Thursday, February 01, 2007
Mt Buffalo, 28 Jan
It was a relatively cool weekend so on Sunday, Ben, Adrian and I headed up the mountain for the first time this year. There is a fair bit of fire damage on the western slopes and in the area around Eurobin Falls. We did not go up to the plateau.
By the time we got to our first climb, Fantasies Of Gail, it was 10.30 and Ben setup the abseil and headed down. Adrian followed and I went last with a backup prussick, intending to get some photos of Ben climbing from just under the overhang. I took a few snaps looking down to the belay but by the time Ben got going I was really uncomfortable. Since I was using my other prussick as a safety loop for my camera, I spent a while trying to get weight of the prussick which had locked off quite firmly. After I overcame that hurdle, I abseiled down to the slab and took a few snaps.
After Ben led, Adrian followed but the rope from the abseil wasn't quite long enough to go down to the belay ledge and then back up to the end of the climb. So I climbed a few moves and clipped into the first bolt. Still not long enough. Went to the second bolt. Still not long enough so Adrian got himself safe and put me on belay while Ben released the other end of the rope (still attached to the original abseil tree). I finished the climb, using the less obvious sequence which, if I'd used it on lead would have saved me having to downclimb to clip a bolt (Ben made the same mistake which you can see in the photos).
By the time all this had happened and we finished the climb and got back in the car it was 1.30. We had a quick lunch at Bent's lookout and then I suggested we head down to Home James. I wasn't keen to lead it but I climbed it fairly easily on toprope. Such a great climb! Ben was next but couldn't commit to stepping across the gap on the traverse section. He said he was busy looking down into the gorge - I must admit I felt a little intimidated starting the traverse but managed to focus on the climbing. Adrian seemed to do it no worries and really enjoyed it.
Next we top-roped Thin Wall Special Pineapple Delight, which is a little tricky. I managed to find a non-obvious way of attacking it which seemed to make it a bit easier. A lot of the time I struggle to find sequences so I was happy about this one.
On our way home we stopped at the Ovens pub and met a German guy who was waiting for his buddies who were doing Angels. We'd seen them doing what looked to be the 3rd last pitch while on Pineapple Delight and they took quite a while to do that pitch. We were thinking they would finish in the dark if they didn't hurry up. Apparently their tents were still in the campsite too! I guess their friend was in for a long wait.
All in all it was a great day out - super-keen to get back up this weekend.
By the time we got to our first climb, Fantasies Of Gail, it was 10.30 and Ben setup the abseil and headed down. Adrian followed and I went last with a backup prussick, intending to get some photos of Ben climbing from just under the overhang. I took a few snaps looking down to the belay but by the time Ben got going I was really uncomfortable. Since I was using my other prussick as a safety loop for my camera, I spent a while trying to get weight of the prussick which had locked off quite firmly. After I overcame that hurdle, I abseiled down to the slab and took a few snaps.
After Ben led, Adrian followed but the rope from the abseil wasn't quite long enough to go down to the belay ledge and then back up to the end of the climb. So I climbed a few moves and clipped into the first bolt. Still not long enough. Went to the second bolt. Still not long enough so Adrian got himself safe and put me on belay while Ben released the other end of the rope (still attached to the original abseil tree). I finished the climb, using the less obvious sequence which, if I'd used it on lead would have saved me having to downclimb to clip a bolt (Ben made the same mistake which you can see in the photos).
By the time all this had happened and we finished the climb and got back in the car it was 1.30. We had a quick lunch at Bent's lookout and then I suggested we head down to Home James. I wasn't keen to lead it but I climbed it fairly easily on toprope. Such a great climb! Ben was next but couldn't commit to stepping across the gap on the traverse section. He said he was busy looking down into the gorge - I must admit I felt a little intimidated starting the traverse but managed to focus on the climbing. Adrian seemed to do it no worries and really enjoyed it.
Next we top-roped Thin Wall Special Pineapple Delight, which is a little tricky. I managed to find a non-obvious way of attacking it which seemed to make it a bit easier. A lot of the time I struggle to find sequences so I was happy about this one.
On our way home we stopped at the Ovens pub and met a German guy who was waiting for his buddies who were doing Angels. We'd seen them doing what looked to be the 3rd last pitch while on Pineapple Delight and they took quite a while to do that pitch. We were thinking they would finish in the dark if they didn't hurry up. Apparently their tents were still in the campsite too! I guess their friend was in for a long wait.
All in all it was a great day out - super-keen to get back up this weekend.
