If you read one blog – read this one (some of my climbing partners have progressed to better things :) )

http://www.loganclimbsrocks.blogspot.com.au/

Buttface

June 30th.  Kira (now 11 1/2)  and I wake up to light rain.  I wasn’t feeling too lucky after breaking a seat-post bolt and having to walk out of ‘The Plunge’ with Kira on a very wet day before.  Over breakfast it cleared a little and we decided to have a go at ‘The Chief’ today, as we only had a week left. Kira and I had done 2 or 3 multi-pitch routes together recently, and she was climbing well, and more importantly managing belays, cleaning and abseiling.  At 9am we left the car in the Apron lot, and started up ‘St Vitus Dance’.  We moved pretty well up the Jungle pitches, having done them a few times now.  I was really enjoying the 3rd pitch  – a super clean 5.9 hand crack, when it really started to rain.  Bugger; its madness to do this today, I am thinking…  We need to lower off, but my belay was 3 Cams and I would have to leave at least two behind.  I decide its easier to ‘fail upward’ and climb some more 5.8/9 to the top of the Apron and  walk off.  Kira came up the crack with a big smile on her face “This is Awesome” completely unfazed by the rain.  Of course by the time we got to Memorial Ledge, it was warmer and dry, so we had a 20 minute lunch (tuna and wraps!) and pondered.

Kira was keen to climb on, so I led up the fantastic ‘Memorial Crack’.  Climbing as good as it gets.  Then we had a 15 minute hike up the woods to the base of the ‘Squamish Buttress’ slab.  These easy pitches were harder and better than I remembered (we just managed to link them into 1 with a 60m rope).  More walking and scrambling and we could see ‘The Buttress’ above us.  The normal finish is a short 5.9 crack and then a no nonsense pitch of 5.10c.  But the genius of ‘Buttface’ is that you can avoid the last two pitches — instead head left through a small cave and  boulder on up  to a  bolted  wall.  Its 5.9, but a bit different to the rest of the climbing.  You have to pull on some side-pulls with not much for the feet, heading up left.  There is a bolt or two just where you need them.  Then you walk left along a ramp to a two bolt belay (pictured)The 2nd pitch heads back right to a chimney.  It looks really hard from below (can we be lost?), but if you put your back to the rock some amazing foot-holds appear and its ok, then some good cams, and a monster jug .  Its now raining quite hard and we are expecting to scramble off, BUT this final scramble is actually loose and hard to protect — I actually thought it was dangerous, and given that there are bolts on the route, I think one here would be good.

We Enjoy the summit glow for a while before the traditional getting slightly lost on the tourist trail descent, and grabbing our bikes from the camp to ride back to the car (about 11 hours and 15 roped pitches all up).  Thanks  to Sonny and the guys who did the work establishing this route.  You can read about that here.

Sea Kayak to Garden Island

Back in Fremantle now, with a new toy.   To see it watch this 2 minute video of the first recorded ascent of Mt Haycock (40m)   ha ha ha on Garden Island which is about 10km offshore.

Mt Haycock

Kangaroo Rock – article as submitted to “Australian Rock”

Its March 1792.  The French Frigate L’Esperence (“hope”) is sent to the bottom of the world to search for missing sailors.  Its crew become the first Europeans to set foot on the amazing coastline of Cape Le Grand National Park.  Skip 214 years and we are there on a holiday. Something in the back of my mind can’t stop searching this perfect granite, hoping for a line.  Mostly its typical W.A. rock, either too slabby or too blank, but while paddling I see an incredible snaking crack splitting an enormous orange boulder. I snap a photo from the kayak.

 

You can see the “Kangaroo” and the crack line up its haunch.  The next day I’m up early to try the route on self-belay.  Its mostly a clean finger crack (my favourite!) but the start of the crack is too narrow for me.  Eventually I find an improbable move out right to a slopey undercling that solves the problem –  I vow to return.  That afternoon I chat to a friendly park ranger about climbing in the park.  It transpires they don’t have a problem with it, as long as we can’t be seen from the tourist tracks.  I don’t dare mention bolting…

After some failed attempts to lure climbers the 780km with the photo, we return in Easter 2008.   The crack route is hard to get to safely with my 10 year old daughter Demelza, so after some exploration I place 6 stainless expansion bolts in a stunning Arete further left.  The crux move is again near the start: you have to pull hard on an ‘ear’ with your left hand, smear high with your left foot, and cross your right foot improbably high over the left, then balance up on one leg.  (No-one has yet onsighted this bizarre move, yet everyone eventually does it the same way!).  Demelza has belayed me on TR before, so after a quick lead-belay lesson she clips in to shiny new belay bolts on the narrow ledge above the sea.  I don’t plan to fall off.  I fell off — snapping the ‘ear’ off.  The grey sky now delivers light rain, and we notice some blood on the rock.  I feel a strange mix of emotions, but Demelza assures me she is OK, so we decide to give it one more shot.  I barely manage it, yielding the area’s first route “Family Affair” 22.

In January 2009 I do a lightning trip down to meet visiting Kiwi guides Rachel Ryan and Ed (“I love a bit of adventure”) Nepia.  In a two day mission we clean and bolt the 3 excellent sport routes on “Kiwi Wall” to the right of “Family Affair”.   Ed can’t believe how easy the cleaning is compared with NZ (we just kick the rock a couple of times and pronounce it clean).  Ed also leads the hyper-classic grade 15 corner to the right of Kiwi Wall, naming it “Windjammer”
For some reason we laugh a lot on this trip, odd things happen:  Rachel has to climb in one shoe and for the first time in my life I rap off the end of a rope, falling two metres into a bush unharmed. On our last day Ed and I climb the crack I have been obsessing over for three years (take an 8 rock for the crux!), naming it after the question with the answer 42, because thats what it feels like.  The contentment lasts the whole, long drive home.

We can’t believe the quality of climbing Kangaroo Rock is giving.  All the routes so far have been twenty to thirty metres of interesting moves on clean, featured granite.  We’re also watching Kangaroos, Seals, Octopus, and wondering about the bouldering on the hundreds of boulders all over the park.   Ed and Rachel are in NZ now, but Shane Richardson agrees to come down just before Christmas 2009, “for a look”.  His family beat us there, and Shane transforms into a new-routing super-hero, doing 10 or 12 pitches on self-belay, and chalk-dotting the bolts for two routes on his first day. One follows an amazing series of flakes up the orange wall right of “Windjammer”, and is now possibly the best middle grade sport route in WA.  Bastard.  I bolt a steep line through the big series of wacos left of “Family Affair” and reckon its about 18, so I offer it to the kids.  Kira has a go, succeeding on top rope.  Demelza looks solid on TR, and starts thinking up route names!  But after she falls on her first two attempts (her first lead falls) she is less keen…

An hour later Demelza fights it all the way on her 3rd attempt, naming it “L’Esperence”, 18. We also came in  hope, and we found the lines we were looking for, and I feel strangely connected to those brave 18th Century French who trod here first. (But didn’t record any routes!)

——————————————————————————————————————–

The Routes L to R

Music Wall:
*L’Esperence, 18, 15m, 5 bolts.  DW 12/09. Steep fun.
UNNAMED, 21, 20m, 6 bolts + take one thread. SR 12/09.  Tricky move L near top.
Tingle in Your Fingers, 23/4, 24m, 6 bolts.  RW 12/09. Desperate at the start.
Kiwi Wall:
*Family Affair, 22, 28m, 6 bolts. RW 4/08. Crux at start.
Flying Kiwis, 18/19, 28m, 5 bolts.  EN 1/09.
There She Blows, 19, 28m, 6 bolts.  EN 1/09.
Dance on Fires, 20/21, 28m, 6 bolts.  RW 1/09.
*Windjammer, 15, 25m, Trad. EN 1/09.
Orange Wall:
*UNNAMED 22/3, 25m, 6 bolts. SR 12/09. 21 until the last move!
Universe Wall:
Ultimate Question, 22, Trad with 1 bolt.  RW 1/09.

All these 10 are stared routes (really, new route developers are never biased). The * means absolute classic!.

Access

From Esperence head East, making an improbable number of consecutive right turns following the signs to “Cape Le Grand National Park”.  Once in the Park follow the sign to “Lucky Bay” (named by Matthew Flinders who sought refuge there in 1802), where you can camp for $8 per night and have free solar hot showers.  It does get busy in peak times as its a fantastic snorkelling and swimming spot.  To get to the climbing walk on the signed trail toward “Thistle Cove”.  After 1km, near a hilltop you will see a balancing croissant rock, just after this take a left fork and follow the fisherman’s track down for 50m.  You get to an obvious ledge facing “L’Esperence” , and can scramble down the gully (grade 5) to the climbs.  The climbs all reach top-bolts so you can belay on top and walk off.  Long slings are needed if you want to lower off.

Photographers and Climbers

RW Rob Wall
DW Demelza Wall
KW Kira Wall
KV Kate Vyvyan
SR Shane Richardson
EN Ed Nepia

Squamish – long routes

Well the climbing season is at an end now, but I’ve been able to do some great long routes over the summer.  Here they are as I remember them (in order, more or less)….

Snake (5.9).  A great 5 pitch route on the Apron done with Pad.  I recall it feeling runout on the top slab!  We did a couple of great single pitch routes on top of it including “Memorial Crack”.

Diedre (5.8).  Six pitches.  One of the world’s great easy routes I think.  Several pitches in a row of immaculate low angled corner crack.   A great day out in the Sun with Australian Dave, and Kira.  This was Kira’s first multipitch route

Birds of Prey(5.10a) on “The Squaw”.  Six pitches done as 3 with a 70m rope.   Not my favorite long route – but you get a good look at Pipeline (Arrrgh).  I would like to get back on the Squaw to try “The Great Game” to the right — it looks awesome

Rock On /Squamish Buttress.  (5.10c)  A good way to get to the top of The Chief.  A lot of rambling pitches up high, but the top pitch is especially fine,  I struggled, but made it in the end when someone from a party above told me I was “almost in the promised land”.  Rock On felt quite greasy to me, and had one scary move.  Did these last two routes with visiting Sweedish Filmmaker Sean.

 

Calculus Crack. (5.8)  A very exposed route.  Demelza and I slept at the base, and got up early.  This is the  first time I had attempted something like this with the kids with no other adult in the party.  Demelza climbed quickly and efficiently and didn’t’ seem to notice the exposure, which is very real on this route.   She seemed to have no trouble taking the belays apart and making all the right calls.   The couple of 5.8 handcrack pitches that are the core of this route are absolutely brilliant.

Borderline. (5.10d)   This was a fun day.   I led the 3rd pitch which has some incredible, technical and exposed climbing (with lots of bolts thank god), and the fourth pitch (which I fell off seconding) has the most amazing wide hanging chimney.  It was the first time I had climbed with local ex Ranger now Nurse Aaron, we decided impromptu to finish by climbing the Angels Crest.  Unfortunately we got about 4 pitches from the top when the rain poured, so we had a very long wet series of Abs to the gully.  Neither of us could remember when we had last had to retreat!

Angel’s Crest. 5.10b, 14 pitches.   A few days after backing off the top of Angles,  Peter Larose drove up from Vancouver nice and early, and we got on the full Angel’s Crest.  The climbing is not hard, but there is a lot of it!  Its a fun day out, rather than great climbing.  There are  some great positions, and a few pitches of good climbing, including the last.  You have to muck around with a short rap and some walking on the ‘towers’ in the middle.  We were a bit slow in 8 hours, I’d like to do it quicker.

Banana Peel. (5.7, 6 pitches)   Tarquin’s turn for an adventure.  We slept under the route (in colder weather) and did this in the morning cool.  Tark found the crux section hard.  I had a rope stretching lead linking pitches at one point, and we actually had to simo-climb for 5m!  Tark led the  last 5.5 pitch, and placed some good gear (he forgot to clip the rope into one piece which is something we can tease him about when he is dragging me up 5.12 one day).

Vector (5.9, 6 pitches).  Kira and I snuck this in one Autumn afternoon (Kira wanted the full dad and kid experience too), after a rainy morning, and the obligatory coffee at the Squamish Kite-surfing shop (best coffee in town)  and a quick visit to climb-on to buy a #4 Camalot .  We had intended to do the parallel route “St Vitus Dance”, so didn’t think we’d need my new #4, but we ended up on Vector.   The long off-width pitch is an amazing clean crack.  I had my shoulder and knee in at the crux, and  found my new Cam very comforting!   Kira and I had a rest on memorial ledge and then walked off just making it back to the bikes on dark…

Sunblessed. Got its own post

The Grand Wall. (5.11a, 10 pitches).  This is an incredible route.  I was due to do it with Fantini, but had to pull out because of my bike crash.  I was very sad about this.   Most difficult climbs  are either long or hard, but this is both.  I was lucky to have a strong partner (local lad Marc-Andre) so I knew I didn’t have to lead my half, but I wanted to, so I didn’t feel ‘guided’.  We had a really warm day, after a long wet spell. Marc  got us two pitches up via Apron Strings (hard start), then I linked Mercy Me in a 70m pitch, with about 6 bolts and small waterfalls coming down… mentally tough!.  I got to lead “The Split Pillar” which I really loved.  I fell off seconding “The Sword” (insert wet rock excuse here).  I got to lead “Perry’s Layback” in the usual way (resting on the bolts!).  By the time I got to my last lead, the magnificent “Sail Flake” I was so tired I couldn’t hold onto the top jugs, and took my first real whipper in Canada:  “About time” I  remember thinking as I fell some way onto a good Camalot.  TheBrew pub beers tasted especially good.

Dancing in the Light (5.11b, 6 pitches).  Marc and I did this the next day which was also a rare fine day.  He hadn’t been able to find a partner for it.  Not surprising with 10m or more runouts being the norm.  I only led one pitch of this!  The crux is maybe not as hard as they say (I can’t climb 11c slab).  Its quite a journey, but suffered a little from damp rock and moss.

Sunblessed

Its been a very wet September here.  Kira is keen to do a two day easy route on The Chief, but we have had no chance.  Last Saturday we snuck in a quick ascent of the classic Apron 5.9 “Vector”.   It had been wet in the morning, and we were the only climbers on the whole Apron.  The cux pitch is indeed as straight as an arrow, and wide (I was very glad of my new #4 Camalot that we purchased that morning).  It got dark just as we got back to the bikes.

Yesterday we thought we try something a bit more challenging.  After days of heavy rain that once again ended on a Saturday morning we needed something high, that would catch sun and wind.    We decided on a  route on the back of the Chief with a famously long walk in: “Sunblessed”.  Demelza, Kira and I left the house at 10.30am and wasted some time in the Coffee shop /juicebar/kitesurfing shop on the way.  By the time we had ridden to the campground, and then walked up the trail, following the tricky but accurate directions in the guidebook it was 2pm., and the sun was actually out!   The first bolt is 10m off the deck up and incredible dike feature. (There has been a lower one added, but chopped…)   I went up and clipped it before lunch so we could enjoy our pita bread and tuna knowing the scary bit was done.    The girls had no trouble with this pitch (easy 10a) and we all managed to avoid the little stream that was flowing over one hold with no problem.   The rest of the rock was incredibly dry.

The second pitch is a 35m thin hand crack in a stunning position, on perfect rock, with incredible  views to the South.  We are pretty fussy now after months of climbing, but we all agree this was a really really nice pitch: long, clean, good pro….  It took a while to get all of us up it though!  A quick roped scramble and we had 3 options to get off (the clouds were back with a vengeance now and it felt like rain any minute). 1. continue up the route via the 10b fist crack with “difficult pro”.  2. climb the nice looking 10a Arete to the right, which has had the first bolt hanger removed by some idiot. (I was thinking I could put a wire over it?)  3.  Go back down to the anchor at the top of the 2nd pitch and rap (I think it was 65m to the ground, and we had a 60m and a 70m rope with us).  The girls are good at abseiling, but it would be better if they could make the ground in one rap, as they are not experienced at multipitch raps.

There is one rusty bolt in the tricky part of the 10b so I decide to try it.   I place both the 3 and 4 Camelots before the bolt in the flaring crack (the 4 is actually not too bad).  Above that its just lots of grunting, some fist jams, and continuous painful left foot jams to get up the corner.  I  need both the 1, and both the 2 Camelots also in this short crack.  The crack is  damp, and I am slightly more scared than usual…!  As I reach the anchor chain there is a sudden heavy rain shower and the crack becomes  a mini waterfall in less than a minute.  The timing is exquisite.  I am able to lower the spare loop of rope down so the girls have that to pull up on while I take in.  They don’t muck around trying the soaking fist crack but both quickly pull up on the rope while I take in.  Its now late, cold, and nearly dark.  Normally you could solo up from here, but I take the rope up and around a tree and bring them up on TR.  We walk about half way down but get to a section of slab that probably only  20 or 30 degrees from horizontal, but slippery so we do the most horizontal abseil of my life (with a tangled rope of course!) down to a cairn that marks the trail.  I run back to the start of the route to get the packs, and we do the long walk down by headtorch, down the gully, which is now more of a river than a trail.  We ride very slowly home in very heavy rain for a warm bath and hot meal at 9pm.

Some photos of the route I found are here.  We had no time for photos, and the camera would have been ruined anyway!

http://www.mountainproject.com/v/international/north_america/canada/105918391

Squamish Update

Well finally after 6 months of travel someone had to see a medical professional (me).  It seems my bike crashed stretched and damaged some muscle in my neck, but the soft tissue and spine is ok; so I have to take it easy for another couple of weeks.  I did some easy climbing on Monday (ouch)  with Martin (Austrian) who has been staying in the house with us.  He  took a couple of good shots of “Wonderland” 5.9, a real Smoke Bluff’s classic.

Squamish Long Weekend

School is back today, but we have just had an interesting long weekend.  Friday afternoon I  had a very relaxed paddle in the sun with Demelza, Kira, Tarquin, Dave and his two kids Sam and Zak.  The water level is quite low now, so you don’t get pushed around so much, but its not too rocky either.  The colour of the water is now Opalescent Turquoise We all camped the night at on the river bank and had a fire (defying the marshmellow ban).

Saturday morning those of us with bikes rode the “Farside” trail – about an hour of technical up and down mountain biking.  THEN it was time for a downriver run to Squamish (the first long paddle Demelza and I have done).  Joined by Sally from Coast River Kayak we  started on the course (I capsized while out of breath, and totally failed to roll…)  then spent a couple of hours slowly paddling back to the put-out near our house.  The kids have named the rapids on that run “Skittles” (something to do with food) and “Tarkies Terror”, because he was afraid of it – but he did it when I watched (missing the big rock).  We all had a pretty early night.
Which we needed because on Sunday morning we braved the cold and met up with Karen (Sam and Zak’s mum this time) at a secluded cliff “Fern Gully” Demelza led one of the easy routes & we did two more.  The kids all shot up them all as ever.  Alfie got half way up the 5.4. After lunch (bread tuna and cheese, just for a change) we moved to Ronin and took some photos on the classic “Ridge Runner”. I led two routes between Deep Breakfast and Ridge Runner — I especially enjoyed the hard slab/face “Ne’r do well” which is new since the guide book.  I was  almost falling the whole way up, using my newest shoes to stand on tiny crystals (10d at least I think!).  That night we all went out for Fish and Chips.

The holiday Monday was raining.  John Fantini dropped by for a cup of tea and to use my computer, so we had a good chat about 1980′s Australia and made some future plans.  Sometimes its good to have rain to keep us inside.  Nevertheless Tarquin and I headed up (700m up!) on our bikes to the top of “Half Nelson” a long and winding bumpy downhill trail… (this is a video I found on youtube!)

and raced down it.  I got a little too much rotation on a steep bump (about 6 minutes and a bit in on the video?) and landed directly on my head.  Lying on the ground all I could think was to yell at Tarquin to slow down, as if the same thing would happen to him (which it wouldn’t because he has way more BMX still than me).  Today I am nursing a sore upper back and wrist, but nothing is broken.

Maybe all weekends here  are not quite so full of outdoor sport, but there is certainly lots of opportunity!

The Smoke Bluffs

I had never even heard of the Smoke Bluffs until we lived in Canada. They are a park/crag that is about 20 minutes away from our house by bike, on the east side of Squamish.  Nestled in the trees is a truly stunning assortment of small (well 20 to 40m, so small by Squamish standards) granite outcrops with some of the best crack and slab climbing anywhere.  The park has been established and maintained by  dedicated volunteers led by long time local climber Brian Moorhead.  (I climbed with his son Colin at Arapiles in 1996!).

The kids and I have been spending quite a lot of time here this summer, as there has been little rain (I just counted, there are 37 4-starred routes up to 5.11a in the book, and between us we have led 31 of those so far…).

The kids are fascinated by natural gear, so Kira led “Burgers and Frys” the other day (a runout 5.7) placing her own gear.  Tarquin led the brilliant “Dusty Eyes” 5.4, and Demelza led the flaketo the right of that “Wisecrack” 5.7, all in good style.  The rock here takes pro really well, and is the perfect place to learn these black arts.

One of the best outings was taking the girls up the 4 pitch “Smoke Bluff Connection” with a variant finish.  The 3 rd pitch “Jabberwocky” is as fine a crack climb as you would find anywhere on earth.  They did really well on the feisty 10b first moves! (“Twas Brillig and the Slithy Toves did gyre and gimbal…..”)

Some of my other favorites are “Geritol”  5.9 (take 2 ropes), “Yorkshire Gripper” 5.11c (I seconded this one, a good idea!), “Power Windows”  5.11a (My foot just slipped near that bolt, ok!),  “Penny Lane” 5.9 (you have to do this one), “Partners in Crime”, 5.11a, (my best crack O/S – ever, and one of the cleanest crack lines I have ever seen),  “Supervalue”, 5.10d (hard, and then more hard!!), “Triage Arete” 5.9 (not so popular before the 4 bolts apparently, as it is you don’t want to fall off this).

The O/S failures are “Power Windows”  11a (great fun anyway), “Skydancing” 10d (I couldn’t even get to the first bolt – stick required), and “Climb and Punishment” 10d (A good route – check out the  Peter Croft  madness above it!).  Apart from that we’ve onsighted  40 something  of the 3 star routes and have about 25 left including the famous “Wonderland”, “Popeye and the Raven” (which always seems to be busy,) and the intruiging looking  11a, “Kangaroo Corner”.  We are so lucky  to have so many great routes so close to home – thanks to all the volunteers and route developers who have made this great area.

Alfie goes mountain climbing

On Sunday we took a taxi to the Lake Garabaldi Trailhead (alt 580m), about 20km North of Squamish.  After a very long 3 hours of constant uphill on an excellent trail, it was suddenly different: a stunning section of small lakes, steep streams, bridges, big white snowy banks, and sunshine!  Alfie was well rewarded for his long uphill battle – I can only imagine what its like to climb 900m (over 6km) with 3yo legs!  He has a policy of running downhill which is useful, when he’d not tired and trippy.  After the long uphill it was only 3km through this varied terrain to the Lake Garabaldi Campsite (alt 1470m), where we pitched a tent on a wooden platform, and another on the snow.  The kids made a great game of using the provided shovel to flatten some snow.    Kate went for a walk to take some pictures and the rest of us swam and lazed by the lake.  After a freeze-dried dinner, a solid sleep, and the usual weetabix and powdered milk with melted snow I was ready for something…

The kids were asleep, so rather than taking them up Panorama Ridge (2130m) as discussed, I decided to hike up to have a look at the Black Tusk (2320m) alone.   I had met some climbers the day before who recommended Mt Price  – 2050m – but the route to it was indistinct and snowy.  The route to the ‘tusk’ was more south facing so I figured on less snow – plus it is a very attractive peak from a distance.  I was wrong on both counts, the walk up was snowy and I lost the trail several times, but following my nose seemed to find it again.   There were some great grassy patches higher up, with small pine trees, great bear country, but I didn’t see any.  I am really enjoying moving fast in this  lovely terrain.  The lack of a pole, or axe brought back memories of sliding down snow slopes before, but it really wasn’t steep or icy (I carried a pointy rock for peace of  mind) and the bushwalking boots were fine.  After about 2 hours I got to the base of the scree, and decided to scramble up it a little: one step up, 1/2 step sliding back (but it makes a great sound), this thing is a huge pile of small hard black rocks.  30 minutes later I am at a rockface – loose and clearly unclimbable. I walked around to the right for 50m or so and find a short steep chimney of better rock – surely this isn’t the ‘scramble’ so many people do?  I decide to climb this 5m to ‘have a look’, its steep but not hard (5.5?), pulling up onto what feels like the scree again.  The terrain is lots of flutes of terrible rock that are all about 45 degrees from vertical: the climbing looks easy, if a  little dangerous, and I am worried about finding the way back to the top of the chimney, so I build a small cairn.  Another 15 minutes and I am at the top, and take a photo of the ‘Olympic’ cairns.  You can see everything Whistler / Tantalus / Mt Price / The Garabalidi’s.   I don’t linger.  I realise down-climbing that you could not have more than one person on this thing, each step sends a cascade of rock down, the chimney would be a shower of rocks (my carin was destroyed).  I enjoy climbing down the little chimney, and then running down the scree (in about 5 minutes, I undo 30 minutes of up).  I kept two rocks.  I meet two hikers on the way down, with lots of tattoos.  The snow is perfect for glissading too (all though by now my inexplicabley sort right leg is really hurting) and I am back at Taylor Meadows pretty quick (in all 3 hours to the summit, and 90 minutes down).  A great outing, in an interesting location, on an eroded volcanic remnant.  I wouldn’t feel the need to do it again.

Alfie leads the way on the long run back to the carpark, chatting all the way (until he got ‘tired legs’ in the last couple of km!).