They call it the ‘Don’t Wet Yourself’ route for a reason
‘Exposure’ is a word that climbers use to describe the sense of yawning space around and below them. This route in the Blue Mountains takes it to extremes.
Sarah Williams’ forte is slab climbing, where the rock face isn’t terribly steep but the holds are tiny, and working your way upwards is all about balance, and precise footwork, and the cool execution of delicate sequences of moves. Williams was once a ballerina – she won a scholarship as a teen to the New York City Ballet, and danced all over the world with the famous company until a knee injury forced her retirement at the age of 24. She then took up rock climbing, and found that many of the skills learned in the corps de ballet translated perfectly to the sport. Climbing is now the great love of her life. “I used to dance on stage – and now I dance on rock,” she says.
Williams is pictured leading the sort of climb that she really doesn’t like: on rock that’s steep to the point of overhanging, which demands great upper-body strength, and with a gripping level of “exposure” – the word that climbers use to describe the sense of yawning space around and below them. The route, on Echo Point Walls at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, is named Don’t Wet Yourself – a nod to that extreme exposure, and to the waterfall behind. Williams, belayed by Jacques Beaudoin, is pictured on the “crux” – the most difficult move – of the climb, preparing to crank herself up the overhang and clip into the carabiner that’s hanging from a bolt above her.
The 34-year-old, who is studying for a degree in zoology and agricultural science, has worked at an indoor climbing gym in Sydney’s inner west since her retirement from ballet. The Blue Mountains is her happy place, though. “Nothing beats getting out there on real rock, in beautiful surroundings, with good friends for company,” she says. “It’s good for the soul.” So how did she end up on this steep, brawny, terrifying route – the sort of thing she really doesn’t like? Well, it turns out that Don’t Wet Yourself is the creation of her friend, virtuoso climbing photographer Simon Carter, who saw the potential line, bolted it, and performed the first ascent. “He then talked me into trying it!” she laughs.
To see more of Simon Carter’s photography, go to onsight.com.au