Ascensiones en Australia como Tick por Peatey

The crimp start was nails. So I went with a stand start and a one legged squat jump for the good rail.

Went up to clean the gear. Moves around the lip are going to be well 'ard.

Warmup to the top of the headwall.

Warm up lap to the top of the headwall.

“Reptiles are just retarded birds,” said the King of the Birds, “and so I am your King, thank you very much.”

A fun day on the side of a hill that ended up having very little to do with the hill, and much to do with the quality (and patience) of the company I got to share it with.

Approach: We came off The Martian as advertised, mid pitch 8, which was significantly higher and steeper than the hands free rising vegetated traverse that started at about the pitch 7 belay. Would recommend future ascensionists deviate from that route there instead.

I then led Reneé on a merry venture up and down several pitches of soloing, at alternating times slabby, steep and abrasively vegetated. All the while Ryan napped patiently at the base of the actual route. Some time later after a tour of Beerwah's SW saddle we pulled on to Divine Comedy proper.

The Route:

P1 – A bit crumbly but it’s all there. Bolts and a Jesus nut right where you want it. Not a giveaway at 18.

P2 – The cruxy corner crack. The crack was wet where it mattered, which made the 3 distinct crux sections quite... cruxy... to free. Wet and silty as it was, the fingerlocks were bomber and it did force some (committing) but great crack movement. Huge props to Ryan who onsighted the pitch to within 2 foot of the anchor before going for a ride stepping back in from the arête, taking a small garden with him. Could be hard Frog 22 if dry and clean, but I don’t see that ever happening given the location. Reneé managed to second it clean front on jambing up the filthy flared pods in the top third, it’s unclear how normal humans should best approach it.

P3 – Cool traverse under roof, bolt ladder will go free if someone can be bothered to dry off properly after the wet first half of the pitch and brush the inevitable silt off everything on the arête.

P4 – Crack above roof that you can see from The Martian. Short, protectable crack that makes you work harder than you feel you should have to for vertical thin hands.

To the top, follow hangers and line of most solid-ish rock. Climbing bits of this in the evening gloom definitely added to the ambiance.

Topped out to a sunset and the summit and descent to ourselves, delightful.

The foot held this time. My knees thanked me

Just the first half to TOS's anchor to retrieve draws. Pleasant route

Cleaning, wet.

In my usual style I managed to make this look awkward as hell

Gnarly sit start

Did this without the first long move out right. So basically a stand start from the big R hold. Good mantle problem.

Shame about that awkward offwidth crux. Went full 'french free' at that point. Above that very classy.

P1 Solo aid. Don't ask. P2 Clean second.

Needed a good clean first, nice and slabby

Took a few attempts to work out the moves, easy for the grade.

Pretty average with a bruised and swollen toe. On the way up to work chippers

Managed Waterfall to SRO in the midday sun

Down climbed to avoid wading through the mountains of leaf litter at the topout.

Took about 4 shots to sus the start move. Tough sit start

Rescuing gear

So I neglected to look at any approach info after the rapping instructions and ended up climbing the gr 22 first pitch of TND. No wonder it felt bloody hard for 16. By the next pitch we were back on track and loving life despite arctic conditions and climbing in jackets. Top chimney pitch is a rad exposed novelty, worth it for that few meters of climbing alone.

This was a good adventure. P1 Pretty tricky. Fell off seconding on the first real moves. P2 fine climbing once on route except you really ought to go straight up the easy blocky wall to the V high hanger. Don't traverse right and have to up and down climb half of Phoenix (most of which is disintegrating). Remainder of pitches were pleasant climbing on just-out-of-reach bolts and gear.

We had a very short weather window so went for this line. Faffed around failing to find the carpark of all things and ended up walking in from the Lake Catani campground.

The first 3/4 of this route was grand, if abrasive, jamming with the odd thrutch. Sharp granite, epic friction and bomber hands most of the way if you reach in deep enough.

After the climbing per se finished I now understand we erred by heading right and up, rather than around and into the exit gully/crevasse. Many short, hard, ugly pitches up random wet and vegetated cracks ensued while we tried to find a way down into or over to the exit. At some point it got dark and we continued french freeing up mossy cracks by headtorch.

Eventually found a point we could rap into the crevasse, topped out and made it back to Catani to drink wine and lick our wounds before the rain started up again.

Up and lead downclimbed the first third to clean the OP anchor.

Backlog, 2016.

To the arete. Progress further blocked by a large barrier made up of deadfall.

A bit of an adventure but a cool head under pressure stopped it short of turning into an epic.

Partner got well off route on P3 and ended up straying into proper no mans land (yep, it's Desp. Wall), hugely runout on bad rock. Ended up finishing the pitch on a Zeigeist anchor, so we finished up that.

Jamming = a terrible option for the sore elbow.

Lead belay training

Attn: As at 25 April 2016 a very large 1m+ 300 kilo block had detached from the back wall of the chimney and fallen into the narrower central section.

Following a make safe session much of the remaining loose rock, rubble and chockstones have been removed. What remains is a much safer and cleaner climb. Go get up in there and thrutch for glory.

These days barely independent of PP as most new crack/sport climbers climb this arete and just place gear in the PP crack anyway.

Lead belay training

EoD escape route.