philbox
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Mar 3, 2003, 2:11 AM
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Registered: Jun 27, 2002
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Since Frog Buttress has been closed for quite a lot of time lately due to fire restrictions we have been forced to look further afield for our climbing entertainment. As it so happens Lee and I and also Cameron and I have been doing a bit of work on Mt. Tibrogargan. We`ve been plying the trade routes and sorting out the guide so that instead of vague definitions of where climbs go we now have precise directions so that hopefully the starts are easy to find and people canfind their way up the routes.
In the past routes on Tibro have read like this, start at obvious corner at dead tree stump and climb to top of mountain. Of course this pretty much represented all the climbs in the Glasshouses so route finding was a little problematic to say the least. Lees online guide linked to this site is soooo easy to upgrade and as the classic old routes are being climbed again the knowledge found out about these climbs is added to the guide.
Due to the imprecise route descriptions in the past getting oneself off route was pretty much par for the course on the front face of Tibro and as a result climbing on that mountain gained somewhat of a reputation. A few of the routes exhorted the unfamiliar novice not to stray off course otherwise he would find himself in "exciting" territory. Now all of what went on in the past has been somewhat remedied and a climber can now be much more assured of accuracy when following the guidebook descriptions particularly for the trade routes such as Clemency, Lancelot and Dreadnought.
With these lines firmly described we are now finding that there were gaps in the Exciting territory. Some of the old routes have old pitons on them for belay anchors and those pitons that have deteriorated have been replaced with stainless steel fixed hangers or SS rap anchors but only as necessary to maintain the nature of the climb. No bolts have been added to these old trade routes. Lancelot desperately needs a bolt at the unprotectable crux but will not have that work done on it unless the original ascentionists can be contacted. Lancelot is a fantastic climb but for that moment of desperation.
Well last weekend on Sunday Cameron and I headed up to Clemency Terrace to see if we could fill in some gaps in the "exciting" territory. We had been scoping this out both with Lee and Cam and the time has come to get ourselves on some of the steep lines above Clemency Terrace.
Cameron took the first steep crack line 4 metres to the right of the Clemency rap anchor. This was indeed a starry climb as it turned out with elements of Frog Buttress and Arapilies thrown in. Towards the top there was a hint of The Guns Of Navarone style of climbing. I seconded Cam with some difficulty and gained the ledge and took off into the corner and then up under some suspended flakes, (ooh scary).
Once I pulled over the lip it was up to establish the anchors and Cam joined me and we both rapped off in different directions to see what we could scope out for new routing potential. Cam placed a couple of bolts to give a more direct line to the second pitch and of course instead of the grade 18 pitch that I did it went up to 24. So we`ve got two variants for pitch 2. Pitch one is grade 23. This climbs name is ***The Sword In The Stone 45 metre grade 24.
While rapping I started working a route that is going to be mega hard, I may have bitten off more than I can chew. It could potentially go at grade 29. It will need to be equipped with rings on the bottom half. There`s plenty of holds but they are small and it is quite overhung. A couple of big moves on small negative holds with no feet is what will determine the grade.
Anyway it`s my turn to get on the pointy end so I find an obvious line 4 metres to the left of the Clemency Terrace rap anchor. The start is a bit gymnastic and bouldery requiring a spot to get oneself established on wonderful holds and trad protection. Such a fun climb. The first pitch shares a belay with The Sword And The Stone. Second pitch is equally awesome and the rock is surprisingly stable by Tibro standards.
My climb I called **The Court Jester 35m 17.
I really am dumfounded that such starry climbs have gone unclimbed for so long. There is soooo much potential on Tibro. The rock is soooo good. Sure it does suffer from the occassional loose bit of rock but what cliff doesn`t. The thing is with Tibro it is such a massive chunk of rock that really has not seen enough development.
More new routes to come of that I am positive.
...Phil...
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