Cape Raoul

Awaking to another stella day but with one difference... no wind! We chowed down on some muesli and had a quick brew. Rope fixed in place and knowing the walk we were at the base of the wedding cake and the first approach route Rain of Terror pretty cruisy trad 18, we fired up that then climbed Jihad to gain the top of the wedding cake. Traversing the wedding cake looking back on the cape a sense of isolation and seriousness of the position came over me. Exciting! We quickly found the rap anchors and descended down the other side of the wedding cake, following the obvious errosion of a climbers track we quickly regained the rock. It took us some time to find the correct line but finally did and were scrambling along the ridge again on the Stegasaraus pitch a kind of double finned ridge of rock like a Stegasauras' back. Once on the other side of this a short traverse got us to a notch above the seal colony and looking up at the pillars. I led up the chimney pitch to a bolted belay on a massive chockstone and staired up at the impressive line of Pole Dancer 22. Kez followed and leaning up looking at the arete above told me she was getting the first go at it. Handing over the draws Kerryn grappled with the arete, it may be a bolted route but the position and the exposure, seals grunting below, wind tearing at your clothes and the ocean smashing into the buttress a hundred metres below doesn't mean Pole Dancer is a sport route. Kez put in energy and fight to the climb but came off about half ay up with a screaming pump. I lowered her to the belay and Kez said it was my go, so I pulled the rope and started on the line. Nearly blowing off at the start, I pulled it together and found my flow and really enjoyed the rest of the route. After doing the route and coming back down Kez got pysched for another go but fell of in the same place, pulled on again and climbed the rest of the route. After some peanut butter sarnies and listening to seal banter I started up Certified Wise 23 tricky from the ground Certified Wise is one of the best lines I've ever climbed, thoughtful and engaging climbing leading from one unique feature to another. This route has so much soul that motown records is jealous, big props to the guys who went out there and put in the time to bolt this line. A real piece of climbing its 10 bolts in 35 metres mean its protected but exciting
Kez and I topped out on the pinnacle ending one of the coolest days climbing we've had well not really ending the day we still had; a 25m rap, 15m rap some 100m or so of roped scrambeling about the same unroped, 30m grade 16 chimney pitch then 50m traverse to two 30m abseils half hour walk back to the decsent gulley and 30m of rope to ascend there, thankfully our tent lay some 50m from here!