Beulah Rock Festivus Wrap Up
Beulah Rock Festivus Wrap Up
Over the Easter long weekend over 25 Newcastle locals headed up to the Beulah Rock Festivus near Armidale in the NSW highlands. The Newy crew took over one of the 3 farm houses on the property and staked claim to some of the hundreds of granite boulders that lay around the 2600 acre property. The motto of the festivus was to “Search, Scrub, Send” and pretty much everyone there followed this, furiously scrubbing off lichen from dawn till dusk.
On Good Friday, Michael Tonan made short work of a long standing project on the House Boulder, a very impressive 5m high boulder perched up on the hill above the main events centre. Michael named it “Power House” and gave it V8, the hardest route at Beulah to date!! The Good Friday night festivities only got better with free pizza hand made in Cliffs home-made pizza oven!
The next day, many climbers headed to the sheep shearing sheds to stretch our worn bodies in a stint of morning yoga, run by Greta Free. All warmed up, we were prepared to line up for a shot at the “Sender of the Slab” competition. A new route bolted and unclimbed before the festivus was up for grabs for the first person to send. It was a draw from the hat that set the order and with news that it may be a soft tick we were all eager to hear our names. But it was all to no avail, as a young Queenslander, first one out of the hat sent it first try, giving it a grade of 23, which may have been a little generous! That night the entertainment didn’t stop with Uncarved Block hosting the Dyno comp. Ladies went first and we weren’t let down by some of the talent that was on offer. The girls were leaping metres into the air to snatch the elusive pocket. There was even one girl dressed in a fairy costume!! Then it was the guys turn, a number of Newcastle locals made it to the 2nd round but were all knocked out at the post by some super leapers, jumping almost 2m!
The Sunday saw plenty of chocolate being eaten and a few bodies looking a little under the weather from the previous night’s festivities. But the Newy crew went down to the “rolled quad” area in search of yet more un-touched granite. Plenty of new problems went up and some even fell down with some careful clearing of loose rock unearthing even more holds! That night saw some of the best entertainment yet with Pulse Climbing hosting the Slack line comp. With a 65m line across the dam, there was no shortage of keen punters ready to test their balance. No one made it all the way but a number of hopefuls did make it halfway before splashing out. Then it was time for the tricks comp. Once again there was plenty of skilful climbers keen to show off their skills on the line. There was even several back flips and 360 airs keeping the 200 or so spectators happy. That night saw the festivus nearing an end. While we munched away on free hot cross buns from the wood fired oven, we prepared for the closing ceremonies and prizes handed out for achievements over the weekend.
The Easter Monday was a late start for everyone, and with not much skin left on our finger tips, we made the most of the crisp conditions and headed to the solitary boulder to shred those tips one last time before the drive home. A great weekend was had by all, and we are all super psyched to head up again next year for Australia’s longest running climbing festivus.
