Gone Epic

I've been back from China for a week and a half now, and as I catch up with work, I find my mind drifting to the next trip. I'm thinking somewhere within Australia, almost certainly East coast so that the car is an option. It's already somewhat fitted out, and the addition of a rooftop tent and some decent solar panels would make it a solid option for a month or so on the road. I'd also need to kit it out with better organised storage, and reconfigure it to be better used as a kitchen. However it works, I'm keen to get to a bunch of places that I haven't got a chance to climb at yet. - Tassie - probably summer, it's a lovely place, and I know a lot of people down there, mostly cavers, but I could probably get a few spots to crash for a night in a bed if need be, and the scenery and routes down there are amazing. I'd certainly love to get some time in the area of Cataract Gorge, Ben Lomond, Mt Wellington and the totem pole - Arapiles - It's an ...

Apologies for the long time between posts, I just got back from 3 weeks climbing in Yangshuo, China. It's limestone Karst country, with some tufa climbing, some overhanging pockets and caves, and some slab-like climbing. It's certainly an interesting mix, and a very enjoyable place to climb. The climbing was great, as was the group we had, mostly current or former ANUMC members, and based out of Canberra. We spent a lot of weekends in the lead up climbing in Nowra, as the sandstone there seemed better suited to training for limestone than anything else that we had available. Phil is so expressive The Climbing The climbing is varied on the cliffs around Yangshuo. It's not as tufa heavy as the tropical limestone in Thailand, but it has a combination of tufas, pockets, and slabby walls. You will find something you will enjoy here, although some of the higher traffic areas are getting polished and chalk caked in places. The grading is meant to be  a little stiffer...

 I've been training seriously for the first time ever in preparation for the trip to Yangshuo, I'm interested to see how far I can push, and in what kind of time frame It's hard to say how effective training has been so far, it's only been 6 weeks, and I don't really know where the baseline was to begin with. I am feeling stronger that I ever have been before, but this is the first time I've ever really trained seriously, and even now it has been less consistent and regular than I'd like... One of the effects of having one's life shaken up a bit. I've just started the second power phase, and based on the indoor 'grades' I'm a few grades above where I was a month or so ago.Moves on V8-10's, completing or nearly so on V6-8's But with limited problems, and limited people grading the problems it's hard to put much stock in it. Doing routes, my strength on individual moves has improved a bit, but it...

I finally upgraded the old camera... I'm moving from a relatively high end point and shoot from 2007, to a basic mirror less DSLR from about 2014 - as always my basic requirement is full manual mode, and no weird double flashes that will mess with a slave flash. - size is important, but not overly so, I just want a machine that will do what I want, and allow me the control when I want it. The EOS-M fits these criteria, and is a large step up from the compact that I was using prior. It's not the top of the line, nor the newest, but for something that I will abuse, that suits me just fine. I've got the 22mm pancake lens, an 18-55mm lens, and I've added a 55-200mm lens, allowing me to get close to the action for climbing shots.

I collect blogs to read, and podcasts to listen to at an amazing rate, eventually if gets too much and I start to cull them down a bit. Here's a sample of interesting follows that made it through the last cut. .  Semi-Rad - if anyone is not following it, this is the one I would start with. Think the wit, humour and brilliance of XKCD before it got popular, in articles and flow charts, but with an outdoors slant. Outside Online - The most prolific of this list, a variety of articles on different topics from Outside's website.  Adventure journal - a collection of articles on a number of different topic, similar to Outside, and also includes contributions from Brendon Leonard of Semi-Rad Gear Junkie - will keep you up to date with the latest in gear, including ones that get pulled from kickstarter. It's been a good way of seeing some stuff I might like there, without falling into the wormhole of fund swallowing that is Kickstarter.  Climbing - mostly a...

And don't even get me started on my free climbing rant! Of course I'm free climbing, the part you are worried about is the soloing. Why do we solo? Many far more talented climbers and authors have written on this topic, ( Matt Cousins - Why Soloing , Alex Honnold several times ) often coming to the same conclusions. And yet we can't seem to describe it in a way that makes sense to the people that ask the question. Are we so far apart, those that do and do not solo, or do they just not want to accept the answer? From Honnold: "I like the simplicity of soloing," he says.  "You've got no gear, no partner. You never climb better than when you free-solo."  He also finds that the sport fits his psychological makeup.  "If I have any gift, it's a mental one," he says. "Keeping it together." I love to solo climbs, the freedom of movement, the speed with which you can climb, the state of mind throughout, and the feeling ...

I've had to get new T-handles for the back so I can lock it up effectively. Sadly these needed a 30mm hole, rather than the existing 20, and the edge of the glass was within this radius. I was able to make it work with a Christmas tree bit, a little force, and a file to do the last few mm. The handles can be pushed flush, making them more secure, and snagging the insect netting a little less.  The flip up part of the bed now flips down (less strong, but more practical as I can then access food, and toilet bag easier, and do so while having stuff siting on top of the bed, with the stove on the tailgate, and the esky handy. It also means that I can open and close the bed without opening the tailgate if need be I've added a few hooks for bits and pieces, and found that a sunshade does a good job of extending the rain shelter offered by the back door. I ditched one of the thermarests, it's not needed and it was too slippery. The windows seem to leak a little...