Start at the extreme left hand end of the North Wall below a water polished buttress with a small roof at 10m. This is about 200m downstream of the red track. Climb to the roof and get some threads. Pull over this and up to a tree belay.
A pleasant climb of sensible length, which features perfect belay stances and a spectacular second pitch. Start 5m right of the whitish R-facing corner of Green Peace. Take a single set of wires, a set of cams to #3 camalot, and maybe extra finger-hand cams. The crux pitch is fond of yellow aliens. Millions of threads, so sling up like there's no tomorrow. Two ropes needed to rap off.
30m (19) Boulder onto the bobbly lump and up past a bolt to leftwards diagonal seam. At the overlap/break at about 15m, ignore your instincts and step rightwards to find a hidden gear slot. Easier climbing past a second bolt (wander around for gear) leads to the belay hole with a single tree poking out. Excellent threads can be found deep in the back of the bunghole.
25m (23) One of the best pitches at Bungonia. Glorious steep jugs and good gear interrupted by a bolted bouldery crux. There's a gear slot between the bolts which is handy for dogging (twist a #6 wallnut or something similar in there). Very comfortable belay hole.
30m (19) Left out of the hole and ramble up the easy slab (beware of loose crap off to the sides). Follow the threads up steepening wall to bolted bouldering. After the last bolt, climb up and right to find hidden gear in a big pocket, then step right to the bolted belay in a bunghole (shared with The Bachelor).
45m (15) Shared with The Bachelor. Step left off the belay, then wander up the pleasant easy slab passing about three bolts and bunch of gear slots.
Three abseils to the ground (45m, 25m, 50m).
FA:Sarah Truscott, Jaime Valdivia, Dane Evans, Carl Godfrey, Damian Jovanovic & Oliver Story, 25 Nov 2018
A superb direct route to the top of the wall, with a mega second pitch. Similar in difficulty and commitment to Strangeness, but with comfortable belay stances the whole way. Take a single rack (maybe double up on red and yellow camalots), heaps of draws and slings, and double ropes.
20m (20) Start at a honeycombed wall 2m left of a glassy left-facing corner. Up delicately to an excellent horizontal gear slot at 4.5m, then boulder leftwards onto jugs. Up to a pod at 10m (look for a bomber wire in a white slot to the left), clip the high bolt (short climbers should bring one of those reachy-clippy draws) and boulder to easier ground. Belay off threads or trees in an amazing big hole (don't use up too much rope!).
58m (21) Spectacular! 9 or 10 bolts, but rather spicy nonetheless. All the bolts have good clipping holds, which should reduce the stress somewhat. Step rightwards out of the belay and boulder up to a good thread (back clean any gear below the thread to make things easier for your belayer). Wander up steepening ground past bolts and the occasional gear slot. When the bolts run out, trend left slightly to a stance with threads and wires at 50m (optional belay). Step left aiming for a high final bolt, taking care with hollow suspect mega-flakes. Pull over the bulge and up past a couple of cam pockets to a hilarious belay hole. (Using the optional belay allows one to watch the leader through the slightly sketchy stuff at the top of this pitch. The leader can then link into the last pitch.)
45m (15) Shared with Right in the Bunghole. Step left off the belay then wander up easy slab past three bolts and a bunch of gear slots.
Rap down Right in The Bunghole (45m, 25m, 50m).
FA:Carl Godfrey, Oliver Story, Sarah Truscott, Damian Jovanovic, Dane Evans & Jaime Valdivia, 25 Nov 2018
Large sized choss glazed with micro-choss, utterly petrifying.
20m (19) "Up the thin wall to the big ledge." Nobody can work out where this pitch goes. Nothing in the area looks remotely sensible as a ground up boltless onsight. 80s climbers were tough!
45m (20) Follows discontinuous crack features up dirty rock with a few death-blocks thrown in. The belay/rap is a bunch of archaic slings tied through a massive bombproof thread.
Classic jug pulling in places, wandering and scary in others.
Starts under the right side of a big ledge at 20m, in rather vegetated terrain.
20m (17) Up to belay on right side of big ledge.
45m (21) Ape up some wild jugs for 8m (bomber threads). Step right and move up leaving the steep ground and good holds for tenuous slabbing. Follow a series of snaking grooves (sparse protection) to belay in a recess (thread and sapling).
40m (20) Continue straight up for 4m then left to the buttress. Follow the loose corner system on its left side. Look for a good stance at 40m.
30m (12) Finish more easily to the 5th belay on Strangeness and Charm.
Take the right side of the steepening buttress and follow it to connect with the final crux on Strangeness and Charm. Belay at the bathtub on the top of pitch 4 of Strangeness.
Start from the top of pitch 2 of Rum, Bum and Gramophones.
Takes a line left of Strangeness and Charm all the way.
45m (24) Climb easily to a bulge and then move through it with caution to a bolt, then onwards to another bolt on top of a flake. Step down and teeter leftwards for several metres (24) to reach flake on left. Move leftwards into a groove and continue up past another bolt with some interesting moves on flakes to gain the bolt belay on right.
45m (21) Up more easily to the top of the flake and traverse horizontally right for 3m. Keep moving up trending right past a few flakes to the 3rd belay on Strangeness.
45m (22) Traverse back leftwards and upwards to a prominent spike and climb its left side on the steepening rock above. Place a good wire at the bulge and make a hard couple of moves to reach the 4th belay on Strangeness.
Direct through the small roof below the 2nd belay on 'Strangeness and Charm'. Rather extreme. Straight up to the roof using side runners. Slot a 1 friend in the roof, clip a bolt and swing over the roof (crux). Continue past three more bolts.
Probably the best single pitch that starts from ground level in the Gorge. It's THE way to do 'Strangeness and Charm' direct, a humdingin' pitch completely in keeping with the rest of Strangeness. There is a grade 22 and 24 variant.
Start directly under the 2nd belay on Strangeness, where an overlap at 12m decreases in size towards the right. Up the crack to large scoop (wires). A few more moves give way to a bolt. Get the hollow sounding flake above and trend leftwards past a bolt and straight up towards two more bolts which are 3m apart. Either whimp out left to connect with " Strangeness and Charm Direct DS" (grade 22) or directly upwards past a 4th bolt (grade 24).
A variant out of the bathtub belay on Strangeness, which makes a good direct finish to Wailing Cockatoo (or if you just want to try something different on your 50th lap of Strangeness).
P1 30m (21) Step right out of the bathtub and follow bolts and gear to mantle left into an aesthetically pleasing giant bunghole belay.
P2 35m (16) Right out of the hole, duck right under the shrubbery, then straight up the fun cruisy slab. Rap station is off to the left where the angle eases way back.
20m (22) Thin wall climbing (4 bolts) leads to a cute belay in a scoop.
25m (24) Leftwards up the slab to a bolt. Straight up to cross the 'Strangeness and Charm' traverse to a steep headwall. Straight up this past 2 more bolts to a belay chain.
40m (23) Some delicate slabbing left from the belay leads to a bolt. Clip this and continue up past 3 more bolts and eventually stepping left to the 3rd belay on Strangeness.
Climbed onsight ground up with no pre-inspection. Thus it is scary, sustained and badly bolted. Admirable none the less.
45m (22) Start directly below a niche and move out left and up the steep rock on good positive holds to reach the left end of a small ledge. Place a #3 friend in a hole, traverse right and up a small corner to reach the 1st belay of 'Strangeness and Charm'.
20m (24) Straight up to a good wire placement in the overlap, move left and upwards to gain the prominent small corner. Continue up past a hard move to gain the hanging belay at a short crack.
45m (24) A long pitch on natural gear. Climb the left side of the flake before traversing right to gain a series of pockets which lead to a solitary bolt up high. Hard moves past this to a bolt belay above.
40m (22) Continue straight up past a few fixed wires to join 'Galactic Wanderer'.
Really good climbing, with atmosphere. All new bolts now.
Start: Start below a short wide crack at the left edge of a treed ledge. If you are having problems finding the start and are unfamiliar with the gorge, walk across to the other side of the creek and suss out the route from there, the footpads of the traverse on pitch 2 are fairly obvious.
45m (18) Up the crack, step right (wires) and up to a ledge and tree. Move left 3m and climb up to a scoop (wires). From the scoop continue left and up to the small belay ledge (two FHs). This pitch is quite runout.
20m (18) Traverse left with trepidation past two spaced FHs and a medium cam slot to an assortment of vintage chains (hanging belay).
35m (22) Up, follow the groove past three FH (crux) before crossing to the left side out of the crack (feels desperate) then up to belay stance. A stout and sustained pitch requiring a good rack inc slings for thread.
20m (22) Left up flakes and up to a FH, move rightwards over the bulge (crux) past carrot bolt and FH and then trend left up to the awesome bathtub cave belay (rap chain).
30m (19) Up to a bolt before slabbing left and down to shallow dusty groove, up this to another bolt then trend left through the steep bulge on jugs. "No-one bothers with this pitch" - actually, quite a lot of people do it, it's not bad. Be aware that the abseil back to the 4th belay is a bit diagonal. There are now new chains a further 8m up and right at a stance giving a better rap line down.
50m (22) A hard start with no gear gives way to a good short crack higher up. Now move left across the void and up into a shallow groove with a piton. Continue up to gain the top of a small pedestal. Natural belay.
25m (22) Directly up to a bolt/stud before dropping down to traverse out right to gain a groove. Upwards, then bridging, to a double bolt belay.
Sustained and strenuous, a classic. Protection is hard to place on the first pitch, and friends have been known to pull out of glassy placements. Fantini himself now says he would not lead pitch 1 again due to the extreme danger of the first 18m. Take it easy.
50m (23) Start on the left edge of the cave. An unprotected start leads to a #3 friend at 9m. Move left around bulge to a steep wall with a fixed sling. Thin moves up this to a ledge (crux) and a no hands rest. Teeter left to surmount the block and then up to a small cave. More sustained but well protected climbing brings you to the belay cave.
50m (23) Lean back and place a wire just above the cave. Step down and traverse leftwards for a few moves and then follow a line of holds to the roof. There is a 2/2.5 friend up high and to the left as well as a fixed pin. Head right through the roof to a rest. Easier climbing leads to a stance at 50m with two bolts.
50m (21) Take the rising groove to the left and continue up leftwards in a rising arc to a block in the overlap. Pull the overlap and continue up a few metres before traversing left to the groove. Up the groove (wires) until it is possible to traverse out left to a bolt rap station.
Start 60m right of 'Olympus Mons' at the toe of the wide prominent buttress. No bolts. Scary.
45m (14) Wander up the buttress to belay at a ledge.
50m (17) Continue up the buttress to a tree belay.
40m (22) Scary and hard. Follow the line to the steep wall right of the prominent corner. Up the wall trending rightwards on the obvious, steep line of holds. Belay at a grasstree after the wall kicks back.
35m (18) Up the slab to rejoin the very loose corner. Belay at a fixed hex up high. Rap the route to retreat.
