Blog from November, 2012

Acid test has had an attempt to tidy up vegetation. Thank you to whomever added dbb recently to break up lower abseil into two. (roger?) 

Two bolts, one very unsafe,  were removed from top of Lassies Wall recently. any ideas of why, who, when they were placed?

Gday guys,

I'm one of the blokes (the technical bloke) behind the iPhone apps for Arapiles and Melbourne. I've recently moved back to Hobart (lived here for a few years, 5 years ago, but we're now back permanently). I'm interested in doing some sort of app for the Hobart craglets (the Hoff and Waterworks to start with I guess), and ultimately would like to do one for Mt Wellington as well. Given that the information is in the public domain for this, I'm interested in doing it as a free app. Having said that, I don't have the time / means / skills for doing photography of cliffs, or the marking up of topo's in Adobe Illustrator, so I'd be interested in other people's input for that sort of stuff.

It appears that topo's are slowly being done (by you Jed?) for the Organ Pipes, and have already been done for Waterworks. Is it possible to get access to the Illustrator files for these? Are they hosted on the Thesarvo? Or do the people creating them just have them on their PC's at home?

The other question I guess, is are people interested in this? Or is everyone happy with the current thesarvo app for their Tassie guides?

Currently the guides would be iPhone only, but I'm working on an Android version as well, though it's a spare time thing, so no ideas when it's going to be out.

cheers

Cam

Did Slow Combustion on Great Tier last weekend.  What a fine mid grade route this is! Alex and Doug have done a great job of removing objective dangers and trimming the saplings. I did it last year and thought the second pitch was a little harder this time around until I realised the small twig of scrub that I'd swung on last time had gone from the fun move a few metres above the second belay.... Combining the second and third pitch into one makes an excellent single pitch and therefore has been rewritten that way. The route is now equipped with a DB rap station. This provides for a scrub free  50m abseil back to the big ramp. 

From Simon:

Hi Guys,

The police rescue guys will be holding a training day on Wednesday the 5th of december up at the lost world, and it would be great if you could come along. We recently had a training/chin-wag evening in their shed in North Hobart. This day session will be slightly different as numbers will mostly be made up of Police themselves. There will also be cavers attending.

As some of those attending have very limited experience in vertical rescue techniques, we would be seeking that many of the climbers carry an instructor role into the event. We plan on running a circuit in the morning, covering off a few basic skills, then a group exercise in the afternoon to combine all the skills we have worked on. Included within that will be skills such as:

Cliff Edge safety - how to approach cliff-tops in a safe manner
Basic Rope Skills - ascending/descending, perhaps things like passing knots etc
Basic Hauling Skills - Hauling within a vertical rescue environment, whats appropriate, standards legislation etc.
Vertical Rescue Equipment - SKED familiarisation, tripods?, mirrored raising systems
OH&S Considerations - whats appropriate, what should be documented, why we do what we do (AS1891/AS4488, NFPA1983 etc)

I'd love to see a good turn-out from the climbers. The session we held last year was great, be good to keep building on those skills. It is a weekday so get the time off work/wife now! If you RSVP to me that'd be great.

Cheers,

Simon Young
0407 356 556

Whoever seized my quickdraws from the anchors of Seize the Day at Duck Reach, could they please return them to me. Last week I bailed from a top-rope session on the route as rocks were raining down on me from a psycho on the cliff top. I went there last night to retrieve them and someone has bootied them. Phone 0428505259 or leave them at Mountain Designs

I'll be doing upgrades

I was setting up a toprope on Seize The Day when a frothing mad guy on the cliff top hurled 2 large rocks at me, and screaming to get off his private property. The rocks landed within a couple of metres and could have knocked me off the cliff. When I protested that the cliff was part of the Trevallyn reserve, he then threatened to get a baseball bat and beat me up, or at least smash my car up. I had approached the cliff along the top from the car park, a common practice when setting up top-ropes or rapping in. I didn't jump the fence onto the land (a burnt out house with a yard extending to the cliff edge), but sidled through the bush to gain the edge of the cliff bordering the property. This lunatic was in his early 20's, claiming he was the guardian of the property and that vandals had been entering the old house. I said climbers have been coming here for 40 years, and he reckons we were all trespassing. I called the cops and they went to the house next door where this bloke and some other youths were living. The rock thrower had disappeared, but his flatmate reckons his uncle owned the property. Though I am careful not to walk on the land, there is no fence bordering the cliff edge, so the distinction between the property boundary is undefined. I am sure the cliff edge is part of public land, but not according to Psycho-man. I won't be accessing the top this way again, but beware that even topping out on a climb you could be faced with a crazed rock thrower hurling boulders at you.

Pinnacle road will be closed for part of tomorrow for the point to pinnacle. This is from the Police site:

Friday, 16 November 2012 - 12:24pm

On Sunday, 18 November 2012, the annual Garmin Point to Pinnacle Run and Walk will be held in the Sandy Bay, South Hobart and Mt Wellington area.

This event will commence at Wrest Point Casino at 7.00am for walkers, and 8.00am for runners. The route will be Sandy Bay Road, Davey Street, and Huon Road to the top of Mount Wellington, and will conclude at the summit by 12.30pm.

In accordance with Section 56A of the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999, Tasmania Police advise of the temporary closing of the following roads to facilitate this event:

Drysdale Place
Sandy Bay Road from Drysdale Place to Byron Street (north bound lanes only)
Byron Street from Sandy Bay Road to Davey Street (north bound lane only)
Davey Street from Byron Street to Romilly Street (right lane only)
Huon Road from Romilly Street to Pillinger Drive
Pillinger Drive
Braken Lane, and
Pinnacle Road.
Roads will only be closed whilst participants are on that section of roadway, or approaching such. Vehicular traffic wanting to travel on or across the event route will be affected.

In the event of inclement weather, and the event cannot finish at the summit of Mount Wellington, road closures may need to be extended to allow runners to return to the Casino.

Police will be in attendance to manage traffic, and will direct traffic away from the event route.

Any queries should be directed to Radio Dispatch Services on (03) 6230 2111.

The first bolt on One Perfect Day (glue in carrot without a hanger) spun when I was removing my hanger. It didn't move with an outward force but probably should be replaced. In the meantime I suggest you avoid falling off!

Hi Everyone,

Just a reminder that the REEL ROCK Film Tour is on again next Saturday 24th November at Stanley Burbury Theatre.

View the trailer at http://www.reelrocktour.com or search 'Reel Rock 7' on Youtube

Doors (and bar!!) open at 6:30pm and the first film starts at 7:30pm.

The bar will only be open before the show and during the intermission.

Films include:

THE DURA DURA featuring Chris Sharma and Adam Ondra
"Chris Sharma has been the "king" of sport climbing for 15 years, and has created a mecca for hard routes near his home in Catalunya, Spain. Now, the Czech wunderkind, 19 year old Adam Ondra, has come to Sharma's home turf to take the torch. Sharma and Ondra battle to establish the world's first 5.15c, while Sasha DiGiulian and Daila Ojeda shred women's standards with strong ascents of their own."

THE SHARK'S FIN featuring Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk
"Legendary alpinist Conrad Anker nurtured a 20 year obsession with The Shark's Fin, a spectacular unclimbed granite buttress on the 6,310 meter Mt. Meru, in India. In 2008 Anker, with Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk, endured a grueling 18 day push to get within hundreds of feet of the summit, only to be turned back. Three years later, the trio makes tough decision to return, despite Anker's deep family ties, and Ozturk's ski accident just six months before the trip, which resulted in a fractured skull, a broken neck, and serious doubts about going back."

WIDE BOYS featuring Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker
"American offwidth climbing has spawned a counter-culture of rough and tumble characters who aren't afraid to bleed their way up a route. So when two proper British lads, Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker, crossed the pond to eat up the gnarliest wide cracks in the West -- including the first ascent of the world's hardest offwidth known as Century Crack -- it came as quite a shock."

and the film I'm personally looking forward to

HONNOLD 3.0 featuring Alex Honnold
"Alex Honnold has become known as the boldest soloist of his generation. In this dangerous game, how does he balance pure ambition with self-preservation? From highball boulder first ascents to 5.13 free solos, from far-flung trad climbing adventures, to speed records on The Nose, Honnold wrestles with this question in preparation for his biggest adventure yet - the Yosemite Triple. In under 19 hours he climbs Mt. Watkins, El Cap, and Half Dome, 95% of it free solo."

Tickets are $18 and are available online at http://www.eventopia.co/reelrockhobart

Tickets will also be available at the door. Hope to see you all for an amazing night of climbing films.

Jason Turvey 0415 678 548

Hello Tassy climbers.

Not here to spam you just let you know a little bit more about ICP. We are a Queensland based company specializing in climbing holds, training boards, routesetting, indoor competitions and coaching. We are made up of a small crew of 7 very passionate indoor and outdoor climbers. Among the team we've climbed extensively throughout Australia and around the world, ranging from world cup comps to sketchy aid in the calonque. 

If anyone is interested we are hosting a spring competition to win one of our hangboards. All you have to do to enter is write up a trip report of 50 words or more and paste it onto our facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/indoorclimbingproductions - It would be great to have some wild tales of expeditions on the peninsula posted up. (Remember to exaggerate of course).

Thank-you for your time, and good luck to those who enter.

Daniel

Indoor climbing productions

Hi there!

I´m a 32 year old guy from Sweden, travelling around Australia in search of some climbable rock. Would love to sample some of the routes at places like Mt Wellington, Ben Lommond, The Moai, Totempole, Cape Raul, Freycinet, etc. I much prefer trad, especially sampling some of the classics, but sport may also be of interest. I´m lacking a car, but got a single rack, a rope and 5 years of MP trad experience, and safety is my #1 priority. I´ll be in Tasmania between Nov  19 and Dec  14, and will be based in Hobart most of the time. Don´t have a phone unfortunately, but if it sounds interesting, send an email to per160@hotmail.com, add me on facebook, or check out my profile on http://www.mountainproject.com/u/106846731

Cheers

Per Andersson

The rock around the right ring bolt at the end of pitch one on Blue Meridian sounds decidedly hollow (I'm pretty sure it wasn't like that previously). Maybe there's been some exfoliation action over winter. The bolt feels secure and the L ring appears unaffected. Can anyone shed light on this? In the meantime take care - there is bomber gear if you wish to back up the anchor.

Found a pair of Velcro La Sportiva climbing shoes at Waterworks yesterday. Give me an email at benjacobfrench@hotmail.com if their yours!!