It was Will, who came up with the idea of visiting our old stomping ground on the South Side for a romp amidst the old salt encrusted dyna bolts on Sydney’s sea cliff classics. We used to go there many years ago, and well before the explosion of micro crags in the Shire, when sport climbing was still frowned up. Meanwhile Sydney has exploded with climbing and bouldering gyms and climbing has become decidedly mainstream. This was also evident at Diamond Bay where double ring rappel stations and glued in ring bolts replaced many of the old carrot bolt sticking out of the wall.
We started our day hiding from helicopters, police boats and marine divers until Leo and I figured out that nobody was actually searching for us but rather the fisherman without lifejacket that has gone over the cliff edge near Diamond Bay. Once Mark turned up we got to work at the back of the bay on some of the old short warm-up routes:

Sleazy Mission (20**) with its crux bulge and balancy arête. The top rope belay station can be combined with another  second belay station to the left to top rope the following two routes.

"B" (18**) with a very reachy start over a bulge

LP (16*) the corner roof problem.

Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player
that struts and frets his hour upon the stage.

Mark Honeycomb Arete	Leo on "B"	Will in Diamond Panorama	Awsome Foursome
Will & Mark Rosa Slot	Mark on Succulent	Will Acute What	Acute exposure
Mark in the limelight	Rosa Crew	Diamon Bay South side and Will	Rosa Gully entrance: Pox

When our warm-up session was in full swing Will showed up to make a total of four: Leo, Mark, Roman and Will for a nice trip down memory lane on one of Sydney’s oldest seacliff crags. Once the warmup was complete it was time to move into the picture perfect sun with temperatures ranging in the high twenties it was a superbly balmy autumn day. Despite the sun there was a lot of run-off on the south cliff and many of the classics were covered in slimy wetness. But there was enough for us to have a little play:

Honeycomb Arete (18**) Mark flew up this classic exposed line with arguably the best view in town.

Next was one of the classics of the crag:

Two succulent young men with a taste for the bizarre (22***) is probably a strong contender for the best named climb in Sydney. Although there were four succulent men that day. This route starts with a nice crimpy boulder problem and finishes with one of the most outrageous layaway moves in Sydney. It’s a big call I know but go and see for yourself.
Redneck Brother (24***) another classic just before the wet spot began. A hard balancy move of the deck to the first high bolt moves you to the mid-mantle move with a nice rest. Here you get ready for the “sandy crux” move. The final arête is easy and the shiny ring-bolts make the route much easier than it used to be.

It was getting a little hot in the sun so we moved onto the Northern side of Diamond Bay for a final mega sea cliff classic:

Acute What (22**) is one of those climbs responsible for the heady nature of seacliff climbing. The line definitely has a certain aura to it that needs to be experienced before you come to understand the enigma and very essence of seacliff climbing. The old carrot bolts are still there but have been substituted by ring bolts to take the edge of this monster of a climb. For the first move you need to pivot on a sandy boulder and fall across to a short undercut wall with a sandy break for both hands. Two safety ringbolts get you to a jug on the arête to cross the corner around to the main wall. A tricky first move gets you to a juggy horizontal break. Here the first crux awaits. Get your feet as high as you can and lock off the left hand crimp. Bring your right hand up high to a good but narrow slot. Match laboriously and go high again for a jug. This is where the traverse begins on good holds all the way to the final pockets. Here the second long crux keeps you flailing just below the anchors. Undercling one of the pockets with your right hand and bring your right foot up high. Step up to a shallow pocket with your left foot and reach, reach with your left hand. Match and gingerly clip the anchor high above the sea.

It was lunch time and we still had time to scramble across the short amphitheater to Rosa Gully were the afternoon sunlight was setting the stage for round two. Around two o’clock the sun’s rays were entering the narrow slot and bathed the rock with its warm embrace. We started at the very end of the slot were the tide was working its way inwards with a classic long arête:

Pox (18 ***) This climb keeps on giving and is twice as long as everything else with a nice little curx bulge right at the end.

The Devil’s Sandpit (20**) with a hard starting move and a steep overhanging serious of layaways, short but sweet as we were getting a little tired now.

Meanwhile a bunch of young fisherman turned up and unexpectedly pulled out a climbing rope. Then the turned on the music box and the sound filled the slot like a giant echo chamber. The sunlight bounced along along the narrow walls almost in perfect tune with the rhythm of the sound – or was it all just a very surreal hallucination?  There was one climb whose name I could not walk past withoug giving it a try no matter how tired we were:

3 roofs and a funeral (23***) was were aptly named and I certainly send me home packing in style. The first roof was simply cruel: from a perfect undercling to a huge jug but absolutely no feet. You had to choose to smear your way up either right or left equally bad with the rock moist from the seaspray. I choose the wrong side first and fell exhausted onto the rope, then tried the left side – just made it up but completely wasted. Short section and onto roof number two with a pancake flake sticking out horizontally: will this really hold my bodyweight? A put my weight on it and swung out over the void, trying to get purchase on the smooth rock above was impossible. I feel again. Eventually I rapped my whole leg around the pancake and slid over and onto it. It was very easy and completely unique. A few meters of easy climbing and onto the third roof. My body was screaming for mercy by now and this last rood was very wet. Everything I touched sucked the chalk right out of my hands. You match on a double handed sloper and deadpoint to a good deep slot with your feet beneath the roof. I was soaking by now and missed the move several times. A few more thin exposed moves to the anchor and I found myself pondering the most accurate climbing name in Sydney. I will be back some day when the sun hits the slot just at the perfect angle.

A final happy snap of the climbing team and we all ascended Rosa Gully with a big smile on our face. Time and tide may wait for no man but the crusty old carrot bolts will be there and wait for you for a long time to come…