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Access Ledge

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Description

Surprisingly neglected, given the quality of some of the routes.

Access issues inherited from Diamond Falls

This crag is in a National Park. Dogs are not allowed (not even at the carpark).

©

Ethic inherited from Blue Mountains

Although sport climbing is well entrenched as the most popular form of Blueys climbing, mixed-climbing on gear and bolts has generally been the rule over the long term. Please try to use available natural gear where possible, and do not bolt cracks or potential trad climbs. If you do the bolts may be removed.

Because of the softness of Blue Mountains sandstone, bolting should only be done by those with a solid knowledge of glue-in equipping. A recent fatality serves as a reminder that this is not an area to experiment with bolting.

If you do need to top rope, please do it through your own gear as the wear on the anchors is both difficult and expensive to maintain.

At many Blue Mountains crags, the somewhat close spacing of routes and prolific horizontal featuring means that it is easy to envisage literally hundreds of trivial linkups. By all means climb these to your hearts content but, unless it is an exceptional case due to some significant objective merit, please generally refrain from writing up linkups. A proliferation of descriptions of trivial linkups would only clutter up the guide and add confusion and will generally not add value to your fellow climbers. (If you still can't resist, consider adding a brief note to the parent route description, rather than cluttering up the guide with a whole new route entry).

If you have benefited from climbing infrastructure in NSW, please consider making a donation towards maintenance costs. The Sydney Rockclimbing Club Rebolting Fund finances the replacement of old bolts on existing climbs and the maintenance of other hardware such as fixed ropes and anchors. The SRC purchases hardware, such as bolts and glue, and distributes them to volunteer rebolters across the state of New South Wales. For more information, including donation details, visit https://sydneyrockies.org.au/rebolting/

It would be appreciated if brushing of holds and minimisation/removal of tick marks becomes part of your climbing routine. Consider bringing a water squirt bottle and mop-up rag to better remove chalk. Only use soft (hair/nylon) bristled brushes, never steel brushes.

The removal of vegetation - both from the cliff bases and the climbs - is not seen as beneficial to aesthetics of the environment nor to our access to it.

Remember, to maintain access our best approach is to 'Respect Native Habitat, Tread Softly and Leave No Trace'. Do not cut flora and keep any tracks and infrastructure as minimal as possible or risk possible closures.

For the latest access related information, or to report something of concern, visit the Australian Climbing Association NSW Blue Mountains page at https://acansw.org.au/blue-mountains/

Some content has been provided under license from: © Australian Climbing Association Queensland (Creative Commons, Attribution, Share-Alike 2.5 AU)

Routes

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Grade Route

Start 20m right of where the access track meets the bottom of the cliff line. The start is in a small corner faintly marked SS in the middle of the wall capped by a large orange roof.

FA: H. Luxford, 1994

This may start 25m right of Sweet And Sour at a corner that leads up to a shallow groove on the left hand side of a small wall above the track.

FA: B. Cameron & N. Smith, 1994

Located about 70m right from the start of the cliff line just beyond where the track makes it way through the middle of a small clump of trees. The first fixed hanger is clearly visible above the chossy start.

FA: B. Cameron & B. Moon, 1994

FA: M. Hanselman, 1995

FA: M. Hanselman, 1995

Warning Fixed Gear: rusty bolts

Starts up juggy overhanging "arete" a few metres left of obvious dank corner (corner is marked "RF"). The Bolt Bloke goes right just before gaining the headwall proper (Unity goes left). There are no permanent anchors for this climb. Either top out, or traverse a few metres left and use the anchors on Unity (The Bolt Bloke can be cleaned on lower-off from these anchors without any problems).

FA: J. Smoothy, 1994

Located 5m to the right of The Bolt Bloke and is faintly marked with RF behind a tree. There is a fixed hanger 4m off the ground but how you get to it and where you go after it is a mystery.

FA: H. Luxford & S. Chambers, 1994

Faintly marked CB.

2 pitches. Faintly marked CR.

FA: H. Luxord, P. Crittenden & R. Harris, 1994

2 pitches. Faintly marked FoY. This appears to be the line of carrots heading up to the right and then into the unknown.

FA: H. Luxford, B. Cameron, M. Magnan & N. Smith, 1994

The line of fixed hangers 20m right of The Bolt Bloke.

FA: J. Clark & M. Wilson, 1995

Techy, punchy, strenuous, and sustained from the 4th bolt onwards. Independent start between Uncouth Youth and You Crazy Diamond. Tough start, then cruisy past 3 bolts trending up and right into start of "groove". Up past 2 bolts to crux, then sustained hard climbing past 3 more bolts, culminating in airy climbing trending left after last bolt to anchors.

Set: Paul Thomson, 2013

Set: Paul Thomson, 2014

FA: Paul Thomson, 2014

Rings 3m right of Family Jewels. Shares a few holds on Crystalis then heads diagonally left to from last bolt to shared anchor with The Family Jewels.

FA: Megan Turnbull

Start as for 'You Crazy Diamond' but between the 4th and 5th bolt follow the line of ringbolts heading left. Finishes at manky two FH & biner rap anchor (not the ringbolt anchor of Family Jewels further left)

FA: M. Brooks, 2002

Start up You Crazy Diamond for 3 bolts,1 bolt on Crystalis then thinly up new line. One for the old school technical face lovers. Great high stepping pocket crux with many other tricky spots to a high finish up the orange streak.

Set: Ben JengA, 2013

FA: Ben Jenga, 2013

The classic warm-up of Diamond Falls. Good moves and a long sustained pitch that keeps you thinking all the way to the anchors. Start 12m right of Uncooth Youth, marked by a 23 etched into the rock. Rebolted 2019.

FA: C. Hale & M. Wilson, 1995

The line of ringbolts up the blunt arête 3m right of You Crazy Diamond. Hard moves getting up to and over the nose and established onto the arête followed by surprisingly pumpy face climbing between well spaced bolts. Finish at the anchors of You Crazy Diamond.

FA: M. Brooks, 2002

Start as for 8 Carat but at the 3rd bolt traverse right and continue to follow the line of ringbolts on the far side of the arête. 1. 30m (24) Caution: Beware of your rope length. 2. 28m (18).

FA: C. Richards, 2002

3 pitches. Start 15m right of 8 Carat. Marked HO. The right facing corner with 2 fixed hangers to start.

FA: H. Luxford & S. Chambers, 1994

FFA: J. Clark, 1995

Marked. Obvious trad-venture corner system. Originally climbed (and written up in the guidebook) as 3 pitches. Best climbed as 2 x pitches. Six or seven bolt plates, wires with doubles of med/large and a single rack of cams 0.3 - #3.

  1. 25m (20) Stick clip fixed hanger with difficulty (stem off tree if vertically challenged), then up hard start past bad rock to gain corner. Wires up corner until it ends. Bolt, then slightly left and up past crux slab and weird unclippable bolt to gain second corner system. Up corner for 5m and belay on obvious ledge with hand sized horizontal breaks on the left, wires and a carrot up on the right.

  2. 35m (20) Up harder, steepening corner until below roof (wires and small-medium cams). Carrot, and easy traverse under roof to bolt past lip (clip this to avoid rope getting stuck in the crack), then easy runout headwall to 3 x carrot belay 2m below cliff top. Either bush-bash uphill and left to gain main descent track or grade 3 traverse left, passing one carrot to double rings at top of easy grounds a coming and rap down that route (27m and 28m abseils)

FA: H. Luxford & B. Cameron, 1995

3 pitches.

FA: B. Cameron, B. Moon & R. Harris, 1995

2 pitches.

FA: H. Luxford, B. Cameron & R. Harris, 1995

Starts up In Harm's Way for one pitch. Nice trad line wandering rightwards across the middle of the large orange wall. Set of wires, set of cams #00 to #5 wild country, double up on #00 to #1.5 extender draws handy.

FFA: Mark Wilson & Brendan Helmrich

Access: Abseil to double U bolts with small footledge 15m above the ground. 7 bolts, wires, double set of cams from #0.5 to #4 with triples of #1 and #2.5 (wild country friend), take 20 quickdraws. Has a distinct crux. Climb up and slightly left past 2 U bolts, continue up and slightly left then straight up aiming for 3 fixed hangers half way up the route. There are 2 fixed hangers when you climb through the overhang at the top. Save a #2.5 friend for 4m before last 2 bolts.

FFA: Brendan Helmrich & Mark Wilson

Access as for Lucy. 4 bolts, wires, cams from #00 to #0.5 double from #1 to #4 and triple of #3(wild country friends) Start as for Lucy. After the two U bolts continue up past flake systems following line of least resistance. After 20m you will pass 2 rings. Continue up, at major overhang traverse 3m right to double U Belay on Diamonds and Pearls below stepped roof weakness. Continue up Diamonds and Pearls last pitch.

FFA: Brendan Helmrich & Mark Wilson

Access as for Lucy. 10 bolts, set of cams from #0.5 to #4 doubles from #1 to #2.5, take 15 quickdraws.

FFA: : Mark Wilson & Brendan Helmrich

Variant last pitch to Giant Staircase. Rack as for Giant Staircase. At 14m take the left flake past 3 fixed hangers, slightly left then up via main left facing corner system to belay on double U bolts as for Diamonds and Pearls. Continue up Diamonds and Pearls last pitch.

FFA: Mark Wilson & Brendan Helmrich

Start up IF for the first 3 bolts then breaks left and a long way up with just the right mix of jugs and techie sequences.

FFA: Ben JengA, 2012

Superdooper fun up an improbable line. Thin crux at 3rd bolt then funky flakes all the way up. Starts 10m before (left of) Diamond Jack.

FFA: Ben JengA, 2012

FA: 2012

Start as for Diamond Jack clip the first bolt then break left across the face on a series of crimps to a big flake undercling, dynamically up up and away. Finishes at the Diamond Jack anchors.

Set: Andy Richo.

FA: Andy Richardson., 2013

1 25 30m
2 19 30m

Start 25m right of In Harm's Way at the boulders just before the access ledge becomes alarmingly narrow, slopey and exposed.

  1. 30m (25) Rebolted (2006). All U bolts. Wonderful climbing up the orange face to a small belay ledge with a 3 ringbolt belay. The top is a little runout, most people just clip the bolts but you can also place med cams if you wish.

  2. 30m (19) This pitch drifts right up the good looking wall on very old carrots, and requires 10+ bolt plates and a rebolt. The ringbolts above and slightly left of the first belay are not it - that's Gem Stone. A 2 ringbolt anchor is on the ledge 10m below the top, but is poorly positioned for lowering off because the rope grinds on sharp ironstone.

FA: John Smoothy

FA: J. Smoothy & G. Bradbury, 1995

Diamond Jack for 20m then, instead of stepping L to the easy 10m flake, step R for the top 15m of Girls Best Friend. Adds a bunch more face climbing to DJ including another excellent crux.

Start as for Diamond Jack. At the 5th bolt move right then straight up. Warning: beware of the rope length.

FA: Megan Turnbull, 2006

As per Jewel Thief to 4th bolt then straight up. Maybe 25, once you work out all the tricks.

FFA: Will Monks & Geoff Johnston-Hall, 4 Feb 2017

Start as for Diamond Jack and then traverse right and up following the line of ringbolts. Stick clip the first ringbolt as it is quite high and the moves to get to it a little tricky. Beware of your rope length or you may end up down climbing the flimsy tree suspended over the void.

FA: Chris Coghill

Gem of a second pitch to The Jewel Thief. When you reach the anchors of The Jewel Thief continue up 2m then left 5m passing a ring to reach the first pitch anchors of Diamond Jack, 3 rings and a carrot. Gem Stone starts from this belay. A good fitness extension of Diamond Jack. Also can be accessed by rap from above. Nine rings, double U bolt lower off 1m below top of cliff. 60m should reach on stretch if lowering back to belay anchors. 38m to reach bolt belay if topping out.

FFA: Mark Wilson & Brendan Helmrich

70m to the right of Diamond Jack the track passes a large boulder in amongst the trees. Warlock starts another 10m to the right. Marked with a W and the first carrot is visible 3m above the track.

FA: H. Luxford & S. Chambers, 1994

One day soon this will go…?

FA: H. Luxford & S. Chambers, 1994

FA: B. Cameron & B. Moon, 1994

FA: B. Cameron, 1994

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Selected Guidebooks more Hide

Author(s): Simon Carter

Date: 2019

ISBN: 9780958079082

The latest comprehensive, latest and greatest Blue Mountains Climbing Guide is here and it has more routes than you can poke a clip stick at! 3421 to be exact. You are not going to get bored.

Author(s): Simon Carter

Date: 2019

ISBN: 9780958079075

Simon Carter's "Best of the Blue" is the latest selected climbing guide book for the Blue Mountains and covers 1000 routes and 19 different climbing areas. For all the sport climbers out there, the travellers, or just anyone who doesn't want to lug around the big guide that's more than 3 times the size - cut out the riff-raff and get to the good stuff! This will pretty much cover everything you need!

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