2 pm and started the 1.4km walk down into the valley in 38 degree heat (this is not recommended! Early morning is much better on a hot day). Twenty minutes later we reached the bottom, and saw the cliff rising out of the glistening clear blue water of the Hawkesbury. After wading over to the crag, I followed my friends around to the top of the main overhang for the jump. Walking out onto its diving board like platform I suddenly noticed about fifteen boats, mostly cruisers, yachts and the odd houseboatall moored in the bay. Shannon stepped up and peered over, a girl squealed “JUMP!” from one of the boats. He casually obliged with a forward facing, backwards summersault and neatly splashed into the deep water below, the Bay erupting in hoots and hollers of admiration. After we had all jumped in, I swam along the cliff looking up at the great rock. After spying a few lines I hurried to get my shoes and chalk bag, climbed down a small chimney in the middle of the cliff to gain a small ledge running under the main roof, a couple of metres above the water. I sat there looking up at the steep roof for a while, trying to muster some minerals. Finally I decided on a safe looking line up a leaning corner crack on the edge of the main overhang. I headed up the crack and soon found it needed a lot of cleaning. Hanging there trying to brush the holds, I noticed that they tended right to the edge of the roof, so I traversed to the scooped arête on surprisingly big holds. By now people were beginning to watch and shout encouragement as I floundered on the lip just twenty metres from their boats. Finding a knee bar at the start of the arête I had a chance to rest and have a little look around. With my friends looking down from four metres above, I edged my way up the nice little leaning arête, only to pop a hold and fall uncontrollably sideways to slap the water hard on my side. The tingling and stinging was felt almost instantly as I swam back to the surface to whistles and cheers. The stinging soon faded as I dried off. I jumped back on, but this time I floated through the start Center Left: Monique Forestier on the first ascent of Piscean Passage (21) at Craftys. Photo: Simon Carter. Centre Right: Anthony Alexander on ‘Not Drowning, Waving’ (23) at Craftys. Photo: Simon Carter.
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crux: australasian.climbing.journal