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TR: Alive in a Bitter Sea (Katoomba Cliifs) 7-Dec-2016 At 6:45:51 PM warwickb

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Hi Paul,

Congratulations on your ascent of Alive in a Bitter Sea, and thanks for a great read and for the memorable photos (where did you dig THAT photo up from? - I didn't realise I had such a taste for blue, stripes, and tights in my youth!).

Thanks also for replacing the bolts like-for-like without any new additions to those placed on the first ascent (at least that's what I understand you did).

My view on the rebolting of routes I did in the 80's and 90's is that replacing old bolts like-for-like (with glue) is fine, and is probably a very good idea. So thanks, and thanks for not adding any rings or additional bolts. In my view replacing bolts with rings or adding extra bolts detracts from these routes and is contrary to my thinking when making the first ascent. It is not something I generally agree with. If people wish to make such additions to a particular route I put up please give me a call to have a chat about it (contrary to rumour I'm still alive, fairly sane, and happy to chat!).

In the 80's and 90's one of the things that interested me about climbing was the mental aspect of maintaing a relaxed climbing state in situations that generated a lot of fear i.e. keeping your shit together. Keeping bolting to a minimum allowed me to put up a number of routes where that mental aspect is central. The configuration of the protection, including bolts, is key to the integrity of those routes and the climber's experience of them. I'd like to think these routes remain as they were for other climbers to experience this mental aspect. (Perhaps they might be considered cultural heritage - after all they are in a world heritage park listed on the heritage list for its cultural as well as natural values!).

My recollection of the first ascent of Alive in a Bitter Sea was that I worked some of the moves off the rap rope when cleaning and bolting the route. I don't recall top-ropping any of it. I do recall taking a fall on the dyno pitch, which resulted in breaking the stem of a small Friend (a #2 I think) that I'd placed with most of it sticking out of a horizontal crack.

Alive in a Bitter Sea was the last of the routes I put up on that wall. I named it after a book I heard reviewed on the radio on the drive up. The book was of the same name and was about the Chinese cultural revolution. My recollection is that the first of the routes I put up on the wall I found the scariest. Iron Lady, named after Margaret Thatcher, traverses across the whole wall from bottom left to top right. When I abseiled the wall the first time to check it out I bush-bashed in to the top of the wall from the right hand side (facing the cliff) and rapped down the middle, placing one bolt to keep the rope in. There wasn't any opportunity to try out moves, clean it or really inspect it as the obvious line was a rising traverse. I then returned and did it from the ground up. When we got to Penny Ledge below the main wall it was covered in pennies thrown off the lookout. Hence we named it Penny Ledge. Launching up the main wall I placed bolts on lead working the route out as I went. That was my first time climbing on the wall and no one else had climbed on it. It was pretty unnerving. Mike Myers (the geologist) seconded me. We had a lot of fun on those routes.

That's a bit of history and some of my views.

Nice to see people out on the wall getting a taste of the first ascent experience! Congratulations again.

Warwick Baird