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Eskimo Nell Dangerous Loose Block Removed

kieranl

18-Oct-2015
10:25:54 PM

Tracey Skinner passed on to me today that a party reported a dangerously loose block on Eskimo Nell. The location wasn't specified but it was described as one that has to be passed and moves and is poised on the edge.

As it happens Eskimo Nell is on my recovery program so Ray and I went up this afternoon at 4pm when it was well in the shade.
First pitch is fine but there are obvious signs of rockfall from the rap route near the top of the pitch.

Pitch 2 is also fine but there may be a candidate at the Oasis for people who go a bit off route. I belayed at the top of the pitch, facing out, sitting immediately right of the huge block that you have to crawl behind to the start of the next pitch. About 5 metres across right there is a big block (?adult torso size or a bit bigger) sitting on sloping ground. If on lead you went too far left, because it looked a bit daunting above, you could meet the Oasis at this point. But it's not where the vast majority of people go.
This block could easily be trundled but there's a lot of other smaller loose rocks in this area. Trundling one big rock isn't going to remove any rockfall risk in this area.

Final pitch. This has a few blocks but none of them looked unstable and I couldn't make any move with a firm thump.

My guess is that it's the off-route block at the Oasis. I'd be reluctant to touch it. If that's moved there's probably a lot more has to be shifted.

Edit : Loose block actually existed but was removed by another party prior to this ascent.

This was only the second time I've done the rap route here and let me say that I don't like it.
The first rap (30m) has a lot of potential for pulling off loose rock when pulling the rope. Then the second rap (?40-45m) has the big rampy-ledgy area about half-way down - another great opportunity to pull down rock when recovering the rope., and you're pulling the rope in the gully below, right in the shooting gallery.
We did the first rap with a single 60. This minimised the amount of rope to tangle in rocks on this rap. The first person carried the second rope down and by the time the second person was down the next abseil was rigged with both ropes.

E. Wells

18-Oct-2015
11:07:18 PM

You are a kind and informative person. Tell them to go to the Warrambungles. Its rockclimbing FFS. I put up a route with such a block next to it and named it instant pudding. If you see a teetering block of death do you A. Climb on it... or B. Avoid it??? When pulling ropes from top use some with a clovehitch in the rings to stand somewhere nice and call rock down to the gully whether there is one ornot. Scream it from the hilltops.

access t cliffcare

19-Oct-2015
9:44:04 AM

On 18/10/2015 E. Wells wrote:
snip
>You are a kind and informative person. Tell them to go to the Warrambungles.
>Its rockclimbing FFS. I put up a route with such a block next to it and
>named it instant pudding. If you see a teetering block of death do you
> A. Climb on it... or B. Avoid it???
snip

Err - yes, it's rockclimbing. With a rockclimbing community. That you hope look after each other and pass on information that might be relevant to others in the community who are all at different levels. Like a dodgy anchor or bolt or a loose block. No one said to tear it down and remove all dangers. The family that passed it on were concerned and thought others should know. He pulled on the block and it then moved out a lot further.

On 18/10/2015 kieranl wrote

>My guess is that it's the off-route block at the Oasis.

I reckon you are right there. It's been a long time since I've been on that route so couldn't quite remember when they were explaining it. The guy did say near the top of the second pitch.
Thanks for taking the time to let people know and also for checking it out to get the full picture Kieran.

Cheers,
Tracey

gfdonc

19-Oct-2015
10:11:31 AM

I don't recall a loose block last time I did it. 2c, there you go.

Yes that rap is a bit of a PITA and last time I was up there we walked down the gully rather than wait in the queue.
At the risk of hijacking, is there now a rap escape down Lawrence? There are newish rings at the end of p2 that would be <60m from the ground but we didn't see a top station. Has the potential for being a better and safer option than the Eskimo Nell rap.

mikllaw

19-Oct-2015
11:30:38 AM

Blocks like this are just as likely to smash someone other than the person who pulls it off, maybe quite a distance away. I tend clean them if it's safe.

kieranl

19-Oct-2015
12:25:12 PM

On 19/10/2015 gfdonc wrote:
>I don't recall a loose block last time I did it. 2c, there you go.
>
>Yes that rap is a bit of a PITA and last time I was up there we walked
>down the gully rather than wait in the queue.
>At the risk of hijacking, is there now a rap escape down Lawrence? There
>are newish rings at the end of p2 that would be <60m from the ground but
>we didn't see a top station. Has the potential for being a better and
>safer option than the Eskimo Nell rap.
>
Those rings are to cater for the wildly popular Cow Crag - the name bestowed on a 20m arete on a 100m cliff by Ingvar and Gerry. A bit difficult to work out a straightforward way to approach them from above. I've rapped down just left of there for the climbs on the Western Desert but used a fixed rap rope because there are a series of ledges at the top. I have rapped from the Cow Crag anchors and it's OK but even abseiling the first pitch of Lawrence is quite unpleasant. I think there may also be some rap anchors on Forbidden Fruit, which may be easier to approach from above.

kieranl

19-Oct-2015
12:26:59 PM

Just had a note from ajfclark that there was a loose block near the Oasis and he believes it was trundled Saturday afternoon with a light tap by Bec and party.

Jayford4321

19-Oct-2015
12:42:14 PM

On 19/10/2015 access t cliffcare wrote:
>snip
>Err - yes, it's rockclimbing.
2 rite.
>The family that passed it on were concerned and thought others
>should know. He pulled on the block and it then moved out a lot further.
>
I'd be more concerned about the dodgy practice of pulling on blocks. Minimising finding loose ones is much better than surviving how far they move then sharing new found common sense.

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