Two of Australia's best V13s
On the Beach vs Cherry Picking
A very good question and one that is extremely hard to answer. I first saw both of these climbs on Scarred for Life, Australia and they instantly went on the dream list. Both problems have a lot going for them; they are in amazing locations on super pretty rock, both with nice holds and fun moves. An extra positive is they are both in the shade for most of the day, everything you want from a dream boulder. On the Beach is beautiful, the holds arch through the centre of the steep boulder with great colours and features. Cherry Picking is a little intimidating, it's big, it's steep and for me, there was only one sequence which felt feasible. Either I was going to be strong enough to climb it or I wasn't, and that added to the pressure. To find out which is best we will have to go deeper.
On The Beach sits proudly underneath the infamous Taipan wall, to me it looks like a giant Flying Saucer sitting atop a pedestal at the pinnacle of the Trackside area. I tried this problem before Cherry Picking, firstly, because its easier to get to and second, it looked more complicated so I wanted to get stuck in. With tricky toe hooks low down and a knee bar through the crux, it took me a while to figure out all the little subtleties within each move that would work for my body type. It really takes it out of your core and my abs were destroyed after my first session. I couldn’t just pull a bit harder on it, I had to learn the movement and execute it correctly. This showed on my second session, I repeatedly fell out of the knee bar as I didn't manage to do the previous moves in the most efficient way. It was very frustrating, but I really didn’t mind because the climbing was so good. I needed to execute the correct sequence perfectly to have a chance of doing the last hard moves. What I found hard was resting for long enough between goes because I was too excited to try it again. The attempt I finally topped out didn't feel amazing, my body felt tired and I never felt secure, but I managed to hit every move right and flowed through the climb. This is what made On the Beach so enjoyable, working out my sequence yet never quite feeling comfortable. All of these elements made this 8b one of my favourites ever.
The walk up to Buandik is long but that makes Cherry Picking even more satisfying, it feels like an adventure to go and try it which I really loved. Cherry Picking is a beautiful boulder, all the holds are on the perfect angle to complement each other and it has great presence, if not a little intimidating. It’s a really meaty climb and on my first session I got completely shut down. It’s really powerful and very crimp strength dependant, I couldn’t have many goes before I was too tired and big rest in-between attempts was welcomed. After two rest days I went back and made good progress falling off the last move 4 times, I then had to go lie down before I could walk out. The last hold is a slot that is really good but hard to hit, it's hard to feel like your progressing when you fall repeatedly from the same move, even if it is the last one. As with On the Beach, I almost didn't mind being shut down as the climbing was so enjoyable. The first time I managed to hit the last hold I cut loose and had to readjust the right hand, I feel it was pure determination of knowing this was my last session on this amazing boulder which made me hold on. The incredible views surrounding this climb and the long, steep walk in add to the intensity of Cherry Picking, but it's the actual climb itself that makes it one of my all time favourites. Each move gets more difficult progressing to that final, precise big move. Holding it was by far one of the most satisfying feelings I've had in 20 years of climbing.
Despite these two climbs being very different styles they both have everything you want from a world class boulder. If you like a bit of tension and technique, On the Beach is the one for you. With its many different sequences it was a real joy to work out which one was best for me. Cherry Picking was a try-hard-big-move climb that makes you feel like a beast when you're feeling strong, but a kitten when you're not. It's a full on fight to the death type of climb and the joy comes from the challenge of the whole process. All I can say is that for me, Cherry Picking felt more satisfying. It was the climb I was desperate to try when over in Australia and was the one I wasn't completely confident about, all of this made it my favourite climb of the trip.