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Castaway or When Nina can get it up 28-Mar-2012 At 9:52:48 AM f_ladou

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Well, she really can.

I had never met Neil Montheit. I have been on a few of his routes in the past but the man remained elusive. Didn't you bolt Screw Loose in Vietnam Neil? Recently, he sent me on Guillotine (Main Area, Sublime Point) and a couple of weeks after that, I jumped on another one of his creation – Subliminal (East Wall, Sublime Point) – and suggested afterwards to Dominik that we should go back to the East Wall and while he'd jump onto Subliminal with Nina, I would do its neighbouring climb Castaway with Cass (a talented photographer). Since the climbs meander side-by-side, separated by 30 meters of orange rock, it would have been a great opportunity for photos and a fun day out.

Well, the man is in love and its seems that his priorities have been slightly revised. He had other fish to fry or, as we say French, other cats to whip. So, instead of two teams of two, Nina, Cass and I decided to jump onto Castaway this last Sunday. The weather was uncertain but we took our chances nevertheless, drove up to Sublime Point on an overcast day, parked at the usual spot and geared up.

That's when Neil showed up with his acolyte Bundy: the two were finalising a couple of projects in the Main Area. I reckon, these two must be churning through tons of stainless steel per year. Respect. BTW, one of these project was Exile, which Bundy advertise on this site a couple of days ago.

After some chit-chat, the three of us headed to the East Wall. For those interested, the walk-in to the top of the climb is very short. Much shorter than the walk-down to Bentrovarto Wall or to Sweet Dreams for example. If you know where you're going, I'd say it's probably a 5–7 minute walk. Nothing. That get's you to the abseil point above Castaway.

We followed Neil's advice and tied in a 60 meter rope which allowed us to skip one abseil so that we could get to the start of Castaway in only two goes. Again for those interested, it's best to clip a couple of draw on the abseil as the overhang could leave you, well, hanging. The view from there is fantastic but nevertheless… Also, reaching the start of Castaway requires some pfaffing around as you have to traverse left 7 meters or so:

Nina traversing to get to Castaway first belay

Nothing serious though. Due to its orientation, the wall stays in the shade until early afternoon at this time of year. It was brisk and the climbing conditions were excellent and up we went. The following interviews were conducted last night at Newtown Thai over a tutti-frutti of curries.

First pitch (Nina)

Q: You decided to lead that pitch. Why?
A: I loved the look of the lovely red rock and since I abseiled last, I was in the best position on the belay ledge to get it up. [note: Nina, as her last name Chevalier clearly shows, is German]

Q: What do you think of the grade? (21)
A: Well, the beginning is easy, probably 18-19, then a pumpy stretch at grade 20 leads to a thin and reachy crux. So grade 21 is about right.

Q: Best/worse moment on the pitch.
A: No worse moment. The best moment is a sequence involving an undercling in a break and then reaching right to the arête. Loved it.

Q: Would you recommend it?
A: absolutely.

Second Pitch (François)

Q: You can't really interview yourself, can'ya?
A: Blow me.

Q: What did you think of the second pitch?
A: The second pitch weaves its way around a cave. I haven't decided if I enjoyed it or not. Either way it won't leave you indifferent. The climb is mostly on iron-stone bands and there is definitely some interesting exposure when traversing above the cave.

Q: What about the grade?
A: The grade at 20 is the right one but would deserves a 23 based on adrenaline levels. That pitch will require you to think twice during the traverse and to beat the pump to reach the belay. Neither Nina nor Cass had any problems with that.

Q: Any tips for the masses?
A: A couple of long slings will come in handy to reduce the rope drag. Actually, it's worth down-climbing to unclip the second u-bolt.

Third pitch (Cass)

Q: You hesitated to lead that one. What changed your mind?
A: After multiple stall tactics, I gave in to peer pressure. No seriously, I looked forward to the challenge.

Q: You mentioned it was "the easiest pitch". Do you still think so? Why?
A: In part because I didn't like seconding in a team of three: too much rope management. In comparison, leading seemed like a breeze.

Q: If you had the choice, which pitch would you choose to lead and why?
A Either the first or the third (mine) due to a combination of exposure and fantastic views.

Q: What's your favourite colour?
A: As a colour enthousiast, that's a particularly difficult question. I'd be a toss between (1) deep charcoal, varying in different light while displaying hues of brown and folk black and (2) coral orange like the rustic rocks of the Blueys.

Fourth pitch (Cass)

Although the guide book say 15m, 15 and 8 bolts, there are no bolts on this pitch and what you should expect is a scramble to the starting abseil point. No interview for this one.

We got back to the car after a rather pleasant picnic overlooking the Jamison valley at 3:00. Earlier on, Neil wanted us to come back down into the Main Area to check out is latest creation Exile (85m, 23 max) but I figured that we were a little short on time and decided to head to another new-ish area: Pole 28 where we wrestled with Beta Male (10m, 20) and Shoalhaven Mayor (10m, 22) before a group of hardcore climbers came down the gully: Hi Neil, hi Bundy.

So now, I've met Neil. Twice. In one day.

Cheers, François

Castaway (80m, 21, 20, 20, 5) Neil Monteith & Jason Lammers, early 2011.

P.S. And here are a couple of pics for your enjoyment.

Nina as a small speck leading pitch one. I like this one.

Cass leading pitch 3, a fun arête.

That's what Cass meant by "too much rope management".

Picnic overlooking the Jamison valley.