Better Times

Well, the cool weather arrived right after the torrential rain and showed me just how much of a difference conditions make. Heat and humidity rob me of around 2 or 3 grades :(.

I have moved to the Grampians and spent the last few days at Taipan Wall. Arriving under the wall and looking up was an awe inspiring experience, I can't remember the last time I stood at a cliff and felt soul sapping fear before I had even found the routes. I "warmed up" with an on sight of first pitch of Seventh Banana (23) and then took 2 days to redpoint The Invisible Fist of Professor Hiddich Smiddich (26). The latter is what Australians call a "sporting sport" route, i.e. The first bolt is 6 metres up and there is 4+ metres between every bolt thereafter. After this, I chickened out of trying anything harder on Taipan wall and instead scared myself at least as much on an adjacent cliff trying a feindishly technical slab route where my feet sloshed around my shoes in a bath of sweat and the sun burned me off the cliff.

I am now off to either Bundaleer or the Gallery for some more steep sport nonsense that the cooler and showery weather should fit in with just fine.

Being on holiday for such a long period has forced me to stretch my culinary skills beyond the ubiquitous pasta + sauce of most previous holidays and for posterity, I shall include here a sample recipe from my camp cooking repetoire:

Sausage Suprise
(Serves 2 real men)

Ingredients:
6 lamb sausages, chopped into short pieces.
1 jar apple sauce
2 large onions, sliced.
200g mushrooms, sliced
Several cloves Garlic, sliced
8 medium sized potatoes
paprika
salt
olive oil
runny honey

Recipe:
1) Put the potatoes in a pot of salty water and simmer.
2) Fry the sausages in olive oil till nearly done, then add the onions and garlic and fry till onions soft, then add onions and fry for another 2 minutes or so.
3) Add the apple sauce, a pinch of salt, some paprika or whatever other spice is to hand and a generous squeeze of honey to the sausages. Continue to heat till whole mixture is hot.
4) drain potatoes, add the whole lot together and eat. Best served with clearskin special Aldi red wine (or slightly green looking rain water from the camp tank.)