Adventure Grant | 07 September 2022

InSpire — A Bungles Tale

Motivated by a paragraph in a small old guidebook, John Morris and Melanie Ruetzel set a goal to climb three 100m+ spires of rock in the Warrumbungle National Park in one day. Belougery Spire, Crater Bluff and Tonduron. Lockdowns, illness, and weather conspire against them. Follow the team through the ups and downs of a wild experience. Words by John Morris.

I first visited the Warrumbungle National Park in 2014, armed with the 1994 Warrumbungles Rock guide by Mark Colyvan. A single sentence from the old guide sparked my imagination; “I’ve been told that all four major spires - Belougery, Crater Bluff, Tonduron and the Needle have been climbed in a day...”

You cannot climb the Needle anymore as it is on private property. Still, climbing the others within a single day was a thought that stayed with me. Over the years, I have made many trips back to the park to immerse myself in the unique landscape. In 2021, my partner Melanie and I received The North Face Adventure Grant, which was given out to promote local exploration during the pandemic. Mel has climbed at the park with me multiple times and formed a geological connection with the volcanic (trachyte) wonderland.

Our vision was to climb Belougery Spire via Vertigo (95m grade 10), Crater Bluff via Cornerstone Rib (190m grade 14), Tonduron via South Arete (170m grade 5), with a total of 24km hiked in a loop starting at Balor Hut — all within a 24hr timeframe. With over 450m of climbing, it was an ambitious goal. Our expedition would be captured from the adjacent ridgeline by my father, Steve. My mum Kerrie expressed interest and joined the team because she didn’t want to miss out on the fun. Spending time outdoors has always been a formative aspect of my upbringing.

We postponed the expedition several times due to the pandemic and other events. In late 2021, Mel had intense stomach pains, which resulted in having her appendix removed. She suffered from nerve entrapment during her recovery from surgery, which was eventually resolved, but not before the season for climbing was over. In January 2022, Mel caught the Covid Delta variant, and we thought we might never get to go on the expedition. Eventually, we scheduled Saturday the 9th April 2022 as the day. It happened to be the day before my dad’s 59th birthday, meaning we would be in the National Park to celebrate. We booked my parent’s flights and hired camera equipment. In the week preceding the trip, the weather forecast was perfectly ambiguous, with a prediction of an 80% chance of less than one millimetre of rain. We had waited a long time for this opportunity, and we decided to commit. Unfortunately, the weather forecast deteriorated as the day came closer. My parents flew up from Victoria, and we drove to the Warrumbungles on Friday to hike to Balor Hut to camp for the night. The 7km walk was uphill, and it rained constantly; my parents were not as fit as they would like to be, and it was inspiring to see them persevere with the conditions to reach the hut. The final steep 2km ridge and stairs seemed to be the equivalent challenge for them to what Mel and I were preparing to attempt the next day. Dad always says, “the older he gets, the better he was.”.

The next day our alarm went off before dawn. The first objective was to climb Vertigo on Belougery Spire. Access to the base of this route can be tricky because you need to traverse across bushy ledges, ramps and gullies. I led the first pitch, and Mel led the second; we summited at 9 am. We abseiled down after waving at my dad, re-traced our steps down the scrubby access path, hiked along the ridge to Dadga Saddle, and then down and back up towards Crater Bluff. Fortunately, the rain had stopped, and the spire had dried by the time we reached the undulating base of the route Cornerstone Rib. This beautiful 190m grade 14 feature is among my favourite climbing routes in Australia. We could see more rain clouds in the distance but hoped we could make the summit before they reached us. The climbing went smoothly, but the clouds caught us eventually, and the heavens opened. We slowly made our way up the final pitch as the rain dumped down. The rain stopped almost immediately when we reached the top (as is always the way). A beautiful rainbow shone through the afternoon’s dim light and was a welcome sight. A unique aspect of Crater Bluff is the cavernous space affectionally known as the Green Glacier within the spire’s centre. The descent can be just as adventurous as the climb, involving a 50m abseil into Green Glacier, crossing to the opposite side and abseiling another 80m in two sections to get back down.

After climbing Crater Bluff, it was time to consider our next move. Tonduron, our third objective, was no longer visible due to the heavy mist. We needed to decide whether to continue along the creek bed of slippery stones for 6km to reach our final spire and hope the weather improved or make the tough decision to prioritise safety and dash our hopes of the three-spire goal. The clouds set in, and rain got heavier as we trudged back to base camp, validating our choice. From that point, the weather continued to deteriorate, and we were happy to be under shelter enjoying a warm soup. Having a goal is essential for momentum and motivation, but success is not a fundamental requirement of an adventure. What we did achieve in the Warrumbungles provided the immersive experience we were seeking, and there is always the option to return another day.

Watch the film about John’s journey here.