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Author

Epics

Steve M

10-Mar-2004
12:57:57 PM

To continue on the epic thread. Why is it that some climbers are perpetually having epics ? I know a couple of climbing friends that seem to constantly have epics. No trip is complete without cams getting stuck, being benighted, geting off route, getting lost trying to find the crag or on the way out etc.

One of these drove from sydney for 4 days in the gramps for a total of 1/2 day climbing and the weather was fine. Every bit of time was taken up with a a different variety of disaster.

Is this a subgroup of the climbing community?


GG

10-Mar-2004
1:02:53 PM

ClusterF@@ks exist in all areas of society...


nmonteith

10-Mar-2004
1:52:08 PM

Yere - i used to know two girls who, whenever paired up made any basic Arapiles multipitch into an epic of be-nightment. I had no idea how you coudl take so long on a simple grade 12 like Bard. Might come down to taking 1hour+ to set-up a basic belay which takes me 2minutes.


alrob

10-Mar-2004
1:53:37 PM

epics are half the fun! I don't think i've walked in to any area first time in the gramps without getting lost at some point.

gfdonc

11-Mar-2004
12:51:27 PM

OK everyone feel free to chip in with your tales of epics.
One of mine: did a long multipitch mid-grade (5.7/5.8) route in the NE USA a few years back. Only about a 20 minute walk in, about 10-15 minutes through beech forest then up a talus (boulder) slope. We didn't have an early start, and on about pitch 3 got caught up behind another party that was clearly struggling with the slightly runout crux. After some waiting and farting around watching the other leader try to find some easier variant, I led through (the first leader subsequently clipped my gear, I was not impressed).
All this meant that by the time we got to the top the sun was setting. Got back to the car at dusk via the trail around the side, but of course left gear at the base of the cliff didn't we? So I had to hike back up the 20 minutes to retrieve it.
By the time got the gear and turned around it was really getting dark. Boulder-hopping back down the talus was OK, the pale granite was still sorta visible, but as soon as I entered the forest it was lights-out time! I reckon I lost the track within about 50 metres and spent the next hour or so crawling along in the pitch dark, trying to work out if what I was touching were footprints or virgin forest floor. At one stage realised I was offroute as gravity suddenly took hold, I'd basically crawled over the side of a boulder, and crashlanded in the scrub about 10 or 15 feet below, fortunately without serious harm.
Eventually I got far enough down to be able to see some car lights and fumbled my way down the rest of it. Essential epic-repellent: a head torch!

Steve M

11-Mar-2004
1:14:39 PM

West Face of the three sister was going to be closed the next weekend so three of my friends and I were at the base at around 6am to get on before the masses. We were the second group on behind two dads and four kids. We thought that was pretty bad but after two hours of pain waiting for them we reached the halfway leadge to find 30 people in tour groups had traversed in and were on the next pitch. After 4 hours waiting on the ledge we finally got on the next pitch only to arrive in a cave with 20 people (!) already in it. The next pitch was mayhem three ropes going up the one route each party trying to find a line away from other. We finally summited at 7:30 in pitch black nearly 14 hours after starting. We had climbed about three hours of that 14.


Romfrantic

11-Mar-2004
1:20:06 PM

geez weez Steve M, that's an epic!


rodw

11-Mar-2004
2:00:32 PM

My West Wall story, not really an epic though. Had all my touch footy mates over one night for end of season bash that started of with a few quiet one and kept going. Anyway woke up the next morning/afternoon and lying on the couch my room mate, ian, asked what we were doing that day. the couch looked good for me, feeling very very ordinary at the time, but he gave me two options, back to the pub or go climb west face. I opted for the second, couldnt face another beer. The walk in nearly killed me (yeah it downhill but I stil manged to sweat all the way), Up we went, me the ever reliable seconder feeling very very sick at this stage. About the 3rd pitch the shakes set in, nausea blah blah blah...anyway to cut a long story short the route felt like 20 and Ive never been so glad to get to the top. Was so happy had a beer at the pub to celebrate...go figure:) I was actually praying to run into a group ahead so I could lie down and wait, no luck there either, saw no one all day.

Went back with another mate a few weeks latter, his first out door climb experince...with no hangover and enjoyed it much much more. Its a classic climb/bush walk shame itll never be open to the public again.


IdratherbeclimbingM9

11-Mar-2004
3:11:10 PM

My West Wall story, though (also) not really an epic.

'Twas a carefree day and bottom to half way ledge went OK, but each pitch seemed too short and without much excitement.
Did the far right hand arete variant leading out from the 'cave' pitch to give my second some exposure and clipped the rope out there so he could not shortcut straight up. This was accepted in good spirits by my cautious second and we continued to the top, where we then proceeded to do the skyline traverse (after 1st tagging the top of the 3rd sister), to finish by abseiling onto the bridge connecting to the mainland.

Middle sister went OK but a storm was brewing over Mt Solitary. As I bought my second up, lightning fizzed into the valley and it felt like a herd of butterflies flew between my legs as the hexes and krabs on my harness positively shone with the excitement. Every hair on my body stood straight out and tingled.
My second opted out of the skyline traverse at this news and detoured around the 1st sister via the easy ledge system.

The storm passed on as I was looking for shelter so I continued on to the only real climbing (as it seemed to me) up the back face of the 1st sister where I marvelled at the belay cross commemorating someones tragic accident, enroute to roped-solo finishing the enchainment.

Its disappointing that this historic climb is now out of bounds.


IdratherbeclimbingM9

11-Mar-2004
4:50:13 PM

On 11/03/2004 Romfrantic ...

You have changed your icon ?


Romfrantic

11-Mar-2004
5:49:36 PM

On 11/03/2004 A5iswhereitsat wrote:
>On 11/03/2004 Romfrantic ...
>
>You have changed your icon ?

yeah I did...don't know why really, other than I also like "far side" characters ...is it allowed? to change icons that is...


jens

11-Mar-2004
6:15:12 PM

What about the aproach to the North Jawbones in the Cathedral Ranges? That has got to qualify as an epic in itself, doesn't it???


IdratherbeclimbingM9

11-Mar-2004
6:23:17 PM

On 11/03/2004 Romfrantic wrote:
>characters ...is it allowed? to change icons that is...
Its your icon so you do what you want / whatever makes you feel good.
I only noticed since your last one was unique, (kind of cute), and to which I had grown accustomed. It came as a bit of a shock when your image changed in my stereotyped mind from a young eskimo lass to a mature librarian type (I did not recognise the 'Far side' character until you pointed that out).
Viva la difference, ... evolution happens.
Maybe I ought to consider changing mine also!


BundyBear

11-Mar-2004
7:06:25 PM

Hey Steve,

It happens to to eveyone. I remember a certain individual (that you may or may not know) that got lost in the 5 minute walk to the Dam Cliffs and even had the guide book. Then when he finally got there realised that there was one rope between 4 climbers so it had to be tied at the half way point to a tree and climbing on each end of the rope. Luckily ist was at the Dam Cliffs and the routes are on 10-12 metres high.

Lots of Love,

Bundy...

kieranl

11-Mar-2004
9:40:57 PM

I can't remember who I was climbing with, I think it was Jeremy Boreham, but I left my rock-shoes behind for a day at Rosea. Luckily we had roughly the same shoe size so the leader got the rock-shoes for each pitch.

12-Mar-2004
12:39:27 PM

What is it about West Wall? Years ago, two ropes of two set up the climb with low cloud overhead. As we went up, the cloud came down lower until we were climbing in total fog, almost white-out conditions from about half way up the climb. Fortunately I had done the climb a year or two back and could still recognise where we were on it and where it went. The "novices" were a bit concerned but we got there in the end without enjoying of the extensive views one normally enjoyed on the climb. One of the others suggested that we needed and "up-down" compass as well as a "left-right" compass so we could figure out where we going.


Rich

12-Mar-2004
4:24:54 PM

yeh i was meant to be climbing at rosea one morning in 2 group of two. my partner had his bike up there so he shot off up the track to meet us at the crag whilst we walked. Got to the crag after a bit and he wasn't there so i assumed he would realise that he'd made an error and would soon turn up. meanwhile the other guys roped and racked up and proceeded to head up something while i sat twiddling my thumbs.
After a while i started yelling for him and then headed back to the intersection and waited for about an hour or so. no success. eventually i walked up the track towards the summit hearing stories from passerbys about this mad mountain biker carrying his bike up the track! well i reached the summit lookout and no partner so back i went to camp and cracked open a cold one at which point he rocked and asked if i had another for him... hmmm i wasn't impressed.


alrob

12-Mar-2004
6:05:35 PM

i missed the carpark for flemington, and had to do a way big epic in the back streets to turn around and drive back, took like an extra 10 minutes!!


Rich

15-Mar-2004
10:20:34 AM

yeh flemington makes for a hell dangerous u-ie


neats

15-Mar-2004
11:59:08 AM

yeah, with trams and all...

There are 21 messages in this topic.