James Kassay is probably in the best shape of his life at the moment and is tearing everything apart (including one of his finger pulleys – but even that was not enough to stop him).

Here’s are a couple of vids of James doing some powerful moves on some gorgeous Grampians stone. The first is of Mana V13, and the second of Zeus V13.

Be sure to check out his personal site www.jameskassay.com

Wolfgang Gullich, the German climber who was probably the most influential climber of all time.

Establishing the first 31, 32, 33 & 35 in the world, not only that he was the man behind the campus board’s invention as well!

He is a legend, not only for what he climbed, but also how he went about climbing them and us at Whipper find his legacy a bottomless well of inspiration, guiding us on our journey wherever we need to go.

So! If you do anything today, go and grab yourself a nice german beer (maybe a Hefe Weizen or Dunkel) and climb on into your favorite easy chair and contemplate the awesomeness of Punks in the Gym in 1985 and short shorts.

Today must be a positive day. We are gathered here to celebrate Wolfgang’s life, to think of the good times and to give thanks that in our lifes we were able to meet such an inspiring man. We live only for a short time on this Earth, we don’t ever know how long. I shall try to follow Wolfgang’s example, live my life to the full and try to better myself. He had no regrets. So Wolfie, you have left us now to start a new life, we know not where. We’re proud to have known you and shall never forget you. We send our love and thank you for showing us how to lead a good life. – Jerry Moffatt

Garry Phillips and his birthday present. Photo: Mr Z.

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If you have any pic’s for pic of the week. Send them in!

For me, climbing is about sharing good times with friends and exploring beautiful places on this Earth. It’s about learning and pushing the limitations of our minds and our bodies. What I want to share with you here is my love and passion for the spirit of climbing.
- Nico Favresse

Check out his website!! http://www.nicolasfavresse.com/

Garry Phillips standing tall on some of the best rock in the world
for the First Ascent of Back Yard Surgery (29).
Star Factory, Tasmania.

Come on Mother F*&ker, just give it to me!! – Garry Phillips

Lee and Ben Cossey attempt Zodiac (31/5.13d or A3) team free, ground up over 9 days. Unfortunately, they got 3 moves away from creating history. No doubt they will be back to send one day. The crux pitch, The Nipple proved to be the stopper. The effort Lee and Ben put into this climb was phenomenal! And their approach to big wall free routes such as this is inspiring, to say the very least. I look forward to seeing what other big wall free routes they tackle in the future…

Special thanks goes out to their sponsors for helping them push the limits of Australian climbing:

Be sure to check out their web page – http://www.cosseyclimbing.com

The route features technical climbing on pockets and crimps, with a dynamic crux coming near the top. It’s in a pretty high profile neighbourhood too, with Darkness At Noon 5.13a to the left, and the famous Chain Reaction 5.12c taking the arete at far left.

Nic Perndt on Heinous Cling Direct Start (5.12a/25) at Smith Rocks, Oregon.
Photo: Günter Braun

Photo: Günter Braun

And the run-out upper section…
Photo: Günter Braun

Will he take on Atlas V16ish?

If you have time be sure to check out his web page – http://danielwoods.us

James has just released a new website, check it out. www.jameskassay.com

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I hope everyone has enjoyed the psyche of Whipper for another week. It was a big one!!!! If you have any news, content or ideas please don’t be scared to email us. At the moment the team is a man down due to full-time work so that makes a lot of work for a 1 man team. So the more help the better.

Hope everyone has a awesome weekend!

Of course, there is more to a guidebook than merely the total number of route descriptions, but who wants to be wading though Bob and Gerry’s ramblings when out at the crag? More to the point, who wants to carry them to the crag everyday, or on an overnight trip to one of the more remote crags such as Africa?

I recently made some edits to the guide which have greatly improved the number of routes you get per gram.

Step 1: Firstly you’ll need tools. I only had a pocket knife and scissors on hand, which made the process a lengthy ordeal. I would suggest something a bit heftier,  pliers and a hack-saw perhaps.

The objective is to separate the book physically into two parts. One containing the [sometimes] useful route descriptions and the other: poetic waffle big-noting the first ascensionists and so on (often difficult to distinguish between the two).

‘The guide is obviously split into two parts: the first half; fiction and the second half; a confessional’ – Recently noted by local

Step 2: A good point for the primary incision is at the 2nd last section of colour plates, at the beginning of the ‘Memories’ and after the route description index ( previously located conveniently in the middle of the book).

Making the Primary Incision

You will invariably destroy some pages in the process, so why not remove one of the many photos of Gerry or that full page photo of the Coprosma nitida bush (beautiful, but possibly irrelevant in a climbing guide).

Step 3: Using the saw tool of the pocket knife, begin cutting through the spine of the book. This is much harder than you would imagine, so you will need to exert a fair degree of force. But be careful, as spilling your blood on your guidebook may reduce its resale value. After a few centimetres of sawing you will come to a metal spike running horizontally through the entire spine.

Bob and Gerry obviously foresaw attempts to improve the guide in this manner. Their technique is analogous to “tree spiking” used by Greenpeace north of Vancouver in the 1980s, designed to destroy the machinery of the forest rapers. Bob obviously was taking close notes.

Do not be deterred by this attempt at sabotage, but consider employing more powerful machinery (or bulldozing some hippies).

Step 4: Continue in this destructive (but ultimately necessary) fashion passing 3 more spikes until the final stages of separation are reached.

Cutting along the spine of the book

Step 5: Once the book is harmoniously returned to two separate parts, simply bend the spikes back into the spine to prevent any injury (a last ditch attempt at maiming saboteurs) and wrap the spine in climbing tape.

Now you are ready with a handy 464 gram (0.75 routes/gram) guidebook, filled with almost accurate route descriptions, and a convenient index at the end of the binding. If you can, try and save all the Memoirs pages and make a separate binding for them – they are actually worth reading – so that you can read them in the comfort of your home (or at night time in the hut for inspiration), instead of lugging them all over the plateau with you.

The Finished Product

As an added bonus, you can now print out the rants in the first entry of Gerry’s blog (masquerading as the first update to the guidebook), staple them together, and carry them around the plateau with you.

No guidebooks were harmed during the creation of this article*
*Above statement may not be entirely accurate

This is a new level of power for Australian bouldering.

– Sam Edwards

If anyone is looking for a challenge here it is. Located in the Grampians, involving 3 moves on some holds that could be mistaken for foot holds. When climbed it might become the hardest boulder in the country? Atlas lies next to Zeus V13 at Lower Taipan (page 154, Grampians Bouldering Guide).

Brutally Hard Moves!

Sam Edwards trying to crush the hold to dust with out success. Photo Doug McConnell

Sam Edwards setting up for the go-again move into the slot. Photo Doug McConnell

It will be interesting to see if the Americans who are about to take Australia by storm can put this classic to rest or if it will be left to an Aussie?