30-03-2024

Hywaida, Kris, Kylie and meeeeeeee

Oh and a handy cameo from Muz

It’s late March in the Australian Alps. Why am I roasting ?

Gather around, grab a seat and get comfortable kids. I’ve got a tale to tell.

I’m sat in the patchy shade of a patchy shade bush waiting my turn as the sun beats down and reflects back up off the granite.

The guide wasn’t overly clear on exactly where the top anchor was but the others were confident they had the right spot.

Me? Not so much. I’d been nervous as shit about this one for some reason.

The guide said there were a multitude of bolts to choose from but the ones set further back with captive rings were the better option.

Problem was I could only see 2 sets and the ones further back didn’t have captive rings. And we weren’t really on a rounded boulder and, I was second guessing stuff.

Just let me have a look around.

So I’d soaked up time looking a long the cliff edge then in the creek on the ledge below. Nothing.

We’d all donned our full wetsuits earlier. Did I mention it was hot?

It was hot.

Kris dunked himself in the creek to cool down while I was stuffing around. Kylie waded in to do the same.

We headed back up and decided to check the anchor closer to the edge as we figured at least that didn’t drop straight onto the ledge and U bolts are closer to rings than the bolt hangers on the other ones.

I’d stuffed everyone around and wasted time.

I set up on anchor duties. P1 is supposed to be 38m to a semi hanging belay. Because I’m not 100% sure we are at the right anchor I let out 50m so Kris has a factor of safety and over he goes.

Muz slips across to a lookout to take photos and is prefectly located to keep us informed of what’s happening on the face

Time elapses.

He’s coming back up. Calls Muz

Kris regains the ledge 10m below.

I could see the P3 anchors just below me but they were way over to canyon left and I could not traverse that far. Calls he.

Weird. P3 anchor was suppose to be another 35m below the P2 anchor. I still had 15m of my 64m rope in my bag.

I saw the bolts for P2 on the way up. Says He

He has done an amazing job and now he is safely back on the large ledge I had walked out to earlier (I’m guessing in high water like they had when pioneering the canyon that would not be an option) he directs me to reset on the other bolts. I add some maillons to the hangers and Kylie resets the rope.

It’s a little known fact that maillons were invented is 1673 by a Frenchman called Louis D’Nutter. The same guy who invented the bicycle derailleur. No one really knows how to pronounce either one but we all attempt to sound French as we try.

I digress, We’ve been in the wetsuits in the heat for about 1.5hrs by now

Did I mention it was hot?

It was hot.

Damn hot.

Fry an egg on your helmet hot.

Hywaida takes the 80m rope and goes next. There’s not much room at the rebelay so Kris has P2 set. She will get to him then continue down to set up P3.

Kylie will then go and skip past both and we’ll regroup at the bottom of the 80m P3.

At least that’s the plan.

I find a patchy shade bush to sit under as the sun beats down and reflects up the granite as I wait my turn. But I’d already told you that bit.

Muz calls that Kylie is clear of P1. I rig the pull cord, drop on down to Kris and we pull the rope.

I take a 40 leaving Kris with the 60.

Is Kylie passed the anchor? Calls I

No they are still sorting it out. Calls Muz. who is now adding in all the correct hand signals.

Two whistle blasts come up. I start down. Muz tells me to stop.

I whip the camera out

Kylie calls me down

Hywaida is starting to struggle in the heat. She hadn’t taken a dip to cool off and it was damn hot.

I reach the small ledge they are setting up on and noticed they are clipped to a single bolt which didn’t leave a lot of room for PASs and rope.

Kylie is tipping water over H’s head to cool her down

This isn’t the right anchor

The guide doesn’t mention the single bolt at all but Kylie had more detailed notes from a friend and we remember them saying to ignore the single bolt halfway down P2.

We get the the 80m set up and we discuss a game plan. Kylie is going to stay with Hywaida to get some water into her and cool her down. I’m going to head down on the 80, if I find another anchor within the next 20m I’ll secure myself and I’ll blow 3 whistles. that means to lower the 80m to me and reset using a 40m

If I don’t find any rebelay bolts but make it to the bottom it’s two whistles as normal. come down on the 80.

I head on down looking for more bolts but I ain’t see shit.

Well, except for the end of my rope about 10m above the bottom of the drop.

Halfway down I’d finally entered the flow. It was deliciously cool but now I’m a little worried about people needing to pass a knot right where the flow funnels in to smack you in the face.

Luckily there was a convenient, albeit tiny, alcove with a 30x30cm ledge right where I needed it.

I join my 40m rope on and continue down.

Hywaida comes next.

Oi! Calls I. You need to pass a knot.

What, calls she.

A Knot! calls I

I can’t hear what you are saying!

She tries to continue

There’s a Knot! calls she as she finally sees it she does what’s needed and continues down

Kylie comes next.

Oi! Calls I. You need to pass a knot.

What, calls she

A knot! Calls me and Hywaida

I can’t hear what you are saying!

She tries to continue

There’s a knot! Calls she. And does what needs doing to continue down.

Kris comes next

Oi! Calls I… you can probably see where this is going.

He gets off on a larger ledge and scrambles down not needing to pass the knot.

Ok so I can see how this would be a major test piece in the flows they had during the La Niña years when they were establishing it and writing the guide but at 1.2Ml so far it’s just been abseiling down a (high) waterfall for the sake of abseiling down a (high) waterfall.

From here though the abseils get a little more interesting and funner.

In high flow accessing the anchors would be scary as a really scary thing.

We’d been warned about the terrifying false bottoms and syphons and stuff but at this water level it was an easy traverse to the next anchor across a solidly wedged boulder choke

Next up is the superhero anchors.

Apparently boulder has moved. The bolts were originally set high but now they are so high and reachy I wouldn’t be able to reach them and I have quite a reachy reach.

Lucky Kris has his panic draw, which only just reaches. He then has to use that to pull himself up and out to clip in. Once again he saves the day.

TBH I think you’d be better combining this drop off the previous anchor. It looks like it would be a clean pull down anyway.

And all that’s left now is to boulder hop down stream to find the exit.

We scramble on down and spot a small cairn but to the right of it the climb looks horrendous and the guide says large cairn and we have a trace off ropewiki that says the exit is still further down stream

We press on to where the trace says the exit should be. There’s no cairn but a slight weakness in the vegetation in the first real side gully we’ve seen so we start up. It gets steeper and sketchier and shittier the higher we go.

We decide to bail and Kris heads back upstream to double check for a cairn we may have missed.

He finds it so eventually we start up the trail.

It goes

It goes

It just goes and goes and goes.

Up. traverse a bit. Haul up a handline. descend a gully. Up again etcetera etcetera etcetera.

Type 2 Fun.

Crystal Brook is a big undertaking even at low flow, but a solid team brings the dream.

I think I made a better boy than I do a man, I admitted ruefully to the wolf. R Hobb.

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