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The Upper Main Cliff

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Description

Access issues inherited from Mt Ngungun

This mountain is very popular. Stay on tracks, don't poo at crags.

Approach

The main cliff is situated on the southern side of Ngungun and is just below the summit.

The access to the bottom is now slightly easier since the walking trail has been upgraded. To get to the base of this impressive wall follow the path past where it turns left near the Cave. The turnoff is the relatively defined trail leading off at the first switchback after the cave - the cliff will also be visible from this point. Follow this trail to meet the cliff near the right end of the Upper Main Cliffs/left end of the Nursery Cliffs.

Another option is to descend from Ngungun's summit to the base of the main wall. This is via a 50m rap from the rap chains above Pocket Full Of Kryptonite (there are two intermediate rap stations if required). Note if rapping from the summit via the PFOK chains, there is a crack on the ledge just below the anchor with a crack which the knot tying the ropes together can be caught in when pulling the ropes, requiring some shaking of alternate strands of rope to free in order to be able to pull the rope.

Routes are listed from right to left.

Ethic inherited from Glasshouse Mountains

Modern climbers establishing new routes have taken great pains to ensure any new routes do not interfere with the historic routes established many decades ago.

Retro-bolting of existing routes is unacceptable!

New routes shall make use of traditional protection where available.

Routes

Add route(s) Add topo Reorder Bulk edit Convert grades
Grade Route

Scramble up rough terrain at far right of cliff. Probably shares top with chossmaster. Soloed, 2012

The obvious crack 5m left of Classic Gas where the track meets the rock, just above the "rings of shame". Up the crack with good pro to the ledge. Sling the pillar on the far left with care and belay. Rap from the sling.

FFA: B. Cobb, 2014

This route starts where Revenge of the Chossmaster finishes. The climb heads straight up the cliff with one pitch about halfway up and a cruxy last pitch. Will add more details in coming days.

FA: Paul Doran & Julian reyes, 8 Dec 2019

A mini-adventure fun ramble of vintage accent that takes you from the bottom of the Main Upper Cliffs to the summit proper. May well have been soloed before. The route is the most intuitive and protectable line from beginning to end. Please refrain to trundle blocks, the instability and precariousness over the exposure of some section add a great alpine-like feel to the route.

  1. 15m (13, crux) Start 1m left of 'The Revenge of Chossmaster' up to ledge and TB on gear.

  2. 25m (5) Traverse up and diagonally to the right with enjoyable exposure, negotiating some death blocks and grassy ledges with fair pro for 15m then 10m up to a giant bird nest belay. TB on gear.

  3. 10m (-) Traverse diagonally left past a solid steelwood tree and up to the 'Nursery Cliffs' ledge. TB.

  4. 28m (10) Start 1m left of 'LRO' up 3m then step left on hidden juggy wall and climb up on exposed vertical face until topping out at the summit proper of Ngungun. Sling the boulders and TB.

FFA: Cris & brent, 2014

Good old-fashioned climbing. Marked 'CG'. Bridge up the corner until situated on top of the pillar. Step L and climb the juggy groove to a TB. Good protection.

Consider bringing some tat and some new mallions if you are planning on abseiling off. As of August 2013 the existing anchor tat is looking very sad and the mallions very rusted. A more permanent solution could be a chain around the pillar.

FA: Steve Bell & Barry Overs, 1971

This a nice line, I suspect it has been done before. Climb CG to the tree mantle, step left to next corner. Finish at CG anchors, possibly slightly trickier to protect in spots than CG.

Start: About 10m east of Angie. Some grooves on the face of a grey pillar.

  1. Up pillar face for 20m. Step left to belay ledge.

  2. Straight up crack to summit. Comments: Superb easy wall climbing. Technically very easy, but quite scary.

FA: Robert Staszewski, D. Bridger & M. Sewek, 1982

An exciting multi-pitch, and the first of four classic long routes. The second pitch makes a great rap-in climb.

  1. 17m (17) Start up Visions of a Transmitter, then traverse right at about 15m to stand on top of the fern ledge (DBB).

  2. 28m (15) Layback through small roof on right, and up corner (FH) to ledge. Clip second FH on steep black wall and crank through on big pockets. Up the featured crack and face to finish at tree belay.

FA: L. Cujes & P. Newton, 1999

This obvious twin cracked corner 5m L of Classical Gas, and about 2m right of Icehouse, soars upwards for 30m until confronted by a roof. Traverse R (or climb R through this) and climb the juggy face to finish. Beautiful, well protected climbing.

FA: Marten Blumen & Dan Meyers, 1994

Climb 'Visions Of A Transmitter' until you reach the roof, then jug haul directly through this with surprising exposure!

FA: N. Monteith & M. Blumen, 1995

It's magic! Classic, sustained climbing with excellent protection. Climb Icehouse past the tree at 5m to ledge on R. Climb the skyrocketing corner directly above the ledge to roof. R through this (big hex) and directly up the wide crack above.

FA: Lee Cujes & Philippa Newton, 1999

Warning Flora and Fauna: Wasp Nest

Start: Start 2m L of Visions Of A Transmitter below the dead tree at 5m. A superb climb up an exposed face crack which is easier than it looks. Climb the juggy face for 35m until the final crack section makes things a little tricky. Belay off chains. The protection is good, but because the rock is a bit weak, be sure to place a lot and make sure it's bomber. You can rap off with one 80m rope, otherwise join two ropes, or scramble another 5 meters to the summit and walk off.

FA: Tony Dignan & Steve Bell, 1975

Start 1m R of 'Sticky Fingers'. Up slab to shaft. Up this with awkward placements to ledge. Clip FH and blast through bulge. Continue up shaft on RP's, small wires and a FH to ledge. Finish directly up 'Hex Heaven's flared corner.

FA: L. Cujes & E. Smith, 1999

Start 1m right of 'Sticky Fingers'. Climb this to its belay tree or chains. Sling this and traverse 2m R onto arete. Up left side of this on good holds up limited protection to pillar. Finish up the namesake flaring corner to tree belay. A somewhat contrived offering since the addition of 'Six Sided Hell'.

FA: R. Scott, 1991

Up the small slab 4m left of Icehouse to the crack with good protection to the tree ledge with belay chains.

FA: D. Kahler & S. Bell, 1970

Marked 'A'. Just L of 'Sticky Fingers' at the obvious flared chimney. Bridge smooth chimney with good (albeit small) pro in the R crack to the ledge with tree and bolted anchor or continue up 'Hex Heaven'.

Set: S. Bell, B. Overs & D. Gilleson, 1971

Marked 'B'.

  1. 15m (10) Climb the easy twin grooves to the L of 'Angie' to tree belay.

  2. 30m (18) Up onto top of short pillar, then fire directly up the face above with minimal protection until the juggy face crack is reached. Climb this great crack line to the top and tree belay.

FA: D. Kahler & S. Bell, 1972

FFA: D. Carter & J. Hattink, 1993

Start at the thin crack running up the blunt pillar 4m to the R of 'Keyhole' 's leaning pillar. Climb straight up the pillar with difficulty, then traverse L to the ledge below the start of 'Pocket Full Of Kryptonite'. 2 FH's and small cams.

FA: Neil Monteith, 1996

Marked 'KH'. Scramble up the vegetated gully to the base of the leaning pillar which forms a chimney. Climb up and inwards to the 'keyhole' and squeeze through this with difficulty. Bush bash upwards to a tree belay. Leave this one for the bushwalkers!

FA: Dennis Stocks, Bob Fick & Darryl Poole, 1967

This novel route climbs the outside of 'Keyhole' 's leaning pillar. Access by 'Bloodsucker' 's first pitch or rapping in from 'Pocket Full Of Kryptonite' 's chains. Belay on R of pillar's base. Scramble up right to clip first FH, but route is best started directly from the base of the pillar. Balancy start passing 2 FH's, then natural gear to top. Scramble up 3m to belay at base of 'Pocket Full Of Kryptonite'.

FA: Lee Cujes, 1999

Start: From the summit of 'Mt Ngungun' walk west along the ridge towards Mts Coonowrin & Beerwah for about 50m until a pair of hangers with two rings each are found on the front of a block facing outwards. There's a ledge to stand on and you can see the rings clearly on the face from here. Rap off these to the first ledge you encounter with a DBB.

From the ledge climb straight up past 4 RBs to the rap chains.

FA: Darrin Carter & Darren Watter, 1993

"Havin' some fun...". Marked 'FG'. Straight up the deep hand crack which becomes very vegetated at the top. Finish easily up blocks. Good pro but poor climbing. Belay off tree.

FA: Trevor Gynther & Steve Bell, 1973

From the second stance on 'Feeling Groovy' take the L trending crack and the finish up the top of 'Heartache'.

FA: Col Smithies & Betty Margetts, 1990

Marked 'H'. The start offers good climbing with a nice hand crack but soon the climb deteriorates to the likeness of its two predecessors.

FA: Steve Bell & Dave Kahler

Marked 'ST'. A contrived hand crack which becomes very vegetated. Not great.

FA: Dave Kahler & Steve Bell

Marked 'DP'. Up corner crack and good protection to ledge with chains.

FA: Steve Bell & Dave Kahler, 1972

Marked 'LT'. Start up the nice hand crack but this soon turns in a wide off-width. At the widest point, squeeze through the crack and chimney up to ledge. Rap off or continue up one of the crack lines above.

FA: Steve Bell & Dave Kahler, 1972

Marked 'RS'.

  1. Up fun pockets and cracks to ledge and the weak tree belay. Bomber gear in crack for a belay.

  2. Up the easy chimney.

FA: Steve Bell, Dave Kahler & Bob Bell, 1972

Marked 'G'. Juggy climbing up the groove to a grass tree blocking the corner. Climb around this and up easy crack to finish. Good protection throughout most of this long route.

FA: Dave Kahler & Steve Bell

Marked "SK'. An impressive route for back in the day. Hard and desperate climbing up the thin shallow crack leads to easier ground and the good crack above. Be careful with protection down low.

FA: Dave Kahler & Steve Bell, 1973

Marked 'M'. Desperate bridging up the under-protected flared chimney leads to easier ground. Take many small cams and wires.

FA: Dave Kahler & Steve Bell

Marked 'BD'. Bold face climbing up the blank wall with only small RP's as protection. Once past the first 10m, it eases to fairly juggy climbing and a tree belay.

FA: Barry Overs, 1970

FFA: Neil Monteith, 1994

Start: About 10m east of Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Below flared shallow chimney.

  1. 20m. Up chimney.

  2. 30m. Bridge up corner and up. Comments: Quite interesting. Harder than it appears from below.

FA: Robert Staszewski & D. Bridger, 1982

Marked 'CR'. Up the broken wall with good protection to a small corner. Climb this past a chockstone and onto a ledge. Bridge up the hard chimney on the L and surmount the overhang to another stance. Finish up the twin cracks to a tree belay.

FA: Dave Kahler & Steve Bell

Marked 'FK'. A nice looking crack but the climbing is only average. Finish on halfway ledge of "Carmen Revisited" and rap off.

FA: Dave Kahler & Steve Bell

Marked 'PC'. A very contrived thin hand crack which eventually joins 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters'. If you can avoid the temptation to stray, this climb is quite hard and sustained.

FA: Steve Bell & Dave Kahler

Marked 'BOTW'. Easy crack climbing leads to a stance at the section of missing pillar. Traverse right into 'Previous Commitment' and bridge boldly up the twin cracks. Above this, climb the tricky twin cracks to finish. Jamming technique useful.

FA: Barry Overs & Ron Collett, 1970

Marked 'CUFA'. The off-width start sees few ascents and rightfully so. It features poor rock and discouraging thrutching. This wide crack eventually narrows down to a magnificent twin cracked corner in an exposed position.

FA: Unknown

Marked 'NRC'. A fluctuating crack which is only reasonably protected. At the roof traverse right into 'CUFA' 's excellent top half.

FA: Dave Kahler & Steve Bell

Marked 'CC'. Hard for the grade. Under-protected up a thin crack line to a ledge. From the ledge, climb crack system to top. A confident leader is required.

FA: Dave Kahler & Steve Bell

Marked 'GC'. Hard for the grade. A bold and somewhat under-protected crack climb. This thin subtle corner requires confident crack work. Similar to 'Cantankerous Cantelope'.

FA: Steve Bell & Dave Kahler

Marked 'BB'. Boulder the start until the crack opens. Climb this under-protected groove to a small ledge. Finish up the corner above.

FA: Steve Bell & Dave Kahler

Start 2m L of 'Bourgeois Bullshitter'. A stonking line which is being loved to death. Pretty soon the holds will be worn off. Boulder to a high RB, then a hard move follows. Once on the small ledge, clip an RB then fire up the demanding face past another 2 RBs. Bridge above the last RB for 5m (natural pro) to ledge and anchors. Rap off.

Original carrot bolts replaced with ring bolts December 2015 by Safer Cliffs Queensland.

FA: Neil Monteith, Marten Blumen & Darrin Carter, 1994

Marked 'STB'. Start at the thin corner 2m L of 'Feargrounds For Insanity'. Up corner with suspect pro. Needs cleaning in the crack. Hard for the grade.

FA: Steve Bell & Dave Kahler

Marked 'SF'. A very hard start up the thin twin cracks leads to an easier top half. Pro is sparse in the lower section so careful placements are needed.

FA: Steve Bell & Dave Kahler

Marked 'UVC'. Sunscreen optional. The obvious angled off-width on the right side of the leaning pillar. Good pro and sustained climbing all the way to a tree belay.

FA: Dave Kahler & Steve Bell, 1972

Marked 'A'. The enjoyable scramble on small broken pillars and bush at the far left of the main wall. Follows the exposed crest trending right across the tops of the other climbs for an exposed finish to the summit of Ngungun.

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Selected Guidebooks more Hide

Author(s): Jimmy Blackhall & David Jefferson

Date: 2021

ISBN: 9377779499658

Hidden within the ordinary people of Queensland there exists a tight-knit community of scabby knuckles, grazed knees, massive forearms and iron-clad wills. This guidebooks seeks to shed light on this community and blocks of choice with all the information, skills and knowledge to open the door for you to explore all the bouldering that Queensland has to offer.

Author(s): Simon Carter

Date: 2018

ISBN: 9780958079068

A few years ago there was basically Frog Buttress and Coolum. Since then there has been more development than Barangaroo and South East Queensland should be on any climbers radar no matter what your style. Except ice climbing, definitely no ice climbing. But over 1250 routes with hard sport, multipitches and quality trad to make a great trip.

Accommodations nearby more Hide

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