Compressor Route

Weekend Report of the 3rd of June 2000

After several weeks off climbing because of other commitments (shock! horror! - I have a life outside climbing!), Nick and I decided to return to Centurion to bolt some new projects. My motivation for climbing was at an all time low becasue I had no projects to train for. Nick and Adam had been bouldering regualry during the week and were cranking plastic like demons. I have no hope of keeping up with these guys. Nick's regular multipanel traverses at Burnley have become legendary.

After numerous disasteers in gaining a battery powered drill for our bolting adventures, we finally gave up and hired a genrator and a rotary hammer drill. The generator we got was huge, wieghing about 40kg, so it required two of us to carry it. We set off into the night on Friday with so much gear that we could easily have been a construction crew. Packs of glue, fifty ring bolts, drill bits, ascenders, drills, ect... filled up the entire back of the car. Somehow we managed to squeeze in Adam in the back so we had a team of three.

A dawn start to avoid an 'uncomfortable' run ins with the local authorities meant we were lugging the generator in by 8am. What normally takes fifteen minutes to walk took us an hour of brutal dragging and carrying to get it to the cliff. This was pure torture, especially when we had to keep lifting the generator over large fallen trees and and termite mounds. After gaining the 'Hillary Step' and circumnativating the 'Eastern Ridge' we finally got to the cliff. Soon enough, Nick and I had rigged ropes and the drilling had commenced. I bolted a new line I had checked out on numerous other occasions. I had even attempted to toprope it a last year but was hampered by the seven metres of overhang in twenty metres of height. It is direct line about 20m right of Killer Wolf. I only just got the last bolts in as the rain started coming down. There is nothing scarier than using 240v power tools in the rain whilst stuck twenty metres up a cliff. Using lots of aiding tricks I placed my bolts and then passed the drill over to Nick. He added some new bolts to Killer Wolf, his old project, so he could climb a new left hand varient.

Neil ponders over the size of the generator

Neil resting whilst drilling the lower bolts of the Compressor Route.

Nick weighs in with the drill on Killer Wolf.

Meanwhile Adam went off bouldering on the orange bulges underneath Centrifugal Force. He found a super desperate problem that goes up the 'penis' feature that Tom Briggs (UK) had played on previously. He eventually ticked this mega hard slap problem which I think would be solid V6 or so. Adam is so strong when it comes to bouldering, he just needs to use his bouldering mind for routes. We then added a bolt to Ton Stien Sherben and I placed twin rings on Winged Corpse. The thankless task of dragging the generator commenced and was finished in the dark. The generator was looking rather trashed since we practicly threw it down the hill on numerous occasions.

Adam cranks 'like a machine, yere' on his V6 problem.

The next day we actually did some climbing! Nick did the FFA of Killer Wolf (21) via a left hand varient. It is awesome Kachoong style roof and mega pumpy traverse. I did the 2nd ascent first go. This climb will now be the trade route warm up for the crag.

Nick cranks the FFA of Killer Wolf via the left hand variant (21)

I then dogged up my new super project dubbed, The Compressor Route. 9 bolts, 20m long and about grade 27. Super steep travere start and a 20' overhung pocketed wall at the end makes for a very sustained climb. No move would be under grade 20. I need to train some more for this one!

We did a few other routes, Adam took an 8m lob off the top of my Centrifugal Force (23) when a hold snapped. Nick also took some whippers trying an ascent of Ton Stien Sherben.

Nick discovers the lack of holds on the roof crux of Ton Stien Sherben (24).