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Lack of Lurking 3-Oct-2004 At 10:01:50 PM dan

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I guess one reason lurkers don't post is that there are some incredible trip reports up, and last weekends trip dosen't seem to meet up. Well, get prepared for a medeocre trip report!

I did the Albury/Wodonga Weekend double feature this weekend. To the Rock on Saturday for some slightly angled crack action. It is sort of like Frog except quite short and leaning to the right. There are still some great lines none the less and there is no better way to get back into it climbing after a long winter break than the fantastic sloid rock and pro of the Towers area of the Rock (Don't mention the east face, chossy soft pro). I managed to not challange myself and do some very mediocre grades. Enjoyable and not at all threatening return to fiddling with pro.

With just enough daylight to check out the beach at Wagga my partner and I headed furhter north. After no little searching we found the 'beach' only to learn from some locals that the sand has long since washed away and no-one ever replaced it. Bastards. Never the less we did discover that the local climbing gym (sadly also Alburys local climbing Gym) is closing down on the 10th, and as places closing do have discounted everything. 30% there small store front. This includes some ring bolts, a lot of misc gear, shoes, harnesses, you name it. Also, that there will be a fire sale on climbing holds, bits of wall and other goodies. So get in early kiddies.

After a good nights rest from my strenuius re-introduction to climbing. I headed to Mt. Pilot. Now this is rock I can deal with. It is a replica of climbing in Giraween (QLD near Stanthorpe), only lacking some of the serious runouts and 30m 1 bolt (no pro) climbing. (The reason I was given for this was that it was too far to get more/charge batteries and the rock would kill a battery in 1 bolt hole). But Mt. Pilot despite bing short is well protected and looks like a hell of a lot of fun. I managed to continue my mediocre preformance by breezing some of the easy routes and calling it an early day. So now I am aremed with local knowledge and confident to climb again. I shall attempt to complete happy baker, life in the fat lane, Beechworth bakery (a beautiful looking line) and try to get the cam out of Wissywoo.

Also, if ever you write a guide book in Australia:
1) If you write E in the directions don't mean W
2) A 'Big Black Stump' is not a valid route marker in bushfire country.

So, get into you lurkers, w all have medocre trips it dosen't mean you can't bore others with them too. Imagine you are the really anoying bloke around the campfire that 'needs' to share the story of how her alomst finished a 24, after pulling on every draw and hanging like a limp noodle in his harness for 20mins to get his energy back (Yes, I am very jaded).

Dan
'No one is completely useless, they can always serve as a bad example'