Routes in Scenic Rim for selected grade

The short line just left of The Root.

The tree root left of COC, described in 1968 as "one of the best routes around"

APPROACH: From Lower Portals car park follow the track to The Lower Portals (3.8 km) and once at the portals bypass them by taking the steep track on the right. Up to the ridge and back down to the creek. Rock hop upstream until you get to Barney waterfall (on your left). Scramble to the top of the waterfall on the left and walk across the waterfall, the route starts here just above water pools scooped in the slab.

ROUTE DESCRIPTION:

1. Follow the bushy ridge until some open slabby sections are reached.

2. Scramble up for about 100m or so finding LLR until a new bushy section is reached.

3. From here either follow easy grade 4 rock leading right and up or jump left on a juggy wall (cleaner climbing but harder) to a ledgy area below an exposed blank wall.

4. From here the route traverses left on a bushy ledge until you find a low angle easy juggy ramp leading up and right, or alternatively climb straight up on grade 10 rock but runout.

5. Keep climbing up until a bushy gully on the left leads up to a bouldery move to exit on a shaded ledgy area

6. Carefully scramble over blocks and thin exposed ridge for 50m until top of a notch. Downclimb into the saddle over a chockstone with big exposure either sides and back to the ridge.

7. (crux) From a belay tree (optional), climb up trending left to a black boy and ledge on grade 4:

   a) Keep climbing up (grade 5/6) with a couple of trees as protection or solo until easy ground, or

   b) Traverse left, sling solid tree and climb up easy grade but exposed over big drop.

8. Walk to the summit.

To descend: Walk along top of peak towards East Peak and walk down until bolted anchor is reached, from here, abseil (60m rope recommended) into the saddle.

Notes:

1. A 50m static rope will safely take you to the bottom of the abseil, if weight concern is an issue. No downclimbing involved.

2. As of 2022, Queensland State Emergency Service (SES) has added a bolt with two rings high on the ridge to aid the staff in their rescuing efforts. Please do not remove it.

3. As of mid June 2022, there's now four bolts with rings on the so called crux aka. final scramble/climbing section, shortly before the summit. Presumably also installed by SES to assist with rescues. These could be used to lead or top belay people thru this section if necessary, but rope drag would be horrendous and will damage the vegetation that the rope will have to drag over and/or thru.

Some tricky scrambling on exposed rock. The first challenge is a large slab past the first pinnacle. Bypass this slab by following the base of the slab to the west. After this second pinnacle you'll reach the massive slab which traverses to the east towards Short Leaning Ridge. Follow the slab down and Eastward until a large horizontal crack makes a traverse across the slab to some bigger trees doable. Head up and Eastwards avoiding danger by following the vegetation up until you are forced to make a mad scramble up over an exposed arête on good footholds and handholds. A rope may be handy here. The next obstacle isn't encountered until the long scrubby ridge comes to a minor peak and heads down into a rocky saddle. Progress is now only possible by heading down to the West of Leaning Peak and up a gully eastwards to Leaning Peak. Short Leaning Ridge route is eventually joined and a couple of exposed cruxy moves are encountered before the final scramble to the summit.

Note: An alternative way of bypassing the second slab is by heading up eastwards until a corner with a crack on it is encountered. It is a 4-5m grade 11 climb which can be done unprotected (use the bollard past the crack to secure the next move) or place a nut (size 9) to protect the crack. The ridge is easily accessed by scrambling the face past the short climbing section.

This uninspiring line ascends the wide corner left of 1st cave. Find the easy way up to large ledge below corner. Up past two large chockstones and into gully. Scramble up rightwards to top.