Nostalgia and thesarvo as a vehicle for enriching our climbing experience

Back from our mainland trip. Di's doing a tidy-up and tried it on for me to get rid of some of the old climbing mags that are hanging about the place. So, randomly, the first thing I pulled off the shelf was Peaks 3. Flipping through I was delighted by the wealth of "stuff" that's in the magazine. For those more recent to the scene (this edition was published in 1980  ) and who aren't aware, this mag was published here in Tasmania. Didn't last very long, but was very rich and dense in content, so much more than we get with Rock. Great value for a yearly subscription of $12. Unfortunately, not enough people saw its true worth, and it very quickly faded from view, probably because of the predominance of Tasmanian contributions and the mixture of content - poems for example! (What was Bob thinking: we occasionally get this sort of stuff in Alpinist, but mainstream mags like Climbing are too afraid to touch such esoteric material.)

A few short extracts to give a glimpse into what was going on at the time:

Sphinx Rock by Phil Bigg

"Until recently this little crag had only three recorded climbs ... after a little remodelling the number has tripled ... Sphinx Rock still holds several more potential routes which will only be a matter of time before their secrets are unlocked". (Boy, was he right about that!)

Hazards Traverse Update - An Adventure For Everyman by Tony McKenny

"And what a route! Curtains of red granite sweeping up out of the sea, sliced and sculptured by storm waves into massive crescent overhangs and sharp corners, stretching as far as the eye could see. Magnificent scenery, truly awe inspiring - if a little unnerving in the unnatural quiet. The bushfires of last summer had swept right down to sea level leaving no trees, only the black twisted branches of bull-oak, with not a bird to be seen or heard". (What lyricism, Tony! We'd like to see more of this!)

Mt Field (poem) by David Bowman

"Below him lies the valley/ The distant green carpet is rent/ It is transfixed by the cold steel lance of economics/ The terror of normality/ The forest is haggard/ It dies the death of development" (Still timely, don't you think?)

There was a great article on developments at Fingal, news posts from other states, an article about climbing in Poland, an article from Nick Mooney about peregrine falcons with photos, New Zealand, the Alps and so on.

What I am thinking is that it would be great if we could see a bit more of the richness of our shared climbing experience in thesarvo. Some more write-ups of the excellent adventures that people are having. A gritty little poem or two. People posting photos in blogs too - here, in thesarvo rather than elsewhere  - to whet our appetites. Here, in a communal site for all of us to own and enjoy.

Ian Ferrier's post on his recent trip to Cradle was great to see, especially with the subsequent photos added. More please!

BTW, Di's attempt to get me to toss out all the old mags has been retracted once I shared with her some of these snippets.