The Cover Shot - Wild #199

Adventuring into the prehistoric landscape of the Warrumbungles, Craig and I had no idea what we were in for, so we naively launched into Cornerstone Rib (pictured in the backbround), a seven-pitch multi up the side of the formidable Crater Bluff, at the leisurely time of 12PM. In the afternoon sun, the bulging buttresses and pinnacle features of the impressive line create a contrast of light and shadow, reminiscent of the contrast of fun and fear when climbing here. This route easily stands as the best I’ve climbed in Australia, 200m of alpine-style climbing along a two-foot-wide ridge with aeons of exposure on either side. We made the decision early on to simul-climb the first three pitches. If not for this, we would’ve been finding our way back in the dark with no head torches.

At the time, we were still new to the ‘Bungles and didn’t have a clear idea of what the line actually looked like. A day later, after topping out on Belougery Spire, we crossed the Grand High Tops, an impressive high point in the park, with Crater Bluff coming into full view. “Holy sh*t, that’s what we were on?! No wonder it was so much fun!”

You can see more of Seb’s imagery, and read about his first foray into big-wall climbing, in the story ‘Super Bomber Thread: AKA Bungles in the ‘Bungles’ starting on p92 of Wild Issue #199.

If you liked this piece, you should subscribe to the print mag. Only a fraction of the great stories we run in the mag make it to our website; if you want to read them, head to subscribe.wild.com.au