Crag & Route Beta

Author	Cleaning and such
singersmith 6-Jan-2011 11:27:14 PM	First week of January, 2011 Highway 61 Brushed and weeded the first pitch corner. The mange in the roof might get sorted out at a later date with a different tool, hopefully to produce a more pleasant and free outing. The roof is pretty grim as-is. Mostly made the foot holds more crisp. The Status Quo Did quite a bit of work weeding, brushing, and digging dirt out of finger locks. What a fantastic climb! This route just got logged onto my top ten most fun in the world list. It's an almost perfect solo top rope route that, based on appearances, doesn't seem to get a lot of traffic which is a pity. You walk 50 meters from car to guard rail, step over, fill the horizontal break with cams, chuck a 70 meter rope off, slap on a gri gri and climb to your heart's content. First crux seems hard, but tips locks are still bottoming out in dirt/moss. Lacked appropriate tool and water. There's a 5/8" angle stuffed in one of the would-be best locks that needs to go. Also an angle in the second crux (I think...) that is very hard to avoid stepping on. There were quite a few overgrown footholds. Also was quite a bit of grass and I think one or two buried fixed pins that you wouldn't have known were there. Overall, I would describe this climb as fairly blue-collar for an .11a; in a technical way. On the other hand, it's easy to pull through either crux of about 4 meters each. Have fun. The Pimp Hand New route cleaned and bolted with Geoff Gledhill, having been kindly loaned Steve's sweet drill kit. We installed a two-bolt anchor (Fixe stainless rings) and one protection bolt near the top plus a fixed wire to start the route off the mossy slab. Located on the pillar about 50 meters uphill from the second-to-last ski lift pole and can be approached from the ski run or by walking past the Hump and crossing the gully. Went back feel out the moves this week and got my ass completely handed to me; Susy laughed and laughed. Freed most of the upper crack and the face scoop, probably between 22 and 24, but the start is &%^*#%^ hard. I thought it might be like 12d hard but I think it might be more like 13d hard, or at least 30. It's campusing on fingerlocks for 8-10 meters or toe-hooking the aretes at a horribly overhung angle. I couldn't get my feet to stick to anything long enough to pull on. As-is, aid climbers would have a lot of fun on a route this steep. Far too stout for me, I'm throwing it out there as an open project for somebody a lot stronger and keen. Bueller? Bueller?
simey 7-Jan-2011 12:24:04 AM	On 6/01/2011 singersmith wrote: >The Status Quo >Did quite a bit of work weeding, brushing, and digging dirt out of finger locks. What a fantastic climb! This route just got logged onto my top ten most fun in the world list. Top ten most fun in the world?!! I don't think I would quite go along with that call, but it is a pretty good outing. I thought it was fairly solid for 21. I've come to the conclusion that cleaning routes is not only a questionable practice but is generally a waste of a time - as the vegetation simply grows back (there must be a stack of free routes routes on the North Wall that are now virtually unclimbable). However Status Quo definitely warrants a regular cleaning every few years. Nice work.
singersmith 7-Jan-2011 8:58:27 AM	>Top ten most fun in the world?!! I don't think I would quite go along >with that call, but it is a pretty good outing. Sure, there's ten better routes in Yosemite alone but my criteria for fun is something that I can get a lot of mileage on, by myself, without a big gear hassle or lots of walking. If you tried dropping a rope off the Rostrum or Astroman and soloing it you'd end up spinning wildly out into space if you fell off the cruxes. Probably pulling off loose rock as well in the case of Astroman. No approach and being able to zing right down to chuck laps equals lots of fun on my value scale.
Lee C 7-Jan-2011 4:04:18 PM	On 7/01/2011 simey wrote: >I've come to the conclusion that cleaning routes is not only a questionable >practice but is generally a waste of a time - as the vegetation simply >grows back The trick to keeping them clean is in the marketing! Get loads of cool photos, add a grade for both being on granite and for being at a predominantly old-school venue, then you'll have the kids lining up for them!
Lee C 7-Jan-2011 4:05:46 PM	On 6/01/2011 singersmith wrote: >First week of January, 2011 > Far too stout for me, I'm throwing it out there as >an open project for somebody a lot stronger and keen. Bueller? Bueller? Speaking of marketing, I think you need to add some pictures of this one!!!
brendan 7-Jan-2011 5:39:16 PM	Vertigo is an impressive line, i have aided it a number of times and would love to see it go free, I'll offer a belay to anyone who wants to give it a go : )
simey 7-Jan-2011 6:22:12 PM	On 7/01/2011 Lee C wrote: >The trick to keeping them clean is in the marketing! Get loads of cool >photos, add a grade for both being on granite and for being at a predominantly >old-school venue, then you'll have the kids lining up for them! The vast majority of routes that get cleaned do eventually become overgrown again (unless we are talking about Auto Da Fe at Arapiles). Even a climb like Defender of the Faith (23) on the North Wall of Buffalo (which sees a number of ascents) has become so dirty in the last 20 years that it is almost not worth climbing now. How many people are interested in spending a few days cleaning routes on the North Wall just so they can repeat them?
Estey 7-Jan-2011 6:45:31 PM	On 7/01/2011 davidn wrote: > > Many just climb, and thank god for >great bolts, clean routes etc. Few do the extra legwork of cleaning, making >tracks, moving rocks etc, given it doesn't add to their tick list. > Hey Dave. There are a few routes I want to do that need some gardening. You want to go clean them for me.
grangrump 8-Jan-2011 10:05:07 AM	On 7/01/2011 davidn wrote: >I went on a recce to a place in ACT called 'Sewer Wall' once (actually, >it took me like 5 tries to find the damn place). Ah Sewer Wall... it was actually great climbing in as much as utterly different from granite. and relatively big. But beware, some (not obviously) loose blocks... We need someone to win Tatts and buy the Michelago cliff.
Wendy 8-Jan-2011 10:05:56 AM	I blame gyms and sport climbing! How else have we ended up with far greater numbers of people actually climbing and far fewer ascents of classic trad lines at places such as Buffalo? I've never done Status Quo because it looked like a jungle in places, so I'll add it to my Buffalo list for the year (that list is getting far too long for one 10 day visit ...). Surely with his aid climbing campaign, M9 is getting up enough aid traffic on Defender and Country Rd to help the cleaning? Can you go do a few laps on SQ now? We could do a promote Buffalo campaign. It's a bloody good spot. Make up some tape gloves, pull out a can whoop ass and get into some of these things (there are some accessible single pitch routes to get your Buffalo head on first). Ajfclark actually seems quite good at Buffalo promotional work. If you ran a VCC trip 3-4 times a year Andrew, we could have the whole plateau spick and span! i'm not sure that the loss of Sewer Wall is a great tragedy to the climbing world though!
patto 8-Jan-2011 10:36:20 AM	I went to Ben Cairn Thursday week ago. The moss covered the wall an inch thick in most places! You would need a shovel to clean that! Only a couple of climbs were climbable. We top roped a few and found that the friction was weird and poor. You could stand up on a sloper but then you foot would just slowly slide and lose traction. Just bizarre really.
Lee C 8-Jan-2011 10:57:54 AM	Maybe It needs galvanized hand railings above all the routes! It seems to do wonders at the south side lookout.
Wendy 8-Jan-2011 11:09:44 AM	I did Narcotic at Bundaleer yesterday. I wished i had safety goggles for all the crap coming off it. I understood where it was coming from when I got to the top corner (that the climb avoids by traversing left to the arete) - it was covered in dried moss so thick as to resemble sea weed more than moss that had looked like grass does when it has been trampled down by water flow.
Estey 8-Jan-2011 11:15:36 AM	On 7/01/2011 davidn wrote: > >How is the access to Snake Rock looking? Must get out there. > >This is getting way offtopic, but does anyone know if blackberry is like >ivy - i.e you have to slash and firebomb it? Or will some simple weedkiller >knock it on the head. Snake Rock access would be ok. Best wait until winter. Its a good place to get heat exhaustion. I think Mulchy is the best person to consult about killing blackberry. There is a bit of it up on Ororal Ridge at the moment too.
Paulie 11-Jan-2011 9:58:47 PM	On 7/01/2011 simey wrote >I've come to the conclusion that cleaning routes is not only a questionable >practice but is generally a waste of a time - as the vegetation simply >grows back I agree, but I'm lazy and only put up routes on clean rock :-)
Paulie 11-Jan-2011 10:00:20 PM	On 8/01/2011 Wendy wrote: >i'm not sure that the loss of Sewer Wall is a great tragedy to the climbing >world though! IMO it's a shit hole (no pun intended) with crap routes
grangrump 12-Jan-2011 6:19:30 AM	On 11/01/2011 Paulie wrote: >IMO it's a shit hole (no pun intended) with crap routes Yeah Yeah but Kambah pool gets boring and what else is close to Belconnen with Ginninderra Falls closed?
One Day Hero 12-Jan-2011 7:14:56 AM	On 12/01/2011 grangrump wrote: > >Yeah Yeah >but Kambah pool gets boring and what else is close to Belconnen with Ginninderra >Falls closed? So......I did some recon missions to Sewer Wall a few years ago, to check if it was worth salvaging. A couple of these were quite epic, including a memorable bike mission from Weston Creek (50km's each way, with abseil gear and cleaning tools strapped to the bike), and another bike exploration for an easier approach via Uriara Rd. and bush bashing across the paddocks.......no its not quicker, yes I was unemployed) Anyway, my conclusion was that the crag is quite good but a very long way from town (unless you live in west belco). Living south of the lake, I reckon you'd be at Booroomba in less time, so I didn't put the week or so of work into cleaning and rebolting. Even if Sewer Wall was fixed up by a keen northsider, Red Rocks would be a better crag anyday. If you're missioning all the way from Belco to Kambah, go the extra 10mins.
One Day Hero 12-Jan-2011 7:19:39 AM	On 12/01/2011 davidn wrote: >Pipelines?? Burrinjuck Dam? Living in the 'bra, have a lot of spare time, motivated for new routes, and don't mind driving? Go develop Bendora Dam! George and Sara Fieg put up a handful of short routes on very good Quartzite, there are big cliffs around, might be proper good 1st ascents to be had........or not, who knows?
One Day Hero 12-Jan-2011 8:52:24 AM	It's the same bolts from Red Rocks (and more or less the same rock). They are 10mm galvo expansions, with thick angle iron hangers. The ones which came out of Red Rocks were still plenty strong enough 4 years ago. The climbing is good at Sewer Wall (for those not in the know, the crag was deliberately named as a joke, all the route names involve turds or carp.........so the jokes you're making now are a halfarsed, unfunny version of the originals........so stop it) It's just the approach and the moss which sucks. However, even if the approaches were equal and the rock was clean, Red Rocks is a better crag in a similar style. Plus, the work's already been done.

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