Good pic, looks harder than 19... i wanna climb it now ...lol - rockranga

Nice sharp focus and interesting climber expression. I think it would be a better photo if the belayer wasn't 'cropped' and the higher krab wasn't partially visible as these things distract (for me) a bit. When I follow the climbers eye-line/vision it makes me wonder what he is looking at so keenly, and as a result I think the photo would have benefitted if that focus point had been included as well. - IdratherbeclimbingM9

Can't wait to see the punchline photo for this one! Perhaps he's straining hard enough to soil his undergarments and/or belayer? - pmonks

Yeah it does look a bit harder than 19! By that expression I reckon it could be closer to 21. Must be all that dodgy sandstone and a twisted wig. - EJ

Is the climber about to say a nasty swear word? The climbing does look a bit hard for the grade but perhaops the photo is tilted? and he is clipped into pro at knee level after all, so why would he be wanting to swear? - MrsM10iswhereitsat.

Get some sun on those legs, fella. They are so white they become the focal point of the shot. The rock looks interesting though and different to a lot of the Sydney sea biscuit climbing I have seen. Nice photo. - wallwombat

Is the route poorly bolted or are you doing the Sharma and skipping clips? The look on Neils face could be on a FibreGel add. - widewetandslippery

awesome route,I recall that it requires a bit of core strength to stop yourself scraping your gut on the crux tho. Some water (and critters) sit in the jugs sometimes. - mikllaw

Kath, pic of the week, good work. Does look good. Funny looking rock. - evanbb

Looks like he is close to a good position to clip to me. Just need to find a nice hold somewhere. - dimpet

mmmm........love the radioactive waste oozing out of the slot in the foreground! - pmonks

Haha - Very good. Horizontal is the new up. - Mr Stu

Well I'm a douche bag. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, I would of got it if you went 180. Good work. - widewetandslippery

A good shot, made better by a number of things about it that 'tell a story' to me as a viewer (even if I wasn't a climber). It speaks the effort involved, the juxtaposition between easy/hard climbing & easy/hard clipping, and it kind of drags me in there (like crab-bait) with the subject, to 'feel' the experience. Heh, heh, heh. ;-) Continueing the lighter side... @The look on Neils face could be on a FibreGel add. ~> also if he grimaces this hard on 22's, how does he go on 25's? @radioactive waste oozing out of the slot in the foreground! ~> Nah, thats not r-a-waste. Looks more like a cemented up gear placement to keep the cliff a sportclimb area. ;-) - IdratherbeclimbingM9

I doubt even S Carter could stage a pic this well. - simey

Are the rings Photoshopped in? It's a shame because if it was vertical it looks like it would be a nice climb. - wallwombat

>Are the rings Photoshopped in? No, because it is NSW and you are allowed to put rings in anywhere... even for a fake photo-shoot. - simey

so neil, the gig is up, are you going to put the other photo in, where you had a rest rather than ticking the route??? - mikllaw

See punchline photo! The bolts were 'prop' bolts, only a few cm long and attached to the rock with blutack. Holding this position almost killed my stomach muscles... - nmonteith

can i borrow your prop bolts? there are some shots at araps that need to be taken... - Josh Caple

Rotating the punchline photo is pretty funny too. Would be better if there was still tension in the rope. - ajfclark

Horizontal folk dancing is better than climbing this. - NMcKinnon

Oh wow. I was completely owned by this. Funny there's nothin in the pic that gives the game away. Maybe the draw position? - evanbb

Not even the puddles of water mysteriously suspended in the "vertical" rockpools, Evan?? - cruze

or the lack of chalk smothering every hold and particularly all the jugs, the biggest give away is the way the draw sits all bunched up, the lack of pressure on the climbing shoes is another. - jammin

good one and not even april fools day. blue climber splat punchlining turning the tide at farkurnell, sinnytown, NSW. yeah the shire can have that effect on people. there R some intereting silhouettes at the base of the gap as well for the more morbid photogs. - Wingello Panther

Now that's what I call a slab!! - pmonks

I really like black and white shots bit I would have preferred this shot in colour. The tones (i think that's the right word) of the background foliage are pretty similar to the tones of the rock and the climbers pants and that detracts from the 'silhouette value' of the line, if you know what I mean. It's a good photo though. I like it. - wallwombat

Yeah, it's unfortunate that the bright foliage is behind the climber's white shirt. Still a great shot though. - Climboholic

As Monks has said, that's the sort of slab I could get behind. I like the pic too. I can imagine what he's thinking about next. - evanbb

I rather like this photo. There's a certain sense of quiet and intimacy to it that isn't typical of climbing photos. The fact that the contrast isn't high invites you to look closely at it. It's like an old anthropological photo that's incidentally evocative or aesthetically pleasing. - littlebignuts

if i had that exact photo taken of me it would take pride of place on my mantle piece.only id have it blown up HUGE!! its a great photo.(moody) - larryfranklin

Nice shot. Who'd have thought the old 'been could be so photogenic. - darryn

I like the b&w format. As others have suggested, I think it would have been a better shot if the background vegetation, and the overexposed background portion, did not compete with the subject and the action. - IdratherbeclimbingM9

Great pic, route looks fun! Subject looks like a slightly younger version of David Malikoff. - belayslave

Reminds me of a photo from yesteryear that made it into the first Mentz/Tempest Grampians Select guide....but the mirror image of a pommie climber called Nic Pilshko on Manic Depressive. Black and white too. - BallBagg