journey..

Todays Pics

2007-02-14T20:51:00.000+09:30

Snapped off ten seconds worth of photos before I was out there!!!

Burleigh Barrels!!! Day 5 of swell....Check these waves, broken boards littered the rocks....

yeow....!!!!

bluebird days of surf....

2007-02-12T07:48:00.000+09:30

Perfect little days that we wait out in the sweltering metropis of Brisbane for...a nice low pressure (ex-cyclone) has situated itself just off the coast for the next week or so creating some perfect surf all up and down the east coast of oz...

The swell angle isn't quite right to make Noosa fire off its socket, yet its just right for some really sweet perfect smaller waves to refract into the various bays and coves....and just small enough that the crowds and masses have gone elsewhere...

SO here it is...one of the funnest (micro) sessions of my life...surfed 9 hours straight yesterday

The photos are from mid-high tide later in the day....the surf for the first few hours was some of the most perfect waves I have ever seen. Remember Endless SUmmer 1? when they find Cape St. Francis??? Wave quality probably about the same, but the water yesterday was bluer and warmer....no lie..

STOKEDsean

Remembering the roots...

2007-01-26T11:16:00.000+09:30

Where you come from is a big part of who you are....

No denying the past....I got reminiscing today...and wow sometimes I think how lucky we are too have all survived the 'learning years'....and how sweeeeet were they????

Preston pretty jazzed on our ascent of the Direct North Face Athabasca...Summer 2001

James and Petre Soupal on Damnantion Gully, Huntington Ravine, Mt. Washington, winter 2000.
Rohan, Myself and James departing on our fatefull ascent of The North Face Mt. Robson, summer 2001 Zoochy and Ryan in a snowstorm on Mt. Andromeda (should we stay, or should we go???), Canadian Rockies, summer 2002
Introducing Jonn Barton....this guy has endured avalances, massive storms tentless and falling several stories from his apartment patio....what a legend...here he is post-patio descent styling a crack climb on the Niagara Escarpment near Collingwood, Ontario...
and many more good times to come...thanks for those memories huh???

jeepers....I know you guys will appreciate these oldy photos!!!!

D-bah pumping

2007-01-24T17:15:00.000+09:30

a nice peaky summer swell, Duranbah Beach, Gold Coast....no complaints

some small summer surf sessions...

2007-01-24T17:04:00.000+09:30

tea tree bay, noosa

a couple pretty average lineup photos...but the water is real real warm...umm like 27C warm!!!!

Frog Pics....

2007-01-17T11:22:00.000+09:30

A couple photos from last winter by Hugh...

starting the pillar...

oh yeah...the ultimate reality cracks of Mt. French

Now its summer....impossible to climb...the rock gets too hot to touch by about 10am!

A couple more photos....New Years 2007

2007-01-08T17:39:00.000+09:30

New Years 2007 in the city.... awesome except for too many drunk poms...

Sometimes you feel so blessed being a climber...if anything for the poser photos....

how can I resist...this City is f-beautiful.

What a great city with a great location. Australians have it pretty good, yet I still don't understand why they watch so much cricket on tv ;-)

A coastal and cliffular exodus, New Years 2007

2007-01-08T16:54:00.000+09:30

New Years Trip 2007----Australia in detail.

Well at least some surfing and climbing areas in detail, and Sydney for New Years.

I guess 2 blogs are required....one a climbing/surfing entry and the other for (regular) people...

Here goes the climbing one...

The Blue Mountains 80 kilometres west of Sydney are an incredible sandstone rock formation(s). The amount of climbing there is unfathomable. You could honestly spend a lifetime there. The potential to spend one hundred lives (just climbing) is also possible.

The rock is absolutely incredible.

My journey at the Blueies began as I eagerly waited my turn to climb the areas traditional jamming classic (and the route I have waited one year to climb!!!)....ETERNITY. I'm pretty jazzed about my onsight...the route is pretty stout for its 5.10 grade and has a super tricky finger jamming crux high up that felt quite high value at a 5.10 rating (read sandbag as usual...what do you expect from an Australian classic!!). Heres a couple photos that don't do the route or the area justice... this route has been compared to the supercrack at Indian Creek.

The Blue Mountains version.....

perfect sustained hand jamming in the lower sections...keep moving up these fantastic jams....the sustained, technical finger crack crux is coming just out of this picture view

Pretty much these route photos can give you some insight into the seriously high quality sandstone splitter cracks of this particular Blue Mountains crag....just unreal... Doing the perfect eternity jams...your mind is so pure, the moves are so fantastic...this was probably the best route of my life.... wow. Big claim. Many would agree. I guess time to check out Indian Creek and the Super Crack!

Heres a couple photos of Kristy crankin some other classics on our brief visit to the blueies

tombstone wall....direct start 24..my hardest onsight...leading to easier climbing above...Kristy demonstrating the upper 5.10 section of another classic blueies arete once the desperate crux start was long gone(out of view)...

oh yeah...Kristy topping out on hocus pocus (8)..about 5.2 but super exposed flake climbing, overhangs, face jugs and just the best full-value climbing in its 50metres....yeow!!! The guidebook calls this another MUST DO route for good reason....and you save the 3km hike out by topping out on this route, hence the packs...

Did some coastal bouldering on fantastic granite!!! Another great typical Australian sunny day and some technical bouldering that reminded me exactly of the bouldering on Dover Island, Nova Scotia....

Some random rocks in Victoria....made for a nice rest break...possibly never climbed before...oh except for me.

OK....I guess that completes the Climbing nerd part of my blog...my apologies for those less inclined to care....Here is some photos of other stuff accomplished in this epic 2 week whirlwind mission down the east coast of Australia...

of course....some nice waves were harvested along this coastal and cliffular exodus...

the classic point at Crescent Heads (nsw) beginning to show some form...

doin the tourist thing...

Australian Capital Buildings....no I didn't meet John Howard.

The highest point in Australia, Mt. Kosciusko, the easiest of the Seven Summits...nice walk.

Thats a brief pictoral synopsis of what I did in the last 2 weeks....hope you enjoyed the photos...

2/3 Done my Planning Masters!!!!

2006-11-16T17:32:00.000+09:30

Wow!!! Its been a rush, sleepless nights, punctuated by sleepy days, cramming, maxing and cranking and working as well....its amazing just how much you can fit into a day....or how long can you last????

The term ended in its usual anti-climactic state, where all of a sudden, all work and dealines are no more apparent, and you get the feeling that this whole school business is a little bit of a rip-off and for your efforts you shoud at least get a XXXL tee shirt, some socks or some other token gift for your efforts.

Haha...so I decided to cure the mal-content of myself, classmates, climbing buddies, and some girls I knew by hosting yet another hugely successful party at 81 ninth ave, St. Lucia. Probably 70+ people came (the house was packed!!!), drank and were exceedingly merry!!! Another hit. So I've included a couple choice photos, as usual the late-goers ended up on the roof, and heres a micro snippet of some of my best mates that make life so damn good right now.

enjoy the pics

Soft rock adventure....

2006-10-31T17:11:00.000+09:30

Managed to sneak out of the city and climb at a pretty fantastic crag in the Glasshouse Mountains an hour north of Brisbane on Sunday. This crag is a typical Ryholite volcanic type that cools slowly from molten rock, leaving behind columar pillars with cracks and aretes----aka.....excellent climbing. The rock was a little soft (maybe like hard chalk) and gear probably would have ripped out in a big fall, but was fantastic to climb, and highly featured...

Heres some pics of the day, did a fantastic 5star climb called 'icehouse'...very scary but altogether straightforward and a long rope stretching 50m pitch...lots of air!!

heres the view....

ready for some runouts on soft rock...

Kristy following

Enough already...too hot!

lots of fun for all...and we drank about 10 litres of water each!

To the late Simon Vos....

2006-10-16T07:51:00.000+09:30

A really good friend/climber passed away this last Saturday...details not necessary, but he was doing what he loved as always and the accident was out of his control. The 'hardest' climber I knew personally, but the softest person.

Simon's death has really touched my life personally, and as always the grieving are left with the stark realisation that death is a natural part of the life cycle, and almost the one thing we are guaranteed in life...is death. What hits home is a) how much we take people for granted, and b) that we often don't get to say goodbye.

I guess in any situation there are positives that come to fruition, certainly with Simon, who eminates true stoke and was always a true gentlemen....has left a lasting impact on the climbing community in Brisbane and SE Queensland, and was an inspiration to us all....He pushed everyone around him to better themselves and constantly improve, the first to offer advice, the last to leave and one of the funniest people to be around.

I keep thinking this was a bad dream...and he'll ring me up with some epic idea for the weekend...

Some pictures of 'thumbs up' Simon on some climbing trips around SE Queensland...

Somewhere up high...note the bad rock and he's still smiling!

Classic goofer

Rackin up for a big one...

Simon!

Simon and Vince

Too many amazing trips and memories...hope the climbs are long and the rock perfect...

Hes totally gonna get reincarnated as a lizard...Although maybe that was his previous life...???

Thanks mate...it was a pleasure.

Granite Playground

2006-10-02T13:18:00.000+09:30

Managed to do another low-cost mission into the Australian brushland to climb some uniquely featured rocks in the Girraween Nat'l park.

This area is amazing, part of the granite belt near the NSW/Qland border, it is characterised by a moonscape of granite, balancing rocks, boulders and huge multipitch slabs...Brought a whole rack and placed maybe 5 peices of pro all weekend and clipped lots of runout, rusty bolts...

But really inspiring to exist in such a cool setting, so far removed from the hustle and bustle of the Brisbane/SE Queensland lifestyle. To relax in the crisp air, see stars again and watch the Kangaroos and Parrots frolic in the wilderness, completely oblivious to our presence. Its good to get back to our human roots and not ignore our ties with the natural environment, away from the luxurious and capitalistic lifestyles that dominate our existence.

Its getting into crunch time as the school semester deadlines are approaching quickly. Lots of late-nights will characterise this period until about the end of October. Maybe a couple of binge-climbing events will highlight my existence during this period...working in a psuedo-proffessional position has stretched my remaining time resources significantly.

Update....

2006-09-18T14:34:00.000+09:30

My first day back on the rock in over a month since the dislocation....yay...took it pretty easy and only climbed routes that wouldn't aggravate the injury....like witches cauldron, a cruisy multi cracked dual corner with a hugely overhanging roof with perfect hand cracks and jugs to finish...maybe 5.7 and BOMBER GEAR!!! Nice and safe!!!

Kristy wondering how to negotiate the massive roof.....hmmmm

Kristy given 'r on the overhang section!!!

I'm a grown-up now.....!

Don't feed the kangaroos....but its ok to shoot them! Everythings a little different 'down under'... instead 'Feed the Rat'

Its days like this, perfect weather and fun climbing that make life so incredibly simple...so satisfying and just so undescribably sublime...i think the smile on my face right now says it all...

danger boy out.

just realized something...

2006-09-14T09:36:00.000+09:30

This pretty much sums up this whole Masters Degree thing in a foreign counrty...

"I'm living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be living apart."
- e e cummings (1894-1962)

My income from working at Cardno Consultants will not help me break even the frontier of my debts...

eeek. Like those little Pika creatures in the mountains...

eeek.

The Wonder Drug!!!!

2006-09-11T19:03:00.000+09:30

Here it is...the key to my fast recovery!!!

GLUCOSAMINE SULFATE!!! On a bed of Cams.....

best 23$ ever! This pseudo-nutrient /amino sugar found from ground up shells makes my knee feel real nice and aids the recovery and re-development of cartilage...which is what I toasted real fast on that climb!!!

Oh and no one can forget the wonders of Aspirin!!!

So yeah, should be up and at-em by about Christmas!!! Ahhhhh not so bad...

Talk Soon kids!

New Goals....

2006-09-04T14:05:00.000+09:30

For mid-late Summer 2007....Both long faces involve significant routefinding, crack climbing, teamwork and hairy descents...definetely both are a multi-day affair. Success on either of these routes would be an incredible achievement.

The left skyline of South Howser Tower in the Bugaboos

or the SE face of Lotus Flower Tower in the Cirque of Unclimbables, Yukon

yeeeek!!!

2006-08-26T21:33:00.000+09:30

Wow!! A weekend of testing the limits...Climbing more sought-after Frog Buttress testpeices...

The mega-exposed borderline 29 (5.10-)....just AWESOME!!

and the classic rock architecture of devils dehedral (5.10+)

Unfortunately my weekend ended in pain...a dislocated knee (from a nice whipper) and probably a couple weeks off the rock!! Hey whatevers, time to study, yoga and study...maybe study...

Time is moving fast-forward!!!!

2006-08-22T14:01:00.000+09:30

Cool!!! Just gotten a job with a well known Aussie environmental consulting firm, as well as trying to maintain my full-time student status and trying to find time for climbinga couple times a week, and surfing at least once a fortnight to ensure sanity....

Heres a couple photos of me surfing perfect small waves at Ti Tree Bay, Noosa Heads National Park this weekend...

This surf was as fun as it looks!!!

Another Weekend...

2006-08-14T13:54:00.000+09:30

Another amazing climb went down....this was a really exceptional one...Called Sunburn Buttress...

You gotta just love Australia...its mid winter, we still go multi-pitch climbing with no bags, no shirts and just wearings shorts and sunscreen!!! Up and down in four hours...a couple of bolts in the right spots, some good gear, some bad...overall awesome climbing with good movements and lots of variation in the climbing, from cracks to corners, to juggy overhangs to thin face...about sustained 5.10 in a couple places with lots of air and funky featured volcanic rock! Super fun...and no epics!

Sweet. So lucky to be here in SE Queensland right now.

Its been a while....

2006-08-07T18:14:00.000+09:30

Since the last post....sorry people who care! Well its been busy as! On the school front I am securing a thesis project doing environmental planning for a coal mining operation in Australia. Hopefully this pans out... Back into--and fully immersed in the incomprehensible grind of the mAsters degree, time is a valuable commodity.

Yet one finds time to have one last weekend of climbing glory at frog buttress with my trusty French climbing partner Vince. We hit up many classics, notebles include our fav route Gladiator 10a, see below...

group shot after several laps of off-fingers on this route after the initial lead...

Later I onsighted my hardest crack yet...Sorcerers apprentice 5.10c/d on the thin and inspiring lines off the warlock ledge..also see below...

too cool....

starting the apprenticship...

these are photos from after our weekend of glory, climbing test peice classics under perfect winter conditions and returning for Vince's farewell party!!!....

Unfortunately our weekend of amazing cragging was slightly marred by the knowledge of yet another classic swell on the coast, refracting into the numerable Australian East coast coves and beaches....Thanks of course to Mr Leon Hunter for sending me the photos of 'HOW GOOD IT WAS'!!! Haha....either way everyone is smiling like lunatics...

Talk soon....

Wow!

2006-07-23T13:09:00.000+09:30

There it is....the best swell of my life! 3 days of a 3-4metre waves that pumped from behind the rock at Snapper, through rainbow bay..the killer dredging barrels of greenmount and into the racy, heavy barrels of Kirra point 2-3 kms later...These are not mushy waves either, making sections involves high speed racing through the pitching and barrelling sections of the wave...

I can not count the number of ridiculous barrels on many rides lasting yes. MINUTES. Go figure!! ALL of the 400-600 surfers out along the 3 kms of point were stoooked! These are special moments when the swells and winds and sandbanks are all in perfection, and all factors producing quality surf coalesce to produce these perfect refracting waves for surfers to ride...

Sadly I have no photos as my camera is kaput. But it looked something like this...erm with a few more people out!

Thanks old King Neptune for 3 days of absolute oceanic glory!!!!!! And one cannot forget the timeless efforts of the Gold Coast City Council for the Tweed river bypass project which resulted in the dredging and deposition of sand in Rainbow Bay to allow what used to be four separate waves to become one long high speed surfing experience!

Vive le France!!

2006-07-13T17:44:00.000+09:30

Lately I've been spending a bit of time climbing with some crack climbing affectionadoes...and they are French. These guys rock! Hard finger jams, hand cracks and offwidths..they rule! Every crankin day is followed by wine and food...ahh food almost as good as Mom and Ron! Pleeze passs me ze vine!

French Vince starting another 50m classic Frog buttress jamming testpeice!

Imagine if you lived 30 mins from this crag...

Not more wine!

Enjoy the photos...a micro snippet of the last 3 weeks...

Been climbing some ridiculous multi-pitch and cracks lately, meeting some incredible people at the same time. The much anticipated school break is now nearing its denouement, and soon the rigours of a masters degree will be in full effect. This is a good thing. School has taught me more in 3 months than I have learned in the last 10!

Bring it on.

Miss all you Frenchies returning to the land of cheese, wine and hairy arm
pits...thanks for the countless memories involving roadtrips, climbing, partying and of course friendships marred by broken english and improper use of verbs!!!

A Beintot

Warrumbungles Trip...

2006-06-29T12:33:00.000+09:30

We came to climb spires, this we did! Long routes, long runouts, exposure but fun classic climbing an good weather characterized this trip. Simon, Stephanie FrenchVince and myself...enjoy the photos...

Coastal Newcastle....

2006-06-17T08:53:00.000+09:30

What a cool city....and COOL CATs!!!
what a great couple of days!!!

Does this guy have classic style or what?!

2006-06-09T10:49:00.000+09:30

2006-05-29T11:05:00.000+09:30

California's Dane Peterson, setting up for a nice lip service on the closeout shorepound following a reeling, high speed noosa wave...all the way from the point... into Tea Tree cove....

That was a fun sesh to remember for a while!!! Too many looong rides...my legs are sore 2 days later!

Heres to the leashless crowd!

got some!!!!

2006-05-28T15:19:00.000+09:30

It was a while in the making (see feedback cycle of anticipation below)...but we got some nice little, looong waves at Noosa this weekend. A playful swell from New Caledonia brought a lined up, cute little swell to refract into Noosa's various points and coves!! Favourable winds and friendly local crew made this a fine day of surf...

Back to the books....

its hard being a coast-a-holic...

2006-05-12T09:49:00.000+09:30

but someone's gotta do it....

Living in Brisbane, about 45min drive from some of the most playful sand bottom point breaks in the world...yet I surf about once a fortnight...if that. School takes priority, and deadlines seem to have an excellent correlation with good swells!!!! Hmmm..in essence I get to surf when its pumping, but I miss those fun little, 'just to get wet' sessions or those perfect little small days with two guys out....

What I'm thankful for though, is the new appreciation I have developed for good swells,,...an excellent renewable, environmentally sustainable fun source....!!!! damn yeah... I come to the coast for new swells with a smile greater than a split watermelon, great for the stoke factor and my reputation in the lineup...

Maybe patience is a virtue...like now, waiting for a groundswell to arrive 4 days from now...and trying in vain to concentrate on schoolwork.

I have developed a model that conceptually illustrates the aforementioned notion of anticipation...

Anticipation + time waited + stoke coefficient + weather coefficients = >appreciation + further coastal addictions.....then begins the feedback cycle!!

hopefully it will be as fun as this...see below

in between studies....

2006-04-30T17:41:00.000+09:30

Caught Noosa heads looking like a postcard.

2006-04-24T20:30:00.000+09:30

Back to the coast after a weekend of climbing, one does not expect even more icing on the cake.....Kirra, doing its cylinder machine thing in the afternoon glare.

more E.face mt. marroon...

2006-04-24T19:53:00.000+09:30

obviously I'm stoked on this!

Top of the pinnacle and almost there....

objective completed!

2006-04-24T19:12:00.000+09:30

.... about pitch 3, halfway up the east face! Radical exposure was imminent at this stage, but the rock was sculpted to perfection, and marveous to climb! Despite the east faces notoriety for long runouts and huge fall potential, we found excellent/obvious gear placements and ample protection when needed. Even comfortable belay ledges!! It dosen't get any better than this!

A new objective.

2006-04-20T18:55:00.000+09:30

Its a classic Australian rock route called 'Ruby of India'...apparently its quite scary. None-the-less, a worthy, maybe testing objective.

2006-04-01T20:14:00.000+09:30

---The sense of contentment is a key factor for attaining happiness. Bodily health, material wealth, companionship and friendship are 3 factors for happiness. Contentment is the key that will determine the outcome of your relations with the above factors ---

the XIV Dalai Lama...

Hmmmm......

2006-03-15T21:30:00.000+09:30

--------------------------------------------------------
March 23-26, Noosa Heads Nat'l Park....Cyclone Wati

A much needed, groomed cyclone groundswell graced the east coast with
its sweeping lines....many waves and smiles alike.

--------------------------------------------
Thanks James, for spawning the idea of starting a blog...now I can spend countless hours putzing around on here instead of being productive!

Nah, just a way for the parents, fam and friends to check up on my wherabouts and have a glimpse into some spare time activities (check the links to a slideshow)...hopefully you enjoy it. Feel free to comment...at least I'll know if anyone even checks it out.....