Tom O’Halloran
COVID has been a hard time for everyone. Between people losing their jobs, businesses being forced to close, families being cut off from each other and life in general being totally flipped and cooked upside down.
As humans we adapt and make the best of a bad situation. That that doesn’t bend, breaks. Work from home, buy a mountain bike, spend more time with the family or cut sick on some rock projects. The later has been what’s gone down in Sydney boulder scene recently with a few significant sends. So here I present to you a semi complete list of what’s gone down.
Daoism, V12. Eli with that feeling when you know its in the bag! First slip, Sam Healy goes up in celebration. Second slip, Liam Healy isn’t too sure yet.
Daoism, at the Balkans first climbed by James Scarborough in 2003 and snuck into the guide as V10. People tried it over the years, with some infrequent sends. Chris Webb managed it, Sharik Walker and Al Pryce perhaps? and Tom Farrell more recently. These names are the who’s who in the Australian bouldering Zoo. Considering the problem sits smack in the middle of one of the most popular boulder crags in Sydney you’d expect more repeats if it’s only V10.
Recently it’s received some attention from the COVID unemployed. Sam Healy and Elijah Mercado took down the Sydney test piece confirming its #notv10 and probably closer to V12. The sit start is next on the cards for the boys, a few extra moves that Tom Farrell added to the boulder last year which clocked in at V13. We just need Liam, Sam’s twin brother to get up the boulder now for a triple takedown from the three amigos. Sam also climbed Seige Down Under, V11, a boulder to the right of Daoism.
EDIT: after this went to print? is that the phrase? after it became 1’s and 0’s code? anyway, Liam sent Daoism. Three amigo takedown! Get to work on the sit fellas.
On a non-boulder but equally impressive and Corona related side note, Eli managed a 5 second deadhang on the small edge on Beastmaker 2000 with an added 10kg. That's some enviable hangableness #lockdowngains.
Sam Healy continued his purple patch up in the Blue Mountains, with his ascent of an Underworld test piece Sack of Woe, 34/8c+. He spent a good chunk of days last winter season attempting the third ascent but came away empty handed. This year he returned with brother, Liam and they both set to work. After six days this season Liam nabbed the third ascent to the soundtrack of ‘Till I Collapse’ by Eminem. Fifteen minutes later Sam climbed the fourth ascent, choosing ‘Humble’ by Kendrick Lamar as his send tunes. Do the names of the songs mean anything? There are no accidents? Maybe, or they just got psyched and sent hard! Either way it was rad to watch.
Sam says the nine-move power drainer is the hardest thing he’s climbed so far. Which is no small statement considering he’s bouldered multiple V13’s and sport routes up to 34. Liam, forever the boulderer, thinks it was hard, but found the 30m endurance eater, Tiger Snatch, 30/8a+ at Elphinstone, to be much harder. Funny stuff. It’ll be cool to see what else the boys decide to tie in to this year.
The next day Sam went bouldering in the Ukulore Valley and knocked a monkey off his back, Jack to the Hobo’s V11, a crimpy classic in the Jungfrau sector. He’d tried multiple days coming up just short until making it happen last Sunday. He then set to work on the über classic And the Ass Saw the Angel, V13. In current form, I don’t think it’ll be long before another hard piece of climbing is in his pocket.
Considering we are only a few days into Winter, I predict a bit more sending to come. Exciting times.