Limestone Hunting

It's been over a month since my last post. I apologize for this period of blog neglect, but such incidences will occur when I don't have much exceptional going on and/or haven't been taken any photos worth posting. I've been working a bit (which doesn’t make for very good blog fodder unless you’re a microbiologist interested in gene expression) and had a bit of a mishap that laid me up from climbing for the last week or so (I pulled off a 30 pound chunk of rock on a multi-pitch climb and had a bit of a fight with it whilst falling that resulted in a four-butterfly-stitch gash on my ankle and a good bit of swelling). However, by this past weekend I’d recovered enough to drive around and hobble about looking for climbable limestone. There isn’t much limestone in Tasmania, which is unfortunate because it’s my rock of choice when it comes to climbing. Nevertheless, armed with a geologic map and vague references give by a few locals I went off in search.

Before I get into that trip though, I should back up and describe what prompted this foray. On a rainy Saturday, Leanne, her parents (currently visiting us), and myself drove the hour or so to check out Mole Creek Karsk National Park and in particular Marakoopa Cave. It was an interesting trip and worth mentioning here. The cave isn’t particularly deep or large; however it has some very interesting formations and a nice collection of glow worms. You can probably guess by these images of the cave entrance that this area gets a fair bit of rain.



Indeed, this cave was formed by water, and not surprisingly still has water running through it from various cracks, holes, and seeps that trickle down from the hills above. Thousands of years of perpetual wetness has lead to some pretty impressive stalactites, mites, columns, and flows

Here’s a short video I took with my iPhone in a relatively well-lit part of the cave that adds a little motion to the viewing

There was one particular stalagmite that was especially noteworthy due to its relative skinny girth and tall height (about 7 feet). It was right along the path and the park service put a glass case around it so it wouldn’t get broken accidently. They call it the Tuning Fork due to the split at the top (easier seen in the reflection in the glass in this image).

The glowworms were also quite amazing. As far as I’m aware, they aren’t found in caves of the northern hemisphere (or at least I haven’t heard of or seen them). They need as specific cave environment that usually requires water, and more importantly insects as that is their source of food. The bioluminescence in their bodies attract the hatched aquatic flies and the worms dangle sticky strings kind of like spider webs that ensnares the flying insects when they get to close. We were not allowed to take pictures in the area where most of the glowworms were as continuous camera flashes would likely disrupt them. I didn’t feel like arguing with the guide to see if I could take photos without the flash and as I didn’t have a tripod the images probably wouldn’t have turned out anyway. Too bad, as it was like looking up at stars on the roof the cave. Quite spectacular. I did happen to get a photo in a different part of the cave that I’m pretty sure had a glow worm in it. If you look carefully you can see a blue dot to the left of the stalactites in the following picture

As you’ve likely deduced by now from the stalactites, cream colored rock, and the previous reference to karsk, this cave is indeed nothing other than limestone. It was looking at these overhanging beautiful features that got me thinking about climbing on limestone and ultimately inspired me to go hunting for it. I figured if it’s this good less than a ¼ mile underground, maybe there’s some good stuff at the surface. So this past Sunday off I went. I’ll spare you a full account of my search, but in the end I found little on that trip to inspire me to break out the bolt gun. Nevertheless, along the way passed through some very nice country in the northeast portion of the island that I had not previously explored.



One area I checked out was the upper portion of the Leven Canyon, an impressive gorge that descends through some remote country. I’d have to say, after seeing this river (and the subsequent YouTube videos I found of people boating it and other rivers in the area) I've started to concider getting into kayaking again. Just gotta drum up a boat I suppose.



In the end I didn’t actually find the limestone I was looking for, but it was a long shot anyway. No matter. My ankle’s pretty much better now so I should be able to scrounge up some adventures in the next few weeks to blog about. Till then-

The Totem Pole

This past weekend Leanne and I, along with our friend Craig, drove down to the Tasman Peninsula with hopes of climbing the Totem pole - probably one of the most recognized and unique rock climbs in the world.

After driving down to the Tasman National Park campground Friday night, things weren't looking promising. It rained a few times during the night and was quite windy. However, by mid morning the clouds appeared to be clearing although the rock was still wet, the remaining clouds looked menacing, and the forecast was calling for 30 knot winds. It's a 1.5 hour hike to access the Totem Pole, and there are aspects to this particular climb that make it somewhat committing (you'll understand after I describe it later on), so after some hemming and hawing we decided to put off going out to the Tote until Sunday, and went climbing at a different crag instead called the Paradiso - a dolerite sea-cliff nearby. This turned out to be a good decision, as although we were able to climb, the winds were howling, and we got rained on a couple of times during the day. I was able to onsight a 7c and Leanne came agonizingly close to sending a 7a+ second go before the cold and the rain drove us off.

On Sunday, we were greeted with calm blue skies, low swell, and an ebbing tide throughout the day - perfect conditions - so we started hiking. For those of you unfamiliar with the Totem pole, it's a stand-alone sea spire about 15 feet across and rises a full 200ft  straight out of the water from the middle of a gorge-like channel that cuts off the tip of Cape Hauly from the mainland. The base is completely surrounded by water, which (depending on the level of the tide and ocean swell) can consist of strong surging currents and crashing waves. The Pillar itself shudders in heavy surf, reportedly sways in high winds, and has cracks and bulges that make its physical appearance seem totally implausible. When we arrived we found that the calm inland weather had been replaced with a moderately strong wind that seemed to intensify as it cut through the channel. Nevertheless, the sun was out and the waves didn't seem that bad , so we decided to give it a go.

To access the pillar, you must first rappel 200ft down the mainland wall and then swing out, and catch a hold on the rock near the belay station near the bottom of the pillar.

Once established, you can climb the entire thing in two pitches that are broken up nicely by a good sized ledge a little below half height. A few different routes have been climbed with varying degrees of difficulty, but the most popular (and probably the best quality) route climbs more or less straight up the North-eastern arête with a difficulty around 7a+ for both pitches. Not particularly hard, but hard enough to make falling a real possibility and the protection is spaced just enough to remind you your on lead. Craig, as well as being a climber, is an excellent photographer (you can check him out at www.craigingramphoto.com.au) and was able to take some awesome photos of Leanne and I doing the climb.

The climbing was excellent and the position was simply amazing; an incredible climb that I had a lot of fun doing. Once I got to the top, Craig rappelled in and joined us. As he and Leanne alternately climbed up to join me on the top I got pretty cold waiting in the ever increasing wind (I left my jacket at the belay, and the rope wasn't long enough for me to send down a second line to get it) but the view was quite nice and in the end it didn't take that long for me to get reacquainted with my missed clothing.

Once we were all at the top, the easiest way of getting off the pillar is to set up a Tyrolean traverse using the line you rappelled in on. Definitely not for someone afraid of heights, but then again if you've made it to the top of the Totem Pole it's likely just to be an excellent and exciting way to finish off the experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The totem pole is such a unique climb. If you’re a climber with a bucket list that involves world travel, this thing should be on it.

The Gorge... take one

The past few weeks have been relatively uneventful so I don't have much to report. Last weekend we did a little bit of local climbing before attending an open sailing day at one of the local Yacht clubs. I’d never been sailing, so it was interesting to go out and see what it was all about (sorry, no pictures as I was afraid I’d get the camera wet, which was a good call). I can definitely see the appeal- it’s pretty mentally stimulating, can be physical at times, and has the potential for consequences to give it the adventurous feel. However, there are only so many days in the week and another hobby at the moment isn’t particularly practical. I’ll just file that one away for the future. Maybe when I’m 70 or something I’ll get into it.

Anyway, this weekend the weather was dubious and we had a lazy weekend of some local climbing in the Cataract Gorge. The Gorge cuts through a portion of the city and is only about a 10 minute walk from our house.

Most of the climbing is on relatively short columns of vertical dolerite, and unfortunately doesn’t really lend its self well to hard climbing. I’ve only climbed there a few times and have already done a good number of the harder routes. However, there are some fun looking trad routes and arêtes that look nice, as well as this one project that really stands out as a extremely hard, awesome looking line that will take quite a bit of work. On this occasion though, I set my sights a little lower and did a few of the already established routes. I did a very balancy 7c+ arête called the Gay Bar, had a go on a couple of projects in the 8a range, and gave an established 8a mixed bolted/trad route go but quickly ran out of skin, daylight, and power. Did all the moves though, so hopefully next time. Unfortunately I again have no climbing pictures as it was just Leanne and I out climbing but hopefully soon.  All I can leave you with for now is some shots of the peacocks that run loose around the upper basin. If the weather is good I hope to get out and maybe do some bouldering this week and might even shoot some video. Till then-

Headed West....and north.

This past weekend Leanne and I decided to do some more exploring so we loaded up the van and drove up along the Northwest coast of Tasmania. Leanne had read about a place called The nut in a tourist guide that looked interesting, the tulip farms were supposed to be in season, and it was a bit too hot to be trying any of my climbing projects anyway. So off we went.

The North coast of Tasmania is separated from the mainland of Australia by about 270 miles of ocean called the Bass Straight. Although I’m sure the swells can get substantial at times, I think it’s generally calmer than what roles up on the west or south of the island and on this occasion the sea was definitely very tranquil. Like the rest of the coastline we’ve seen, it’s generally quite rocky with the occasional sandy beach thrown in.

The rolling hills that rise up from the north coast have quite rich soil and pastureland that has resulted in the areas prevalent dairy and tulip farms. The high-nutrient soil and cool climate are apparently what you need to grow tulips, and for around a month or so at this time of year the tulip farms are in full bloom.

After the tulip farms, we continued on to a rock formation that is known as ‘the nut’ which is a volcanic plug the rises from the tip of a peninsula and provides excellent views of the surrounding coast and sea.

From the nut we continued on to the west coast of the very northwest tip of the island to eat dinner and watch the sunset (sorry no pictures). We then drove back to a place near Rock Cape National Park on the North coast to do some rock climbing the next day. When we woke up we found that the weather had turned cloudy and windy, but it was still a nice place to wake up.

The rock was a bit slick, as the already slippery water polished quartzite had acquired a bit of sea spray, but we still were able to some nice climbs. I don’t have pictures of as it was just the two of us (somebody’s gotta belay the climber), but one of these days we’ll go climbing with some other people and take some photos. Till then-

Freycinet

This last weekend Leanne and I went to Freycinet National Park to do some rock climbing. This was our third trip to the park, which is located on a peninsula off the east coast of the island about a 2.5 hour drive from were we live. The east coast is beautiful in general, but Freycinet typifies the rocky shores and sandy beaches with the added bonus of some granite mountains thrown in.

We've been climbing at a cliff called the Star Factory, which despite the hour-long-up-hill-both-ways hike, has the greatest collection of hard routes on the island and thus attractive by default. Luckily the scenery is great and the rock quality is very good. I haven't taken any pictures of us climbing as the opportunity hasn't presented it's self yet (I have either been belaying or climbing, neither of which are good positions to take photos from) but hopefully will get some soon. Until then, I've included a couple stolen photos from some other locals to hopefully give a perspective of the climbing along with some shots I've taken on the hikes in and out. Enjoy-

Starting the hike in

Our encounter with one of the stranger creatures I've run across called an Echidna - a montreme marsupial that resembles a hedghog/porcupine/anteater mix. When we came across this one, it just promptly barried its head in the leaves and just sat there. I'm not sure if they know how to count, because after I took the photo and moved away it got up and started going about it's business even though Leanne was still there watching.

A look back down the "trail" we came up. I use the term trail loosly becuase although I've hiked in and out a total of 10 times now I haven't done it the same way twice.

There is a nice view from the top of the ridge when you get there though

and if you go for multiple days, you can stash your stuff, so at least you only have to pack in the gear once

The climbing is on slightly overhanging waterpolished granite, which makes for bad foot holds and tricky sequences (Climber: Simon Young on Entree 8a; Photo: Jed Parkes)

As it's a national park, most of the wildlife are quite accustomed to people and will beg like domestic pets. Lets you get a nice look at them if they think your offering food, but gets to be a nuisance once you start tripping over them in the dark.

Might be a few weeks before I come up with something else. Till next time-