Arapiles 25-09-2008 to 06-10-2008

Blake Turner

Araps trip report Pt. 1

Coming too you live from the pines campground in downtown Mt Arapiles.

It's funny, I've been climbing since 2004 and even with four trips to the blue mountains I hadn't really tasted climbing until I came to Arapiles. I tried for the weeks and days building up to the trip trying to understand why climbing things graded under 12 could be hard or interesting even on trad gear in supposedly bomber placements.

On Monday, my first day at Arapiles we awoke as the suns rays began to bask the mountains exciting bluffs and enticing prows in it's soft morning glow.

Kirsty and I headed off to 'siren' a 145m grade 9. I led the first pitch and found the pro as bomber as advertised and even on a grade 4 approach - a move that involved stepping off some slopey footholds onto a lip that sits out a few metres from the cliff. Concluding on a large ledge to belay from is luxury on the multi's I've done in the past ... But is the norm on the hundreds of multi-pitch climbs that run all down the mountain. Bjorn having not been informed of this had the previous day set a hanging belay within 2m of a big ledge!

Back to 'Siren' and Kirsty had led the second pitch putting us on a big ledge which seemingly sat apart from the main cliff face on all edges - a perfect place for some snacks!

The third pitch began by a big 1.5m step from the ledge to the cliff proper with the 60m drop straight below!! Protected by some big jugs the move rated no more than an 8 by the ewbank system, but the exposure made it a hell of a step!

The third pitch traversed up and right 35m through some tricky slab moves. Kirsty linked the fourth and fifth pitches up a cool corner crack with bridging (imagine having your legs splayed on a corner with a 100m drop below you) and then some thought provoking lay-back moves up to another ledge.

As a nice little top off Kirsty threw me at a little (11) corner that proved as thrutchy as a Frog classic - all those times out seconding Tristan at frog has paid off at last!! The crux move involved moving off an awkward hand jamb and bridge stance with a potential ledge fall up to another jamb and some high feet. Very cool!

A short descent later we were back in the pines sipping beer and enjoying the sunset over Mt Arapiles.

Araps Pt 2.

'using your mouth to hold trad gear is perfectly valid' "it does seem strange though to be sucking on another mans nuts"

Day 2 I came to the realisation this morning that I get to go climbing at araps again today - and it promises to be just as cool as yesterday !!

Bjorn had decided to take a rest day today so the rest of us headed off with the intention of meeting up for lunch on flinders lane a big ledge 70m off the ground that runs between tiger wall and the bluffs.

I led up a lovely 11 called pheonix which followed a large crack/corner system with some thought provoking bulges that meant for some very cool/scary moves.

Kirsty led the second pitch through some overhung but juggy sections.

After lunch Pete who had linked kaiser and Resignation (15) to make it to the ledge provided us with entertainment by chimnying, bridging, jambing and even managing to fit in a no extremeties rest on Aristocrat (18)! Stay tuned for pics of pete with his legs flailing about in free air below whilst trying to wiggle his body through a small off width crack.

Mattias proved much more graceful on second, managing to bridge around the constriction. Only to fall just after the hard bit!

Kirsty and I then moved up to the next ledge via the very cool but challenging 'ivan' (13) and then followed pete up 'Blockbuster' 11 - yet another fantastic corner.

The descent then involved a 50m rap followed by some scary down climbing through a cave and then via a series of chain safeties. Even on the descent these old trad bumblies kept things scary!

More to come as time and batteries permit.

Araps pt3

Today Mattias decided a rest day would be in order. So with even numbers again we headed off to the watchtower to climb some more cool multi-pitches.

Pete and I went up the classic 'watchtower chimney' (12) which started with me leading the first pitch up through a dissapearing crack line - accross a scary slabby traverse, 30m up a corner and finally a cool roof traverse move to a belay at the base of the chimney.

Pete led the second pitch up the chimney starting with some easy chimney moves, desperately searching for pro behind a detached Block, bridging at a leg extension to stretch the most fliexible of climbers and then battling crazy strong wind that was whipping through the chimney from the crack on the other side. At last he managed to pass through the final constriction and set the belay.

Back at camp and united with the whole group, we headed into Horsham to pick up more beer and satiate Mattias' dreams for a shower by a detour via the back entry to the Natimuk caravan park.

A meat based meal was also a welcome relief a the Royal Hotel in Horsham.

Araps trip report pt4

Thursday:

Kirsty, who had transformed herself from trad bumbly to mega trad monkey arapiles climber shortly after arriving back at her old stomping ground, was keen to throw off the shackels of babysitting the new trad leaders and test herself on the hardest things she could convince Pete to lead! So the headed off to the far northern group with head torches and a plan not to stop till it got dark.

Nominally I figured today would make a good rest day, being the middle of the trip. But also because whilst doing a pile of sub 12's seems easy, they were pretty damn long and were graded as such due to having more jugs than a party at Mon's(that girl can throw back the beer ;-) ), rather than due to the lack of strenuous moves. Not to mention the descents which proved in many cases to be more adventurous than the climbing.

So Bjorn and I headed up the mega-classic three star 'absolutely-must-do' route 'Tiptoe Ridge' (5). I led the first pitch which was kinda cool due to the exposure.

Bjorn led the second (crux) pitch which featured some slabby loosely protected moves up a very exposed pinnacle*. It took him a few attempts to find the path of least resistance which had faded at the crossroads of awesomely exposed hughway(think a line of jugs at hand height that trend diagonnally out over an 80m drop) and the road of slightly slabby small feet up to good holds.

(* the pinnacle would have been better protected if he had of taken the #3.5 Camelot he'd left with me to reduce weight.)

Bjorn opted not to campus in free space and headed up to belay from the pinnacle.

Upon reaching there myself I reset the anchor to allow me to scarily down climb the back of the pinnacle, (read lower body from block 2m to big ledge) place some pro to protect Bjorn and then set yet another anchor on the main wall to belay Bjorn down.

However the lower piece I'd placed had wiggled free as Bjorn dismantled the pinnacle belay, leaving him with a scary drop if he fell after removing the first. (when down climbing, the second person gets the kind of fun falls usually reseved for the leader.) Putting in his own peice below the first, bjorn was able to descend without any issues.

Two more pitches of easy climbing and we had finally topped out, possibly having spent more time setting anchors than actually climbing! :-)

And Pete and Kirsty arrived back to the welcoming camp fire and cool beer as predicted well after dark.

Araps trip report pt5

Friday:

Unfortunately the weatherman's predictions of a wet day seemed pretty spot on as we awoke to some pretty ominous clouds off to the north.

Pete had a mission to get in some classic routes on the organ pipes before the weekend warriors got into Arapiles, in the afternoon. So he grabbed Mattias and raced up there to jump on 'Lemmington' a hard 19 face climb with two stars that lended itself to Pete's theory that you can add a grade per star for each easy route. Upon finishing, he was glad to have finally found a climb Mattias couldn't finish more elegantly than he.

Next they ran up the excellent three star Horn Piece (13) which allowed Pete to jump on the impressive 'Tannin' (19) another three star and a test piece for the grade which he knocked over with no problems.

By this time Kirsty and I had decided that the rain was neither coming nor going and that we should start climbing regardless. Joining Pete on the organ pipes, we thrutched up 'Tremulo' (14) whose pro became decidedly sparse on the line at the top and Kirsty added another meter or so of thrutching by traversing left.

By the time we were done photographing Pete and Mattias on Horn Piece, and rapping down the rain had started to get worse and so we headed back to camp for lunch.

With the rain now well and truly on us went for a drive to the Grampians for a damp walk up flat rock to take in the awesome sight of Taipan wall.

After the sane amongst us managed to convince Kirsty that we didn't need to walk down the steep gully and up the path, in the rain, to touch Taipan, the pub in Horshsam became our next destination. (via a short accidental detour via the Giant Koala)

Araps trip report part 6

Saturday:

This morning it was Kirsty and I's turn to race off early and we joined the early-birds at the right watchtower face for a bit of Arapiles slab climbing.

I led the first pitch (13) of Mantle (14) which lived up to it's name with some thin moves up to a mantle as the crux and then a series more as the thin slabby holds became giant jugs up to the belay ledge. Kirsty led the second at a measured ;-) pace with the crux protected by limited pro (2 rp's) and then a bolt in the middle of a protectable easy section.

To emphasize the popularity of this face, as we climbed a second party of three followed us up, a family of three was one climb over, another two climbers further north, 3 belay stations full of climbers on watchtower crack. With another set on the ground and a set on skink which uses part of the crack of watchtower on it's first pitch.

With the sun now at full fury we headed back for a long lunch back at camp which involved watching pete power through on 'Scorpion'. The imposing (18) crack that had inspired him on the first day, but had daunted him on his previous two visits to the top of the bluffs, so much so he'd left of till now to try. Described as the climbing equivalent as the shower scene in Psycho Pete finally ticked it.

After lunch, Kirsty and I headed up to the cool organ pipes to ascend 'Toccata' which started with a very cool sustained and thought provoking 15 pitch, with hand cracks, off widths, laybacks, technical footwork and a bottomless chimney.

The top pitch (14) I led , was also really classy and this route proved one of the funnest of the trip. After six days i had almost having reached a point where the technical challenge met the mental, physical and protection placing challenge.

Unfortunately this was to be my last climb of the trip with Mattias leaving Sunday, it was unreasonable to expect Pete or Kirsty to get out of bed at 4:45am two mornings in a row, so I decided to head back to Melbourne early to catch up with some rellies.

So when are we going to Arapiles next?