Young guns on the takedown!

There's been some impressive and motivating climbing happening lately by two of Queensland's young gun climbers. With 30+ degree days and high humidity, it's supposed to be the off season, but someone forgot to tell these guys.




Matt Schimke (pictured left) is 15 years old and lives within a bike ride of Mt Coolum. Unlike most young climbers, Matt didn't start climbing in the gym. He's been climbing for about two years exclusively on rock and has been steadily working his way through the cave's lines. This last month alone he has done the third ascent of Call Of Duty 28/7c+, a remarkable second shot ascent of Spoonman 28/7c+ and the first ascent of Space Oddity 29/8a which eliminates the batman start from Adam Donoghue's Ground Control. How many people climb 8a within two years of starting climbing? Matt will be broadening his climbing horizons on the Upskill Climbing Camp in Kalymnos Greece this April. Limestone look out!

Tom O'Halloran (pictured right) has just finished school and is finding more time to hit the crags. On a recent trip to the Blue Mountains he flashed Lactictoc 26/7b+ and onsighted(!) the full version of The Way Of All Flesh 28/7c+. This is the equal hardest onsight by a Queensland climber ever. He's also done a few sessions at Mt Coolum and has quickly despatched Full Metal Traverse, Gonna Fly Now and Grazed Anatomy, all 27/7c, and all second try. Both Weapon of Choice 27/8 (7c/+) and Spoonman went down in a matter of a couple of tries, A Kneebar Too Far 29/8a in five shots, and now he's set his sights on harder things.

And of course it's not just these two who are climbing well. It's exciting to see this wave of younger climbers coming through who will climb all the current testpieces, and then push standards even higher.