Sandinista Cliffs Guide

Pretty tough for the grade. Magnificant orange Arapilesian rock.

Start: The thirty five degree overhanging corner about 12m left of 'Hamster Roof'.

Start: Starts perhaps 20m left of the tourist track, from the gigantic boulder lying against the cliff.

1. 20m (18) Up, tending left taking the line of least resistance to the big ledge.

2. 35m (18) Up cracks, then left and up the obvious wide line (via the juggy right facing grooves). The easy wall above to a big ledge.

3. 20m (18) Right for 6m then doddle up.

A few interesting moves down low.

Start: Starts almost immediately left of where the tourist track swings back right and cuts up through the cliff line. A small tree and stump is at the base. The route is marked with a white square.

1. 18m (22) Up a few metres (crux) on flakes and pockets, step right to the slabby closed orange corner, and up this to a ledge. Traverse 5m right.

2. 25m (18) Follow the stepped line up and left to the top.

The crux pitch is a gem. The rest is very average. Best to skip the first two pitches and walk in via 'Hamster Roof'.

Start: Starts 6m left of the tourist track. The shallow orange corner with a gum tree growing out at 2m.

1. 10m (21) Up the shallow blocky corner to step left.

2. 20m (21) The short diagonal crack which tends left to meet the easier rightward leaning line, and so to a ledge.

3. 15m (21) Crux. Walk 5m left to the large 35 degree overhanging right facing corner. Up this with difficulty, then step right at top onto juggy grey wall and onwards to ledge. Scramble off to the left to exit.

Start: Starts 2m right of the top pitch of 'Firepower', which is 10m left of 'Hamster Roof'.

1. 15m (21) Up the crazily overhanging flake and beyond to the terrace.

2. 15m (21) Wander up right easily.

Starts 5m left of 'Mujahideen' at a left leaning corner.

1. 15m (21) Left and up the corner to the crack and overhang at 5m. Move left on the ledge then up on a good slope to a few steep juggy moves up and right to an inverted V corner and big ledge.

2. 20m (21) Up closed corner, left-ward under the overhang then left and then left and up to join 'Mujahideen' near top of its second pitch. Finish as for that climb.

Start: Starts at the little grey undercut corner a little way left of 'Mujahideen'.

1. 20m (20) Up, then tend left taking the line of least resistance to the big ledge.

2. 10m (20) Crux. Take the twin face cracks on the rightward facing wall (left of the impressive blank corner). Move around left and up to big ledge.

3. 15m (15) Traverse easily left to the prominent line. Up this.

Initialled. Varied and interesting, especially with the direct finish.

Start: Starts about 15-20m left of 'Mujahideen', at an aesthetic rightwards leaning layback crack/groove.

1. 25m (22) 2 bolts plus trad. Up the groove then straight up blocky corner to the bulge (without stepping left onto the nose above the initial groove which was how it was originally climbed, pre bolts). Negotiate the bulge and up a few metres to a ledge. There is a double bolt rap anchor for those not wanting to bother with the significantly easier second half of the climb and the long scramble off.

2. 40m (17?) The major right facing corner starting on ledge. (the top of this pitch is the same as for Tupamaros).

Start: From the terrace below the final section of 'Gunboat Diplomacy' take the prominent overhanging flake which is a five metres right of the last pitch corner pitch of 'Gunboat Diplomacy'. When the flake peters out, move up left to the top.

Un-repeated? Short, smooth and hard.

Start: The right hand hanging corner from the terrace above 'Gunboat Diplomacy' and 20m left of 'Guinea Pig Flake'.

Another trademark HB roof climb. Shitty looking rock but climbs well.

Start: The flaky roof on the right side of the terrace immediately above Gunboat Diplomacy's first pitch.

Average at best. A route that rises diagonally rightward, ending up on the big ledge as for 'Gunboat Diplomacy'.

Start: Starts from the boulder under a chossy roof on the east facing cliff 10m or so around the corner from 'Gunboat Diplomacy'. The details of this route are still as fresh as daisies in the memories of the first ascensionists.

Uninspiring chossy ramble which seems to share the start 10m with Mods? What Mods?

Start: Start from the boulder.

1. 25m (17) Up the slabby wall to head left through the break in the bulge (poor rock) to belay on a ledge.

2. 15m (17) Up left to, and then up, the final short headwall.

Major right leaning 40 degree overhung corner. Pumpy, awkward and sustained. A climb for intelligent chimpanzees.

Start: Initialled. Starts 6m left of 'All The Presidents Men' at base of slab and major corner.

Up slab to weakness in roof. Over this (hard) to hand traverse right on jugs to ledge. Wander up wall above to finish.

Start: Starts 8m left of 'All The Presidents Men'.

Start as for Rebel Without a Corset. Pull around the crux roof of RWaC. Instead of scuttling up the path of least resistance diagonally right as for RWaC, continue up the line directly until able to move up left past a bolt to finish up the left side of the prow. Double rings.

Pulls around the left side of the RWaC roof (1m left of RWaC) and climbs up the left-hand crack past a bolt, then past another (as for Rebel Yelp).

One of the first routes climbed in the area and a major line.

Start: Start at the small leftward facing corner heading up to the obvious major L facing corner. About 40m left of 'Power Play' towards the right hand end of the White Wall. The short wide crack section is quite pushy. Can be split into 2 pitches.

Keith returned 20 years after 'Pig Sticker' to score another good line. Lovely climbing on lovely rock.

Start: Start at the pinkish slab just right of the initial corner of 'Pig Sticker'.

Up to overhang, swing energetically out left and straight up smooth grey wall above. Walk off upwards.

Start: From the start of 'Sunset Boulevard', walk right, along the sloping ledge for 9m to semi hanging belay below first break in overhang.

Nice rock but not very sustained.

Start: The next break to the right of 'Sunset Strip'.

A mountaineering romp up a major feature.

Start: Squeezed in between 'Sunset Boulevard' and 'Pig Sticker'.

1. 15m (17 M0) Up slab just right of 'Pig Sticker' for 8m to base of wide left facing flake corner. Ignore this and step 2m right to steep left facing hand crack in corner. Up this for 7m to ledge and belay.

2. 40m (10 M0) Just like Peroxide Blonde but at one-tenth of the grade. Step around right up jugs to huge slabby arête. Up this arête staying as close to the left edge as possible for maximum exposure. The finish steepens slightly for full value. Walk off down via 'Echoes' Block.

Featured slabby climbing with a real granite feel.

Start: Starts 6m left of 'Pig Sticker' from the big ledge 6m up which is accessed by climbing up the tree leaning against the rock. Up the short corner-seam. Continue slightly R for a few metres then straight up slab to top. Protects surprisingly well with wires and small cams.

An very indirect version of Bay of Pigs. Starts 3m left of Wire Guided. The slab to a large ledge, move 5m left and up to a second ledge. Diagonally up right to large block beneath headwall. Up onto the headwall then left for 4m to below the lefthand end of a large cluster of jugs. Up to top.

Start: Starts about 10m left of 'Wire Guided'.

Star about 10 left of Wire Guided. Up to the block beneath the short steepening. Step up then traverse 4m left to the big jugs then straight up.

Great central line up wall. The original grade of 14 was definitely suspect - despite Nod having led it in sandshoes because he forgot his climbing shoes. Take slings for pro.

1. 12m (14) Right-facing corner at left end of 'Wire Guided' slab. First move off the deck is hardest. At top of corner a short chimney leads to a ledge.

2. 38m (18) Stand on rocking boulder and jump for a jug just left of the water channel bisecting White Wall. Pull onto wall and follow the channel all the way - sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right and sometimes in the middle. Some shorter climbers have had to resort to aid to start this pitch.

Nice easy jug climbing. Michael and Kevin must have needed a rest day after doing all the other hard routes in the area!

Start: 'Access' is a bit of a pain and possibly the crux! Start perhaps 10-15m left of Bay Of Pigs by scrambling along the large ledge then follow it left and up to its continuation. Beginners might want to rope up for this traverse.

Hard grit 'Grampians' style. Effectively it is a grade 30 solo. Repeated by UK grit master Ben Heason and confirmed at English E8 6c.

Start: Climbs the northern arete of the large boulder (Legolands bouldering area) which is directly opposite 'The Territorial Imperative'.

Attractive line - if you enjoy offwidths and runouts. The only viable route splitting the endless blankness on the far left side of White Wall. The hidden second pitch looks really good.

Start: Locate the major left facing flake crack / chimney about 10m left of 'Panama Canal' back at ground level. The end of the first pitch finishes on the belay ledge for 'Panama Canal'. If you can't find this go back to the gym.

1. 20m (20) Squeeze up behind the huge flake for 5m to ledge. Now layback the wide crack past a rusty BR and then easy but absorbing climbing to a spacious ledge. Some tiny SLCD are useful to protect the moves up to the bolt.

2. 24m (20) Step up from the large boulder and traverse left to the prominent right leaning corner. Station a battalion to take care of dissenters, then push on to the top to plant the flag. A great pitch on perfect orange rock. Seeps in winter.

Awesomely pumpy fun thugging. Start 8m left of 'Fading Fast'. Stick clip recommended. Diagonally R on shattered rock to FH, then steeply past UB to join major cliff-splitting R-wards diagonal. Pump 15m up R along this past 2nd UB, across Fading Fast & Contra, and 5m further to FH. Now straight up to lower-off (60m rope essential). Full set of cams incl. #4 camalot, plus medium wires. The original piker's version (Will Monks, Neil Monteith, 21/8/05) finished as for FF, & you can also pike by lowering off SaL's anchor.

A steep climb up the short but deceptively overhanging wall just left of where the track hits the cliff and turns right. Carrigan led this route onsight the day after his one-point ascent of the Seventh Pillar.

Start: Marked by small white square.

Awkward undercut start then pockets and finally an all out throw for the ledge to join 'Fading Fast'. The subsequent addition of a DRB lower-off was rather unfortunate, as it is a retrobolt of 'Fading Fast' and the anchor of Contra can easily be reached a few metres higher and to the right.

Start: Incipient pocketed seam just left of Contra with several bolts.

A popular steep powerful flake and pocket climb. One of the first routes of this style done in the Grampians. The climb eases up considerably in the upper half.

Start: Start 15m left of 'Sandinista' at the well chalked flake crack.

Starts up pockets then into faint corner. Looks next level.

Chris has declared this open!

Start: It's the line of about 6 (??) rusty FH's between Contra and David Or-Tiger.

Daniel Ortega? Classic sustained line of pockets up a very steep wall. Six FH's and a fixed thread.

Start: Starts 3m left of 'Sandinista' at the pocketed crack. Stickclip first bolt and clean/dry holds before starting.

Hardest route in the Grampians?

Start: Link-up of Daniel Or-Tiger into Somoza via some mind-blowing climbing. Very sustained with a bouldery crux.

One of the hardest routes in the Grampians. Sustained. Often mistakenly called Samosa, but the naming theme is Nicaraguan revolutionaries not pastries!

The stunning overhanging diagonal. The easiest way up this wall! The protection is brilliant and the pump is always present. One of the best lines in the Grampians.

Start: Starts about 20m right of where the track hits the cliff.

Steep crack climbing. It's the finger crack straight up the headwall, starting about 18m up Sandinista.

One of the best all trad lines in Australia. Brilliant pocketed corner on the best rock anywhere and an inspiration for all hard climbers. This was the first grade 30 in Australia done outside of Arapiles.

Start: The superb hanging corner about 15m right of 'Sandinista'. It finishes at the same point as 'Sandinista'. Gain access to the corner by stepping in from the ledge to the right.

Steep wall hidden away from the prying eyes of the public.

Start: Starts on hidden ledge up right of Journey. You access this from above, by scrambling down juggy grey wall 20m R from the top of Journey.

Not a classic.

Start: Starts at the middle of the large block 6m to the right of 'Journey Through Nicaragua'. Marked by small white square.

Shitty. Around 10m right from Chad are three blocky corners. Up the middle line, moving left to pull up the overhanging wall. Up via the ledges above.