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Chockstone Forum - Trip Reports

Tells Us About Your Latest Trip!

Author
TR: Static, Engineers' Cascade - NSW
Nick Clow
20-Dec-2012
9:59:13 AM
Went to do Static (23) on the weekend. This had long been on my 'to do list' as it is billed as a mixed line starting up a closed corner with 4 stars (according to the perplexing star system in S. Carter's guidebook), equipped by one G. Short but first climbed by a G. Bradbury.

Even though it is so close to Catch the Wind, you approach the rap in from a different direction. We walked in along the ledge and then rapped half-way down the cliff to do '5.9+' (19) as a warm-up.

In order to do Static you need to rap down to the ground passing a bushy, vegetated ledge. As I got to this point, I needed to sort out a minor tangle in the rope and the next thing I know is that I am confronted by a snarling possum. He obviously lives here and I've woken him up.

As ever when abseiling, your life depends somewhat on not letting go of the rope, so I feel my hand nervously tightening on the tail of the rope as I anticipate the possum jumping me and sinking his teeth into my face. However, what happened next really surprised me - the possum stopped snarling and JUMPED OFF the ledge. This is from maybe 10 metres up. I saw him disappear downwards and then heard a thud as he landed somewhere below.

I was a bit shocked by this, as I don't like the idea of an innocent creature copping it as a result of my morning's pleasure. However, maybe possums can cope with a jump/fall from that high??

Anyway, Static was very good and is highly unusual climbing for the mountains, consisting of hard cornery moves punctuated by rests. My brain only copes with a 3 star system and it gets a solid 2 stars from me, i.e. well-worth doing. The guide says you need cams, but you only need 12 draws (the longer the better), 3 or 4 bolt plates and a handful of small wires.

This area is one of those mysterious places in the mountains (like Diamond Falls) that seems to suck in the wind and can be beautifully cool on a hot day. On a day close to 30 degrees, it was perfectly cool and breezy in the morning shade.




shortman
20-Dec-2012
10:18:02 AM
Possums really struggle in daylight. Prolly didn't know he was heading off into the abyss.

Miguel75
20-Dec-2012
11:04:58 AM
On 20/12/2012 shortman wrote:
>Possums really struggle in daylight. Prolly didn't know he was heading
>off into the abyss.

The possum meth epidemic is still not fully understood.... It wasn't your fault, both you and the possum are victims in this tale:(
gfdonc
20-Dec-2012
11:50:25 AM
Hate to say it to ya .. you really are that ugly.
Nick Clow
20-Dec-2012
3:10:47 PM
Hmmm, thanks guys.

What I actually wanted to hear was something along the lines of that possums are really, really good jumpers and he'd have been just fine.

Now I'm under a dark cloud wondering whether he died instantly or crawled off into the bushes to die (slowly) of his injuries. Great.
Olbert
20-Dec-2012
3:21:34 PM
Possums can fly. It was fine. You don't have to feel guilty.

Does that help?

IdratherbeclimbingM9
20-Dec-2012
3:27:22 PM
On 20/12/2012 Nick Clow wrote:
>Hmmm, thanks guys.
>
>What I actually wanted to hear was something along the lines of that possums
>are really, really good jumpers and he'd have been just fine.
>
If it was a phalanger (sp?), ie the glider ones with the skin membrane between front and back legs, then no worries...

Kind of the same but different, I can remember my long since deceased grandfather telling me many years ago of his logging exploits during his youth.
One of the memories that stuck with me was his felling large trees that had koalas/possums up in the canopy. Apparently they would ride the falling tree down and then neatly step off just before it would hit, and wander off seemingly unaffected...

I like to think that if I end up riding a chockstone down sometime, that I could do the same thing!

nmonteith
20-Dec-2012
3:35:29 PM
I had a rock wallaby jump over my head and landed 10m below me. It happily hopped away. Cats survive massive falls onto concrete. I reckon the possum was fine.

E. Wells
20-Dec-2012
5:55:52 PM
Late one evening walking home from work I saw a ringtail possum fall high from a powerline onto the road near my house. It was unconcious so I put it on a woolen jumper in the backroom with a door open to the outside and a dish of water. It was gone the next morning.
My dog ate it.

ChuckNorris
20-Dec-2012
11:22:51 PM
Even if possy lives there, how the fk is it gunna get back up to care for baby possies .

Nick you've messed with a family - not just one possie but a family. It might have been easier for the baby possies if daddy died. If it lived how traumatic for them hearing daddy croaking down the bottom of the cliff whilst they all slowly starve to death whispering sweet words of encouragement as daddy possie tries in vain, to use his broken paws to deliver just one gumnut to his starving children.

But hey, shit happens I reckon you should just get over your guilt.

BundyBear
21-Dec-2012
8:17:17 AM
So where do you rap ? (in relation to Catch the Wind) Can you do Catchit as a warm up ?
Nick Clow
21-Dec-2012
8:44:28 AM
That's more like it Neil.

I sincerely question the sensitivity of the rest of youse.

Bundy - despite only being 10 metres R of CtW, the access is different because the ledge above both Static and CtW peters out and you cannot get from the top of one to the other (at least not without a half kilometre walk). So, to do Static, you walk in from a ledge starting below the mini sport crag and it's best to do 5.9+ as a warm-up.

E. Wells
21-Dec-2012
9:48:18 AM
@ Bundy, its not far left from new ZZ routes.
PThomson
21-Dec-2012
1:57:43 PM
If Static was going to be your LAST climb of the day, or the sole goal of your day, you would rap in via the static-side of the CtW ledges, warm up on 5.9+ and do Static afterwards before walking out via the end of the ledge for the day.

Alternatively, you can rap in and do Catchit as a warm up, rap back down and do Static (it's like 50m easy walk from where you rap in for CtW), and rap back down, and climb Catch the Wind, or Passing Wind/Second Wind to escape from the original entry point.

I had a look at Static when I was on Passing Wind a week ago. It looks so unnassuming from the bottom, yet I remember the stories Ben Jenga has told me about an epic battle he and Thoma Samuels had on it a while back.

If you're planning on climbing it, Bundy, I'll happily come along for a lap. The whole thing sounds intriguing.
kieranl
21-Dec-2012
8:32:23 PM
Did you guys just make a flying visit to Arapiles? A wallaby was found dead in mysterious circumstances at the base of Mantis today. The position of the body, not to mention the height of the smell, indicates that it may have jumped over the edge. No suicide note has been found.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
21-Dec-2012
9:09:34 PM
On 21/12/2012 kieranl wrote:
>Did you guys just make a flying visit to Arapiles? A wallaby was found
>dead in mysterious circumstances at the base of Mantis today. The position
>of the body, not to mention the height of the smell, indicates that it
>may have jumped over the edge. No suicide note has been found.

There is some kind of epidemic happening.
I heard that a goanna was found dead at the base of The Bakery Wall at Mt Pilot today. Apparently it didn’t smell, so presumably was fresh, but the strange angularity of it’s limbs reminded the finder of a ww&s gutter pose the possibility it slipped while soloing, or was frightened into jumping by irresponsible abseilers...

There are 16 messages in this topic.

 

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