Like father like daughter

Will & Martha

Two roads diverged in a wood, and we - yes 'we' took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

Winter had been very kind with cold mornings but clear sunny skies so the wanderlust was strong again on the Queen’s birthday long weekend. Another exploration of yet another Central Coast micro crag was beckoning. This time we were going to pick a tough one with extra lashings of verticality. With most climbers gracefully ensconced in their warm doonas at home, we left Sydney early and headed to Zanzibar on Sunday. A hearty breakfast with oodles of strong coffee meant we were ready for the day. Little did we know what was lying in wait for us? Jason had scheduled a 20km morning run and was going to join us later so Louise, Roman Junior and Leo headed off to the mythical Tascott Cave, which was “just a short walk from Tascott station!” No description of the actual access was available on the web, which is quite unusual because most crags come with topos and easy access so why should this be any different. Basically it is a well-guarded secret because of the magnificent location high above people’s backyards and probably the single best crag for photoshoots of high-exposure rock climbing. So we parked our car in King’s street and went up high onto the ridge up an indistinct trail. It took us a solid 30 minutes of bush bashing to chance upon the crag with determination and quite a bit of serendipity. Jason was not so lucky, after running for 20km we tried to pinpoint our location with photos and ‘cooee’ calls but he spent another 10km rummaging the forest before he found us. Was it all worth it – absolutely.  What you get "if" you ever find the cave is some of the steepest cave climbing on the coast with a 5 star classic thrown in for good measures.

Leo the cave belayer	Hauling gear	Louise and Leo	Louise in the cave
Roman J. on jugs	Leo exposed - Maiden Voyage	Leo on Asthetic Arrest	Roman J. Maiden Voyage
Jason checking out the Panorama	Jason on Maiden Voyage	Crack power	Roman on Maiden Voyage
Leo testing slopers	Roman on Aesthetic Arrest	Roman J. flashing Aesthetic Arrest	Father and son
Roman first trad climb	Find your crag?	Epacris - Australian Heath	Roman J. carefully placed

After completing a warm up on the right hand side of the cave (facing in), probably about grade 20 and of unknown specification with a tricky move up on to the headwall above the cave,  we move straight onto Maiden Voyage the area classic. Starting from deep inside the cave on a sloping shelf you climb right out onto the water (or so it seems for the photographer) You could be a hundred meters up or just one meter of the ground it is all a matter of perspective. The initial ramp leads up a juggy exposed brow and culminates on a hands-free pedestal to admire the exposure below. Then a few thin face moves gets you to the slab above where the bolts suddenly finish?  You can see the anchors but they are a long way up. A couple of slots take two perfect cam placements ( I wish somebody would have told me) and you finish high on adrenaline. The second lap was much nicer J The highlight was probably Jason’s ascent after his 20km run followed by an hour of bush bashing, he was cramping up and his calves were failing but not before he got hisvictory shot. Well done, magnificent effort.  Roman Junior and Leo made quick repeats of the classic line and then it was time to tackle the main line punching straight through the gutsy middle of the huge cave: Aesthetic Arrest with Extension out onto the face high-above the cave floor (24-25).This was another level up and demanded some clever heel-hooking with slopey holds leading to a crimpy crux section right into a huge grotto at the cave ceiling where two anchors with gates finish the first part of the climb. Continuing on jugs to the lip of the cave one emerges into the light of day with a ringbolt at the lip of the cave. From here it is all business on rounded holds until the anchors high-above on beautiful orange sandstone glimmering in the sun.  It’s rare to find such variety on a single climb.  Roman Junior got his first grade 24 flash and Leo fought his way through several rounds fighting with the slopey holds.
There was still a little left in the tanks after we made the cave beg for mercy and went exploring the “less” difficult options to the left side of the cave. Just outside a line of ring-bolts started with an impossible move of the ground to a not-so-good jug? This could have been ShizzamMamm (23) or Kassim Exam (22) but details are hazy. It is also were junior took his first ground fall when he missed to clip the second bolt. We walked away with our tails between our legs!  But wait it’s not over yet there is more: Just around the corner again was a crack line too good to walk by. The perfect two finger splitter with a rest ledge in between. Capped by a massive rough and two convenient ring bolts for top-ropping, this is a learner’s delight. Another first for Junior with his first ever crack climb using only natural protection.  In theory that is where the story should finish but since it was hard to find a way in, you guessed it - getting out was another challenge.

We weren’t going to bush-bash our way up the hill so down seemed a reasonable option.  And we actually found a line of cairns indicating the way back only to end up having our way blocked by a row of people’s backyards. Traversing across the bush to find an opening to get down to the road we set off a cacophony of dogs wailing as they alarmed their owners of a bunch of bush pigs in the backyard. Roman Junior was leading the way and froze all of a sudden running back up the trail.  What we saw must surely have been an optical illusion triggered by too much climbing: a pitch black pitbull terrier the size of calf with a Mike Tyson neck. We all grabbed a stick started running and walked straight through somebodies backyard and escaped onto the road, phew!
Ok almost finished now, a few more kilometres up the hill to find the cars! Drive past the bottle shop for a six-pack and head over to Jason’s place: rest, surely not. Slackline comes out, tree in the backyard needed trimming so out comes the saw and Leo gallivants up high into the branches. Chicken wings simmering away and pizza not far off then finally bliss as we chow down.

Was it all a dream or does the cave really exist?

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Tascott Cave brow of Maiden Voyage

Copyright 2005 Dr.Roman Rosenbaum. All Rights Reserved.