On 18/07/2016 kieranl wrote:
>On Saturday I was out with a noted guidebook editor, on his endless, perpetually
>unsuccessful, quest for classic new beginners climbs. Typically these are
>sought in beautiful, isolated spots where no-one ever goes. The problem
>is that the the reason no-one ever goes there isn't that these idyllic
>glades are remote, it is that the rock and climbing is awful.
>
>But I digress. We were there, in Hunger Gully, on a glorious, sunny winter's
>day (well, it was sunny out of the shady gully we were in). We had unpacked
>and after one look at the climb and another look at the rack and rope I
>nominated my companion to lead. The rope, I was assured, had once been
>50 metres long and was now "about 47". The rack had been proposed to be
>a basic trad affair but somehow that had got left at home. What we were
>left with were a few wires, 4 slings, some hexentrics with cord that could
>the Indian rope trick, and three cams which appeared to have been rejected
>by Ray Jardine in the mid-seventies.
>
>My companion was happily sorting his gear when I noticed something. "What
>is that?", I said, pointing at a what appeared to be a wonky letter S in
>a pocket, apparently sketched by a finger dipped in a paint-pot.
>
>My companion first looked surprised and then a bit embarassed. "Oh, that
>was me" and "It's The Shaker, I must have put it in the wrong gully in
>the guide". He went on to explain that when he was young he had visited
>the Blue Mountains and seen the painted initials marking the starts of
>many climbs. He thought this was a good idea and when he returned to Arapiles
>began to initial climbs. Mercifully he started with Hunger Gully, with
>pretty crude results, initialled a few more at Mitre Rock and then decided
>that this was not a good idea.
>
>So the correct location of The Shaker has been re-discovered after about
>45 years and it doesn't matter because it's complete rubbish. Our climb
>was abandoned and we went and did Diapason, which was the only reasonable
>option given our rack and rope.
Noted guidebook editor bro sandbagged himself!
Good one.
45 years later is a long time but he can't use fading memory as an excuse as he lost that climb many years earlier.
You are obviously intrepid K-bro, as going into shady gullies in isolated areas with the Noted one, is perilous top shelf adventure for most.
Are you sure it wasn't a ruse? |