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Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

Author
Water quality at the bungles
Fozz
3-Oct-2005
10:00:05 PM
Anybody been to the 'bungles recently? Just wondering about the quality of the tank water there.

Andrew_M
3-Oct-2005
10:41:38 PM
The tank on Balor hut has apparently been replaced recently. We were there over easter and the water seemed fine although you'd be safest to boil/treat it before drinking.

trent
5-Oct-2005
1:36:03 PM
Your best bet is to call the parks office about a week before you are going and ask them what the water level is like. The roof of balor hut is in good nick and the tank has a vegetation trap on it so ive never seen any need to boil it.
tokyo bill
18-Oct-2005
12:07:58 PM
Hey trent:

Does this mean you've actually been up there recently and used the water without treating it? If so, I'd love to hear when that was. I'm scheduled to be up there next month...

(And by the way, any route recommendations? My partner and I have a hit list compiled from the guidebook, but if you have any special favorites or rejects, it'd be great to hear.)

Thanks!

p.s. Hi to Andrew M.!
mikepatt
18-Oct-2005
1:03:30 PM
I'll be up there this weeknd so I'll sample the water & let you know. There's usually a few mossie lavae floating about in it but I don't have a problem with that.

With regards to route recommendations; what grades are you looking at?

Cornerstone Rib gets the most traffic cos it's the easiest line to spot. Expect a few route finding difficulties on anything else.

Andrew_M
18-Oct-2005
7:24:31 PM
Hey Bill, glad to hear the trip is still on. You'll have a great time.
tokyo bill
20-Oct-2005
1:19:07 PM
As to target grades, anything up to around 18, possibly with a tiny bit of 19 thrown in, would be of interest. Both of us can probably climb a tad harder than that, but it would certainly slow us down (not to mention causing me to soil my shorts...). Our principle goal is the long routes the Bungles are famous for. Add in route finding difficulty, and too much hard climbing will probably see us spending the night on a nasty ledge somewhere...

Anyway, high on the current daydream list are Caucasus Corner, Out and Beyond, Elijah, Flight of the Phoenix, Neruda, Lieben and Cornerstone Rib Direct, so any thoughts on any of them would be great, as would any other suggestions!

With a max of eight climbing days (even assuming no rest days), we'll never get them all done, but it's fun to dream...

As for the water - it doesn't have to be pretty, just so long as it doesn't make us sick! Climbing time is too precious to lose any to the runs.

Thanks!


mikepatt
20-Oct-2005
2:37:23 PM
Sounds like a good choice. I'm after Lieben this weekend so will let u know how it is.
Out & Beyond is notoriously hard to find. This is due to the fact the the first few "pitches" aren't mentioned in the guide. (I think that's the case with a few older climbs both at the bungles & elsewhere. Here's some access details; walk out to Belougery & drop down to the right and "walk" under the face till you start to rise up at the end corner. Turn round and you should see a corner and easy angled slabs. Climb up these for about 90m till you get to the actual start of the climb. A chossy pitch should get you onto a saddle deviding the main face from the "obvious pinnacle" which I think the guidebook describes. The last three parties to my knowledge have all piked on the guidebook pitch 4.. good luck. You've mentioned 8 climbing days and only 7 routes; shouldn't be a problem!

IdratherbeclimbingM9
20-Oct-2005
2:54:28 PM
mikepatt wrote:
>Expect a few route finding difficulties on anything else.
This can apply to finding the starts of climbs in the 'Bungles as well.

TB wrote
>so any thoughts on any of them would be great, as would any other suggestions!
Napawi (located between O & B and C Corner) is excellent. (IMO better than CC).
Find the start of O&B from the South (Crater Bluff) side, otherwise you will end up doing at least an extra 2 pitches.
You might like to try the much shorter Vertigo on Belougery Spire before commiting to O&B / CC etc. as it will give you a taste of what excellent climbing on Belougery is like. CC is loose in places and O&B more so than CC.
If you only have a half day to experience CC you can start it at half height from the left end of the big ledge system that accesses Vertigo. If you do this then you will find yourself leading the crux pitch traverse 1st off, to access the Corner proper ... Its a deep breath, runout crux move on that pitch but pro is OK.
By comparison the traverse on O&B is thin on pro (5m runout beyond an RP), look for the old blade piton but back it up anyway ...
Add Bastion Buttress to your list if Flight of Phoenix is occupied. Its a mid grade classic just left of the harder (gd 20/21) Stonewall Jackson.

>With a max of eight climbing days (even assuming no rest days), we'll never get them all done, but it's fun to dream...
7 routes in 8 days is achievable even with the odd bushwhack thrown in.

Re the water:
... as mikepatt said.

Re
>spending the night on a nasty ledge somewhere...
Integral to the 'Bungles experience IMO.
Heh,heh,heh.
===========================
edit since mikepatt posted again while I was off-line.
mp wrote re O&B access.
>walk out to Belougery & drop down to the right and "walk" under the face
This only makes sense if you are approaching from the South, ie the shorter 'back-side' of Belougery.

Lieben is excellent. Contrary to the guide I found the technical crux was 1st pitch off Green Haven. The guidebook crux pitch (lower down) is much easier if you stem the groove rather than grovel in the back of it. It can also be run together* with the pitch below it to save a belay ...

*This applies to many 'Bungles routes ...


tokyo bill
20-Oct-2005
5:05:52 PM
Wow - great information!

mikepatt - good luck on Lieben, and let us know how it goes.

- Bill
mikepatt
25-Oct-2005
10:08:09 AM
Hi Bill,

Good news is the Balor Hut tank has lots of nice fresh water, and no signs of mossie lavae.
We got lucky with the weather sneaking in between rain Thurs/Friday and Monday.
I'd been warned off Lieben due to seepage so did Flight of the Phoenix instead; simply awesome. A long day after a six hour drive and less than four hours sleep. A lazy day on Sunday up on Belougery in the shade.
Bear in mind it's getting hot and you'll need a lot of water for the long routes. Most of the good stuff is in the sun but Vertigo & Endeavor Face on Belougery are mostly in the shade if you need cool climbs.
There's a big coffee percolator in the hut and some old climbing mags and assorted climbing notes including Will Monk's description of FotP which we sort of followed.
Good luck with the weather and climb safe.

Mike.
tokyo bill
25-Oct-2005
2:52:45 PM
Hey Mike,

Well done on FotP!

Sounds like heat is going to be a real issue for us next month. Nothing to do I guess but sweat and suffer (and hump plenty of water up the routes).

Great to hear that the water situation is looking good so far - thanks for the confirmation.

Hope we go as well as you did...

Cheers, mate (or whatever you say down there... ;-) )

- Bill

IdratherbeclimbingM9
25-Oct-2005
3:27:15 PM
mikepatt wrote
>I'd been warned off Lieben due to seepage
This strikes me as unusual. It basically faces West and has almost nil catchment area on top. I would have thought it would dry out quickly after rain, unless its the misty-persistent variety.
Any wind would quickly dry it.
If its the 1st pitch or two you are referring to, then its possible to vary the start a little to avoid most seepage, and once you arrive at the groove higher, its sufficiently steep etc to not stay wet.
I topped out the last half pitch of Lieben in spitting rain. A thunderstorm broke on us as we traversed to the usual green glacier descent and we down climbed the upper part of it in ankle deep running water ...
It came and went quickly, and by the time we were back at the base we were starting to dry out again.
mikepatt
25-Oct-2005
4:03:29 PM
Apparently the seepage on Lieben is from the Green Haven. On the Saturday morning it appeared to have black streaks below the Green Haven, but these weren't visible in the late afternnoon sun as we walked back from Bluff Mountain to the hut. This advice came from John Croker who's now clocked up 26 Bungles trips..
The penultimate gully pitch on Flight was dripping wet when we did it.
tokyo bill
4-Nov-2005
6:36:30 PM
Apologies for beating this thread to death, but I can't resist asking one more question:

Anything you'd especially recommend doubling up on, or leaving at home, for a bungles rack?

Left to myself, I'll probably bring:

a biner full of micro wires;
a biner full of small-medium wires;
a biner full of large wires;
aliens (black, blue, green, yellow, red)
camalots (purple, green, red, yellow, blue, silver); and
maybe a couple of doubles in the medium-ish cams (i.e., green, red, yellow camalot size).

Any thoughts much appreciated!

The good Dr
7-Nov-2005
5:54:49 PM
Totally forgot about a new route we did on Crater Bluff in 98 and wrote up, didn't get around to submitting. Of course we thought it was well worthwhile.

The route is between Lieder and Lieben. The description.

Leavin' 243m 17 (add stars or thumbs down as required)
The first 3 pitches are pretty absorbing, in great positions. All the normal Bungles conditions apply! Starts 15m R of THE white water streak on L side of West face of Crater Bluff below blank looking dark brown face. The climb begins on a small pedestal 7m off ground (scramble up from R or walk on from L)
1) 17 48m Step up R onto face. Pitch drifts R past incipient twin seams to the higher of 2 narrow sloping ledges. Take many small wires.
2) 17 50m Off L end of ledge. Unlikely, exposed moves up L around blunt arete. Up and trend L around steepening on L side. Up to spacious ledge. Take care with rope drag.
3) 17 38m Slab up past loose blocks to old bolt(!?) at 38m
4) 25m Up rightwards on imperfect apricot coloured rock to wide crack. Up to stance.
5-6) Easily up to groove/gully. Either escape up ugly plant choked trench or take slabby rock on R to top

Done 16-4-98

IdratherbeclimbingM9
11-Nov-2005
1:30:21 PM
On 4/11/2005 tokyo bill wrote:
>Apologies for beating this thread to death, but I can't resist asking one
>more question:
>
>Anything you'd especially recommend doubling up on, or leaving at home,
>for a bungles rack?
>
>Left to myself, I'll probably bring:
>
>a biner full of micro wires;
>a biner full of small-medium wires;
>a biner full of large wires;
>aliens (black, blue, green, yellow, red)
>camalots (purple, green, red, yellow, blue, silver); and
>maybe a couple of doubles in the medium-ish cams (i.e., green, red, yellow
>camalot size).
>
>Any thoughts much appreciated!

You would certainly get by with that rack.

Personally I find that I don't use many of the smallest stoppers or below mid-size RPs much there. Conversely I also don't find much use for cams over No. 4 friend size there either.

At least half a dozen long slings is a must. I normally take a dozen and leave all but a few quickdraws at home when in the 'Bungles.

Double ropes are a standard also (IMO) for the 'Bungles.
tokyo bill
11-Nov-2005
3:37:46 PM
M9:

Thanks - that's very helpful, indeed!

We were planning on double ropes, so your confirmation on that is great.

As for the gear, hmmm... sounds like I should be pretty much good to go with my list above. (I have a still fairly shiny and new No. 4 BD C-4 - equiv. to a No. 4 Tech Friend - that's so light I'll probably bring it, but I won't bring anything bigger.) And I guess doubling up in the mid-size cams rather than the very small ones is the way to go...

Cool! Much appreciated!

Counting down - one week to go until I hop on that plane. Man, I can't wait!
bjguiding
12-Nov-2005
9:13:39 PM
Was at Barlor hut for a few days starting on the 8th November. There had been some rain so the tank was nearly full. Water was good and I had no ill effects from drinking he water.
bjguiding
12-Nov-2005
9:15:36 PM
Wrong date that was the 8th of October.

There are 20 messages in this topic.

 

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