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Chockstone Forum - Crag & Route Beta

Crag & Route Beta

 Page 1 of 2. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 21
Area Location Sub Location Crag Links
VIC Buffalo (General) (General) (General) [ Mt Buffalo Guide | Images ] 

Author
Mt Buffalo Gorge questions
Jok
13-Nov-2015
2:15:06 PM
G'day all,

I am flying down from Darwin to climb Ozy and Angels early January.
Can someone tell me if there drinkable water in crystal brook that time of year?

Also what type of temperatures can I expect on the mountain day and night?
Weatherzone says roughly 11.5-20.6 Degrees for January and I am finding that hard to believe mid Summer.
kieranl
13-Nov-2015
2:58:31 PM
That's about right - agrees with BOM figures. It's quite a cool place but you can still bake in the sun on Angels. Bear in mind that the base of Angels is about 300m below the chalet, which is where the temps are taken, in full sun and sheltered from the prevailing wind. You can get pretty hot.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
13-Nov-2015
3:28:02 PM
On 13/11/2015 Jok wrote:
>G'day all,
>
>I am flying down from Darwin to climb Ozy and Angels early January.
>Can someone tell me if there drinkable water in crystal brook that time
>of year?
>
>Also what type of temperatures can I expect on the mountain day and night?
>
>Weatherzone says roughly 11.5-20.6 Degrees for January and I am finding
>that hard to believe mid Summer.

The full range of flow variability applies to Buffalo Gorge, as elsewhere.
I have found Crystal Brook seeping at top but totally dry at base during the drought years, however at present due to a wet Oct and Nov (so far), there will be plenty of drinkable water in it over summer this year.
For peace of mind you might want to add steritabs / or equivalent filtering to your water, but I have never bothered with that precaution, so the choice is yours.

Temperatures are likewise variable.
I have roasted in 38°+ C night temps on the wall, and also shivered in 0°C overnight temps at that time of year...
If I was you, I'd bank on coolish night temps...
More the worry is if it happens to rain, depending on where you are on the route...

Day temps should be pleasant mid twenties which will seem hot if you are in the sun with no breeze, or cold if in the shade and there is a breeze!
~> A layered clothing system with a windproof outer shell is the go, ... because as the guidebook indicates, it is possible to get sunburn and hypothermia at the same time up there!

IdratherbeclimbingM9
14-Nov-2015
3:44:53 PM
On 13/11/2015 kieranl wrote:
>Bear in mind that the base of Angels is about 300m below the chalet, which is where the temps are taken,

Pedant alert!
Actually, the weather station is located about 20 m behind the Rangers Headquarters, which is about (total guess) 3 km from the Chalet, but (I also guess) at similar altitude to the Chalet...
Jok
14-Nov-2015
3:47:19 PM
Ok thanks for that, I will be bringing a minus 5 sleeping bag, bivy bag, rain coat, long sleeve climbing gear, puritabs, and enough bottles for 36L of water (6L per person per day).

Is there anything else you would recommend? Ozy will be both mine and my partner's first aid climb and first bigwall so we don't want to miss anything important.

Also is the Southside track hard.to find? I went for a visit mid ski season to see the gorge and went as far as the hang glider ramp but didn't see any set track from there.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
14-Nov-2015
3:55:57 PM
On 14/11/2015 Jok wrote:
>Ok thanks for that, I will be bringing a minus 5 sleeping bag, bivy bag,
>rain coat, long sleeve climbing gear, puritabs, and enough bottles for
> 36L of water (6L per person per day).
>
This sounds like a good plan to me, though if it isn't hot you could cut the water back to 3 litres per person per day if you had too.

>Is there anything else you would recommend? Ozy will be both mine and
>my partner's first aid climb and first bigwall so we don't want to miss
>anything important.

A belay seat for the belayer, due most of the belay stations are hanging ones.

P-bottles and crap bag/s (or slice an empty water bottle then duct tape it up afterwards), for yourself and partner. It is a popular route and popular time of year, ... and no-one likes climbing in spoiled locations...

Leeper style cam hooks can speed up aid ascents if you are comfortable using same.

Apart from that, I assume you have done your homework by reading everything you can find about Ozy, on this site and others; along with wall techniques like hauling (you will probably need to do that style of ascent if taking 36 l of water), self rescue, etc...

>
>Also is the Southside track hard.to find? I went for a visit mid ski season
>to see the gorge and went as far as the hang glider ramp but didn't see
>any set track from there.

From the Hang Glider ramp veer to your right going downhill into the gully behind it. Continue down the gully and you will pick up the old (now mostly disused) tourist track to Mushroom Rock. Continue on past said rock and you will notice the occasional rock cairns leading you on the 'southside track' that switches back on itself from time to time.
With haulbags it is awkward in places. Be careful of any fixed ropes at sketchy bits that you may find in place, as the anchors for them have been known to be dodgy...

See also the following thread for beta:
http://www.chockstone.org/Forum/Forum.asp?Action=Display&ForumID=15&MessageID=7277&Replies=48
... and reverse the track 'out' instructions!
Jok
14-Nov-2015
4:10:59 PM
>>
>This sounds like a good plan to me, though if it isn't hot you could cut the water back to 3 litres per person per day if you had too.
>
Thanks, good to know I'm on the right track.

>Leeper style cam hooks can speed up aid ascents if you are comfortable
>using same.

I got a pairs of three different sized Moses can hooks, I'm going to try practice with them before we go down.

>Apart from that, I assume you have done your homework by reading everything
>you can find about Ozy, on this site and others...

Yeah I have read everything from trip reports to Andy Kirpatricks "The dark art of bigwall soloing"


>From the Hang Glider ramp veer to your right going downhill into the gully
>behind it. Continue down the gully and you will pick up the old (now mostly
>disused) tourist track to Mushroom Rock. Continue on past said rock and
>you will notice the occasional rock cairns leading you on the 'southside
>track' that switches back on itself from time to time.
>With haulbags it is awkward in places. Be careful of any fixed ropes at
>sketchy bits that you may find in place, as the anchors for them have been
>known to be dodgy...
>

Thanks that's a big help. I'm always suspicious of fixed gear, I don't even trust bolts completely I would take my own passive trad anchor over bolts anyday.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
14-Nov-2015
4:21:29 PM
Maybe also re-read my post above as I edited it by adding further to it, while you were posting your reply!
;-)
Jok
14-Nov-2015
4:55:16 PM
I fully agree with keeping our country clean, the only thing I hate more on the bush than people leaving surface turds is rubbish. We are going to use scented garbage bags with baking soda stored in a large protein powder container for solid waste and empty water bottles in a drysack for liquid.

I just setup my 2:1 haul device today which can be seen here https://youtu.be/3GN066ctHgA
We thought about space hauling but we don't want the extra risk and complications associated with it while we already have a steep learning curve underway.

As for a belay seat, the wife's have already cracked the sads about the spending for this trip and more gear is out of the question. As it is we are building the seconds set of ladders out of old rope and sharing ascenders.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
14-Nov-2015
5:56:32 PM
On 14/11/2015 Jok wrote:
>As for a belay seat, the wife's have already cracked the sads about the
>spending for this trip and more gear is out of the question. As it is we
>are building the seconds set of ladders out of old rope and sharing ascenders.

Goodonya for improvising. I attest from experience that home made jobbies work well enough to get by...
On that topic, a belay seat is easily made out of a lightweight bit of wood of length as long as your butt is wide plus a cm or two*, with holes drilled near the corners for threading prusik type cord through to form a seat like a kids swing-seat. The threaded cord needs to be long enough to clip the belay allowing a working space triangle in front of you that won't impede belay duty, but not so long as to make clipping the belay difficult.
(*Don't skimp the width, otherwise any gear on your harness will be uncomfortably crushed against your hips during use).
Cheap enough if part of an old packing case or pallet is scavenged...

I noted your other post looking for an Ozy partner and was half keeping it in the back of my mind if I should find myself available at the required time and short of something to do, however it sounds like you are now sorted for a partner?

Re hauling. Make sure your haulbag and water bottles are robust (tape up with extra gaffer tape at likely wear points if necessary), as the upper pitches of Ozy (above Gledhill Bivvy height), are rough textured and hard on gear.

Good luck with your ascent and don't forget to give Chockstone a Trip Report as feedback to us / any who follow in your ett-steps.
;-)
Jok
14-Nov-2015
9:23:17 PM

>On that topic, a belay seat is easily made out of a lightweight bit of
>wood

That's a good idea, ill look at putting one together.

>I noted your other post looking for an Ozy partner and was half
>keeping it in the back of my mind if I should find myself available at
>the required time and short of something to do, however it sounds like
>you are now sorted for a partner?
>
Cheers, one of my original partners is probably back in at this point but it's still a 50/50 chance.
If he doesn't end up coming your more than welcome, my current plan B if I don't have a partner is to pull out the silent partner and solo Angels over 2 days, which is terrifying when I think about it. If you end up with nothing to do sent me a msg anyway, I'm sure having a 3rd person can't hurt.

>Re hauling. Make sure your haulbag and water bottles are robust

Water is 2L coke bottles and camelback bladders inside a Metoulius Halfdome haulbag which I will line with a inflatable mat.
>
>Good luck with your ascent and don't forget to give Chockstone a Trip
>Report as feedback to us / any who follow in your ett-steps.


Thanks and will do, ill try get a bunch of good photo's and video to go with it.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
14-Nov-2015
9:57:33 PM
>If you end up with nothing to do sent me a msg anyway,

A bit far out at this point for me to nail down some variables at my end...
Maybe PM me your mobile number and we can msg closer to the date.

Had another couple of thoughts that you might not already be aware of...
Use an empty plastic bottle with base cut off to slip onto the rope before you tie the rope in to the haulbag. This way it acts as abrasion protection for that connecting knot...

When hauling try and time things so that the second who should be cleaning the route, can free the bag if it gets stuck on a snag. This is much easier than having to descend to free it...
One Day Hero
15-Nov-2015
12:40:37 PM
On 14/11/2015 Jok wrote:
>Ok thanks for that, I will be bringing enough bottles for
> 36L of water (6L per person per day).

Are there going to be three of you climbing? That is a lot of water.

The route is only seven pitches long. I reckon your chances of getting to the top will increase if you do it in two long days, and halve the weight of your bag.

Carry all the ropes and rack most of the way down the track the evening before. Only takes an hour and half, and will make the walk way easier on the first climbing day.
Jok
15-Nov-2015
12:47:26 PM
Thanks, I'd forgotten about the bottle. Ill throw one in the bag today.

With the haul bag getting caught, is there any easy way to deal with it if the pitch is traversing? as the second wont be anywhere near it.
Jok
15-Nov-2015
1:07:31 PM
>Are there going to be three of you climbing? That is a lot of water

It was going to be 2 people for 3 days, we figured plan for the worst case being climbing in 40deg and if after day one we only use 3L each we can always dump some to make hauling easier. If we get there and the forecast is mild (anything under 30) we won't be definitely hauling that much.

>The route is only seven pitches long. I reckon your chances of getting to the top will increase if you do it in two long days, and halve the weight of your bag.

That is a good idea, and almost certainly the smarter way about it, but being our first taste of Aid and my mates first wall bigger than 22m (Any big cliffs in the top end are national parks off limits) I don't want to rush it and get too fatigued, plus sleeping on the wall is half the attraction.

>Carry all the ropes and rack most of the way down the track the evening before. Only takes an hour and half, and will make the walk way easier on the first climbing day.

Yeah, we will. Would you recommend sleeping at the Brook or the Hut?
One Day Hero
15-Nov-2015
2:22:43 PM
On 15/11/2015 Jok wrote:
>I don't want to
>rush it and get too fatigued, plus sleeping on the wall is half the attraction.

Hauling excess shite will fatigue you pretty good. There's only one ledge to sleep on (unless you have a portaledge)........hence my suggestion of doing it in 2 days, rather than the recently fashionable 3 days.

>Yeah, we will. Would you recommend sleeping at the Brook or the Hut?

Roll up in the arvo, find the track and carry the climbing gear down a ways, go back up, sleep in the hut, walk down early and get stuck into it.

Is there any way you can stop somewhere on the way down and introduce your partner to the concept of exposure? Kinda shitty getting them to go straight from 20m to 250m with 3hr hanging belays.
Jok
15-Nov-2015
4:37:02 PM

>Hauling excess shite will fatigue you pretty good. There's only one ledge
>to sleep on (unless you have a portaledge)........hence my suggestion of
>doing it in 2 days, rather than the recently fashionable 3 days.

True, It would give us more time to do Angels and The Cathedral before we return

>Is there any way you can stop somewhere on the way down and introduce
>your partner to the concept of exposure? Kinda shitty getting them to go
>straight from 20m to 250m with 3hr hanging belays.

Na, we are flying down and only have 5 days so he's going to learn real quick about exposure when we get there, should be amusing.

I have a single portaledge and he has a hammock so the nights shouldn't be too bad.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
15-Nov-2015
6:43:39 PM
>With the haul bag getting caught, is there any easy way to deal with it if the pitch is traversing? as the second wont be anywhere near it.

From a hauling point of view there are no traverses on Ozy Direct, as long as you rig the hauls from the best locations to avoid the minor hassle stuff like the 'squeeze chimney' just below/adjacent Wilkinson ledge.

Ozy Original on the other hand has a rising leftwards traverse.
Best way to deal with such issues is for the 2nd to have a trailing tail rope (lightweight zip-line suffices) off the bag-base leading back to them so they can assist from their end if required.

Having said that, there are no snags on that Ozy Original traverse, though the above described tactic can sometimes be helpful in it's exit chimneys.

>sleeping at the Brook or the Hut
Both have their advantages or issues depending on the amount of gear you take and your timeframe. Sometimes it is easier to have two sets of camping gear, one for car camping at top and the other for the wall, as packing / repacking can be a time-gobbler.
peteclimbs
16-Nov-2015
11:16:23 AM
Hi Jok - worth scoping the top-out of Angels before you start. Finding Burston's Crevasse can be quite tricky and, even though the climbing is all over by then, you're still scrambling around on steep stuff with lots of dirt and bushes. It was a pain for us and that was without a heap of kit.

More info here if you haven't already found this thread http://www.chockstone.org/forum/Forum.asp?Action=DisplayTopic&ForumID=15&MessageID=23131&PagePos=0&Sort=&Replies=58&MsgPagePos=40

Also, finding the south side track was pretty easy. The key waypoint for us was mushroom rock, then it was pretty well cairned from there. It's a really nice walk in I reckon. Good luck!
Jok
16-Nov-2015
12:52:48 PM
>Ozy Original on the other hand has a rising leftwards traverse.
>Best way to deal with such issues is for the 2nd to have a trailing tail rope (lightweight zip-line suffices) off the bag-base leading back to them so they can assist from their end if required.

Ok, I'll bring one along as we have not decide between original or Direct yet.

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