“Five, four, three… I was shaking trying my best to stick to my pre-composed frame …two, one, see ya.
The camera fired, then the whistling sound of tracking suits faded into the distance...”
I made a few steps and thought this was it. This was the first time I admitted the fucking backpack was too heavy. Somehow I made myself move again. Every joint in my legs felt the combined load of the beast on my back and the 15kg of photography gear on my chest. Step-by-step, I told myself. Step-by-step. There was one-and-a-half-day’s worth of step-by-stepping ahead through not exactly flat terrain. The goal was the West Face of Frenchmans Cap, the most prominent peak in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. Our collective goal was to climb up, BASE jump off and somehow make a movie about it. ‘How the hell are we going to make this sufferfest appealing to sane people?’ I thought.
There were six of us: Pete, Martin, Jared, Simon, Lee and me. Looking at their backpacks and drunken walking style, it was obvious I was not the only one feeling the gravity. Except Jared, who on top of his two backpacks also carried a hangover; at least he had an excuse to feel miserable.
Collective suffering can do wonders, and it also helps when you are wandering through a paradise. We passed beautiful button grass plains, navigated around Lake Vera and fought our way up the unforgivingly-steep Barren Pass. During this crawl-fest Jared, the Tassie local and nature lover, pointed here and there showing us the ancient forest’s wonders. “These leaves can be used to make awesome tee. See that dead tree over there? It was probably thousand years old”. His love for the nature all around us was inspiring and addictive. At one point I walked closely behind Jared. Under the heavy load my forehead was almost touching his backpack. I carefully investigated the fabric of his backpack to see if I could find a chain – I was sure he would chain us all to these ancient pines if he heard a chainsaw in the distance.
To be honest, I felt like we did not belong here with our superficial goal of climbing and jumping off the mountain. The fact that the route Pete and Martin wanted to climb was called The Lorax felt more than appropriate and the urge to come up with footage and pictures which would show the beauty of this place as opposed to focusing on just the action grew stronger and stronger in us.
Two days later at the Lake Tahune hut our bodies were tired but spirits were high. We scoped the route, then walked to the summit and found the anchor for me to abseil down to get close-up shots during the climb. Back in the hut, we went through the plan for the next day. Pete and Martin would climb, Simon, Jared and I would shoot for the story at the base and then long shots from the ground followed by a fast hike to the summit with more shooting from above. In the meantime, Lee would be our airborne correspondent who would give us updates on the climbers’ progress and jump off the cliff at his pleasure.
And that’s pretty much what happened. Except, apparently climbing The Lorax was scarier than expected and not all grade 20s are the same, abseiling off the cliff was a trouser-filling, do-not-touch-anything adventure of its own and filming was one hell of a comedy show thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. I cannot really comment on the actual climbing (as I hardly touched the rock) but having the surreal opportunity to be dangling above Pete and Martin and witnessing the character-building runouts above the small RPs, made it obvious that it was not a walk in the park. It also explained Pete’s and Martin’s slightly older and relieved look when they reached the top.
We spent the night at the summit and woke up into a beautiful sunrise which only bivacous in the mountains can deliver. Everything below us was still hiding under the clouds scattered in a few erratic layers and illuminated by the sun rising somewhere above New Zealand. We enjoyed the views and the little chit-chat during breakfast but there was still one important part of the trip to do and you could sense the nervousness in the air while Pete and Lee kept close eyes on the weather, wind, clouds, level of crazyness in their blood and who knows what else is important for a successful BASE jump. Then, a decision was made: conditions were perfect. Back then I have never seen a BASE jump, yet alone took pics or filmed it. I was scared as shit, hardly able to turn my photography brain on. In my tummy I swear I could hear the butterflies.
’Five, four, three…’ I was shaking trying my best to stick to my pre-composed frame ‘…two, one, see ya.’ The camera fired, then the whistling sound of tracking suits faded into the distance, fortunately followed by two bangs as the canopies opened far below. Far out…still shaking, I kept looking down at the two little dots and wondered if this is how my mum (who knows nothing about climbing) had always felt when I had said, ‘See ya, going climbing.’
I guess danger is relative hey, in climbing we get exposed to it gradually, learn how to deal with it, and either get used to it, try to make it safer for us or avoid it all together … but in BASE jumping, it is bloody obvious what is at stake, there is no sugar coating in the form of bolts, cams or hiding the danger behind your mate’s belaying skills. This is it, I thought, the pure love for what you do which cannot be faked to show off in front of your mates.
The one and only Lee Jackson before the jump
And with that, it was time to leave this beautiful place. Back in Launceston I handed my video footage to Pete to enjoy the editing and somehow made a movie out of it. Part of me was jealous that he could re-live this trip again and again, part of me felt relieved when I saw the amount of footage he would have to go through.
Looking back at this trip and seeing The Lorax Project movie on the big screen, what stands out most is the sense of camaraderie and the realisation of what is possible when a group of psyched friends all contribute towards a shared goal. The creativity we all fed each other, it did not matter who was doing what, who got the sickest angle or how tired we were. Somehow what could have been a nervous sufferfest was a trip filled with laughter and adventure. This to me is gold. So thanks Martin, Pete, Jared, Simon and the always-smiling bloody legend Lee for taking me along! If you haven’t seen the movie yet, it is available online here - https://vimeo.com/310331133).
