The second week in July I spent recuperating/catching up from the first week when I was away at the conferance and planning for the following weeks trip to Port Lincoln in South Australia for more tuna sampling.
Again, long hours and a lot of lab work on the Port lincoln trip, but it went well overall and I got done what I needed.
On my return to Tasmania, Leanne and I spent the weekend climbing/diving. On Saturday we went to Bare Rock in Fingal and did a couple new routes on the right hand end. Bare rock is a big cliff (200m tall) and as the climbs we wanted to do were on the upper bit, we hiked around to the top and rappelled down to a big ledge to start. The 7b route (Into the void)was excellent, although my feet were hurting by the end of the 50m pitch from all the small edges. I also did a harder 7c variant (Fairies wear boots) which was decent, but not quite as good as the first. I was hoping to make it over to a new sector on the left hand end of the cliff where some recent development and potential for hard routes had been rumored, but the short winter day saw us walking out at dusk without time for such a venture.
The following day we went diving with a friend of ours, Eddie, on the east coast. Eddie, unlike us, does have an underwater case for his camera and Leanne was able to take a few photos while Eddie and I hunted for cray (lobster).
Eddie and I got a couple crays, but unfortunately all but one were female and we had to let them go (this time of year females have eggs and can’t be harvested). Still, it was nice to get one sizeable one, and with the addition of some abalone it made for a nice dinner.
Then, this past weekend we went back to Fingal and I got to check out some of the new development on the left end. I met up with Will Bartlett and Gary Phillips, the latter of which has been spending a bunch of time up there recently bolting and climbing new routes. I was feeling quite out of shape, but psyched about the new routes and had a really nice day out climbing with those guys. As there was three of us, we switched off taking photos, climbing, and belaying and ended up with some pretty good shots I think that showcase the nature of the climbing and the position nicely.
There was a bit of valley fog in the morning when we got up there, and with some snow on the peaks, it made for some really nice vistas that day
Here are a couple shots of Gary on his new (and really good) 7b+ warmup route that I can't remember the name of
and one of me blowing a heel-hook and pitching off at the anchors of the same route
Will and I then tried a nice 7c+ Gary had put up earlier in the week with a pretty cool cross-over crux sequence
Gary made quick work of a new line he bolted just right of his previous one Will and I were trying, also in the 7c+/8a range.
There is definitely potential for some hard stuff in that area and I am feeling pretty motivated to try and get back into some climbing shape, get out there, and do some quality hard climbing. Unfortunately the season is about to end, as wedge-tail eagles and peregrine falcons will start nesting there. Nevertheless, it will give me something to look forward to for the fall and a little extra motivation never hurts when it comes to making time for training.
That’s about all I have for the moment. Until next month-
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