Belated Trip Report: Easter Weekend in Kalbarri
So … this was awesome. We slept under the stars (warm enough to use just a Thermarest and mosquito net) and swam the gorges and, of course, climbed. A lot of the routes were out of my league, at least as leads - climbs in the primary area of The Promenade start at 24 (5.12a). I learned some interesting things about top-roping, though: not safe, friends, if the climb is very overhung. BIG swings. With rope stretch. Especially if you fall off the first move. Take it from my bruised heel (bruised heels SUCK, they take an incredibly long time to heal). Great names for the climbs in The Promenade, though: apparently “I screamed like a girl when I came off Heavy Petting,” is not something you should say to a bunch of climbers … Almost as funny as almost everything we had to say about Rodney, and his project, ‘Love Muscle’ (which he sent! Nice!).
Jarrod M., who is the strongest climber I know, came along for the last couple of days and fulfilled his project of sending all ten climbs in The Promenade in a single weekend. Yep, that’s: Heavy Petting (25), Super Funky (25), Fuck The Law (25), Root Canal (26), Look At The Bears (26), She Magic (26), Bustin’ Down The Door (27), Homophobia (28), and not least, Glass Slipper (29)(5.13b). Beautiful to watch.
Speaking of which (ha!), my boyfriend, A., took a good lead fall and split his shin to the bone, which meant we left the gorge early to get him some stitches. Ridiculously stoic about it, but exposed bone is not something you can delay fixing.
This is by far the best climbing I’ve done in Western Australia. I eventually stopped calling every hold a ‘nightmare sloper’! And I’m training hard on the overhung gym stuff so I can go back in June and actually lead some of the easier routes. Who wants to come?
(This is me on She Magic (26 / 5.12c), a truly lovely line in The Promenade. Jarrod M. is the blurry figure on the wall behind me. Blurred deliberately, yes. You’ve had enough glory Jarrod!)
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