Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Dodging bushfires and climbing rocks

So I'm hiding away here in Natimuk, near Arapiles in Victoria. I came down this way to go out and put up new problems in the Grampians but last week we had 5 days of well over 40 degree Celsius weather and bush fires took hold and destroyed the northern end of the Grampians National Park.

Brooding clouds and the glow of distant bushfires in the Grampians


I was yet another devastating series of fires and as a result the Grampians are closed until further notice. As a result I have been hiding away here in Natimuk, training and bouldering out at Arapiles.

Training in Natimuk


 That's not such a bad thing as the climbing and bouldering at Arapiles is world class. It's just been a matter of waiting till the late afternoon and getting amongst it  :)

Heres a little video I just made about the bouldering in Arapiles. The video is perhaps a little lower quality than I hoped so when I have a little more room on Vimeo I will upload a high res HD copy  :)

https://vimeo.com/84560051

Bouldering on the 'Swing Wing' boulder. Arapiles, Victoria

The hot weather has sort of demanded a bit of swimming time too  :)  Heading either to a friends pool across he road or venturing out to the local billabong. Here's a little clip of an afternoon at the billabong.

https://vimeo.com/84368645


Before leaving Canberra I got to spend some time caching up with one of my best of friends - Chris Webb Parsons. It was great to get to spend some time together, catching up, going for a boulder in our old haunts, lots of cafe time and relaxing. Psyched for him to get out and crush the World Cups again this year  :)

Caching up with Chris over coffee in Canberra


One last video before I go. This one is from just before Christmas. A first ascent of a V7 roof problem at Falls Creek near Nowra, NSW - one of the many new areas my good buddy, Jack Folkes has been developing down that way. The footage isn't super high quality, but it's a bit of fun anyway. Enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/83740912


Until next time... stay jazzed!
~ Always psyched  :)
Duncan


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