why you WON'T send your proj! FA V12/3 - The Bear and the Piano. Grampians/Gariwerd

It's easy to play it safe, keep things simple. But that's not where magic happens. I committed to this despite not knowing it was possible and really wanting to 'achieve' something, as payment for 24hrs driving and 2 days bouldering. When I let go and just let the process unfold, that's when things really opened up. Just go climbing.
An incredible boulder located below the Ammagamma boulder at the Citadel in Grampians/Gariwerd National Park. I gave it some tries at Easter, but only managed 1 1/2 moves in an hour. Back on a quick strike mission amonth later and I was able to work out all the beta day one, then knock it over on day two. It really is one of the best bits of climbing I've ever done.
Camera gear used:
Canon EOS R amzn.to/3FrWSGH
Canon L 16-35mm amzn.to/37qkBuf
Rode Video Micro amzn.to/3sjPF6e
Sony ZV1 amzn.to/3Pi7WL5
GoPro Hero 8 black amzn.to/3yn8SHG
GoPro hero 5 black
Gorilla pod 3k tripod amzn.to/3LTR3nC
Gorilla pod 1k tripod amzn.to/3ygZhSW
Manfrotto Compact Lightweight tripod amzn.to/3wf0HdQ
Thank you:
The North Face Australia
Tenaya
Black Diamond Australia
Clif Bar
Chalk Cartel
Awesome Woodys
Thrive Nutrition and Dietetics
Australian Climbing podcast: www.baffledays.com.au

[@TomOHalloranAus]

The name comes from a beautiful children’s book which makes me cry (happy tears) every time I read it to my daughter. You can buy it here amzn.to/3GrM2Rq

[@serrels]

These vids rule. Wish more climbers did KZbin this way. Feels like someone just chatting through their project with you at the gym. Really well done. Climb looks ridic as well.

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Cheers Mark, psyched you're liking them :)

[@jothello9162]

I personally really enjoy this kind of content, it's very engaging to see how your passion for climbing translates into a philosophy for approaching not just sports, but pretty much all aspects of life. It has that feeling of watching a show and willing the protagonist to succeed, it reminds me why climbing is so addictive. Your absurd skill level and capability to produce entertaining content is almost certainly a recipe for success. The strangely comforting Aussie accent also helps.

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Wow, thanks Joe. Appreciate the kind words 😀. There’s certainly some crossover with sport and life approach. Looking forward to making more and more vids

[@josb2210]

Hi Tom Being a father and a climber in east canada, the opportunities for climbing in good conditions on my project (V11) are rare. I’ve spend the last year to train for it only to be shut down again and again this short season. I almost didn’t have to climb anything else outside However, I’ll keep training hard and go for it season after season This awsome video just psyche me more to go again and try hard Jon

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Ahh that's always tough when conditions are fickle. I really hope it comes together for you. That long project process can be hard. It reminds me of that chart of 'what you think success looks like. what it actually looks like.' and there's the linear line for what we think/want and the totally scrambled up down, back and forth mess that it actually is. Good luck!!

[@josb2210]

I posted my little story because you asked for it in the video I was secretly hoping for some but of advise 😅 Thank you so much mate !

[@LoveAndClimbing]

Awesome send, man! Carol Dweck talks about two mindsets: 1) the fixed mindset, where you believe (perhaps not consciously) that you can't improve, so it's all about hiding your weaknesses by avoiding taking risks where you might fail and be exposed, and 2) the growth mindset, where you believe that you *can* improve, and further that failure is a necessary part of improvement to be embraced rather than avoided. It seems like the latter is some of what you were talking about.

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Yes, absolutely! Couldn't agree more with that :)

[@maxmiller488]

Really cool video Tom! Last time that I committed 100% was when I did 2 weeks ago a highball in font. I was lucky to flash it. and I was really satisfied

[@TomOHalloranAus]

That's awesome! How cool is that first go highball experience! Very very memorable. Thanks for sharing :)

[@lachlanoerman6584]

Really cool video! Congrats on the send

[@TomOHalloranAus]

thanks :). it was a fun video to make...and vey enjoyable little trip

[@danschmidt5189]

Tom, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your content. So much of the climbing media I see, especially on social media like Instagram, commoditizes climbs - people fire out short videos and pithy captions as cover to claim a number. "I learned so much from this one!" "Oh, what'd you learn?" "I learned you just have to PULL HARD BRO!" Your videos show so much more passion, background, context, specificity, and effort, and I just really appreciate it. They actually get me psyched.

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Thanks Dan, I really appreciate that :). It means a lot. I 'm really enjoying making them and psyched people are getting more than just 'pull hard bro' out of them. Hope to keep serving more up for everyone :)

[@yoyoyoyo140]

Oh wow! That would be a dream line/style for me!

[@TomOHalloranAus]

It’s pretty great 😀. Definitely worth trying 👍

[@AlexeiDrummond]

Awesome looking boulder! Your brief mention of Biographie made we wonder if you have gone back, or plan to? Ceuse seems like an amazing destination for climbing at the elite end of the grade scale.

[@TomOHalloranAus]

I would love to get back there. Covid and the Olympics got in the way for a few years. It's back on the radar though. Also pretty keen on spain as well. Never been there :). Too much to do haha

[@ComputerManDanMiller]

So stoked for you Tom! Love the format of climbing and chatting.

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Thanks :). Glad you're liking it. I'm having a ton of fun making them!

[@brianbaker4609]

Loving the vids man, alot of people don't talk about the mentality behind climbing hard, such a huge part of climbing that seems to get left behind. Your insight gets me so motivated to try hard. Started a new project yesterday 2 grades harder than my previous hardest send, standing at the top of the slab section looking up at the crux was so intimidating, was hard to get into the right mindset to really put in the effort to work out good beta, took me a good few hours to really get to a point where I could try hard enough to figure out some moves that work, wish this video came out a couple of days earlier to give me the boost I needed, psyched for my next session on it now!

[@TomOHalloranAus]

That’s awesome Brian. It sure can feel intimidating opening the account on a big project and can take a moment to get comfortable owning your space on it. Enjoy the process of putting it together 💪

[@matthewsevers5862]

Great video and great content! I went out to a project yesterday (would be a new grade for me). Conditions were not great and I didn’t do all the moves but I tried really hard. It’s difficult to not get discouraged when things feel impossible, but that attitude to be happy I tried hard, fully committed, gained knowledge, and got better is what I walked away with. Thanks for the insights.

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Nice one Matthew. It's a bit like that getting on something which is a level up. If you went well on it, then it's not a level up :). Sounds like it was a win for you though. Keep on going :)

[@jetjaxon]

So good! How good is that movement with the footwork! Frothin!

[@TomOHalloranAus]

It's so damn good. I'm a huge fan of climbing when there's multiple foot moves for each hand move. For some reason it just seems more rad! Fully frothed

[@krakenattackin7617]

This vid came at the perfect time. I went out to a route I was keen on projecting this weekend with the hopes to make some good links. I got to the halfway rest after a lot of beta-finding, then accidentally spent WAYYY too long in the kneebar rest out of fear of commitment to the upcoming crux. I ended up being too gassed to climb again that weekend and drove home, 5 hours, defeated. Yet, looking back, I didn't lose. I got a good link on a beautiful climb and pushed more comfort zone, and now I have a good idea of the conditioning level I need to do that route one day.

[@TomOHalloranAus]

That’s awesome!! Opening the account on a project can be intimidating. Sounds like a great first day though. Nice one for looking back and seeing the day for the win that it was! Good luck for day two 🥳

[@michaelchan792]

🔥🔥🔥

[@TomOHalloranAus]

haha thanks

[@joolsgrommers1466]

Super content like this! Love it! Just had a week in the Lakes and was prepared for not sending anything 'hard', plan was to just try stuff. Man trying hard beats you up! By the end I couldn't get near my normal flash grade. But, I did get to try hard, just didn't get to send hard. Learnt stuff, will be (a) better (climber) next time... Thanks for reiterating that the trip wasn't a waste of time at all..

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Thanks! Glad you've enjoyed it. Haha i think that's the sign of a good trip! When you get to the end and you can't pull the skin off a rice custard :). Trying hard is a ton of fun but it can feel weird not 'doing' something on a trip. Sounds like you had fun trying :)

[@joolsgrommers1466]

@@TomOHalloranAus Glad my tea mug has a handle, and my laptop doesn't recognise me anymore.....

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Haha handles on cups are a must on climbing trips!

[@MythAvatar]

Yes i like the style of these videos. perhaps a bit longer with more climbing included but yes i like them!

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Noted. Thanks! Glad you like em 😀

[@meganwong9508]

I really enjoyed this video! Thank you for sharing a bit of the process, the mindset you had going in, and just the line itself (looks great!). I think it’s a great reminder that the experience in itself with climbing is so important for our own growth, with the process of facing uncertainties, having the confidence to at least go for something, and what you talked about with stacking the odds in your favour...it was really wonderfully put and inspiring in a lot of ways. Cheers and thanks for the vids!

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Thanks Megan. I really appreciate that 😀. So easy to miss the moments hey. Glad you found some value ✌️

[@philsnev]

Nice work dude

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Thanks Phil

[@philsnev]

@@TomOHalloranAus have bought the book too. Always looking for more good stories for the girls

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Awesome!! I really love it 😀

[@declankoenig7392]

This looks fckin rad. Can't wait to get strong enough to jump on it

[@TomOHalloranAus]

It’s very all time. Worth some training sessions to get there 😀

[@arn9496]

i also love to figure out a boulder on my own i think it really gets you out of the rush of "everything has to work now" and you learn a little bit more about yourself i think :)

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Totally. I love the process. I find it can be slower to work cryptic sequences, but completely fun process :)

[@arn9496]

@@TomOHalloranAus can i ask you for some tipps? im bouldering since 5 years and i got to 7c in my first 3 years (hall) but since then im always struggling with some kind of injury (not always the same). So my max is still 7c which i reach once every year and then i get an injury that forces me to take a break or climb easier for some time. Just cant figure out what i should do :')

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Hope you're able to get some flow with the climbing. injuries suck! base level strength work can be a great place to start. A good local coach should be able to point you in the right direction. Rest is hugely important as well. Good luck.

[@josiah_pywtorak]

I'd love to have the vlog-style version of the send with commentary, and a shorter uncut video of the send. Great stuff

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Noted 😀. Cheers for the feedback ✌️

[@maxfarr4142]

Hey Tom sick send! I'd be keen to hear the status of the access issues and how they are affecting the vic climbers. Hard to get a good idea from down under her in NZ.

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Access is open in some areas and not in others. savegrampiansclimbing.org/2022/01/09/gglmp-this-is-all-we-can-manage-folks/ to my knowledge, this is a good place to start when looking for what's open/closed. Scroll down to MAPS section in the article and it's easy to see what's what in a big picture scale. The nuanced finer details are more vague. Anderson (most of), Trackside, Citadel and a few others are open in the north. Much of Halls Gap crags are open too, (Valley of the Giants, Venus Baths, The Bleaches). Sport climbing has been hit harder with closures/not reopened. I'm not sure what's going on there. Definitely plenty to still come and climb on and froth over! Worth doing some research before you walk into an area though. I'm not certain on exactness of what's going on.

[@maxfarr4142]

@@TomOHalloranAus Yeah I've been following that website as far as publicly available info. I'm keen to hear how its affecting real climbers. I lived in Nati for a while back in the day so its something I care about and I'm just devastated for the sport. More people need to know and care about the detail. You have a voice..

[@maxfarr4142]

I cry about it every day.. But I'm relieved when I see people such as yourself just getting on with business.

[@TomOHalloranAus]

It’s certainly been a tough for years for the locals. So many businesses benefit from having climbers down there, as I’m sure you know, whether it’s tourist climbers or locals. I think the best we can do is follow the current rules, have positive dialogue with land managers and owners, climb where we can and hope for the best

[@j.tarantino]

Ramping dude

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Havin' fun :)

[@Productionbrikfilm]

first🙃 cool video interesting to see those 2 camera angles congrats! btw what do you do for a living?

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Haha nice one 😉. I do IRATA rope access and rigging as well as work in a local gear shop

[@Productionbrikfilm]

@@TomOHalloranAus cool so not to far off from climbing then!

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Haha yep

[@babyhandsbeta6388]

Big froth!!!

[@TomOHalloranAus]

It’s a mega bit of rock🤯

[@willwheeler3048]

Some vids on injuries and injury prevention etc would be great Tom, no doubt you’ve had a fairly decent run with injuries due to your good balance, strength and lifestyle factors?

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Absolutely. I’ll pop it on the list!

[@Rotempunkt]

What's that App called? Cheers

[@TomOHalloranAus]

For the spray board? Stokt