Boogie Wall Revisited

One week to go before our expedition, and we've only had a couple of roped-in sessions under our belt. Everyone was so busy on their own things (Levi with the opening of the Lagalag Store in SM City; Bunny and I with our office duties) that we couldn't find the time to go back to the crags. This is our last chance before heading for Sibuyan.

I picked up Levi and Bunny along the way. Levi brought his prototype Lagalag fastpack to test during the climb. Bunny brought freshly pressed coffee for breakfast. We got to Wawa around 7 in the morning, and hiked out to the base of Boogie wall.

I've been to Boogie once before this; with Henry and Levi. I've led the second pitch without any real experience in placing traditional protection (i.e. stoppers). A pretty sketchy first experience, but I've learned a lot from that. At the base, we took some time planning the sequence of our climb: who will lead, come second, and clean the pro.

"selfie" before the climb

We had our first big problem after sorting the gear. Turns out we are one harness short. Levi, being the most experienced, gave up his harness for Bunny's use. We agreed that he'll get to use one of the harnesses on the rappel down. 

Levi took the first lead, while I belayed. His Lagalag pack was full and heavy, that mid-route he had to adjust and unload the rope, which will be brought up instead by the second by trailing it on his back.

decades-old protection

I seconded on the first route, clipping the second rope to the protection as I went. By the way, we were still using the hardware donated by Jong to the UP Mountaineers in the late 90's. I even brought the quickdraws that came with it; but Lakai quickly suggested we use his gear instead (not to say that the UPM gear is unusable, but better safe than sorry).

The limestone crag is as sharp as it has been since it was first climbed in the 80's. We had to be careful not to place our entire weight in some footholds that threaten to pierce through the rubber soles. My feet were already screaming in pain. I was just in the first pitch.

end of the first pitch

I moved to lead the second pitch (again) without waiting for Bunny to come up. Levi said the anchors in the area might not hold three people at one time, so it would be better for me to go up and set the anchors above.

The route I chose traverses to the right of the wall, until it reaches a tree that will be a main anchor. Then the route is fairly straight up. Memories of my first experience here flashed before me, as I reached a point where there were limited options for protection. I could climb higher, but the risk of falling and having a long run-off is too scary. I took a lot of time finding a good placement. But in the end, I think that pro wasn't good enough. I had to scramble fast and get a better anchor a bit further up.

second pitch (photo from my 2013 climb)

I got to the tree that ends the second pitch. I did my best to set quality anchors--not relying solely on the roots and branches of that hardy plant. Levi then worked to bring up Bunny, who had the task of cleaning the route. I would then belay Bunny all the way to my anchor point. We tried our best to be efficient in our set-up, but it's clear that we still need a lot of practice before everything goes seamlessly.

Like a seasoned pro

Levi took the lead on the final pitch. Bunny coming second. The sun was almost upon us. Good thing the clouds came in to give us a brief respite before we suffer the mid-morning summer heat. 

Lakai leading the way

Alpanis! After reaching the third pitch

We settled in our shaded nooks as we passed around the brewed coffee and pandesal bought below. It was still a long way up, if we plan to go all the way to the summit. From where we were we can scramble up through thorn brushes and rock piles. I got a nasty chunk of dirt or plant debris in my eye as I got to another ledge about 10 meters up. We finally got the taste of the heat wave while taking a gander of what's up ahead. It was almost 11 am. Time to turn back. Whew.

should we continue?

We quickly fixed our gear and rappelled down to the second pitch. I tried to set up our second rappel while the two were going down to my location. Aside from the ropes getting snagged in some tree branches midway down, everything was pretty routine (I did have to send my harness up to Levi to save himself from swami sore. 

That bush hat sure was useful

We visited Aling Norma before heading back to the city. She wasn't doing so well, and seemed to feel a bit hopeless as she told Levi her situation. With our hearts a little heavier, we drove back to QC. [UPDATE: a few days after, we got the news that Aling Norma passed away from complications arising from her accident and subsequent stroke. May her soul rest in peace.]