Well summer has been an interesting one. After a mentally testing few months after my South African jaunt where I effectively 'one-sat' more than a handful of bucket list routes, I needed a break. I had already planned on having December off completely considering how busy that time of the year can be. My body didn't last that long however and by mid-November I was run down and sick. I contracted shingles from a patient at work - still not sure how but no more than 2 weeks after I dealt with him, I had an inexplicable pain down my left side. It felt as though I'd broken my ribs again. A few days later a full blown herpes rash. Yuck. To wrap this disgusting tale up, it last almost 9 weeks. I could hardly sleep, the nerve pain was too much and the slightest touch of a cotton sheet was enough to have me wide awake. Needless to say that whole time I didn't do any climbing. January came and went - hot as shit (up to 48deg) and then Rainbow Serpent festival which took out another week plus recovery.
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| Originally 10 x each grade. Counting is hard |
So 2014 climbing really didn't start until February, and it was a slow start at that. What little muscle I'd had before being sick had evaporated in the Wimmera heat. My head was still a way off trying anything too hard and it was still hot. Thus I came up with the idea to make a short video about a few of the bolder or obscure routes at Mt Arapiles. However I needed to some gear placing practice, and to do this set myself the challenge. The 11 routes of each grade (no repeats) at Araps became the game. And what a fun game it has been. So many new routes I'd never done before. I've not done too many in the last 5 weeks or so due to work and other commitments that have taken me away from Natimuk but prior to that I was really getting my head back for onsighting gear routes. It could be said my interest in this style has been piqued. Originally I was hoping I'd have the video finished before the Goatfest short film festival, however for a few reasons it became apparent it wasn't going to happen just yet. The main reason is that I felt a little bit rushed and those routes are not to be rushed.
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| Al Robertson on FA of First Blood, 31 |
Anyway the last couple of weeks I've been back in sport climbing mode, heading down to the Gallery for a few days to build up some fitness. After a shocking first day on the steep stuff I was able to run a bunch of laps on some previously done routes and repeat a link up of Chasing the Shadow and Monkey Puzzle aptly named Chasing the Monkey 29. Back at the mount a couple of days ago, I was also able to repeat Al Robertson's new wave classic, First Blood 31. Al bolted this route about 18 months ago on Voodoo Buttress, and I've been meaning to get my arse up it ever since he climbed it. He was actually bolting it the afternoon I was cleaning All the Kings Men V8 and fell off the top, breaking 3 ribs. You can see why there is a deep connection for me with this route. I'd tried the route about a year ago after Al had got up it. I was able to do it in a couple of sections pretty quickly however I found it very conditional with any moisture in the air leading to a slippery gaston at the beginning and subsequent failure. After an extended break I went back to it this year and found it to be a lot more within my comfort zone. Two weeks ago I had a quick reconnaissance and then came back to it this week, firing off the boulder first tie in. I'm talking it up cause its a great little route, and one that had been looked at by a lot of people before Al put the effort in. Not so many classy hard routes at the mount get put up, so get on it peeps. Below is a little video of it.
So next couple of weeks I'm going to be continuing with the fitness bandwagon as for half of May and June I'll have time off work. Of course the plan is to knock-off some skeletons from last year. Beyond that, I'm heading back to South Africa for some routes, boulders and to meet a girl before heading to the states. Not sure of how long I'll be gone but it's time for some adventures.
Keep checking in for some more news in next couple of weeks.
- Grosey
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