Groan, not another bum shot....Dice the Dutchman on the really exciting Blockbuster (19), Paynes Ford; and an excellent specialist emporium in Takaka, NZ
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Rapaki Rock (top) on the ridge S of Christchurch is reportedly New Zealand's most climbed crag. Hmm...did I really coma all this way etc.... Ratline (12) ans Scurvy (13) were pretty good soloes to get the legs stretched. The team in the centre were from Lancashire, and are on the classic (16) of Main Royale.In any case Paynes Ford seems more popular and is certainly a lot better (bottom; my bottom on Temples of Stone, a brilliant [18]).
Cockatoos, Lorne.Lorne is a pleasant coastal town, ideal for learning to surf. Which goes something like this: rent board and wetsuit for 4 hours, attempt to get out past waves, eventually succeed, bellyflop onto board at approximately suitable moment, attempt to stand up, get swept off board, experience intense sensation of being in enormous washing machine, wait to float to surface to find out which way up you are, hit head on board (optional), gasp for breath, repeat until totally knackered and freezing cold (about 1 hour), rest for 3 hours to get moneys-worth, return wetsit and board to surf shop. Easy!
Rainy day (I am in Scotland, I'm sure of it), Takawa, NW corner of S Island, NZ
Takawa is sorta alternative, and has lots of galleries and cafes, plus a brilliant climbers campsite near the limestone crags of Paynes Ford. Cheap, friendly, has cooking hut, and the signs are all amusing rather than authoritarian. Hooking up with a climbin' partner is easy.
Got here by rental car, which is expensive but quick cos am running low on time. Tunes from i-pod broadcast via i-trip to car stereo = able to listen to lots of neglected stuff that's good for driving. Curiously, most of this is by artists under 'S' (miths, onic Youth, mashing Pumpkins, creaming Treas, tone Roses, teely Dan, ugar, etc).
Rain will stop tomorrow, no doubt, when I have to drive back to Christchurch...
Takawa is sorta alternative, and has lots of galleries and cafes, plus a brilliant climbers campsite near the limestone crags of Paynes Ford. Cheap, friendly, has cooking hut, and the signs are all amusing rather than authoritarian. Hooking up with a climbin' partner is easy.
Got here by rental car, which is expensive but quick cos am running low on time. Tunes from i-pod broadcast via i-trip to car stereo = able to listen to lots of neglected stuff that's good for driving. Curiously, most of this is by artists under 'S' (miths, onic Youth, mashing Pumpkins, creaming Treas, tone Roses, teely Dan, ugar, etc).
Rain will stop tomorrow, no doubt, when I have to drive back to Christchurch...
The Amphitheatre, Mt Stapylton, Grampians, Victoria, Oz. I soloed the wonderful Threadneedle (10; in the grey stuff on the left: follow a ramp, go through a cave, pop out on a huge face and keep on up to the summit ridge) while Chip took his Dad up some easy scrambles on the orange rock of Taipan Wall (easiest route: 21!)
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Nelson, Scotland...sorry, I mean New Zealand
Christchurch, like Macclesfield, has a compact centre, pubs, curry houses, good MTB routes cyclable directly from town, crags within a 20 minute drive, and environs featuring green fields, sheep and rain.
There the resemblence ends, and the other basic requisites for civilised urban living begin: lots of other types of restaurant, a cinema or two, a theatre or two, trams, an independent CD store that plays music interesting enough for you to ask what's on, lollipop men with Mohicans, etc, etc.
I liked it.
It's bloody miles from anywhere though. I thought I'd scoot up to the north end of S Island for a few days - it's taken me all day to get here. They should print the maps on bigger paper. And in Australia too.
The Followers of Hare Krishna - a What Afterlife Special
A couple of days ago in Melbourne I had lunch with some Hare Krishnas. What happened was, I was walking along the pavement and passed this curry house with a sign up. The sign said 'All you can Eat vegetarian buffet' (except that there were probably a few more random capitals). Being a) hungry and b) a tight wad, I went in. Some shaven-headed gentlemen with painted foreheads orange robes served me with scoops of channa and rice, and beseeched me to come back for more if I wanted. The food was OK, so I did. They also bid me to sit at their table and read their promotional material.
This is what it said. Western Science is based on false dogmas. Scientists say there is no life on the moon, but that is not true, they have just failed to find it. They went looking for a certain type of life, so what do they expect. Everything, including life, is made up of five elements: fire, water, wind, earth and ether. As these elements are everywhere, Life is everywhere. Therefore there is life on the moon.
Therefore Western Science is based on false dogmas.
This section of humanity, who WA calls the Anti-Scientists (but to whom Alexei Sayle may have been referring to some years ago as the Slack-brained Fuckwits), proudly reject objective reasoning and consider it to be a badge of honour to resist logical trains-of-thought.
Characteristic of these people is that they will never test their own assumptions. Also they will give credence to almost anything that is countercultural, no matter how dumb it may be. In surrounding themselves with like minds, they insulate themselves against a world they can't understand, and, fortunately for the rest of us, therefore have almost no influence in. Small enclaves of such tribes exist throughout the West - the Hares, New Agers, travellers, aristic communities in poor Northern towns such as Haworth, etc.
Needless to say, the Hares were very nice people, but no way are they getting my afterlife.
Plus, I've been farting non-stop for days on end.
Christchurch, like Macclesfield, has a compact centre, pubs, curry houses, good MTB routes cyclable directly from town, crags within a 20 minute drive, and environs featuring green fields, sheep and rain.
There the resemblence ends, and the other basic requisites for civilised urban living begin: lots of other types of restaurant, a cinema or two, a theatre or two, trams, an independent CD store that plays music interesting enough for you to ask what's on, lollipop men with Mohicans, etc, etc.
I liked it.
It's bloody miles from anywhere though. I thought I'd scoot up to the north end of S Island for a few days - it's taken me all day to get here. They should print the maps on bigger paper. And in Australia too.
The Followers of Hare Krishna - a What Afterlife Special
A couple of days ago in Melbourne I had lunch with some Hare Krishnas. What happened was, I was walking along the pavement and passed this curry house with a sign up. The sign said 'All you can Eat vegetarian buffet' (except that there were probably a few more random capitals). Being a) hungry and b) a tight wad, I went in. Some shaven-headed gentlemen with painted foreheads orange robes served me with scoops of channa and rice, and beseeched me to come back for more if I wanted. The food was OK, so I did. They also bid me to sit at their table and read their promotional material.
This is what it said. Western Science is based on false dogmas. Scientists say there is no life on the moon, but that is not true, they have just failed to find it. They went looking for a certain type of life, so what do they expect. Everything, including life, is made up of five elements: fire, water, wind, earth and ether. As these elements are everywhere, Life is everywhere. Therefore there is life on the moon.
Therefore Western Science is based on false dogmas.
This section of humanity, who WA calls the Anti-Scientists (but to whom Alexei Sayle may have been referring to some years ago as the Slack-brained Fuckwits), proudly reject objective reasoning and consider it to be a badge of honour to resist logical trains-of-thought.
Characteristic of these people is that they will never test their own assumptions. Also they will give credence to almost anything that is countercultural, no matter how dumb it may be. In surrounding themselves with like minds, they insulate themselves against a world they can't understand, and, fortunately for the rest of us, therefore have almost no influence in. Small enclaves of such tribes exist throughout the West - the Hares, New Agers, travellers, aristic communities in poor Northern towns such as Haworth, etc.
Needless to say, the Hares were very nice people, but no way are they getting my afterlife.
Plus, I've been farting non-stop for days on end.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
The whole promptness thing seems to be sliding a little here...is it that after 4.5 months I've reached a certain level of indifference to sitting in front of a computer (...my work here is almost done. Soon I will be totally unemployable). No! Never! It's just that, for all there is to do and see, Australia isn't really very interesting. Geographically it might be hugely varied, on the other side of the world, etc, but politically and culturally it's firmly in the mid-Atlantic.
Any roads, since leaving Arapiles I spent 3 days back in the Grampians (including an excellent day soloing Threadneedle (10) and summitting Stapylton), then went back to Araps and did a bunch more excellent routes with American Gypsy Paul. Also caught Ross Noble performing in a church hall in Horsham near Araps (he was clearly puzzled by the smallness of that particular gig a day or two after playing Melbs Town Hall).
Then headed down to the SE Victoria coast to check out the Great Ocean Drive and see the 12 Apostles (of which only 8 seem to remain). Rubbish, really. Substantial stretches of the Cornwall, Devon, Yorkshire and Scottish coastlines are far more impressive. Tried a bit of surfing, ate fish and chips, etc.
Then headed down to the SE Victoria coast to check out the Great Ocean Drive and see the 12 Apostles (of which only 8 seem to remain). Rubbish, really. Substantial stretches of the Cornwall, Devon, Yorkshire and Scottish coastlines are far more impressive. Tried a bit of surfing, ate fish and chips, etc.
Am in Melbourne today. Melbs features lots of old Colonial architecture, restaurants, cafes, happenings and and Cultural Stuff In General, and is a Very Good Place. There are some sort of Games going on here, apparently. Leaving for Christchurch (S Island, NZ) tonight.
Friday, March 17, 2006
You can't beat a good old Antarctic exploration story for edge-of-the-seat awe-inspiring feats of endurance. Was pleased and surprised to come across a book about Australia's own Antarctic hero, Douglas Mawson, whose death-defying exploits were contemporaneous with Scott's last gasp.
Anyone with an interest in such lit can read more here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1841581410/203-6291161-1395135
There are some interesting features of the story that impinge on the ever popular 'Was Scott Incompetent' debate. The favourite 'Yes' argument is that he should have used huskies, like Amundsen. Doh. The counter-argument has been that husky teams are not well suited to all types of south polar terrain including glaciers. Well, when Mawson's team were hundreds of miles out, one of his team of 3 men, plus a whole team of huskies and sledge, disappeared into a crevasse never to be seen again. As it happened, this sledge was carrying almost all the expedition food. Mawson survived, barely, on husky meat, including the dogs' (then unknown to be) toxic livers, while his remaining colleague succumbed to the grotesqueries of hypervitaminosis-A in an extremely arduous retreat lasting several weeks.
In the best tradition of explorer heroics, he found a supply dump by incredibly skillful/lucky navigation, missed a search party by a matter of hours, and a few days later missed his ship for home by a similar margin entailing another year spent on the ice. For the rest of his life he asked himself why he had led men to their deaths and what he had achieved in doing so.
Incidentally, another team from the expedition came then-closest to the magnetic South Pole. This team included the American photographer Frank Hurley, later to become famous for his pics of The Endurance on Shackleton's last expedition.
Anyone with an interest in such lit can read more here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1841581410/203-6291161-1395135
There are some interesting features of the story that impinge on the ever popular 'Was Scott Incompetent' debate. The favourite 'Yes' argument is that he should have used huskies, like Amundsen. Doh. The counter-argument has been that husky teams are not well suited to all types of south polar terrain including glaciers. Well, when Mawson's team were hundreds of miles out, one of his team of 3 men, plus a whole team of huskies and sledge, disappeared into a crevasse never to be seen again. As it happened, this sledge was carrying almost all the expedition food. Mawson survived, barely, on husky meat, including the dogs' (then unknown to be) toxic livers, while his remaining colleague succumbed to the grotesqueries of hypervitaminosis-A in an extremely arduous retreat lasting several weeks.
In the best tradition of explorer heroics, he found a supply dump by incredibly skillful/lucky navigation, missed a search party by a matter of hours, and a few days later missed his ship for home by a similar margin entailing another year spent on the ice. For the rest of his life he asked himself why he had led men to their deaths and what he had achieved in doing so.
Incidentally, another team from the expedition came then-closest to the magnetic South Pole. This team included the American photographer Frank Hurley, later to become famous for his pics of The Endurance on Shackleton's last expedition.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Leaving Araps today. Some top routes led, soloed or seconded:
Electric Warrior (20)
Fly Lichen Eagle (20)
Lemmington (19)
Judgement Day (18, 19)
Skink (18, 17)
Eurydice (18)
I'm a little Asteroid (18)
I'm a little Dinosaur (18)
Aardvark (17)
Mari (17)
D-minor (12, 16)
Falcon (16)
Jason (16)
Beautifu Possibilities (15)
Kestrel (12)
Watchtower Chimney (12)
Piccolo (11)
Pedro (10)
Diapason (7)
Tiptoe Ridge (5)
Electric Warrior (20)
Fly Lichen Eagle (20)
Lemmington (19)
Judgement Day (18, 19)
Skink (18, 17)
Eurydice (18)
I'm a little Asteroid (18)
I'm a little Dinosaur (18)
Aardvark (17)
Mari (17)
D-minor (12, 16)
Falcon (16)
Jason (16)
Beautifu Possibilities (15)
Kestrel (12)
Watchtower Chimney (12)
Piccolo (11)
Pedro (10)
Diapason (7)
Tiptoe Ridge (5)
Sad to read this morning that one of my second-rank heroes, Ivor Cutler, has shuffled off to the great Scotch sitting room in the sky...http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2072691,00.html
Friday, March 03, 2006
Day off from climbing...do some grocery shopping, have a shower, do some laundry, read the paper, update blog...
After being told off in no uncertain terms at the Tourist Info office that 'You're not allowed to plug anything in the computers!' this sour-faced Information bag (whose weight problem exceeded even that of her interpersonal skills) insisted that I leave immediately, even though I'd already been busy there for 2 hours.
No drama, have moved to the pub!
After being told off in no uncertain terms at the Tourist Info office that 'You're not allowed to plug anything in the computers!' this sour-faced Information bag (whose weight problem exceeded even that of her interpersonal skills) insisted that I leave immediately, even though I'd already been busy there for 2 hours.
No drama, have moved to the pub!
Watchtower Chimney (12), Arapiles, yesterday in the heat of the day. Matt (leading, out of picture) belays Tony (in yellow) and me up the first pitch; pics by Craig.Tony and Craig, Ausies from Sydney, had had an epic the evening before, got stuck on route, and rapped back to the ground in total darkness at 10.30 pm. This 'team ascent' was to retrieve some gear they left behind, and bag the route in full. Somehow Sheffield Matt (who I've been climbing with a lot) and I got conscripted into this 4-pitch affair, which higher up features some very traditional thrutches in a narrow chimney, requiring breathing-out-type caving manouevres for upward progress.
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