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Easter long weekend is usually a good time to get away from the city. Since I have spent many weekends on the coast recently, I decided to trek inland with some friends to Mount Arapiles instead. If you are a keen climber you would have probably heard of it.

Mount Arapiles has more than 2000 climbing routes (mostly trad) and is one of the best known climbing areas in Australia.

The trip from Melbourne took 4 hours. We didn’t get underway till pretty late, so it was 1am by the time we got to the campsite.

Setting up camp in the dark is always fun. It’s quite funny sometimes to find yourself camped in the middle of a busy track the next day.

When morning comes, everyone wakes up to the sound of magpies and kookaburras.

There were roughly 15 people in our group and normally we get together for breakfast to discuss our plans for the day.

On the first day, we started out doing some single pitch climbs. My mate did the leading, while I was tasked with gear removal.

On this trip my goal was to learn how to place gear effectively. Gear removal is a good way to learn this.

Over the course of the weekend, as part of a group of two or three, I did some climbs which took three or four pitches to complete. These longer climbs (about 120m high) usually took most of the day, so by the end of the climb, we were happy to kick back at camp and have a beer or three.

Dinner time was a good time for everyone to tell their climbing stories for the day. Mixed with beer, the tales were quite entertaining.

Of all the climbs I attempted, I’d have to say Arachnus (9∗∗∗) and The Watchtower Crack (16∗∗∗) impressed me the most. The combination of height and exposure did it for me.

It’s hard to describe the sense of exhilaration as I made my way up the cliff face.

Instinct made me want to finish the climb quickly. However, another part of me wanted to slow down so I could take it all in…

…the rock face, the swirling wind, the spectacular scenery stretching away far below me, the adrenalin - what a rush!

Last night I saw Daniel Kitson at the Comedy Festival. Didn’t know much about him, but did hear some good reviews.

So, along I went, not expecting too much.

As it turned out, I had a good laugh, which is always a good thing, since a good laugh is hard to come by nowadays!

Seriously though, whoever doesn’t laugh at one of his shows either:

• is too bloody serious, or
• has a hearing problem, or
• needs an interpreter

Quick, sharp, witty, deep and at times melancholic, combined with his unique method of delivery made me laugh so hard I had tears in my eyes!

Go see him if you get the chance.

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