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The Henry Barber Australia Tic List 26-Mar-2009 At 2:41:56 PM prb

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Had a day with Henry when he was on tour in 2007. Wrote this short report for BOLFA (don't think I put
it on here):

"Hot" Henry Barber is an American climber who lifted Australian (including South Australian) grades
significantly during his visit in 1975. By example, he cemented the free climbing ethic and upped the
aspirations of locals, including Col Reece.
The other month I got a call from Luke saying Henry was coming to town to give a talk, was keen
for a day's climbing, but that he (Luke) was out of action after grounding off his mountain bike. Despite
being hard-working public servants, Chris and I were able to take a day off at short notice and head
down to The Bluff. Henry had driven from Arapiles to Victor because he likes sea cliffs and wanted to
see penguins. Now, we may consider the Granite Island penguins a little passé but I guess if you're
from the northern hemisphere, they're anything but. Evidently he had a fine time out on the Island and
was given a personal, after-hours tour by a ranger.
We met Henry at Petrel Cove. I was expecting the skinny guy in the old photos, but these days
Henry opts for a stronger Rob Baker-type physique. He seemed in robust good health despite decades
of climbing wear and tear, and his attitude and approach to climbing wouldn't have changed. He said
he'd like to get on Richard's Route and Bandaid. I asked him how he knew the climbs and he said he'd
seen them in the guide book! Fair enough.
First stop was The Pleasure Dome, probably the best 5m grade 14 on the planet. Henry took
some time working it out and went leftish up from the window instead of using the easier pebbles to
the right. No wonder he pronounced it a sandbag! I should mention that Henry eschews harnesses,
preferring just a tape around the waist. His rack consists of a few medium to large stoppers and a
couple of medium hexes.
Next it was down to Baudin. Henry placed a good wire in the flake crack and ran it out to the first
bolt of the Direct Finish. After considering the options, he finished up the bolted line (17). Then it was
over to Richard's Route which Henry climbed in a measured and serious manner, using most of his
rack. He thought the runnout finish to the original route on slightly less-than-perfect granite was a little
brash so opted for the bolt and the LHF (18), as do most. Henry adopts a hunched, beetling style on
slabs, pressing down hard on both hands and feet. I pointed out the neighbouring route, the infamous
Hopes in Slopes, but Henry hadn't packed his skyhooks. In any event, my instructions were to not
allow Henry on that one, at least not before he'd given his talk!
We finished down on Bandaid Wall, a place most avoid but the sight of all the cracks got Henry's
moustache twitching. He onsighted Bandaid (20), a Col Reece wide-hands testpiece that Henry
described as technical, and c--kles and Muscles (originally 20 but 19 in Nick's guide) which Henry
thought was the tougher climb. I certainly found the cracks tough and I need to go back and practise
some of Henry's tips. Fortunately Chris was happy to put the camera down and second these two.
Henry mentioned he'd spotted a koala in 1975 and was very keen to see another. There was no
sign of one on The Bluff so, en route to the talk, we took a detour to Chambers Gully and walked 20m
up the track. Henry saw his second koala. The evening at the Mercury went well – thanks to the
Paddy Pallin team for putting it on. It was a top day with a good bloke, quite a buzz actually.

Postscript: after several more sessions on Bandaid, it's still giving trouble and to better crack climbers
than me.