Chockstone Forum

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

Chockstone Photography

Australian Landscape Prints

Chockstone Forum - Crag & Route Beta

Crag & Route Beta

Area	Location	Sub Location	Crag	Links
All TAS	(General)	(General)	(General)

Author

Fantini's Offwidth

iorourke

27-Nov-2011
3:38:17 PM

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for some beta for Fantini's offwidth at Ben Lomond (aka Pipeline). I'm planning a trip down there for the Australia Day week and would like to know what big gear and how much is required for the route.

Anyone got contact details for someone who has done it?

Thanks
Ian

JakeyB

28-Nov-2011
9:19:33 AM

I took 2 number six's and just shuffled on up for about 2 hours and felt like I had hit a bus the next day...

I think Crazy John only took 1 number 6 and and stemmed the upper section.

Have fun :D

Tastrad

28-Nov-2011
3:37:19 PM

Starts as a handcrack and eventually number 6 camalots which people tend to shuffle up as they go.

widewetandslippery

28-Nov-2011
5:52:31 PM

I have never been there but is ths the wooden wedge route and am I tripping if I think I can see one?


ajfclark

28-Nov-2011
7:46:45 PM

There's two things in the crack isn't there?

brendan

28-Nov-2011
8:13:00 PM

i was told they are peices of aluminium tube from the mast of a sail boat, and yes there are two


Doug

28-Nov-2011
8:33:45 PM

On 28/11/2011 brendan wrote:
>i was told they are peices of aluminium tube from the mast of a sail boat,
>and yes there are two

The off-width equivalent of bolts. It would be good to pull them out so that the Ben is not sullied by such fixed pro. These are, of course, much more of a desecration than the rap anchors which were once atop the Flutes ...


bw

28-Nov-2011
9:15:15 PM

sweet lookin line

Tastrad

29-Nov-2011
9:28:51 AM

This photo is from 1983 and you can see me on Conchubar (20) the route to the left. This was shortly after the first ascent of Pipeline. Hans Mohler made the tubes for Fantini and bought some second hand aluminium mast from Tamar Marine, cut them to size and threaded them with sling. Fantini did the route onsight, and his second was a guy who had never climbed in his life and was reduced to a crying mess as Fantini literally hauled him up the route. I couldn't see the tubes when I was in the area last summer, so it looks like they have been removed.


nmonteith

29-Nov-2011
11:27:07 AM

On 29/11/2011 Tastrad wrote:
>Fantini did the route onsight, and his second was a guy who had never climbed
>in his life and was reduced to a crying mess as Fantini literally hauled
>him up the route.

The first and last time he ever went climbing? I'm sure Fantini wasn't short of a few 'encouraging' words to his hapless second either.


climbingfool

29-Nov-2011
11:29:53 AM

>The first and last time he ever went climbing? I'm sure Fantini wasn't
>short of a few 'encouraging' words to his hapless second either.

Like you can have one of my filthy bananas when you get to the top!!

crazyjohn

30-Nov-2011
10:56:15 AM

On 28/11/2011 Doug Bruce wrote:
>On 28/11/2011 brendan wrote:
>>i was told they are peices of aluminium tube from the mast of a sail
>boat,
>>and yes there are two
>
>The off-width equivalent of bolts. It would be good to pull them out so
>that the Ben is not sullied by such fixed pro.

Your sarcasm is duly noted. However,, noone is stopping you from taking them out but yourself. All you need do is climb the route without clipping them and then feel free to take them out.

BTW, there was only one fixed tube down low when I climbed it. Its a big runout with one #6 camalot. Take 2.

Also, for any Victorians that want to pick up the gauntlet. Some tassie boys climbed Lay Back and Think of England without clipping the insitu tube so they bootied it. It was passed on to me for this route and i left it placed in the crack. So the challenge is on if any of you guys are even capable of climbing this crack, come get your gear back! I doubt anyone is up for it. A pity, really.

kieranl

30-Nov-2011
11:11:42 AM

On 30/11/2011 crazyjohn wrote:
>Also, for any Victorians that want to pick up the gauntlet. Some tassie
>boys climbed Lay Back and Think of England without clipping the insitu
>tube so they bootied it. It was passed on to me for this route and i left
>it placed in the crack. So the challenge is on if any of you guys are even
>capable of climbing this crack, come get your gear back! I doubt anyone
>is up for it. A pity, really.
That's actually my tube and I'm glad to see it's gone to a good home.


Doug

30-Nov-2011
12:48:38 PM

On 30/11/2011 crazyjohn wrote:
>
>Your sarcasm is duly noted. However,, noone is stopping you from taking
>them out but yourself. All you need do is climb the route without clipping
>them and then feel free to take them out.

No sarcasm intended CJ, just saying it the way I see it. The rappel bolts above the Flutes didn't impinge on the aesthetics or difficulty of any of the routes; the placing of in situ protection does - two tubes left in a route alters the nature of the climb for future ascensionists. Some consistency would be good; reinstatement of the rappel anchors would be better; a series of anchors so that the vegetation was protected right along the bottom of the crag would be best.

Back on the theme of the tubes, what would you - or Gerry - think if someone left a couple of tube chocks in Barbe di Vendetta? They're not as bad as a couple of bolts, but not good. I suspect they'd disappear pretty quickly. The grade should be irrelevant. I'm glad to hear that one of the tubes is gone from Pipeline. It would be great if someone plucked the other out.

As for "noone (sic) is stopping you from taking them out but yourself", Pipeline is probably too hard for me, but maybe one day. Although I live in hope (delusional maybe), I think leading Defender was the apex for me on that crag; despite being notionally the same grade, Defender is much easier than Pipeline I suspect. Also, some years have passed since I got up Defender.
Cheers
Doug

ademmert

30-Nov-2011
3:55:37 PM

On 30/11/2011 crazyjohn wrote:
>
>Also, for any Victorians that want to pick up the gauntlet. Some tassie
>boys climbed Lay Back and Think of England without clipping the insitu
>tube so they bootied it. It was passed on to me for this route and i left
>it placed in the crack. So the challenge is on if any of you guys are even
>capable of climbing this crack, come get your gear back! I doubt anyone
>is up for it. A pity, really.

I keen i've wanted to do it for a while.
plus i thought LBATE was easier if you didn't bother to stop and clip the tube chock!

crazyjohn

2-Dec-2011
10:55:42 AM

Good luck Adam! If you want some big gear just give me an email. Its great training for the Valley... ;)

crazyjohn

2-Dec-2011
11:14:23 AM

On 30/11/2011 Doug Bruce wrote:
>On 30/11/2011 crazyjohn wrote:
>>
>>Your sarcasm is duly noted. However,, noone is stopping you from taking
>>them out but yourself. All you need do is climb the route without clipping
>>them and then feel free to take them out.
>
>No sarcasm intended CJ, just saying it the way I see it. The rappel bolts
>above the Flutes didn't impinge on the aesthetics or difficulty of any
>of the routes; the placing of in situ protection does - two tubes left
>in a route alters the nature of the climb for future ascensionists. Some
>consistency would be good; reinstatement of the rappel anchors would be
>better; a series of anchors so that the vegetation was protected right
>along the bottom of the crag would be best.
>
>Back on the theme of the tubes, what would you - or Gerry - think if someone
>left a couple of tube chocks in Barbe di Vendetta? They're not as bad as
>a couple of bolts, but not good. I suspect they'd disappear pretty quickly.
>The grade should be irrelevant. I'm glad to hear that one of the tubes
>is gone from Pipeline. It would be great if someone plucked the other out.
>
>As for "noone (sic) is stopping you from taking them out but yourself",
>Pipeline is probably too hard for me, but maybe one day. Although I live
>in hope (delusional maybe), I think leading Defender was the apex for me
>on that crag; despite being notionally the same grade, Defender is much
>easier than Pipeline I suspect. Also, some years have passed since I got
>up Defender.
>Cheers
>Doug

Look, if you want to leave gear, go ahead! No one is stopping you. If you want to remove fixed gear, same story. If gear gets stuck or left behind, the next team can do whatever the F they want with it. DUH! Has this changed at any time in history? I assume you are straining for some kind of link between gear left behind on a ground up ascent and bolts otherwise your post makes little sense. Well there is little in common. Arapiles with its many fixed pins and wires is very different than the Ben. There are very few climbs in the Ben with any fixed gear. These are the exception that prove the rule.Like it or not, even at araps where fixed wires are the norm, its accepted that they can and will be bootied and nothing is really "fixed". But this is all just stating the bloody obvious!

Iorourke

11-Apr-2012
9:33:02 PM

Well guys I ended up onsighting it in January and there is one chock left. It makes no difference I didn't need to use it and it is way back in the crack. I just took a bunch of #6 camalots. I didn't use the big bro I took as too hard to get past once placed.


shortman

11-Apr-2012
10:15:00 PM

That looks friggen cool.


benjenga

12-Apr-2012
6:49:56 AM

Nice work, you look well wedged in there.

There are 22 messages in this topic.