Loose rock :(

Had a complicated few days. It all started when my climbing partner, Merlin, pulled off a massive piece of rock, ripped a piece of pro and hit the ground on rope stretch from about 15 metres up. It's amazing how the first aid training you never think you will remember trickles into the driving seat like some kind of automated reflex. Swear violently, Check self, swear, check casualty, shout for help, swear, put casualty in recovery position, run for help, send specific person to phone for help, get back to casualty immediately with reinforcements...



The block that nearly ended Merlin and I. 

Not textbook perfect but the wave of relief I experienced when I found Merlin had regained consciousness and moved was immense. From there on in various climbers then paramedics evaced him to hospital by ground then air. All the signs so far are that he will make a full recovery in a short period of time. I'll refrain from posting bloody closeups and settle for the boulder he pulled off.

On a lighter note the wildlife is really upping the ante at the moment. A massive huntsman spider scared the living daylights out of me, the mosquito incursion is turning into a full blown

Bearded dragon

invasion from which I have hundreds of bites and every night before I go to sleep I have to persuade my resident stumpy and his wife to move to a more convenient location under the groundsheet of my tent. There is also an amazingly tollerant bearded dragon whose territory is right in the middle of the campsight.

Me on Kachoong

On the climbing front I redpointed Have A Good Flight Direct, 27, my first 7c it would seem which is a pretty awesome milestone, now it's on to 8a I guess! Hard trad was on the cards till the boulder incident, now however the fuzz have impounded my gear for an investigation and a wee bit of sport using my brand new boots of agony seems the only likely activity for a few days. Talking of trad leads, I can now post a piccy of me on Kachoong.

Finally, I had an interesting time rescuing a pretty girl from a free hanging abseil after her belay device ate most of her hair. It turns out that if you approach on prussic from below (helpfully keeps the belay device locked so it can't move and make the situation worse) and don't want to cut the hair, you can get both peoples weight off the rope with a prussic above the belay device and a setup to hoist the trapped person with your own body weight. I assume this is pretty similar to a big wall hoist for bags that are not too heavy.