In times like these, it seems everyone is reflecting on the pre-pandemic past to source positivity for the future. Social media has become the fireplace of choice, with many people publishing previously archived photos, films, podcasts and general mutterings.
In the world of climbing the stories are endless, and with instant media available at your fingertips the latest and greatest tales can be shared at the click of a button. However, some of the older tales – the ones that escaped mainstream media – are sometimes the best. These are the sort of narratives that are passed on over the years, some funny, some sad, but always entertaining.
In this short interview-styled catch up, I speak to Saxon Johns. For those not around in the ‘90s, or who simply know little about the man, I apologise, as the format is a little different. It lacks background. They are snippets of conversations that you would expect to walk into late one night in the Pines, or one rainy afternoon in a Blue Mountains' pub. You are not going to find out where he went to school, what his parents did, what he studied in uni or his current family status. You may however learn a little about tartan shorts, green WRXs and Tevas.
Glebe Wall
Glebe Wall (Sydney) was my local when I was a high schooler. Somehow, I pinched my pennies together and invested in a petrol drill, which I happened to buy while at school. I remember starting it up in the playground before taking it on a trad trip…
Glebe Wall was a bit of worthless quarried sandstone, a stone’s
