As power screams ricochet off the rock behemoths that tower above us, the thunder from the river below almost drownsout Michael's call of “F***K I ALMOST HAD IT”.
“Come on dude, you’ve got this” calls Brendan, feeding rope up through a dogleg roof to the crack that Michael is currently jamming his hands into.
“It’s too wide to jam, I’m gonna have to try it as a side pull.”
He yells down to Brendan, sweat starting to bead on his forehead as the winter sun beats off his back. He shakes his hands, takes a deep breath and pulls back onto the wall for another try.
I’m hanging from a static line a few meters above him, straddling the crack running up the entire face, looking down to the water 200m below. I’m overcome with a sense of unreality. This gorge - Gara Gorge - is 20 minutes' drive from the town I grew up in, Armidale. It featured a lot in the adventures of my youth – somewhere we would go on a hot summer’s day to rock hop down the gorge for a swim in the endless pools scattered along the river.
“Come on dude, you’ve got this” calls Brendan, feeding rope up through a dogleg roof to the crack that Michael is currently jamming his hands into.
“It’s too wide to jam, I’m gonna have to try it as a side pull.”
He yells down to Brendan, sweat starting to bead on his forehead as the winter sun beats off his back. He shakes his hands, takes a deep breath and pulls back onto the wall for another try.
I’m hanging from a static line a few meters above him, straddling the crack running up the entire face, looking down to the water 200m below. I’m overcome with a sense of unreality. This gorge - Gara Gorge - is 20 minutes' drive from the town I grew up in, Armidale. It featured a lot in the adventures of my youth – somewhere we would go on a hot summer’s day to rock hop down the gorge for a swim in the endless pools scattered along the river.
Michael Moore (Instagram: @bannedforever) looking remarkably calm and thoughtful on the headwall of "Chicks Dig Scars" (28 AU/5.12c/d U.S.) (Photo Credit: Matt Nethery)
Sweltering days were spent relaxing in the bottomless black water, admiring the skyscraper-sized walls surroundingus, but never once imagining it would be possible to climb them. Nor did I imagine it would feature in my adult adventures. But, over the last few months I’ve found myself spending endless hours climbing, hiking, rappelling and shooting in this unique, ancient, and unchanging landscape, learning about this area from two dedicated and quietlyincredible local climbers, Michael Moore and Brendan Heywood.
Brendan Heywood (@brendan.heywood) places gear in the wide crack of the climb "Heaving Falcons" (25 AU/5.12a US) in the Gara Gorge in Australia. Below are the waterfalls and pools that add to the ambience. (Photo Credit: Matt Nethery)
I’m pulled back to reality when Michael starts screaming again, pulling through tight fingerlocks and finding foot holds the size of fingernails. I can see blood pooling on his knuckles, and am reminded again why this climb is called Chicks Dig Scars. A long-term project for Michael, with nearly three years of work having gone into it, I know how much this climb means to him. It’s hard to describe the feelings of elation and ecstasy climbers feel once they reach the top of something that has consumed them for so long. But one thing is for sure - the echoes of Michael’s successful ascent will echo down the Gorge for years to come.
A few days later, we’re shooting an interview for the short film I was working on, Gorge Country, the sunset illuminating the trees behind Michael as he sits across from me, cut up and covered in dirt.
“What keeps bringing you back to the Gorge?” I ask, curious to uncover why he’s put so much effort into climbing and developing the area over the last few years.
“I think the main reason is it’s always a bit of an adventure. You always end up leaving the crag with a few extra stories of something that went wrong and it adds extra value to it. The most satisfying sends I’ve ever had have been here because there was so much effort that was put into them. It’s just a different feeling.”
A few days later, we’re shooting an interview for the short film I was working on, Gorge Country, the sunset illuminating the trees behind Michael as he sits across from me, cut up and covered in dirt.
“What keeps bringing you back to the Gorge?” I ask, curious to uncover why he’s put so much effort into climbing and developing the area over the last few years.
“I think the main reason is it’s always a bit of an adventure. You always end up leaving the crag with a few extra stories of something that went wrong and it adds extra value to it. The most satisfying sends I’ve ever had have been here because there was so much effort that was put into them. It’s just a different feeling.”
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“MOTHERF*****R."
Deja vu as I find myself once again straddling a crack on the headwall of perhaps the Gorge’s most striking climb. Caz Lee, a short and powerful badass is back for the weekend to explore the new ascents in the Gorge. Kiss Me Deadly, a grade 26 first aid-climbed in the 80s, was another of Michael’s projects until he FFA’d very recently. The climb features a 10-tonne boulder suspended 100m above a waterfall - a strong contender with the Grampian’s Kachoong for most picturesque overhang. Caz’s head peaks out from under the roof, her eyes bottomless pits of determination as her feet follow, anchoring her body above the lip. She inches up the headwall, jamming hands, fingers, feet and knees into the crack and against the wall, screaming and swearing the whole way. I love to see the animalistic passion climbing brings out in people - exhibited by Caz’s own apt comparison of herself to a cow giving birth once she was sitting, panting at the top. Once everyone is back together and finished congratulating Caz on her efforts, we chat about what makes the Gorge so special to visiting climbers. We reach the conclusion that the attraction for visitors is that the Gorge has a little bit of everything. Unlike many other famous climbing areas, Gara isn’t just one style of climbing. There are roof cracks, crimpy slabs and bold, sporty overhangs. There are multi pitch climbs and weird boulder problems. You might have a route in one style and that completely swaps around to another. You can have modern domestic climbs and you can have really adventurousclimbs and it’s super easy to get a taste of it all in one day. |
Caz Lee pulling around the lip of the roof on "Kiss Me Deadly" (26AU/5.12b US) (Photo Credit: Matt Nethery)
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Caz Lee finishing up the crack above the roof on "Kiss Me Deadly" (26 AU/5.12b US) (Photo Credit: Matt Nethery)
In our interview, I ask Brendan what keeps bringing him back here year after year. He responds thoughtfully, “Sometimes I’ll go out there a little bit grumpy and think to myself 'The gorge is tapped out, and I’ve sort of done everything or it’s too hard or whatever,' then you come around the corner and find something new, so you give it a tickle and it’s amazing. Holds appear out of nowhere and all of a sudden there’s a whole new route that’s appeared out of nothing. Now I’m at the point where I think the amount of climbing potential in the Gorge is infinite. I just love that.”
Ben Vincent on "Dream Catcher" (28 AU/5.12c/d US) in the Gara Gorge (Photo Credit: Matt Nethery)
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Caz, having gotten a pretty good taste in the day we’ve spent out here together, furiously nods her head in agreement. She turns to me with a grin on her face, helmet askew and hair plastered to her sweaty head -“Let’s go back down.”
I’ll finish this piece with a story Brendan told me at the start of my Gorge journey. Brendan, who has been the main driving force in the development of the Gorge over the last 10 years, was climbing with an old climbing partner Ben Vincent (another pioneer of hard routes in the area). They had been working aclassic roof crack called Dreamcatcher (28) for months. Dreamcatcher is so steep that at one point you’re climbing downwards and upside-down. Ben’s wife was heavily pregnant at the time, but these two knew how close they were to getting a first ascent. Multiple nights a week after work, they would trek out to the crag with head torches on and work this project, much to the dismay of Ben’s wife. Every failed attempt just meant another night spent out in the Gorge. The clock was ticking, and Ben knew after the birth of the baby, there’d be no chance to keep trying Dreamcatcher. With rain on the forecast, and his wife fit to burst, Ben convinced her for one more night to try the project, knowing this might be the last chance he would get. Three hours later Ben sent the climb. Ben and Brendan were both ecstatic after months of hard work and keen to celebrate. However, they untied from the rope, left all the gear behind, and raced home. |
The granite of Gara Gorge, Australia brings a wide variety of climbing options and styles. Michael Moore (Instagram: @bannedforever) on "WHAT CLIMB?" (Photo Credit: Matt Nethery)
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A few hours later, Ben’s baby was born.
Brendan always relays this story with glee. For me, it highlights what the Gorge does to you once you get the opportunity to experience it – it sucks you in. Whilst I don't condone abandoning familial responsibilities for a climb, I GET IT. This place always occupies the back of your mind - the wind blowing through the endless gorges, constantly whispering “what’s next?”
Brendan always relays this story with glee. For me, it highlights what the Gorge does to you once you get the opportunity to experience it – it sucks you in. Whilst I don't condone abandoning familial responsibilities for a climb, I GET IT. This place always occupies the back of your mind - the wind blowing through the endless gorges, constantly whispering “what’s next?”
Michael Moore (Instagram: @bannedforever) getting ready to pull the roof on "Kiss Me Deadly" (26AU/5.12b US) in the Gara Gorge, Australia. (Photo Credit: Matt Nethery)
BIO - Matt NetheryAs a professional adventure sports photographer/videographer, I thrive on telling stories that seem difficult, extreme or dangerous, and it is my goal to humanise those that seem inhuman in their pursuit of challenges. Climbing has been a passion of mine for years and I am drawn in by how easy it is for everyone to push their own boundaries, the tight-knit community and how challenging it can be.
WEBSITE: https://mattnetherymedia.com INSTAGRAM: @mattynethhh |
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