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Buffalo Aidfest - 21 & 22 November 2015. 24-Nov-2015 At 6:13:25 PM phillipivan

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We got two pitches up Lord Gumtree before bailing. Less than the previous attempt, though faster. Despite one fall (mine) before the 2nd belay, we encountered no unexpected difficulty. However Mikey citing an unshakable sense of impending doom lost his bottle, so we bailed. Upon further reflexion that evening, he cited the decision to leave behind a second rope, and hence make bailing harder, especially after the traversing m7 pitch, on a single 50m.
I've been the weak team member plenty of times, and responsible for failures much bigger than this, so I've no position to get grumpy about it. However I would reiterate the need for clear communication of goals, expectations and comfort levels. I was not overly consultive with regards to my technical decisions to leave a lot of gear behind - I think its fair to say some people take a heavier rack and pack on angels than we carried on Lord Gumtree - and I am sure that contributed.

What else did I learn? After picking up Owen and Dave's pack, I've resolved never to climb with one unless I can see no other way to achieve a goal. My claim to want to climb this stuff quickly out of sheer laziness felt a lot more sincere. I also got to climb with a prototype of TimP's Little Hammer - it works, the joy of new toys.

Thanks everyone, especially Mike!

PhillipIvan.

ps. The very first carrot on Ozi, straight off the deck, is gone. When did that happen?