2 Weeks till T10

With only 2 Weeks until Thomo's T10 descends on Thompson's Point, there are a few things you need to know...

• Thomo's T10 is a social event designed to get climbers together to have a lot of fun. The competition aspect of it is just there to add to the fun, but not meant to be taken too seriously.

• The BBQ afterward will be held at Shoalhaven Caravan Village. There are cabins and plenty of camping space there, and nice bathrooms!
  
• They're at: 17 Terara Road, Nowra
• Phone: 02 4423 0770
• To get there, coming from the north, turn left at the second set of lights (Moss Street) after the bridge, just after the speed camera. Follow this road past Nowra High and after it curves right Shoalhaven Caravan Village is on the left.
• Click here for a map

• For the Opens and Youths (16 and under) the same scoring system will be used as last year. Opens must redpoint their route to get the points but Youths may top-rope. Bonus point routes will be announced shortly.
  
• There will be no Junior Category for 18 and 19 year olds!
• Pumpers get one point for every route they redpoint, whether it's a 13 or a 30!
• The Crag Lord Category is open to climbers who have been climbing for more than 20 years or have 5 children (photographic evidence required!).
• Crag Lords must also redpoint every route. they score 1 point for routes grade 15 and lower, 2 points for routes graded 16 to 20 and 3 points for routes graded 21 or harder.
• In all categories, you can only count a individual route once (no laps).

• Climbing starts at 7:30 am and finishes at 5:30 pm.

• Dave Filan, the man who put up the first route at Thomo's, has right of way at all times.

• The organisers take no responsibility for your safety, climbing is dangerous, hitting the ground hurts.
  

2009 kicks it up a gear

With routes being sent at a blistering increasing rate, the pace has been furious lately at The Home Of Power. Two significant new routes have been added and many old classics revisited as a cast of thousands including newly anointed Nowra climbers and old favourites continue to express their joy on the beautiful rock.

New Routes!!

The first of the new routes to find its way across the stone that loves to be climbed was Al Pryce's Hamgirdlar 31 at Cheesedale. This instant classic starts up Wam Bam Thank You Mam 24 and heads right, crossing Al's 2008 addition to the crag, Strike of the Silver Fox 27 and punching further out the roofs. Meanwhile, Matt Adams rediscovered an abandoned Paul Westwood project starting up Old, Fat and Married 17 at Bartondale and continues powerfully up the bulging wall above. Mr Teeny weighs in at grade 30.

The repeats have been plentiful.

• Bloc master, Marc Edwards showed his versatility, redpointing the shortest and longest routes at south central; Sperm Bitches 31 and Dungeon Master 31.
  
• Mayor of Faulconbridge, Andi Richardson found time betwen ground falls to repeat Metamophisis 30 at Cheesedale and Comin at Ya Hyper 27 at South Central.
• Pistol Pete Tosen continued to roam the comeback trail with an ascent of Lover Boy 30 at Thomo's.
• Sir Tickalot, Luke Geelen continued on his merry way, adding Brown Badge 27 to his 2009 booty bag.
• Young Penrith gun, Thom Samuels had great day. Having previously climbed only one 25, he tore Nowra up, onsighting Mega Mac 25 and doing Red Baron 26 4th go!
• Heather finally stopped listening to Nathan Hoette's beta and heeded the wise words of the man with the golden touch, Luke Geelen, to send Top One Thomo 27.
  
• Wollongong's most eligible bachelor, Paul Mehag settled an old score with Frosty 29.
  
• On the bouldering front, Sheila Binegas did Nappy Nuggets V8 at Lot 33. Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UILyFUicK20
  
• Canberra wunderkind, Dan Fisher has been filling in the gaps on his tick-list and churned his way through a host of classics. Including redpointing: Frosty 29, Krusty 28, Brown Badge 27 and Top One Thomo 27, and onsighting: Potato Junkies and Pale Yellow Underwear, both 24.
  

1 Month to Go!

It's only one month until Thomo's T10 and the frenzy of excitement is building. Rumours have been circulating that Swedish rockers, Europe, will be playing their 80s hit "The Final Countdown" at the after-party are totally unfounded and have been neither confirmed nor denied by the organisers.

What we can reveal is that a new category has been added to the line-up! The Crag Lords category is open to climbers who have been climbing for longer than Thomo's has been around (ie. more than 20 years) or have at least 5 children. There will be a different scoring system for the Crag Lords. Stay tuned for more details.

Clothing chainstore, Supre have reported being inundated by climbers wanting to deck themselves from head to foot in lycra. Apparently the tights and body hugging tops have been disappearing off the racks. So shop up soon.

Updates

Nowra continues to be the place to tick. Some notable ascents of late include, Will Curry cranking his way along the roof and up the wall to complete Attack Mode 32. Bloc strongman, Marc Edwards cruised his way up the climb known in polite circles as 'Sandy Beaches', Sperm Bitches 31 and Pickles, Nick Cormack, did the feisty Sideshow Bob 27 over at Bartondale. Visiting American Chris Linder crushed Slip Slop Slap 29 into submission, having recently made short work of Punks and various other slabs in Victoria.
Brecon Littleford ticked off Livin' The Hustlers Dream 28, reporting unbelievably good conditions over at the Hood. G-Banger, Luke Gelan, topped out on Still Life With Chalk Bag 26 after taking a "deck" fall onto the halfway ledge. Undeterred the Sutherland Slinger went back up and sent the rig. Norrie, Matt Norgrove, ticked off Butts Of Beef 25, his hardest Nowra tick to date. As for me, I was keen for a tick, but I neeed some 2009 climbing Karma. So I strapped some home-made, cardboard, South Australian number plates onto my car, changed my name to 'GeBreton', drank a litre of Murray River water and sent Loverboy 30.

Leroy R.I.P.

Leroy “The Captain” LeBreton
15 March 1995 - 7 July 2009

A significant figure in the climbing world, Leroy passed away this week after a life filled with fun, food and adventure. Having spent a good part of his life at the crag, he was laid to rest in the family backyard, close to the action, and a tribute to him will be established at his favourite crag, PC.

Leroy started going climbing from the moment he became mine. He had many climbing adventures. He was in my backpack, head poking out the top, as I climbed up the 30 metre high and overhanging at the top access rungs at the Gaza Strip (Nowra). He took a massive fall down the steep creek around from PC, bouncing from ledge to ledge, only to walk away unscathed at the bottom, in typical Leroy style. He managed to climb to within a few metres of the top of the crag near the rungs at PC while trying to follow Paul Westwood to the bakery. And, he soloed the first 15 metres of Deceptor, grade 10, at Zigzag in the Mountains when trying to follow Minah up her first big climb.

He was hit in the head with a cricket bat chasing the ball, he had a half tonne block of concrete fall on him, he fell off a cliff at Wave Wall, but he always shook himself off and walked away from it. He dodged a bar-fridge sized block I knocked off while cleaning a new route by centimetres. Nothing ever got him down. He was always just as keen to play, eat and make the most of life.

In his final breaths Leroy asked me to pass on a few thankyous. “Thanks to everyone who took the time to throw a ball, throw a stick, share some lunch or just give me a pat. Thanks to Paul who always brought a custard tart to the crag and left on a rock for me to eat when I felt like it. I could tell he enjoyed seeing me eat it because he always jumped up and down and danced around just as I was licking up the final crumbs. Thanks to Boydo for all the pies (but seriously, vegetarian?). I’m sorry Mike for weeing on your lap in the back seat of the Beetle. It’s been a good life being a crag dog, a family dog and a legend.”

I would like to say thank you to Leroy. He’s been my companion for fourteen years. During my darkest times, he was there for me. No matter what he was loyal, happy and lifted me up. In my most joyful times he was there to share them too. He was the most trustworthy dog to have around children and never said no to a game. He was my training partner; always at the board keeping me company and helping me get me out of bed for early runs. But perhaps most importantly he was an amazing teacher. He taught me how to be good father, before I had children. He taught me about passion, enthusiasm and focusing my energy. He taught me that no matter how bad things may seem, it’s still fun to chase the ball.