Loaded

Ted Cais’s introduction to climbing came at an early age with Bert Salmon introducing him to previously unknown scrambles on the crags and cliffs of southeast Queensland. He read about the exploits of Ron Cox and Pat Conaghan, immortalised in the pages of the University of Queensland Bushwalking Club’s annual journal, Heybob—a collection of inspiring tales of the early exploration of the heights in southeast Queensland and beyond that have impacted on generations of climbers since. But it was Les Wood and later, Rick White, who influenced him to break away from the ethic where the leader never falls and to push himself to the forefront of Queensland and Australian climbing. He is pictured above at Easter 1966, loaded up for a walk into the High Tops at the Warrumbungles on a Brisbane Rockclimbing Club visit.

Picture: Hugh Pechey collection.