Weather was very mercurial that day and a heavy cloud cover was lying over the Blueys. Wind, rain and sunshine all took their turn and the forecast was anybody's guess. But Leo rose to the challenge and we had not climbed together for a while so it was a great chance to catch up and hang out in a rain cave somewhere. We decided on some easy multipitch at Reservoir Dog but when we arrived at the clifftop the Westerlies were fierce. We would not have lasted thirty minutes in the fierce windchill factor so we sought shelter around the corner in the Sunbath area. As we moved around the corner the wind completely disappeared and conditions were serene.
We warmed up in the cold conditions on Manana (14**) and Until Death Do Us part (14**) both lines are almost 30 meters of jugs with good rest and a little roof at the end to get you a little pumped.
Burger Boys (19**) a nice line with a technical crux in the middle that can be done either left or right variation. Nice effort from Leo doing the right side which appears a lot harder.
It was beginning to rain and the temperature dropped sharply but the steeper lines around the Sunbath stayed surprisingly dry.
Radioactive Man (20**) was steep enough to stay just dry. with the top couple of moves to the mantle getting wet.
We wanted to check out the Reservoir Dog area but the as soon as we turned the corner out of the Sunbath area the wind was ferocious and the rain started to pick up. Instead we retreated back around the protected corner towards Manana and checked out the Sandpit area with its massively overhanging roof that makes this area a great option for wet conditions. Unfortunately the reviews are not great but today was a great day to check it out anyway.
First observations was that some of the climbs at this area still have a mix of hangars and even some old carrot bolts. Basically it is a mix of Carrots with fixed hangars and ringbolts. We did not bring any hangers so focused on the ringbolted lines only. Several lines start with one or two carrot bolts and then change to ringbolts. All lower offs appear to be on ringbolts which made cleaning very easy.
The Sandpit
Poultry in Motion 19** great warmup with nothing too hard for the grade. Maybe a little sandy at the beginning, which is common in this area, but not too bad and stick-clipping the first draw takes care of this. The up higher the rock quality is excellent.
Unknown 2 (22** Name suggesting "Barfight" because of the nice kneebars) graded 20 online but and a lot of climbers complain about how tough it is. But this is an excellent line with 2 distinct cruxes. Just upgrade it and everyone is happy. The first crux comes straight after the start white rock band. From jugs gain a high triangular jug and match. Feet are very low here and the next hold is far above. Quite tricky and you get pumped quickly here due to the steepness. We found that a high left kneebar next to your hands as you hold the jug lets you lock off nicely and reach the next hold. Not too bad and then the steepness continues to another kneebar rest with a little undercling crux and then jugs to the top. Very nice line and highly recommended.
Copperhead Road (24**) Nice jugs to a tough roof traverse crux. I gave it a few shots but the move across the lip was nails and tore my fingers to shreds. It was cold and wet and I had too many excused up my sleeves. Easy grade slap above the boulder problem.
Next time.
Party Karate (20***) big jugs through another massive roof. Good rests below the roof to clip the rings. Then reach high and gain a massive double hander jug. There is a left hand sidepull that it hard to reach to swing around the roof. Our solution was a left foot healhook next to our hand. Leverage of the sidepull and rock up. Quite hard but very rewarding. Then easy slab to the top.
It was 4:30 now and the rain had really picked up but the roof kept everything dry. We got saturated on the way out but had the crag all to ourselves. I was excited to try the new "brisket burger" at the Gardeners Inn that night - and it did not disappoint. |
