The weather is so good that I do not have time to go into more detail - off to Kaipo Wall in the mourning and more climbing.....
Friday, January 28, 2011
Shadowland
The Team accomplished the major project of the trip and free climbed the MEGA line Shadowland in Sinbad Gully.
The weather is so good that I do not have time to go into more detail - off to Kaipo Wall in the mourning and more climbing.....
The weather is so good that I do not have time to go into more detail - off to Kaipo Wall in the mourning and more climbing.....
Training and Preperation Trip
Mayan and I have been down here for two weeks of acclimatization to carrying heavy packs and twelve hour days of climbing and bolting. The first week of the year and Fiordland was blessed with seven days of perfect blue skies for melting snow and climbing at the crags. We climbed every day.
We climbed at Babylon and two days at the Mates Little Brother where we attempted JC’s and my project from last year; a striking and intimidating multi-pitch route straight up the middle of the wall. This will be by far the hardest alpine rock climb in New Zealand. The first pitch a delicate 21 slab which leads to a 30m 28 with a feisty crux and wild moves though two overlaps. The next pitch was going to be a short 24 – and it was except for the last 4m of desperate slab climbing which had me falling two moves shy of anything that resembles a hold. We will be back.
Picture: Mayan sending ‘White Admiral’
Babylon, the best crag in the country, has had a new surge of development from the usual suspects – Bruce and Jon sending the massive climb ‘Piro Piro’, a 25 then a amazing 35m 27. Mayan finished a tricky project ‘White Admiral’ 29. We both added a third pitch to ‘Natures Melody’ to create a great steep 27. I was sent in to send Thomas’s project ‘Whirling Dervish’, a bouldery 29. We bolted two routes on the steep head wall above the cave which give 15m of sheer 20-30 degree overhung climbing. The left route is a power endurance 30 with big shouldery moves. The right route has bouldery sections and has yet to be completed…
We climbed at Babylon and two days at the Mates Little Brother where we attempted JC’s and my project from last year; a striking and intimidating multi-pitch route straight up the middle of the wall. This will be by far the hardest alpine rock climb in New Zealand. The first pitch a delicate 21 slab which leads to a 30m 28 with a feisty crux and wild moves though two overlaps. The next pitch was going to be a short 24 – and it was except for the last 4m of desperate slab climbing which had me falling two moves shy of anything that resembles a hold. We will be back.
Picture: Mayan sending ‘White Admiral’
Babylon, the best crag in the country, has had a new surge of development from the usual suspects – Bruce and Jon sending the massive climb ‘Piro Piro’, a 25 then a amazing 35m 27. Mayan finished a tricky project ‘White Admiral’ 29. We both added a third pitch to ‘Natures Melody’ to create a great steep 27. I was sent in to send Thomas’s project ‘Whirling Dervish’, a bouldery 29. We bolted two routes on the steep head wall above the cave which give 15m of sheer 20-30 degree overhung climbing. The left route is a power endurance 30 with big shouldery moves. The right route has bouldery sections and has yet to be completed…
The Mission Begins!
We head back to the Darrans today to make the most of the next fine spell of weather. First on the cards is the Project on the Mates Little Brother, a steep wall the towers over the homer tunnel and the Cledeau Valley. We are lucky enough to have the extra energy of Jonathan Clearwater along for a week. Craig will meet us there and next week we will hopefully attempt Sinbad.
Picture: Mitre Peak with Sinbad Gully to the left
Picture: Mitre Peak with Sinbad Gully to the left
Armageddon – The End of the Project…
With the recent sub optimal conditions the team has spent the time since Sabre training at the crags and equipping new routes. But with a great day on Friday we had the opportunity to finally finish off the project on the Mates Little Brother. This great little wall is accessed via homer saddle by running along the ridge then traversing across the face, about two hours walk. With Mayan still resting her knee we recruited Stefan Hadfield for the attempt. All went well and I quickly climbed the third pitch that had thrown me last time – very tricky slab climbing nonsense. Stefan took up the challenge of the intimidating and long last pitch, 55m with four bolts and a few cams. He fought through the pitch valiantly and soon we were on top! The two new pitch’s make the climb a very hard and serious undertaking; 21, 28, 28 and 25. Craig was there taking photos and scooping so we then spent the afternoon equipping another monster line for the next fine day…
The Rock Solid Team
Paul Rogers
Occupation: Mountain Guide
As well as possessing a refined partiality to steak, red wine and rabbit hunting, Paul is one of New Zealands alpine rock climbing legends. He has been at the forefront of climbing development in Fiordland for over 13 years and is a connoisseur of clean, high quality granite.
His experience, both as a guide and rock climbing pioneer will be invaluable to the team.
Kester Brown
Occupation: Aerial theatre technician
Kester has enjoyed climbing in a very diverse range of styles for over 14 years. His favourite things include cranking long steep routes in beautiful mountain environments, packing the coffee bong and capturing New Zealands natural landscapes on film.
Mayan Smith-Gobat
Occupation: Professional climber
Mayan is a force of nature. Fresh from the climbing world cup circuit in Europe, her guns may have to be set on safety lest the holds on all of the walls in Fiordland be crushed into dust....
Derek Thatcher
Occupation: Secondary school teacher
For years now, Derek has been quietly going about his way of killing it on the rocks. He has been hugely influential in establishing New Zealand’s most difficult routes and boulder problems. He is a strong and talented climber, on top of his game and should be unstoppable in the coming months.
Craig Jefferies
Craig is a mountaineer, author, teacher, longtime Fiordland afficianado and general recreational enthusiast.
Occupation: Mountain Guide
As well as possessing a refined partiality to steak, red wine and rabbit hunting, Paul is one of New Zealands alpine rock climbing legends. He has been at the forefront of climbing development in Fiordland for over 13 years and is a connoisseur of clean, high quality granite.
His experience, both as a guide and rock climbing pioneer will be invaluable to the team.
Kester Brown
Occupation: Aerial theatre technician
Kester has enjoyed climbing in a very diverse range of styles for over 14 years. His favourite things include cranking long steep routes in beautiful mountain environments, packing the coffee bong and capturing New Zealands natural landscapes on film.
Mayan Smith-Gobat
Occupation: Professional climber
Mayan is a force of nature. Fresh from the climbing world cup circuit in Europe, her guns may have to be set on safety lest the holds on all of the walls in Fiordland be crushed into dust....
Derek Thatcher
Occupation: Secondary school teacher
For years now, Derek has been quietly going about his way of killing it on the rocks. He has been hugely influential in establishing New Zealand’s most difficult routes and boulder problems. He is a strong and talented climber, on top of his game and should be unstoppable in the coming months.
Craig Jefferies
Craig is a mountaineer, author, teacher, longtime Fiordland afficianado and general recreational enthusiast.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy for http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/
If you require any more information or have any questions about our privacy policy, please feel free to contact us by email at wayzillamp@gmail.com.
At http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/, the privacy of our visitors is of extreme importance to us. This privacy policy document outlines the types of personal information is received and collected by http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/ and how it is used.
Log Files
Like many other Web sites, http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/ makes use of log files. The information inside the log files includes internet protocol ( IP ) addresses, type of browser, Internet Service Provider ( ISP ), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement around the site, and gather demographic information. IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable.
Cookies and Web Beacons
http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/ does use cookies to store information about visitors preferences, record user-specific information on which pages the user access or visit, customize Web page content based on visitors browser type or other information that the visitor sends via their browser.
DoubleClick DART Cookie
.:: Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/.
.:: Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to users based on their visit to http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/ and other sites on the Internet.
.:: Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy at the following URL - http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html
Some of our advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons on our site. Our advertising partners include ....
Google Adsense
Commission Junction
Widget Bucks
Adbrite
Clickbank
Azoogle
Chitika
Linkshare
Amazon
Kontera
These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to the advertisements and links that appear on http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/ send directly to your browsers. They automatically receive your IP address when this occurs. Other technologies ( such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons ) may also be used by the third-party ad networks to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and / or to personalize the advertising content that you see.
http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/ has no access to or control over these cookies that are used by third-party advertisers.
You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information on their practices as well as for instructions about how to opt-out of certain practices. http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/'s privacy policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or web sites.
If you wish to disable cookies, you may do so through your individual browser options. More detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers can be found at the browsers' respective websites.
If you require any more information or have any questions about our privacy policy, please feel free to contact us by email at wayzillamp@gmail.com.
At http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/, the privacy of our visitors is of extreme importance to us. This privacy policy document outlines the types of personal information is received and collected by http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/ and how it is used.
Log Files
Like many other Web sites, http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/ makes use of log files. The information inside the log files includes internet protocol ( IP ) addresses, type of browser, Internet Service Provider ( ISP ), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement around the site, and gather demographic information. IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable.
Cookies and Web Beacons
http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/ does use cookies to store information about visitors preferences, record user-specific information on which pages the user access or visit, customize Web page content based on visitors browser type or other information that the visitor sends via their browser.
DoubleClick DART Cookie
.:: Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/.
.:: Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to users based on their visit to http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/ and other sites on the Internet.
.:: Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy at the following URL - http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html
Some of our advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons on our site. Our advertising partners include ....
Google Adsense
Commission Junction
Widget Bucks
Adbrite
Clickbank
Azoogle
Chitika
Linkshare
Amazon
Kontera
These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to the advertisements and links that appear on http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/ send directly to your browsers. They automatically receive your IP address when this occurs. Other technologies ( such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons ) may also be used by the third-party ad networks to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and / or to personalize the advertising content that you see.
http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/ has no access to or control over these cookies that are used by third-party advertisers.
You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information on their practices as well as for instructions about how to opt-out of certain practices. http://rockclimbingcombine-wp.blogspot.com/'s privacy policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or web sites.
If you wish to disable cookies, you may do so through your individual browser options. More detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers can be found at the browsers' respective websites.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)