.

Clean Repeat. A fairly sustained thin middle section, though not too hard at the grade. The first third of this is rather ugly.

Repeat attempt, not clean today. With no chalk on the crux, I overcommitted to a non-hold... doh. The upper half of this is quite a bit harder than its neighbour, and the rock is great.

Clean repeat. The start of this is the only interesting part, after which it is just jug hauling ad nauseam.

2 shots. Had to scrub about 1kg of lichen and dirt of this to make it climbable. An easy (gr24ish) start to the ledge, then powerful and steep cranking for the top half. There was only a single move I couldn't do (partially because of my injured shoulder, partially because its HARD), but otherwise I got some okay linkage through the top half on my 2nd shot. I'll be back when my shoulder is better!

Repeat attempt -not clean today. Didn't know my beta at the crux, but after falling figured it out immediately and went through without too much trouble.

This is just a genuinely great route, that I don't mind chucking repeat laps on.

Clean repeat. Rather easy for the grade, but the upper half of this is great techo climbing up the corner-feature.

Clean repeat. I got rather pumped on this as a warmup, especially given that the entire middle section had no chalk on it.

Much better than I remember! After the first 6m, this is classic.

TRS Cleanly as part of working the Direct Finish. Absolutely freaking nails. 100% 28 in my mind, and probably the hardest face climb I know of in the Blueys. Finished via the last bolt of Aesthetic Images to make it a bit harder.

Backlogging. I spent a large chunk of Winter 2019 trying to free this route. I came really close, and had some heart-stopping moments on the top runout, but never quite managed the tick. Extremely conditions dependent, and very hard on the skin through unrelenting thinness in the top 1/3rd. Bleeding tips within 2 shots every visit were the price of admission for this monster.

Awesome moves. Compression, technique, footwork. Feels a tad contrived but only because of the (newer) cicatrix squeezed in next to it. When this was the original line here it was inarguably the TRUE line. Not too hard at the grade. I look forward to getting back on this next time.

Ugh. Yep, I remember why I never got back on this. Basically an epic dawdle surrounded by a single nails move where my height just leaves me hideously bunched. No thanks, there are 10,000,000 better routes in the Bluey to climb.

Really good! Techo corner start, then punchy steep pockets and slopers to the top. Could be one of the more popular routes at the County with some TLC. Fell off on the last moves on the flash attempt, just too pumped as a warmup.

Clean Repeat. Seconding Stephen. Barefoot and chalkless today, because I couldn't be bothered walking back to my gear to collect both. A great old-school line. Traverse in from the right for the best climbing at the start.

Repeat. Just a bloody good corner-crack. The brief patch of vegetation is irrelevant as you bridge your way around on it on good rock with great moves.

After Jason McCarthy 's mega onsight of this, I was hoping I could flash it... nope: bungled the moves to gain the lip, and it was all over. A very weird start leads to a long pumper on generally good holds. Quite the long and varied adventure. With some reinforcement of the key flake in the roof, this could be almost classic.

To the 1st anchors only. Quite tough in the crazy heat/humidity, with a consistently blank crux in an old-school slabby slab style.

Haha, I suck. End of Day attempt to clean up an old dog... and I still fell off the crux of the crux a few times before finding the feet. Aw well... slabby slab. Kinda sharp.

P1 only. 2nd shot. With some chalk on it (now), and full committment to the opening boulder, this is very onsightable for mere mortals. The start looks nails, but totally isn't, and is VERY VERY rad! The rest of the route is the old-skool classic its rep would have you believed. The acrobatic juggy steep bit up high is sooooo tasty.

Bwah, quite sustained and bloody hard for the grade. Techy and tenuous and very long. A weird line, but a worthy one. Not sure about the new bolts near the start

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! Became a bit of a sail-away style epic as I fell off the last move of the crux far too many times. Great climbing, and worthy of standing beside the other classic face routes on this wall. Should definitely get more traffic.

Thought I was on Contractual Obligation. Started up CO (~gr21) (Onsight to ledge), then finished up this. I found the CO section quite scary and dirty, and very runout. I fell off the crux of Debtors Prison due to it being overgrown, cleaned it out, lowered-off and climbed all of P2 clean. The DP section had some rad moves up the flake, and some engaging face climbing above, but it was also dirty, snappy and overgrown. Not recommended.

3 shots. On the 2nd shot, I fell off on the final move after inadvertently slicing a hole in my finger and blooding up the final key crimp (and subsequently slipping off). The final lap with taped tips didn't go so well. Despite the old bolts, this is actually a really good predominantly independent climb, and about 23 to the final 3 bolts. The last bolt to the top is probably a V5 crimp boulder, and quite the techo testpiece. Seriously deserves more traffic (and maybe a rebolt, if I get around to it).

Clean repeat. A really good route up an obvious series of features, marred only by sections of dubious rock. Interesting, varied climbing the whole way. Do the arbitrary mantle past the anchor for a more interesting finale! Not too hard for the grade.

Clean repeat. A quick EOD lap as the storms rolled in to get the gear back, made more exciting by the top 1/3rd of this route being -literally- a water streak (both the crack and the face on either side) which made for some engaging slippery climbing. Its been 5 years since last I did a lap on it, and damn it was fun today. Even after 100s of Blueys cracks, this really is one of the absolute best.

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".

Clean repeat. Always a technical pleasure, though a bit more engaging when damp. The gear top-half feels appropriate.

Seconding Neil. Some okay airy moves on the arete (that seemed kinda challenging for the grade), but stupidly short (10m?) and kinda crunchy rock,