The Rift (19**) an old classic perfect for practising multipitch climbing. Up the traversing slab to a nice belay stance and tackle the steep excellent second pitch. Pure vertical bliss to little belay corner. This gets you set up for the soaring arete above. Roman’s fist multipitch.
The clouds were passing over us rather quickly and the temperature plummeted, it was very cold now and the wind had picked up a fair bit. By the time we came down we were frozen solid. We contemplated to leave around the corner and explore the hopefully protected crag of Sharon Stone. But the sun was not far away, lucky we stayed because at 12am conditions improved with the sun and Roman had discovered a splinter crack which we could not just walk away from after having lugged all the natural protection with us down to the cliff.
Wise Crack (20**) Amazing slightly left leaning splitter crag with good stances to place the gear and nice finger looks. Takes a lot of different kinds of small gear – small wires and aliens are perfect. Crack finishes at a stance where you can sling a large pillar and then the quality of the climb changes markedly. Four carrot bolts protect the steep but juggy wall above. Double ring bolts for lower of or continue on the easy second pitch. One of the best practise cracks in the mountains and Roman’s lead on gear.
The wind kept annoying us for most of the day but the sun enticed us to stay so there was time for one more before the cold got the better of us.
Pumpkin Puree (22**) Hard crimpy start to clip the first to bolts on a perfectly vertical wall, then easier up to an amazingly scooped orange headwall with a final crux to the ledge. Reminded me a bit of Grampians climbing very enjoyable and the blood was flowing again nicely.
Finally the wind got the upper hand after 3pm and we were keen to move around the corner to see if the shade was less windswept. On our way out we went to explore the surprisingly hidden sport climbing crag of Sharon Stone. As you walk back up the Porters Pass track the left hand turn follows the cliff to a myriad of little amphitheatres (Oliver Stone; Dark Gully) with rock and climbs everywhere, until at last at he end of a long ledge the huge Sharon Stone wall comes into view with panoramic views of Porters Pass walls. The ledge itself is worth visiting with some of the best collection of hard sport routes on a single wall.
Sensory Overload (23***) it was getting dark and the temperature dropped even further but at least we were out of the wind at last. This line is the easiest on the cliff ! Long, steep and sustained with some of the biggest rest jugs and sneaky heel hooks anywhere in the mountains. It will pump you senseless, then let you recover fully and then pump you some more. Finally, it will throw a crux finish problem at you that you can solve in many different ways. Roman told me about a nice undercling way of doing it – slightly harder, but much quicker then going out right at the end. Could this be the best steep single-pitch climb in the mountains?
That was about it for us with a steep walk ahead back to the car and heavy packs. But we could not help but explore the Dark Gully and surrounding routes. Fantastic looking place and we will definitely come back for a trip on this amazing wall. On the way home that night, I suddenly lost power-steering and all sorts of lights started flashing on the dashboards – some of them I had never seen before? Pulling over and turning off the engine I could not start the car again. NRMA was very helpful that night and after a jump start she behaved herself again and we had not problems in reaching Aportos for the tastiest chicken every. What a great day. |
