A day in Blue Mountain Time
During
our sensational Easter Weekend from Friday the 6th of April
to Monday the 9th unfortunately our cars fuel pump broke
down and we had to leave “Petty Blue” behind
at the local garage in Katoomba (but that’s another
story coming soon on the website.) Using the car pickup
as an excuse I managed to squeeze in a quick climbing day
on Monday the 16th with Leo and here is the story:
Leo
and I, left Central Station in Sydney with the 8:25 Express
train and arrived in Katoomba at 10:19AM. It was quite
refreshing to take the train for a change and relax with
a cup of coffee instead of having to drive. After we picked
up the car from “Harry” (“Holzman” and
here is the address if you ever need a good mechanic that’s
open during public holidays: M:0412-399-553 or 1300-724-047,
59-63 Megalong St. Katoomba NSW 2780) we went straight
to a little area called “Medlow Bath”, which
is just after the Hydro Majestic. Please not that this
area is described in the 2002 Pircher and Carter Guide
but some of the descriptions are not accurate. This area
has now been rebolted with mostly ring-bolts and is great
for beginners. We started at the SUNBATH area:
-
Grade 19 warmup not in the guide NICE.
-
STRANGE KARMA (20) very nice with a little roof for
a bonus.
-
OLD SALT (18) Three stars and
one of the best 18s in the Mountains.
-
GAS, FOOD, LODGING (22) A nasty dyno problem of two
hideous crimpers. The boulder problem felt like grade
25.
That
was the warm up done and it was time to start motoring
now. We went across to another area called the SPORTING
COMPLEX. Note that the guide says that you need
to abseil in from the top. This is no longer necessary
and you can traverse across from the SUNSHINE AREA.
-
LIKE A CUT SNAKE (21) Three stars two
pitches up an exposed arête. Awesome exposure,
felt like 19.
-
Now we were really warmed up and decided
to have a go at “THE LIFE OF RILEY” (Grade 24, three
stars, 35 meters). The description in the guide says “fixed
hangers may be aging - use your judgement” That
made it even more interesting and the steep overhanging
start looked awesome. I was in full gear at this stage
and flew up huge steep jugs along brand new ring-bolts.
Clipping the anchors the climb felt more like 22 but
there was a moss-covered second pitch that looked harder.
Leo wanted a go so I rapt off and he managed to get
up it with his burning forearms screaming for mercy.
Note that the access to this climb is described incorrectly
in the guide. It is located just to the right of the
SCHWING (two-pitch 18).
Time
for a quick rest now but it was getting late. There was
one more interesting area at Sector 1, which had two interesting
climbs we needed to try before the sun faded:
-
RADIOACTIVE MAN (20, Two stars) all ring bolts now
and very steep. Nearly kicked our buts.
-
We were starting to run out of juice
and sunlight now, but there was ATOMS IN ACTION (25
two stars) and I couldn’t
go home without a quick try. This climb is described
in the old guide as “one move wonder”. Well
I would rephrase that to: Short 22 start for 5 meters
with a cruxy 25 boulder problems followed by very steep
21 finish. It took me a few goes to work out the crux
but it wasn’t too hard and may be if I just had
one more quick go with a head torch on I might just make
it…………..
By this time the sun was
casting its last gently orange rays across the valley rim
from the Megalong valley. The rock was a brilliant orange
colour, gentle and warm to the touch……
Leo still had to finish
Radioactive Man and did so in style. Just down the road
from Sector one we also discovered a new area with quite
a few new lines both ring-bolted and carrots. We will have
to buy the new guide or borrow Gary’s because this
area has been overhauled and there are also quite a few
new climbs which are not listed in the old guide. Overall,
if you don’t have much time and need a quick fix
this is a good area with a large variety of lower grades.
Go and get it.
Leo and Roman,18 April 2007
