My Arms Hurt

Went up the hill all this weekend.

Saturday:
A trad cliff ticking off more easy classics:
The Carthaginian, a two pitch grade 15 (5-7+), was super easy, even for a 15.
The first pitch of Joseph, 12 (5-6)
The Great Unwashed, 10 (5-5), which was awesome – is a flaring open corner/with a small chimney section
The Bonatti Crack, 10 (5-5), which is very short but only features a crack, that goes through an overhang. About 5 grades harder than the Cartheginian.

Retired for a "wine tasting" evening in celebration of the Big Kev's 40th birthday that was about two weeks ago. I made an array of excellent salads that I stored in an Esky full of ice from the night before. I ate gluten free organic beef sausages until my eyes popped out and some bitch baked a brie with maple syrup and almonds that I was forced to eat most of. Jeanie, Julian (the new sailor boyfriend), Kev, Catherine (who is not Kev's girlfriend apparently.., Pommie Mick, Penny, Mikl, and I, all had blind wine tastings where we got blind. Jeanie and Julian kicked us out of the Hartley Vale School house so they could have what we can only imagine to be noisy sex, and Mikl and I camped in the yard and got woken early by crazy cockatoos.

Sunday:
Adventure new route:

9-pitch grade 18 (5-9) new sports route in the Grose Valley with Mikl.

Access : Walk in 30 mins, do two abseils, bash another 10 mins around the base of the cliff.

We swung leads, but the rock was covered in dirt and sand from the extensive cleaning and drilling (which will wash off in the next storm) and the smaller footholds were often crumbly and liked to disappear from under me. All this is fine for those taller folks with good fingers (Mikl), but for those trying to use their feet instead of hands (me) it was kind of nerve-wrecking. Besides, I haven’t climbed that much in ages. The top three pitches are consistent grade 17 jug-hauling up a vertical wall, but this goes on for about 80m and I thought my arms were going to fall off. Besides, we left all the bolting gear and ropes out there on pitch 4, so we had to haul stuff. All together Mikl and I had the lead rope, a skinny hauling rope attached to a bag with shoes and water in it, a 100m static rope, an old fluffy 50m dynamic rope, two other skinny ropes, and the drill. So my arms are a wee bit sore today, and I have NO SKIN at all.

Skipped my weight lifting class with Jo today in favour of a Thai food for lunch with Jims (Jemima). Finished off the first draft of the bloody proposal for money from the government. Yay!