Another great weekend

This weekend was another top one! On both saturday and sunday we headed to an old and rarely visited group of boulders near Snake Rock on Corin Dam Road and they were awesome!

We did nearly 20 different problems from about v0 to v5, all of which were really nice climbing on nice featured granite... it is a great little crag!

I will get some pics up soon when I get them off Russell as I forgot my camera on both days haha

Easter: Part 2

Yesterday was another great day! Richo and I headed out to Red Rocks in the morning and had a great session out there. We both started off by doing a classic v4 called 'Snake Bite' then another nice easy but tricky problem.

Richo getting ready for 'Snake Bite' v4

After that we went and jumped on an amazing v6 arete called 'Smoothie' which I did after falling of the crux jump a few times.

Me on 'Smoothie' v6

We left Red Rocks in the early afternoon and had a bite of lunch before heading out to Cantaloupe Hill on Corin Dam Road to try a nice v7 there called 'Vendetta'. We made some good progress on it but were too tired to get close enough to it.

We stopped on the way home at Snake Rock to check out the bouldering there for next time and found that it has some great blocs and some cool looking lines so we will be definitely go there soon. We also decided to go for a bit of a four wheel drive up to an old and mostly forgotten crag called Castle Hill. After a bit of a drive we arrived on top of an amazing mountain covered in granite boulders with a sensational view over the valleys of Canberra below. We did a couple of very easy problems and cant wait to get back there soon to explore the place properly. Apparently there was at one time in the past about 100 cataloged problems there but it has been lost to history except for numbers marking each problem at the base of the boulders (we only found problem number 32 so there are many more to find). We cant wait to get back up there!

An example of the boulders and the view at Castle Hill
(And the access, see how close you drive to the blocs! Talk about lazy haha)

Me about to do a nice easy problem on Castle Hill

Easter: Part 1

So here it is, Easter, Good Friday and the first good (cold) conditions we have had in months!
Today was a nice cool day so Richo, Danny and I headed to Pierces Creek. First stop was the tumblers and we all did a nice highball v4 face / slab to start with.

Richo on the nice highball v4 at The Tumblers

Then after playing on a few other things Danny made quick work of the v6 version of 'Tonka Truck'

Danny on 'Tonka Truck' v6

Then we headed up to the Playboy Mansion were I jumped on 'Violent Crumble' v6 and did it first shot no problem at all, then did another lap on it for good measure haha. This was the problem I hurt my hamstring on several weeks ago so I was happy to do it so easily. It is also listed as being a v8 called 'Respect Is Burning' in the guide but that problem no longer exists since the fires so it is basically a whole new problem, hence the new name.

After that we all sent the highball crack line on the main boulder that finishes right as for Public Enemy. I nabbed the first ascent and called it 'High On Crack' and its about v4/5.

Richo getting 'High On Crack' v4/5

We all then jumped on 'Public Enemy' and had a really good session on it. Danny got nearly to the arete and the end of the hard section and Richo and I managed to do all the moves for the first time ever. We are all really psyched to get back there soon for another burn now that we know we can do it!

The weather is meant to be great for climbing all this weekend so watch this space for more updates soon!

Hot, hot, hot

Well another scorching weekend with very little climbing to be done.
Its mid 30 degrees every day at the moment so no climbing for us... might have to go for a night boulder tonight.. we will see how things pan out...

Woo Hoo!!!

My knee is ok!!!

Richo and I went out to check out some blocs he had found at Pierces Creek and we ended up having a boulder at The Tumblers where we both sent both the v5 and v6 variants to 'Tonka Truck' after a few shots.

I have to be careful with my knee as I can still feel where it is not fully repaired but it is ok to boulder on so long as I don't do any heel hooks :-)

So yeah, a fun day off, a few nice sends, now I'm enjoying a nice cold beer and then its only one day of work tomorrow then a 3 day weekend... life is good!

Torn hamstring...

So yesterday Richo, Russell and I had a great day out at Pierces Creek bouldering at the tumblers and the Playboy Mansion... then towards the end of the day we were figuring out the sequence on a project when I tore my hamstring while using a tough heel hook that is part of the sequence we figured out...

So looks like I'm out of action for a while :-(

Will keep you all posted on how it heals... if its not too bad of a tear it may only take a week or so to heal... but only time will tell...

Comps, gyms and weekend happenings

Last weekend I headed up to the first round of the NSW Bouldering Series... I went in B Grade and had a ripper of a time bouldering with a heap of mates, old and new :)
The Open finals were great fun to watch with a tight battle between Marc Edwards and Chris Webb, with Chris just managing to pip Marc at the post... great to watch all the guys and gals on the finals problems :)
Went for a surf on the sunday.. but I am still such a terrible surfer that I got hammered the entire time and didn't catch a single wave haha

It looks like the new climbing gym here in Canberra is coming along well... its being built in Hume and should be opening march or april... and it looks like it will be a cool gym, the design ideas are well cool... keen as for a new training venue close to home!

Well, I'm off... going to clean my car and then head out for a boulder at Pierces Creek... might put a bit of work into 'Public Enemy' at the Playboy Mansion.. we'll see...

Here is a pic of Chris on one of the finals problems.. enjoy :)