| 20.09.09 - MOUNT
ARAPILES
Giant Koala
Fantastic weekend at Australia’s most famous crag, Mount
Arapiles. Drought-ravaged Victoria has just enjoyed a
brief spell of spring rain, so everything was green and
flowery. The peregrines keened, the kookaburras made
their crazy monkey noises and the kangaroos grazed
contentedly, while we enjoyed the finest metamorphosed
sandstone outside The Cape.
Kangaroos enjoying spring shoots
On Friday afternoon Dale from Melbourne pointed us up
various gorgeous classics in the Organ Pipes, including
Didgeridoo, and we finished off the day with the
stupendous wall of Tannin – grade 19, with lovely big
holds in all the right places and the kind of protection
that makes even the wimpiest climber feel bold.
Then on with warm clothes for wine and pasta round the
fire and a quick revision lesson in how to find the
Southern Cross in the starriest sky I have seen for
months. Saturday dawned with drizzle, but the rock soon
dried, allowing me to spend a very long time indeed
puzzling out the moves on a beautiful grade 20 called
Little Thor. As always, after hours of dithering and
cheating, when I finally did the moves I wondered what
all the fuss had been about. At least my host, Matt, and
mountain guide Chris Brown had the decency to puff and
pant when their turn came.
The last route of the day was the unpromisingly named
Greasy Burritos – in fact a delightfully delicate grade
19. But the main treat after lunch was the obligatory
classic The Bard – five pitches of grade 12 climbing
weaving through the most outrageous terrain. Huge
amounts of air and huge purpose-built holds that make
you think there must be Intelligent Design.
Now back to work, preparing talks for the Royal
Geographical Society in Hong Kong.
Chris Brown leading
Didgeridoo
Stephen engrossed in Little Thor
And clinging desperately to the
finishing holds.
The view from the bottomless chimney
on The Bard.
Dale belaying pitch 4 of The
Bard.
The end of a perfect day at Arapiles
Evening at Arapiles with two
climbers silhouetted at the top of Bard Buttress
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