The following trip took place on the 13th September, 1998.
G'day everyone!
After some humming and haa-ing about the weather, Sunday dawned bright and clear and the call was made for Mt Boyce. After initial estimates of as many as seven of us, it ended up being just Andrew Duckworth, Will, Nicola and I who braved the long trip up to Blackheath.
Although it was chilly when we arrived, Andrew decided to demonstrate his "travel light" ethic by stripping down to T-shirt and shorts (well, almost!) and charging off at a great rate of knots towards the walkdown gully. The three of us struggled after him and finally caught him at the walkdown (aka. tumble down) gully. By this stage he was warm, while we were all stinking hot!!
With Will and Nicola continuing their Arapiles assault unit training (they are leaving for the Mount in a couple of weeks), Andrew and I headed around to "Freewheeling" (17) for a warm up. While only short, this almost-sport route is a great little number, and short enough that you don't risk getting too pumped on the first climb.
Being keen to get on some classic trad lines, I grabbed the sharp end for a lash at "Snoopy" (14), on the same face. This climb is a fun line up a prominent flake. While not very sustained, the first pitch provides for some really nice gear placements (take lots of big hexes!), and some great exposure at the top (if you choose to ignore the squeeze chimney behind the flake!). From here Andrew chose to avoid the crux pitch (which continues right up a finger crack to a chimney), by heading straight up from the belay up a rather unprotected, but easy wall.
Andrew then decided to have a lash at "Pig Iron Slaughter" (21) a great looking arete between "Gently Mine" (14 flake) and "Gates of Janus" (a fantastic 16 layback corner crack). Although it looks like a thin face climb, there are very few actual face holds on the climb, and the crux moves involve balancy laybacking up the arete (which, being an arete, is pretty tough, considering that you can't really flag!). Andrew got the well-deserved onsight (his first 21 onsight, I believe) and seemed rather pleased (the grin remained plastered across his dial for several hours!).
In the meantime, I'd been eyeing the first pitch of "Goldstar" (16). Having previously taken flight on the crux second pitch (grade 18), Andrew seemed keen to have another lash at it, so off we headed. While the first pitch looked ridiculously long and sustained from the other side of the gully, looking up at it from the bottom calmed my nerves somewhat, since I could eyeball both possible gear placements and potential rest stances.
The start of the crack is an awkward off width, but plentiful holds on both faces make it an easy face climb (with plenty of great hexes and wires in the back of the crack for protection). Thankfully the face holds continued out of the off width (where you pull a smallish bulge), but then suddenly gave out, revealing the business: 3 to 4 metres of sustained jam crack!!
Now lots of people rave about the joys of crack climbing, but I've always considered these people somewhat loopy, and in some cases, downright masochistic! So standing there slowly getting pumped, desperately looking for even the slightest crimp or edge, I suddenly had to face my fears: that I too, would have to sacrifice skin to the Great Rock God!!
Not trusting my sloppy jamming technique, I carefully placed two cams at the bottom of the crux, and shakily placed my first jam. hmmmmmmm. Thumb up doesn't feel so good, perhaps thumb down will feel a little better? Ahhhhh. That is better!
I carefully weighted my somewhat rattley jam and found it was pretty solid. Now for some footholds. hmmmmmm. It all looks pretty blank down there. In fact, I think I'm going to have to smear. Uh oh, another technique I'm not so good at!!
I hurriedly placed a rather dodgy wire and shakily brought up a foot. There were some micro edges about the place, so I rather clumsily got my feet on some and quickly shoved another thumb down jam in above the first, managing to bump the wire in the process (
). Well, it was too late to fix it up now, so with sweaty palms and visions of flying hundreds of metres through the air, I shakily placed a couple of quick jams and smeared a couple of times to the waiting "thank God" jug, just above me. Whew! And I hadn't even lost much skin (or so I thought at the time!).
My first thought was to get some gear in, so instead of fiddling with wires I pulled out the ultimate "fire and forget" weapon: my trusty .75 camalot. It went in like a dream, and I could finally relax a little, and try to swallow my heart (which had inexplicably managed to lodge itself firmly in my mouth!).
From here the climbing eases off, with a rather unusual hole behind the crack (great for hexes!), and plentiful jugs on the face. After a couple of posed photos for "ze French film creu" (Will), I continued up to the comfy belay ledge.
Andrew seconded the pitch in fine style (I reckon only because he's done it before, not because its only 16!), and quickly launched into the second pitch, a rather atmospheric outing up the steep headwall. The climbing up to the crux isn't too hard, but is rather underprotected, and that (combined with the ridiculous rope drag from the first placement), makes the crux very committing. At the semi stance under the crux bulge, Andrew took a bit of a rest, and after a slightly hysterical "Peter, watch me!" attacked the crux.
With much grunting and cursing, he finally managed to gain the key crux hold (a less than obvious jug way out to the left of the crack), but then appeared to lose the sequence, first matching on the jug, then returning to the crack, and finally (with the clever use of a rather ungainly leg smear) managing to gain the holds above the jug.
From here the climbing becomes pretty easy (grade 12 or 13), but after all the shenanigans below, you end up pumped, bruised and bleeding and just dying to get to the top (at least I was on second!). That was, dying to reach the top until I saw Andrew's "bomber" slung sandstone chickenhead belay! I didn't see the cams until a little later, but by that point I was up on top of the cliff, hugging the nearest tree for comfort!
Will and Nicola had just rapped down "Snoopy", so with the sun going down, we called it a day and headed back to the car.
Well, that was our weekend. Hope you all enjoyed the break from the rain!!
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