Dave Jones
Dave Jones, what is there to say other than legend! He was at the forefront of hard Australian climbing in the 90’s and early 2000’s. He established and repeated many of the hardest routes and boulders in The Grampians and Arapiles in this time. He wasn’t just a one trick pony of hard edge pulling though, his list of scary trad lines is up there as well. His ground up first ascent of Shai-Hulud, 25X is a stand out of complete mind control. Those unfamiliar with the route, it’s 45m of vertical and overhung sandpit climbing on Taipan wall. You don’t see many climbers these days as well rounded as Dave.
Episode 27 of the BAFFLE DAYS - Australian Climbing podcast, hosted by Tom O'Halloran, Dave Jones, titled "Dave Jones" was published on June 6, 2021 and runs 89 minutes.
June 6, 2021 ·89m · BAFFLE DAYS - Australian Climbing
Summary
Dave Jones, what is there to say other than legend! He was at the forefront of hard Australian climbing in the 90’s and early 2000’s. He established and repeated many of the hardest routes and boulders in The Grampians and Arapiles in this time. He wasn’t just a one trick pony of hard edge pulling though, his list of scary trad lines is up there as well. His ground up first ascent of Shai-Hulud, 25X is a stand out of complete mind control. Those unfamiliar with the route, it’s 45m of vertical and overhung sandpit climbing on Taipan wall. You don’t see many climbers these days as well rounded as Dave.
Episode Description
Dave Jones is one of the rare ones. Growing up in Victoria, he quickly ended up spending many of his early climbing years making his way out to Arapiles and The Grampians. It wasn’t long before Dave started finding his own lines to climb, searching out unclimbed features which caught his imagination. Some of his notable First Ascents include Punks Addiction 32/8b+, Somoza 32/8b+, Academia 31/8b, Feather Boa 28/7c+ and Shai-Hulud 25X/7bX just to name a few. Dave also spent some time in England, checking out the infamous Gritstone, which landed him in one of the best climbing films of all time, Hard Grit.
Dave is also and artist, creating mind bending sculptures. He says the inspiration he found in finding new, improbable lines to climb is similar to what inspires him with his art. He wants to create pieces he isn’t actually sure he can pull off. To have to really problem solve and work out how to make it all come together.
Dave is also part of the Gariwerd Wimmera Reconciliation Network, a group formed to help bridge a gap between Traditional Owners in the area and climbers. The group is doing a fantastic job in opening communication between the two parties and hopes to continue to learn and build understanding. https://gwrn.org.au
You can check out Dave's art via his website http://www.transience.com.au/wp/
As many of you may know, there is currently (June 2021) widespread climbing bans through the Gariwerd and Wimmera area. Please stay up to date with where you are and aren’t allowed to climb through this time. You can find out info at https://vicclimb.org.au as well as speaking with locals.
Check out more episodes, news and grab yourself some Baffle Days merch at www.baffledays.com.au
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