Week 1 - Mt Fox and Buandik

Been down in the Gramps for a week now.The weather has been awesome and the Bouldering has far exceeded my expectations! Mt Fox is amazing, the quality of rock is in some parts better than the Northern Grampains. I had a lucky first day flashing a problem that was high up on the tick list Outside V11, A absolute stunner of a line! The crux is at the start on some tiny crimps and the feet are big and obvious. It's just a matter of execution and pulling super hard on the tiny first holds! Props to Dave Kellermann for establishing this world class line, which will no doubt be sort after by internationals for many years to come!

After having a look around some of the other area's, I spoke with Dave about a problem in the first sector up to the right which had awesome potential of becoming an area favorite. The boulder was simple and steep with 3 killer rails that had some nice incut edges. It was pretty much just a matter of dynoing from one rail to the next and was completely dependent on raw power. The problem suited my style and went down pretty much straight away, I decided on "159" V9, because it climbed just like a campus board with the previous rail being used as feet for the following moves to come.

After spending a couple of days at Mt Fox I decided to check out what Buandik had to offer in terms of boulders. Last year I ventured up the steep hill for a day of Sport Climbing, little did I know that the walk in was surrounded by what could only be compared to as a mini Andersons. If your keen on hard bouldering V9 - V14, this is the place for you! There is 50 or so established lines, most of them high quality solid orange sandstone goodness. Some of the boulders have holds similar to "Grip Master" in the North, others are more like the rock in the Trackside Area. If you've ever climbed in those area's before, then you know what I am talking about.

On the first day I went straight to Roobexcube, passing though Skull area I stumbled across a sweet cave which had a couple of really nice looking holds. This climb in days to come, because a working project which I haven't managed to send yet. The crux consist of a super hard gaston from a bad pinch into a perfect sloppy triangle in the roof of the cave, from there it's about V8 though the topout. I've decided to take a break from this boulder after 3 solid sessions of effort trying to pull the first move. I should also mention Roobexcube is a world class line and probably the best boulder in the Buandik area.

Developing a Tick List

Well I've been working up to going on another climbing trip ever since my finger started to show sighs of improvement.

This Saturday it's down to the Southern Gramps to start work on some of the recently developed boulders around the Buandik campground and Mt Fox area. I'm really excited to do some exploring and hopefully tick a few classics!

In the first week I plan to focus on getting conditioned to outdoor bouldering again, there are two boulders I want to get on straight away, Simplicity v12 & Roobixcube V12.

Apparently the two boulders are on the softer end of V12 and hopefully will give me the confidence boost needed to have a good go at Cherry Picking V13, the biggest objective for me of the entire trip!
I guess I'll just have to see how strong I'm feeling and how suited the climbs are to my style... hoping for the best!!