Routes in Arapiles for selected grade

Start at crack two metres left of Ckinell but climb up grey slab on left to an easy stance directly below large thread. Straight up to middle of the two steep roofs. There's an undercling with a rattling tooth like block that is not going anywhere. Tricky gear and pumpy to place but regular gear can be found. Once over the roof follow the same line as Fracas to the top or head right to rap anchors.

Start as for 'Pot Boiler' but continue up to the horizontal break at 8m, then head right and up.

Incorrectly labelled as 'Tonic' when first put on The Crag. FA details on this alternate finish for 'Pot Boiler' are unknown.

Start as for 'Pot Boiler' but continue heading right then up gross looking crack.

Start left of 'The Pleb'. Up to ledge, traverse L to corner.

The right line.

Basically a second pitch for 'Scylla'. Possibly poorly protected.

Start: Start at the ledge atop 'Scylla'.

The main crack on the wall used to be very hard when it was graded 16! There are 2 odd chipped crucifixes at the base.

The thin seam.

Start: Start on the right of the wall, left of little corner.

The face - take care with delicate rock.

Start: Start 1.5m R of R.

Wall left of Scarlet Sage, via an orange overhang and Black flake.

From such beginnings at age 18, 10 years later he was in on Australia's first ascent of Everest. Quite nice anyway. Start a few m R of Lois Lane beneath the only significant crackline.

It may be a grade-17 sport route but the runout above the last bolt (although easy) should not be taken lightly. As for 'The Last Disco Dancer' to its third bolt. Head up L (crux) to a stance on the arête. Continue up the slab to the ledge and lower-off anchors.

Tricky start then R through bulges, finishing just L of Muldoon's final arete. It's good to do in two pitches to reduce rope drag and to better protect the second from a groundfall off the bouldery start. Rather than the long scramble approach, you can also approach up the short tough finger crack a few metres L of the start of Muldoon.

Start: Start 2m R of Tantalus. Descend from DRRB at the top of Muldoon

Lots of good stuff on this route. The final tower is intimidating and bold on poor rock, but you can avoid this by stepping left and up to chains. Start as for Clytemnaestra.

1. 30m (17) Up initial chimney then the shallow steep groove on L, over 2 overhangs to ledge.

2. 15m (16) Start on the left, or with some bold moves on the right, to gain the slender tower above, brittle rock, to airy exit.

Start 1m R of Necrophiliac. The thin crack, careful of the loose block.

Up RftM then juggy traverse R around arete.

R and up at top.

Start: Start R of TFoC.

Traverse out above The Flashing Blade, using the handholds of that route as footholds!

The physical hand crack, taking care with the blocks at the start. Start 2m R of Cerberus.

Essentially the right arete of D Minor. Start 2m R of D Minor. Up thin stepped line. Things ease off from about half-height before an exciting finish up arete.

Subtle line on left side of the D Major Pipe. The third pitch, up the south-east face is mostly done as a climb in its own right.

1. 25m (18) Climb subtle seams to ledge (fiddly small wires).

2. 10m (5) Up chimney to ledge. The front of the thin buttress to the left is somewhat harder.

3. 15m (16) Up greenish streak up middle of steep left wall to rap anchor. A bloody good pitch.

Start as for D Major, then take the line between D Major and Libretto.

How? The initial crack of Ejaculation and then straight up from the plaque.

Really nice climbing with an exciting blast up the finishing flake.

1. 35m 17. Go up onto a terrace a few metres above ground level in the gully just right of the Didgeridoo Pipe. Follow the crack up past the left side of the overhang at 25 metres and on up the flake continuation to chains (30m to gully).

2. 50m. Originally went to top but this pitch is rubbish so just rap off.

The late Dennis Kemp said that this was one of only two climbs that he had done at Arapiles that he would not consider repeating. Start just R of Bass Clef, directly below the chimney of Bass Clef.

1. 30m (17) Directly up thin lichenous seams to the base of the chimney of Bass Clef, then up right on black slab to the foot of a crack just left of Tremulo. Up this crack to a stance atop a short chimney. The abseil chain on Tremulo is just a step to the right, not that we're suggesting running away or anything like that.

2. 15m (-) Step left and climb front of buttress.

3. 25m (-) Up crest of buttress finishing steeply past gnome.

4. 5m (-) The crack behind. Rope drag could be a problem.

Excellent climb for the grade. Absorbing from bottom to top.

Makes a worthwhile route out of Yossarian. Right of Toccata is a crack up the left side of a short buttress.

1. Step right from the start of Toccata into crack and up to ledge. Follow seams up and right past small and fiddly gear. Where seam blanks out, step left and continue up to base of Toccata's chimney.

2. The wide crack of Yossarian looks rubbish. Just finish up Toccata.

A hard few moves on the crux but a bit disappointing overall. Start on the grey buttress just right of Toccata.

1. 13m (10) The buttress to a small stance about 6 metres below and left of prominent roof.

2. 35m (17) Up diagonally right from 2-3 metres to an awkward mantleshelf then an unlikely traverse back left to a thin crack. Go up into a wider, bottomless crack just right of 'Toccata'. The easiest way off is probably to scramble around (roped) to the abseil anchors on 'Toccata'.

Quite dicky on the initial face and protection on the middle section is not the best. A good climb which would improve with traffic (or a concerted cleaning effort). Originally done in two pitches but much safer to do as one.

Start at the small corner as for 'Deflated' etc.

Up corner, step right onto face and up seam to small stance. Slightly left and up into shallow groove (several #3 RPs useful) and finish up right arete.

Up R to small flake, then up R to L end of a ledge. Poxy flake to finish.

Start: Start 5m down R of OL.

The wide L-facing flake-crack.

Start: Start 4m L of MYC.

The shallow groove, then the L crack and the L side of the flake to a corner and face on the south wall.

Start: Start on L edge of 'Brick Wall'.

Start 2m L of Pedro. Wall to bushy ledge, thin black crack, wall.

This line is in a hanging gully right of 'Six and Out' (this is above Jason on Golden Fleece Wall) and takes the obvious crack on the right (facing in) wall.

The obvious flake crack on the wall facing Golden Fleece Wall.

The weakness in the slab then L into chimney

Start: Start just L of 'Coyote'.

An accidental new route. Not easy to locate from this description though!

Start: Behind the 'Wailing Wall' up right arête.

The twin cracks.

Start: Start just L of KB.

A smooth small wall facing north east approximately 70m up and right of Shattered Buttress. Climb to small sentry box. Take the right hand edge.

The slabby arete just right of the big chimney left of 'Prudity'.

Quite classic and good fun. Climb the obvious corner on the left side of the wall. An awkward start then jamming to a little roof. A bit tricky but not too cruxy. Take care with gear in the glassy crack - cams have a habit of either skating out or walking in.

On the left side of the main face (that faces camp) and left of ETGZ. Up to roof. Through the aforementioned roof, stepping left and up arete.

Start 2m R of MG. Up the wall for 8m then step R across cleft, up past small overhang and the unprotected wall to finish.

Start at the beginning of the gully, in the gap behind Minstrel Pinnacle. Good tricky and enjoyable crack climbing, but with some questionable rock.

Start right of Smeg and the Heads just left of crack. Up wall to break then up more.

Start about five metres right of Red Parrot Jism. Up onto slab then left into short crack. Up this to top.

A great little face route reminiscent of Blue Mts sandstone. A few intricate gear placements (interspersed by obvious ones) keeps the pulse up along the way.

Start: Left side of Wind Wall.

1. First pitch of Arab.

2. Directly up face from double ring anchor to roof, climbing over the roof to the right a bit at the giant horn. Belay just after roof.

3. Climb up to the summit on the face keeping 2 meters to the right of Sacana corner when they connect mid-way.

A spectacular journey. 1. 20m Wall right of Sandpiper, continuing up slab/chimney, to good ledge. 2. 25m (crux) Break through overlap as for Arab, step up right, then follow the line of right-facing edges. (This line is left of an obvious yellow stripe of rock). Continue up wall, trending slightly left, to major horizontal break. Don’t touch the loose boulder sitting on the belay ledge. A dramatic, technically interesting pitch. 3. 20m Up black wall (left of Dunes) to the Oasis. 4. 20m As for Dunes, pitch 3. 5. 20m Move right to yellow corner, step up right and follow black rock direct to the summit.

Direct finish to No Place For Foxes. A little light on gear.

The thin wall 2m right of Camelot.

Sit start at crimp, straight up and mantle to finish.

Up the seam.

On the trackside of the Pinch Arete boulder. Climb the face just left of the easy crack. Contrived but somewhat fun.

Climb the high crack on the trackside of the Pinch Arete boulder.

Borderline whether it deserves the "serious" tag, but the crux is quite tricky, with spaced pro. Then again, you've got plenty of clean air up there, and it's still a great route.

Start: Start as for The Bard.

1. 24m (9) Climb the initial slab of Bard and the corner cracks then belay at the start of the R-leading ramp.

2. 20m (16) Pull up L from the ramp then traverse L above the bulge for 6m, then up the face a few metres L of the arete. Belay on the same ledge as The Bard's 2nd belay.

3. 27m (17) Up the line on the R side of the main arete for 8m to a small roof. Now launch up left via steep exciting climbing to gain the next line, which gradually eases. Belay under the obvious roof.

4. 12m (16) Step a bit R to get through the roofs without too much difficulty, to finish on the Bard Terrace.

The name is quite misleading as it is not a "direct start" to Scorpion but is actually quite a way left and is climbed completely independently. It is a good way to get to the Blockbuster Ledge though. Considered by some to be a bit of a sandbag, but I guess it is just an old fashioned grade 17. Start 10m R of I.

The major chimney R of 'Blockbuster' and L of 'Quo Vadis'.

Start: Start R of W.

The low traverse makes it essential to use double ropes if you wish to avoid groundfall potential. After that the gear becomes more heartening, and the climbing is great. Start in the middle of the West face of Bluff Major, where the ground is at it's highest point. Finish direct to chains on R side of summit boulder, or slightly easier to L side of boulder. Please don't toprope direct off the chains as they see a lot of traffic.

Ann Pauligk's bold early-mid 1970s ascent may have been the first Aussie female ascent at this grade.

Start as for ML. After the initial traverse, go straight up the whole way, finishing 5m R of the capping boulder.

Start at the far R edge of 'Seneca' wall.

Topo is vague at the top - pls fix if you know where it finishes.

FA: Mike Law, Mike Stone - 1977-10-00

P1 (25m, 17) Up corner, around a crack in a bulge, then L to a belay.

P2 (25m, 17) Up the line and through the roof via a scoop.

The easiest route on Broken Song Wall. Nice climbing but the ledge system breaks the flow.

Belay as for Little By Little.

Move right and go up easy ground on Riding The Quayle to ramp at 5m. Step up and go up diagonally right and up to a slight nose. Move around the left side of the nose to avoid large detached blocks and up to a large ledge that stretches off to the right. Lovely climbing up crack on left edge of ledge until it stops. Smooth wall past a FH to lower-off.

So-so. Second pitch is OK.

Start: Scramble across to a line about 3 metres right of The Dribble's second pitch overhang.

1. 25m (14) Line 3 metres right of 'The Dribble' to belay on loose blocks

2. 30m (17) Step left from ledge and up to groove bounding left side of upper wall. Onwards to scrubby ledge. Scramble off down right to rappel.

A good old-fashioned route – a major geological fault above Pan Grove, between Senior Citizens etc and The Bat Cave. It’s the polished chimney right of Rat on Roller Skates, and is visible from the Wimmera Highway.

Chimney and bridge glassy rock past various blockages, exiting left at the top.

An alternate finish is to traverse left from the first chockstone for 3 or 4 metres then go up to rap bolt. Added by Nod and Kieran Loughran 25/10/2018

Start behind the twisted tree.

Wander up through next tier to find belay at callitris.

This route takes a black groove at the right hand end of the ledge. Belay at ledge from where it is possible to walk off right.

Straight up the bulging arete right side of right wall trending left to exit via central groove, stand start from the crimp steps.

As for 'Trapeze' to the bolt (where 'Trapeze' breaks left), and continue up the arete past another bolt to a new lower-off.

Start: As for 'Trapeze'.

Right-slanting dog-leg crack just right of 'Dynamic'

Climb Bastress into the giant scoop. Traverse R about 8m till you get to some gear and go up the wall, then L up the arete to the chains of Hot Coq (which are over the edge).

Up wall, passing roof on the L to big ledge at 30m. Walk off here, or take optional finish up V-chimney.

Start: 5m R of 'Squeaker', below prominent ceiling/nose up higher.

The beautiful, but "all too short" thin crack starting well up the face.

Start: Start just L of 'No More Gaps'.

Up little groove then R a bit and straight up on little incuts.

Start: Opposite WOS at the L side of a mossy wall.

Up wall, the head R to ledge. Move R again then up.

Start: Just L of 2nd gully is a wall with orange and black rock.

Start off the flake then trend L to short L-facing corner. Up this then pass roof above just R of centre.

Start: About 2/3rds of the way up the 2nd gully is a flake resting against the wall.

Quite committing. Starts 3m right of Zabriskie Delicately past BR (hard to see from the ground) and step right into the line which bounds the right side of the steep wall. Follow the line to the ledge and walk left to the Zabriskie bolts.

Good direct climb to top of cliff. Could be split into two pitches if so desired. Starts right of Point Blanc and left of a short left-facing corner further right.

Climb a faint vertical bulge in the cliffline and continue up the obvious short crack/groove. Pass the little rectangular roof on the right and bustle your way over the overhang above that guards the upper part of the cliff. Veer slightly right to finish.

To descend, scramble down the ridge towards camp then find a bollard to make a short rap into the gully towards the Voodoo buttress (sling needed).

Wall just right of pine and move left above flakes to finish straight up above tree.

Cute little thing starting 20m up right from 'Death Row'. Crack to ledge, then seam up grey face.

Fantastic climb. The original route climbed the first pitch of Courage until above the grotty overhang and then traversed left. The route as described is vastly better. Start below the inset corner in recessed bay behind large Callitris pine.

1. 37m (17) Follow the corner for 17 metres, protection is spaced for first few metres. Move left at chalked-up weakness into a diagonal scooped line. Follow this to below roof and move left to terrace. DRB (35m rap to ground if required).

2. 30m (17) Pull through the first easy weakness on left side of overhangs. Traverse 3 metres right (stay low) and make an airy step across a gap. Take line leading straight up into awkward bottomless chimney. Easy chimney leads to large ledge, continue further 5m up to another large terrace. Scramble off left or climb short wall to base of French Crack.

An easier version of Courage. The right-hand inset corner.

Looks quite daunting for the grade.

Takes the hanging buttress between Hurricane Lamp Cracks and The Shroud. The overhang on pitch 3 is exciting. Pitch 2 is best avoided while the block is in place. Start as for The Shroud.

1. 28m (10) As for The Shroud.

2. 15m (14) Seam between Hurricane Lamp Cracks and Fat Dude until horizontal crack leads right past a detached block to front of buttress. Up to good ledge.

3. 25m (17) Bridge deep line on right side of buttress (just left of The Shroud's third pitch). Traverse onto front of buttress, through overhang and up line. Avoid the top overhang (a big jammed block) on the right and continue to the Tennis Court.

If you only scare yourself on one route this year, make this the one. A fantastically scary (but safe) through a large roof a long way up the Pharos. The best grade 16 roof at Arapiles. Start from the right hand end of the large ledge at the end of Spiral Staircase's 2nd pitch beneath a crack through a roof. There used to be a 'map of Italy' hanging down, but that's gone.

1. 6m (17) Up to roof and out to stance and belay.

2. 24m (12) Step back left over the void and up. The top pitch of Spiral can be done to finish.

3. -m (-) A third pitch has been done by stepping across and climbing the wall left of the top pitch of Spiral. Eric Jones, Richard Smith, Paul Hoskins, sometime in 2001.

Quite good climbing on the lower south-east face, the next little face up the hill from the Punks wall. Takes the face and then left into the prominent hanging corner. Double ropes help. Start on a small ledge below the middle of the face.

Up face a few moves then move right into left-leading diagonal and up to ledge. Traverse left, staying low, to below hanging corner. Move up to corner and then up corner/ramp a ways before finishing straight up to huge boulder.

The lovely thin crack.

A harder finish to "Beat Route". Up this to roof and pull over on brittle holds to right.

A good, varied pitch with an exciting steep finish that was originally dirty, poorly protected and with significant loose blocks. Now cleaned up and with a couple of tweaks to avoid runouts and loose blocks as well as a rap anchor. The thin crack section is a little contrived but keeps the line flowing.

Start as for Tamesis, the first crack system left of Vanoise.

Up the crack (originally climbed poorly protected face 2m to right) and at about 7 metres, instead of stepping left into the obvious continuation, follow thin cracks up the face to little step in the roofline. Swing right through this step (originally moved up left into next corner over dangerous blocks). Easily up for next 5 or 6 metres to twin cracks through top bulge. Initially up right-hand edge of right-hand crack then finish steeply between the cracks to anchor. 30m rappel.

Be careful with the rap – new 60m ropes doubled reached the ground with about half a metre to spare whereas an old 60m doubled was about a metre off the ground. Don’t rap or get lowered off the end of the rope.

Straightens out Agent Orange. At the roof corner, step left then up and into AO.

Straight up to and through obvious weakness between Soggy Muffin and Lou will be pissed.

Up breaks then slab left of 'Prendergast' roof.

Start: Start about 6 metres left of the 'Prendergast' flake.

Logically done as a two-pitch combo with "Marcia's Route". The initial wall is fingery and tiring to protect: small cams and beware of ledge-fall. Prominent black streak into a chimney-gully is harder than it looks. Descend via Bakers Delight rap.

Line 2 metres right of 'Fantoochi'.

Climb wall and step right to tiny, left-facing corner which is followed until you can swing right to arete. Up.

Start: Start 1 metre right of 'Double Decker'.

Steep climbing up the corner left of 'Mr Hyde'.

Buttress uphill from Voidoid Pinnacle - opposite 'Totally Foxed!'

Right-leading diagonal. From almost at top of seam, step left and go up.

Start: Start under hanging flake on left side of face.