Chockstone Forum

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

Chockstone Photography

Australian Landscape Prints

Chockstone Forum - Trip Reports

Tells Us About Your Latest Trip!

Topic Date User

Cert II climbing at Mt York 8-May-2009 At 9:32:41 PM hangdog

Message

>
>I recall a strory by another guide who had some kid set fire to a branch
>and wave the flaming branch over
>the coiled up ropes, top of 1st pitch of Spiral Starcase I believe.
>

I am not sure if this flaming branch happens a lot.
But in a former life working as guide in the Bluies we had a group of "youth at risk" on an abseiling
trip. These kids were real trouble, you know they are trouble when the ratio of youth workers to kids is
one to one. We had our abseil lines attached to a large boulder, i was working the top of the rap with 3
or 4 abseilers on the lines when i heard a sound like a flaming branch. I turned around and this kid had
a flaming log from the camp fire and he was just about to torch the whole anchor system. To cut a
long story short he didnt and lived to survive the event although only just as i would have chucked the
little pr....k off the crag.
I didnt get my jollies working with these types of people but after winging to the youth worker about
this kids behaviour he described in graphic detail what this kid had been through at the hands of his
father. Didnt change my mind about the burning log but i figured that if i had received the same
treatment from my father i would be setting fire to more than abseil anchor systems.
Working on the rocks. What a lifestyle. Just work with willing adults and not kiddie camping or youth at
risk. (Unless you went to a private school and this is your way of rebelling)