Trip Report: Boars Head Abseiling

Party: Sky Reidy, Todd Harford, Stephen Sheehan, Mary Christina Merlo, Ulla Heikkil, Peggy Huang and Monica Wang

Date: Sunday 22 July 2012

Todd’s Photos

A last minute call out for weekend ideas saw us settle on Boars Head, an abseil I’d wanted to do for ages. We quickly gathered an enthusiastic group and converged at Scenic World on Sunday at 9:30am. A short drive up to the Devils Hole exit and then a hop, skip and a jump up the road to the start and we were off.

The first abseil was straightforward and provided a good contrast to the second, more adventurous traverse. Todd rigged up a good safety – 5 carabineers with alpine hitches, appreciated by all. Even on a misty day the view from the funnel on the 2nd abseil was spectacular. Peggy was the most enthusiastic, insisting that I hang on rope for what seemed like ages to enjoy the view. Her altruism may however have been masking a desire for more space on the landing before the 3rd abseil! The same call went out for Stephen, though I’m not sure which view was being appreciated…

There were a lot of loose rocks on the lead up to the 4th abseil, so great care was taken whilst folk were ‘on rope’. Peggy was the last down and shouted us to a display of her upside-down, splits maneuver. It was pretty impressive. We may yet see her sub in for the Olympic synchronized swimming team.

The final abseil, just past a slightly exposed ledge and anchored off two small trees, was somewhat deceptive. Todd went down first and when we heard his call of ‘off rope’, it reverberated across the valley. He sounded so much further down than 30 meters. We all followed in quick succession, Peggy once again providing a great demonstration – this time of her ‘safety’ tree straddling technique. Ulla, Mary and Monica were speedy on the descent. Perhaps they knew that Todd was about to crack open the Sour Squirms. Stephen was the last down, making it just in time to claim one!

The walk out was really nice, meandering along under the cliff line and then up the Devils Hole Gully exit. With the drizzle settling in however, we made quick time.

There was no debate, we all agreed that warmth and sustenance were required. We converged at the Alexandra Hotel in Leura where more adventures were hatched around the fireplace. Stay tuned…

Sky
PS: Shoot me a line if you have any recommendations for similar abseiling trips (apart from Malaita Point/ Wall and Castle Rock).