Photos by kachoong

Keith just about at the start of the business of Tannin.

One of the better dihedrals of the grade at Arapiles. Great jams and stemming.

...getting photos on Kachoong!

Fabi, pleased the rain has stopped, as we top out on the back wall of the Pharohs.

A relatively rare photograph of Kachoong; without the great roof in view. The face below the roof actually needs a bit more technique than the roof itself.

Tannin. One of so many classic lines at Arapiles

A sunrise just before the wind and rain on the last day of the 2009 Rendezvous.

The east face of Bridge Mountain at sunrise just before the onset of doom!

Pausing to check out the route and the scenery, kachoong enjoys the perfect setting of climbing at Tonsai tower on the island of Phi Phi, Thailand.

A perfect evening in paradise.

I nice look at the Tonsai walls from a longboat.

Looking SE towards Thaiwand Wall and Happy Island.

Deep in thought and commitment, this unknown boulderer attempts to navigate the arete of this great boulder problem during the New River Rendezvous bouldering comp.

An unknown climber attempting the lip on this well chalked classic at Hawks Nest during the New River Rendezvous bouldering comp.

....to those who tread before me! This is certainly ballsy bouldering anywhere on the Split Boulders. I only got a few moves up before retreating.

Follow the bolts on this "well-protected" classic climb for some fun and a little exposure. A good 10-15 feet between bolts, but well worth the effort!

Ever heard mice (or were they Proks?) rambling on inside a hand crack? There were so many I thought they were going to attack while I balanced my way up this sparcely protected slab route on the back of Enchanted Rock.

A climber finding a hidden good hold on this classic, but very gear-fiddly 10a at E-Rock. One of the most labor-intensive 10a's I've climbed.

....to your diet.... and eat more greens! That's certainly what I needed before this unsuccessful onsight attempt. Not long after this photo I proceeded to whip about 15 feet, pulling a HB offset and being held by another HB offset.

Elliott getting the most out of the last good fist jams before the crack starts gobbling up all his big-ass cams.

....and the crack only gets thicker! Here is Elliott, cruising up this classic E-Rock corner crack (hands to off-width).

In a dire effort to save some dignity, Dave digs in deep to pull off a top rope ascent of this powerful, yet beautiful crack climb.

Jay shows us how it’s done, cruising this pumpy, but awesome 10c near Diamond Point.

Here’s the well-known bridge of The New. What was it that could fit under it? A Washington Monument, two Statue of Liberties, three Chevies, a keg of beer and a 0.5 Camalot… or something like that.

Actually, the tree doesn’t come for another 10 feet. This is one of the most pleasant 5.6 climbs I’ve done. The traverse is fun without hands or elbows… apparently only head, hips and knees are allowed ;-)

....with his bare.... hands.... Our very own J_ung reaches through the crux of this "heady" New River trad classic.

Here's Jay navigating the fairly bold lead of Angel's Arete (10c). He said he'd eat 6ft of rope if we didn't enjoy the climbing at the New....We loved the climbing and yet here he is eating a carabiner. Go figure!

It's quite stark, the contrast in landscapes you'll find in Australia, on any road trip. Ironically, I managed to ride across some of Australia's many flat plains on my way to one of the best climbing crags in the world..... Arapiles. This particular road trip I did solo on my GS650.

Anyone need to find Jay's house, just follow the signs.... (this is a true town name on the way to Arapiles from Bendigo, Australia.... population 100 or so)

....one of these rocks will roll over onto me.... and that'll teach me to pretend I can boulder....

....a few longer steps for someone shorter.... Dave begins to wonder what will confront him once he summits the Nailbiter splitter on such a bleek day. Climbing on the leeside of the prevailing piercing wind, he enjoys the calm before the storm.

Having gone past the "You'd better not fall from there" line, Kachoong negotiates the last high step on the arete of this 20ft Arapiles boulder.

Belayed by what looks like his intestines, Kachoong pushes every ounch of slab technique out of his bag of treacle for this holdless 5.11b/c.

To gain the first carrot on this newly established climb, Kachoong uses precise movements to highball to the first bolt at about 16 feet.

....of wires, cams and hexes should be practised by every health-conscious climber.

Finding rests while climbing trad is all relative.... here Kachoong settles into the comfort of hammock ready to drink a glass of beer.... or is it a jug!?

The landscape surrounding Frog Buttress is enough to distract even the most attentive belayer.

Focused on the job, Dave blasts a move or two before he can continue thinking of more pleasant things in life other than hand jamming.

Dave cranks hard through the jams, facing the consequence of a four week break from trad climbing. Despite the short length of this climb, its superb quality makes up for it.

Not too thin, not too far.... just right. Kachoong makes easy work of the crux on this classic Urbanville slab route.

There's something about slab climbing at this grade that is very relaxing.... nothing too tough for too long.... This was a very enjoyable climb.

Kachoong sets his sights on grappling with the crux.... in the end it was over before he could give out a war cry.... bugger. Great climb!

Making sure the foot placement sticks, Kachoong floats through the crux of this classic 10c bulging slab at the Pines, Urbanville.

I wondered whether "scratchy" referred to the sharp, edgy nature of the slab climbing at this Urbanville crag. It didn't take too long to realise the meaning once the tree started to poke me in the back with it's needles.

Here's a peek at Crater Bluff in the Warrumbungles, NSW, Australia as seen from the High Tops trail. Cornerstone Rib, the 200m (600') classic 14 (5.6) can be seen on the right half of the face.

This photo is to show how Philbox sets himself up to take photos at a few of the crags around SE Queensland. With his 100m static line tensioned between the top of the cliff and the bottom he attaches to it via a pulley. He sets himself on a rappel line and uses a prussik to gain distance out from the cliff towards the "trolleyline".

There's a lot of rock on this side of Beerwah, and most of it would be unclimbed.

Not too much activity on this 400m high south-facing side of Beerwah. Plenty of route potential.

A close up of the colourful nature of a section of rock at Frog Buttress, Queensland. The rock is rhyolite, in some places being fairly rough and completely smooth in others. It forms perfect splitter cracks of all sizes, dihedrals, corners, chimneys and almost blank crimpy faces.

Hugh finds the upper half of the Electric Gorilla a little less unnerving than the first desperate 30 feet.