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The Bumblies Strike Back - Araps TR 17-Jul-2006 At 9:13:21 PM armyiain

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DISCLAIMER: This trip report contains no grades over 17, features many under 10, and is rated as suitable for bumblies only.

Monday

Making the best of what time off work we could get, a few of my mates and I planned an Arapiles trip for July. The purpose of the trip was twofold – Damien and Jake both wanted to consolidate their leading skills, and I was keen to get some further leading under my belt (if I could fit them in under my overhanging gut - haven’t been climbing much lately).

We all arrived from different directions – Damien, his girlfriend and a mate drove up from Adelaide on the Monday morning, and Jake left Tasmania on the Sunday, picking me up from the Melbourne airport on Monday morning. So from three different states we all converged on Araps at about 4 o’clock on the Monday afternoon. Looking warily at the clouds gathering overhead, Jake and I decided that we should at least touch the rock that afternoon. We rolled on up to the plaque wall and quickly climbed Camelot * (10). Though I haven’t done much climbing lately I thought it pretty stiff for a 10 – must be all the sandshoes wearing the rock down or something. As we walked back to the Pines, we looked up at the sky and hoped like hell that we hadn’t just had our last taste of the rock this trip!

Tuesday

Though it did rain off and on throughout Monday night, we were pleased to see that Tuesday morning brought better weather, and as the rain was only light the rock was still fairly dry. Jake and I strolled over to Castle Crag and I led up Trapeze ** (11). It was a bit harder than what I remembered, but still great fun. After topping out I rapped off, leaving the gear in so Jake could have a go at leading. He performed quite well, and so we threw a top-rope over Swinging ** (17). Jake took a rest or two and I managed to get up it clean.

We then left Castle Crag, as some Euros jumped on Swinging to get some photos. It’s always inspiring to see someone crank up a climb so easily! We headed on over to the Eighth ** (8). This was a thoroughly enjoyable climb and by the time we got off the Mount there wasn’t much time left, so I threw a top rope over Minimus * (14) on the Plaque Wall. I decided to give it a miss, hoping to lead it later in the trip.

Above: Jake seconding a pitch on 'The Eighth' ** (8)

Damien and his two mates headed over to Tiptoe Ridge *** (4) for an all-day adventure. Though having done the route before, Damien found it quite enjoyable, as did his two friends who were relatively new to climbing.

Wednesday

Jake and I decided to head on over to the Organ Pipes to try and accumulate some stars. We started with Diapason ** (7) so Jake could get some leading in. He did very well on pitches 1 and 3, while I jumped on pitch 2 as I hadn’t done it before. We had a good climb, despite being unable to get a wire out on pitch 1 – not stuck, but I managed to push it too far into a crack when trying to get it out. More on this later.

We then planned to head up D Minor, but a British couple were at the bottom roping up, so we headed for D Major ** (8). After completing pitch one, we escaped off the back to attempt D Minor. I had led pitch one before, but found it stiffer than I remembered. Though I had done the climb before, I hadn’t led the second pitch. I was quite pleased to crank through both the overhangs without a fall. Jake also really enjoyed the climb – his first three star 14. Deciding that there was time for one more climb, we headed on over to Didgeridoo ** (11). I found this climb to be absolutely excellent, though I did wish I had more small wires! It was an ironic experience to clip the rap chains as I topped out – felt like a sport climb! It really seems that there is something ‘special’ about grade 11s on the Organ Pipes! So for Jake and I it was a 9 star day – we were fairly pleased with this effort.

Above: Author leading Didgeridoo ** (11)

Damien, Liam and Anna all headed out to Bushrangers Bluff for a day of easy leads and top-roping.

Thursday

Feeling absolutely buggered from the previous day’s climbing, Jake and I started up the easy Introductory Route ** (4) to give Jake some more leading practice. This is a fine climb in the low grades, and we thoroughly enjoyed strolling on up it. Jake did really well on lead – only a couple of less-than-perfect placements. Everything else was absolutely bomber.

As it was the afternoon by the time we descended, we headed back to the Pines for a quick brew with lunch. We then moved on to the Plaque Wall to run through some self-rescue and other skills. I also climbed up Minimus ** (14) with one rest. I thought it fairly stiff – a fair bit harder than D Minor.

Damien, Anna and Liam conducted more top-roping and lead climbing in the easy grades at Dec Crag. They also climbed Diapason, with Anna’s small hands proving successful in retrieving my lost wire! It felt like a ‘circle of booty’ or something, as I had found that nut at the base of the Tiger wall in Sept 05.

On Thursday night we invited an English couple over to our fire for some sausages. They were on the last 10 weeks of an 18-month climbing trip around the world, and they had some great stories to tell. We were pleased to be able to show them some traditional Aussie hospitality – snags on the barbie!

Friday

As we planned to head off about midday, we packed up quickly. Feeling threatened by the rain clouds, we returned to Castle Crag so we could leave quickly if it started to rain. Jake did well by leading Trapeze, this time placing the gear himself. Damien enjoyed seconding this and also did very well on Swinging. This was a great way to end the trip, with Damien and Jake’s leading skills consolidated a fair bit. We arrived in Canberra around midnight.

Above: Jake leading Trapeze ** (11)

We had absolutely great weather throughout the trip, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I am hoping to get back down sometime in the next couple of months, with the aim of leading at grades 15 and 16.