Life in sunny ol’ slowbart couldn’t be much better for this young climber. Currently I’m earning a crust by working hard for a rope-access company, Spidertech, based out of north Hobart. Every summer a large chunk of work on the Hydro power schemes comes our way. Last week we were busy inspecting the inside of a penstock, the pipe that carries water to turn the turbine that powers your computer to read these words.
The penstock we had to inspect. Three of us jumped inside and travelled the 400m to the power station.
Hydro sites tend to be in cool places, and working at Wilmot meant staying a night in the sleepy little town of Sheffield. Mt Roland is a craggy conglomerate range that looms above Sheffield, keeping watch. In 1977 a ridge was climbed by a bunch of friends, who discovered the classic Rysavy Ridge. A 350m grade 12 that rambles its way up the line of least resistance.
I’ve always wanted to climb this route, however the opportunity never really presented itself. One afternoon we managed to finish early at work, and quickly readied for an ascent of the route. I threw together a light rack, as the description made it sound reasonably involved.
Arriving at the base of the route, Haig and I decided to start soloing the route, with ropes and gear on us with the intention to use them if the going got too much to handle.
In the end we soloed the whole route.
It was an amazing climb, with just enough exposure to keep you on your toes. I can’t recommend this route enough. If you have read the route description and felt a bit worried, like I was, don’t be. For all the steep sections there were good crack systems to accept gear. Belays would always be on a comfy ledge. With two 60m ropes you can easily retreat from anywhere on the route by making one abseil into the descent gully to the left. Special thanks to Domhnall Brannigan for the use of the opening frame, check out http://www.dreapadoir.com/
Hope you all have a great friday, i just booked some tickets to Chamonix in late march, so I’m STOKED!!!! 
