Blog from March, 2008

First, I would like to comment on the bolting on Ben Lomond debate. Gerry - I think you are in trouble here. Ultimately the approach trial will require track work, but this should be all that is required if you had left the bolts for descent. Now you have a problem with tat and a degrading descent trail. I am all for leaving Ben Lomond bolt free - but a few wisely placed descent bolts will ultimately help conserve the area and add to peoples' enjoyment. The people rapping of tat are not weaklings nor poor climbers - that is a silly thing to say. Some of them are a lot fitter and stronger than you!

Second, I recently had the privilege of climbing Gary Phillip's 8 pitch route at Mt Brown called "I've Heard It All Before" 23, and the top 5 of 9 pitches of Adam Donohuge's "Deeper Waters" 26+ in the Tyndalls with Jake Bresnehan (...thanks Jake).

I have to say 'hats off' the Gary and Adam for putting in the effort to prepare these magnificent climbs for us all to enjoy. You should all get out there and experience these new bred of Tasmanian climbs.

Beware though the Tyndalls is "full on" - here lies the future of hard Tasmanian climbing with a real big wall feel and complex logistics relating to getting to the bottom of the routes. It is especially true to say that the seriousness of Deeper Waters is underplayed in the Climb Tasmania guide - a one day free ascent is still awaited and should not be taken lightly. I'll attach some photos.

The next big thing in woodies:

http://gizmodo.com/373667/aquaclimb-poolside-climbing-walls-the-next-best-thing-to-everest

I've just moved here from the States and will be in the Hobart area for about a year. Looking for some some climbing partners so I can rope up on this beautiful state. Let me know if you don't mind an extra to the group.

Charlie Lee

Would people please stop littering Frews Flutes at Ben Lomond with their tat. I've just spent a day chopping all the retreat slings off the Flutes. Recently, it has become common practice to only climb the first pitch, then rap off some slings. If people bail out because of danger, injury, bad weather or route difficulty, then fair enough. But I suspect that people are mainly doing this for several other reasons.
Firstly, there is fear of weetbix loose rock on some second pitches. There is some weetbix on lesser travelled climbs, but on the established classics this is not a problem. Get over it. If you can't handle the possibility of loose rock, then don't retreat after one pitch - rather, don't attempt the route at all.
Some say only the first pitches are worth doing. If you accept the challenge of climbing at a traditional multi-pitch crag, then climb the routes properly and go all the way to the top. You can't claim an ascent if you haven't done all the pitches.
Now the rap bolts have gone, some lazy people don't want to walk down, so they rap after one pitch. The rap station was mostly for convenience. People argue that the rap station saved the descent gully from erosion, but they forget that the approach gully is twice as trashed as a direct result of the bolts. Most climbers I've met are only token conservationists anyway.
An older generation of climbers happily climbed on the Flutes for 25 years before the rap station existed, and tat was virtually non-existent on the cliff. Some modern climbers are adopting their sport climbing, consumer friendly mentality to Ben Lomond and are trashing the place. They are either too inexperienced, too unfit, too scared, or too lazy to cope with the challenge. This is a serious, traditional crag requiring a high level of fitness, jamming technique, and some general mountain experience and navigational skill to descend safely. There's nothing wrong with being inexperienced, unfit and scared, but if people don't have the skill, fitness, experience or mindset to cope with these challenges, then they shouldn't climb on Ben Lomond. And if they simply can't be bothered walking down and leave their tat as a result, then lazy litterbugs like this are not welcome on the mountain. The cliff has been returned to its original, bolt free, tat free state, and will remain so.

well with a upcoming trip to Yosemite, i thought that this little rock hop had to be done.
so i headed up with a modern rack (a big 5 camolot, No bolt hangers, and wires that don't fit over 1960's old crusty bolts). thankfully i have been doing a lot of wriggling up big wide cracks of late so it wasn't too bad and once the 5 camolot was in next to the old bolt, all was good.
what a cracker of a crack, a must do for all you crack heads!!!
the reason i am posting about this old classic is because i really don't think that the bolt needs to be replaced due to the modern cams, and that old bolt is history, i was like minus 20 years!!!.

i have attached 2 pics!!

hopefully more go and enjoy this fine little wriggle before the the winter hits town. 

jake 

Cam or Bolt?	Doug wriggling up!

Looking to go to Frenchmans soon but don't know if I've left it to late. Any advice on weather in particular and any update on lodden conditions? I've been there before but earlier in the year. Looking at end of march. Am I kidding myself?

About 30 people have prepurchased a guide to Ben Lomond, plus sale of advertising and a significant donation, we are well on the way. We are still about $8000 short in fundraising. If you would like to see the guidebook to this world class area out soon, then please support the guide by pre-purchasing your copy for the discount price of $35 (includes postage). Email gerry.narkowicz@bigpond.com to place your order.

The 2008 Mountain Festival is on 7-24th March.

Program is at: http://www.mountainfestival.org/events

Here's the film festival program:

THURSDAY 13 MARCH (Evening)

Evening Session - 8:30pm

Trial & Error: Progression
(Bjorn Enga, Canada, 2006, 7 min)
Ryan Leech is given a challenge: to create the most progressive and challenging mountain bike line possible through an old-growth forest and then ride it. Witness a short expose of a top biking talent who pushes his skills in a new environment, one that is slated to be destroyed.

Gravity Chasers
(Flying Fat Man Productions, Scotland, 2007, 7 mins)
Bridge and cliff jumping in the highlands in Scotland. If it's high enough they will jump it.

Black Canyon
(Peter Mortimer, USA, 2006, 10 min)
Colorado's Black Canyon is as beautiful as it is intimidating. Two-thousand-foot drops, loose rock and poison ivy thwart the path to some of the most gorgeous and difficult alpine crack lines that tempt free ascents. Join up with the two best men for the job, Jared Ogden and Topher Donahue, as they conquer the choice lines, debate the drunken Aussies and support a harrowing near-death rescue on rock.
Beyond Iraq
(Tom Eldridge, Iraq/USA, 2006, 9 min)
The war in Iraq has already created a new generation of American veterans injured in combat. Beyond Iraq follows a few of these young soldiers as they overcome their significant disabilities to find freedom and adventure swooshing down ski slopes in the Colorado Rockies.

Coast to Coast
(Olivier Aubert, South Africa/Switzerland, 2006, 52 min)
Not many new frontiers are left for today's adventurers. Flying from the east coast of Africa to the west in an ultra-light plane must qualify as one of the few. South African Mike and Swiss Olivier search for beauty in the skies each time they take off and spread joy on the ground wherever they touch down.

FRIDAY 14 MARCH (Evening)

Evening Session #1 - 6:30pm
Evening Session #2 - 8:45pm

First Ascent: The Obscurist
(Peter Mortimer, USA, 2006, 12 min)
In a quest for first ascents in Yosemite, two partners climb the most outrageous roof cracks they can find.

Emmy: The story of an Orphan
(Bobby Bailey, USA, 2006, 22 min)
Ditching school to go fishing, Emmy is Uganda's Huckleberry Finn. He is the fourth-born of five children, none from the same father, and each father was killed by different effects of the Lord Resistance Army's reign of terror over Northern Uganda. The wounds of war are not always inflicted by bullets, and the killers are not always the soldiers. This is the story of a family made from who was left.

Floating Over Snow
(Benjamin Leveque, France, 2007, 6 min)
Welcome to the newest winter sport: Snowkiting. This film shows how you can use the power of the wind to ride huge snow landscapes. Filmed near Grenoble during the winter of 2007, this is adrenaline packaged up in some stunning visuals courtesy of the French Alps.
Badgered
(Sharon Colman, UK, 2005, 8 min)
This film shares the animated tale of a badger who just wants the world to let him sleep.

Defect
(Dan Heaton, USA, 2005, 10 min)
A handful of world-class riders challenge perceptions by demonstrating the latest innovations in mountain, trials, and street unicycling. Kris Holm is our hero at large.

Papa Tortuga
(Rob Wilson, USA, 2006, 22 min)
Fernando Manzano was just 16 years old when he found his calling. For the past 31 years, he has dedicated himself to bringing the lora sea turtle back from the edge of extinction. In the small town of Tecolutla, Mexico, he has battled relentlessly against weather, natural predators and poachers - with no outside financial support.

SATURDAY 15 MARCH (Matinee)

Matinee Session - 2:00pm

Good Riddance Air Pollution
(Nick Hilligoss, Australia, 2003, 5 min)
An unscheduled stop on a railroad crossing leads to a radical redesign of the Eco Van. So what do you get when you join the front half of a VW Beetle with the rear of a Morris Minor van? A quiet pollution-free vehicle - albeit one without an engine. But alternative energy sources are waiting to be tapped: the sun, the wind, the rain... maybe even a couple of freeloading rats.

Safari
(Catherine Chalmers, USA, 2006, 8 min)
This short film shows a close-up view of the interactions of a cockroach and its friends, images of the animal kingdom from a new and sometimes startling perspective.

Voyage to 109 Metres
(Jerome Espla, France, 2006, 6 min)
In September 2006, Guillaume Nery dove to a depth of 109 meters with a single breath to become the new constant-weight free-diving world record holder. Guillaume's real story is about his exploration of the soul in the cold depths of dark water.

Trial & Error: Progression
(Bjorn Enga, Canada, 2006, 7 min)
Ryan Leech is given a challenge: to create the most progressive and challenging mountain bike line possible through an old-growth forest and then ride it. Witness a short expose of a top biking talent who pushes his skills in a new environment, one that is slated to be destroyed.

Building the Future - Energy
(Nicolas Brown, UK, 2007, 54 min)
If everything we hear about peak oil and the impending world-wide energy crisis is true, then it's clear that we need to start doing something to move beyond oil as soon as possible. But what? This film explores the stories of several forward-thinking individuals who aren't just worried about our planet; they are doing something to help save it. From an enormous solar collector in the Australian outback to hydroelectric power that does not require a dam, you can rest assured that someone is looking out for the rest of us.

SATURDAY 15 MARCH (Evening)

Evening Session #1 - 6:30pm
Evening Session #2 - 8:45pm

Big Summit Speed Riding Eiger
(Francois Bon, France, 2006, 5 min)
On Jun 14, 2006, Francois Bon and Antoine Montant executed the world's first speed-flying descent of the Eiger in Switzerland. Wearing skis and a paragliding sail, they descended from the top edge of the iconic mountain's west face to the bottom of its notorious north face, skiing and flying low over a long steep minefield of ice and rock and snow.

Running Down the Man
(Ben Knight & Travis Rummel, USA, 2007, 17 min)
They said it couldn't be done. One man's quest to prove Baja's Rooster fish could be tamed with a fly rod. Starring champion fly fisher Frank Smethurst, this documentary tells the story of a man who has spent almost a decade trying to pioneer a way to catch this magnificent fish by chasing it down on foot with only one chance at a perfect cast.

The Good Fight
(Mark Fraser & James Fox, USA, 2006, 15 min)
Environmental crusader Martin Litton, now 90, details his role in saving the Grand Canyon during the 1950s.

Paving Shangri la
(Andrew Stevenson, Bermuda, 2005, 15 min)
An annual visitor to the Annapurnas, author and photographer Andrew Stevenson uses a video camera to record a way of life that will soon fade into the lost horizon of a forgotten time. Walking 100 miles in the middle of winter through the Himalayas, Andrew stays in the homes of locals he has befriended over the last two decades. These spectacular images of mule trains, yak caravans and local traditions depict the cost of completing this military highway.

Harvest Moon
(Rob Frost, USA, 1995, 40 min)
Harvest Moon documents a Swiss expedition to climb a new route on 22,650-foot Thalay Sagar in the Garwhal Himalaya of northern India. The filmmaker follows four men - Stephan Siegrist, Denis Burdet, Thomas Senf and Ralph Weber - as they set out to tackle the ominous northwest ridge of the mountain's 4,600-foot north face and includes interviews with first ascentionist John Thackray (1979), north face first ascentionist Andy LIndblade (1997), and Americans Jay Smith and Kitty Calhoun.

SUNDAY 16 MARCH (Matinee)

Matinee Session - 4:15pm

Moongirl
(Henry Selick, USA, 2005, 9 min)
One night while out fishing, a boy and his pet squirrel are caught by a giant fish-of-stars and taken to meet the girl in the moon.

Good Riddance: Termites
(Nick Hilligoss, Australia, 2003, 5 min)
From the five-part animated series Good Riddance!, we follow the exploits of Eco, the clean, green pest controller with a clever biological solution for every problem. In this instalment, while Eco is out ridding the world of pests the natural way, a nest of termites is literally eating him out of house and home. This calls for the expert termite eater, the echidna, and not a moment too soon.

Kids Who Rip
(Rod Parmenter, USA, 2006, 16 min)
Follow the next generation of superstars as they show off their jaw-dropping tricks, riding big waves and catching big air just like the professionals. Kids Who Rip invites you into a new world where the future is wide open. Are you ready to take the plunge? (Good luck keeping up.)

A Life Among Whales
(Bill Haney, USA/Netherlands, 2005, 56 min)
An exploration of the life and work of whale biologist and MacArthur Fellowship winner Dr. Roger Payne, who has advanced the boundaries of science and activism since the 1970s, beginning with his pioneering work on whale songs to his current study of ocean pollution. With haunting imagery, the film studies our stewardship of the Earth and our co-existence with some of its most intriguing creatures.

SUNDAY 16 MARCH (Evening)

Evening Session #1 - 6:30pm
Evening Session #2 - 8:45pm

Roam
(The Collective, Canada, 2006, 15 min)
Travel with the world's top mountain bike riders as they explore new and amazing ways of riding in new and old places.

A Land Out of Time
(Mark Harvey, USA, 2006, 10 min)
The biggest land grab in American history is devouring the Rocky Mountain West as the oil-and-gas industry leases millions of acres of public land, with plans to drill hundreds of thousands of gas wells. The drilling blitz ranges from New Mexico to Montana and threatens some of America's last and best wild lands. Westerners who have lived on the land for generations tell the story and foment a backlash against the Bush Administration energy policies.

Nine Winters Old
(Bill Heath, USA, 2006, 64 min)
An acclaimed yet offbeat ski photographer celebrates winter and its devotees. Rich visuals and a captivating original score are backdrops for humorous and heart-warming stories of those, young and old, who come alive for wintertime.