Routes in Australia for selected grade

Given 31, but it's not that much harder then the original.

As for 'Nati Dread', but power straight up after the lip past a new crux to rejoin the original route (finishing as for that).

The blank looking beautiful buttress left of Chinese Algebra

An amazing effort by a relatively unsung local.

This completely natural (read, "not chipped or glued" like its famous sibling) has some genuinely difficult (as if the grade weren't required to confirm it already) slabby traversing early on before pulling into Punks, climbing it for a few metres before escaping out R to the arete.

Start beneath the R-leading arch, a few metres up L of PitG.

The easiest line up a great, albeit only mildly overhanging wall. Probably the world's first 8b+ / 5.14a and ahead of its time in Australian terms - it took nearly ten years before an Aussie (Stuart Wyithe) repeated it!

Despite masses of beta available on the internet, it still sees very few quick ascents, hasn't been onsighted and is still regarded as somewhat of a testpiece with a redpoint crux far above the technical crux and accounting for many an accomplished climber.

Many argue the route is easier than when Wolfgang and Stefan Glowacz did it in the mid 80's due to the increased size of the crux glue hold (the notorious birdbath). For a while considered "only" 31, it seems to have re-consolidated at 32.

Start as for Punks in the Gunks. At its traverse, instead go up, L and up, up, up to chains at the top.

Mayan

Start R of Trojan below boulder. Up and traverse R and up. Direct start (bolted by Carrigan decades ago) remains unclimbed.

Sit start at the back of the roof. Straight out to jug on lip and up.

It doesnt get much thinner than this. the direct line up the blankish slab 5m left of Celluloid Heroes. The grade is height dependent.

A righthand finish to Slinkin'.

Start: Start as for Slinkin'.

Awesome sustained face climbing linking Lord of the Rings into Zorlac the Destroyer

Remarkably sustained face on thinner and thinner holds. If you fall off the slab you'll be in good company.

Start as for "Wackford Squeers".

Start at the weakness down right of "Wackford Squeers" and go fairly much straight up.

Start as for 'Drowning Dicaprio', make some hard moves to gain the large side-pull, then climb left and finish as for 'Overboard'.

Start as for 'Iceberg Left' but continue straight up and top out onto the slab. Note: Broken crux hold as of 2021, yet to be re-climbed. Likely at least V11 now.

Start as for 'Collision Course' but after you gain the large rail continue right across some slopers to finish up 'Not Drowning, Waving'.

Big move to small edge, then big move to jug

Start: From low horizontal

Sit start on two angled slots and move up and left on crimps to finish on Epsilon Crack jug.

Steep face on pockets, slopers and edges

Start: As for 'Down Under'

Low start in cave. Big moves lead to finish jug above boulder. The extension is V7 on its own.

Left line of slopers through roof to jugs. Traverse right, up to next level and back left to jug.

A fantastic natural line that was one of the 'last great lines' in the Grampians until Lee Cossey put a few days work into it and freed it in November 2015.

Start: On the right wall of the gully, about 15m L of 'Neptune' pitch 2, is this striking overhung curving corner/crack. Up tips finger crack to crux move from crimpy pinch to big huecos above the sickle, monkey right into the crack (drop the rope back to the belayer - or use double rope technique - to avoid heinous drag) and blast upwards to glory.

First ascent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCljblIsMYk

HB had previously dabbled in this vicinity while searching for a second pitch for Mirage, but after he declared the second pitch groove "impossible" nobody bothered with it for years. Luckily no one told Stuart, who sauntered in and snared one of Taipan's very best. Unfortunately the first pitch is ridiculously cruxy, so most people rap in to do pitch 2 only. Start as for Sirocco.

1. 35m (31) Follow Mirage for 18m to gain the hanging slab atop the steep white corner. Now doddle up L (ha ha) past bolts to the start of the groove, and more easily to hanging belay at chain (30m rap).

2. 25m (28) Amazing climbing up the line of shallow water scoops in incredible red stone, 7FHs to chain (25m to 1st belay, 55m to ground).

Second Pitch to Mirage. Quentin approached from Seventh Pillar LHV via Snake in the Grass. More like 33 according to Alex Megos.

A link up. From the anchors of Snake Flake, traverse left into the top half of Groove Train via one bolt.

Two cruxy bouldery moves to start then eases considerably. Stuart Wyithe originally bolted this thinking it was only going to be grade 26!

Start: Starts 2m right of 'Naughty Tickle Town'.

The scene of one of the biggest dummy spits in Australian climbing history. Cruelly stolen from Gordy by a roving Garth in his youthful prime. In a fit of vengeance Gordy promptly chipped off the vital holds, removed the bolts and covered the rest of the holds with sunscreen! Nathan Hoette managed to repeat it anyway. This is the extension of 'Tyranny' past a further two FHs to rap chain.

The hardest climbing on 'Spurt Wall'. Splits after 3rd bolt of 'Tyranny' and finishes up 'Lifestyling'.

Sustained slopy masterpiece that some reckon is the best thing on Spurt. It climbs a blazingly direct line of pockets and crimps. Typical Julian bullshit runouts to sketchy clips with the technical crux several metres above a bolt. 6 bolts.

Some think it might be 30..

Something of a hybrid. The first pitch is free except for one long aid point. The less significant second pitch still holds a few aids.

Start: The next hanging corner R of 'Icarus' is now easily identifiable by 2 shiny new FHs on the steeply undercut face below the corner. (This is a closed project which is attempting to free the batman start (extremely bouldery)).

1. 24m (31 M2) Batman to the first bolt above the FHs, continue up corner past dodgy old "Pollitt ring-bolts" to abseil anchor.

2. 31m (- M2) Free up to ledge below crack across roof. Aid roof and up to top.

Magnificent. HB almost freed it (30M1 - 1 point) but it took another 15 years for Ben to finish it off, by the skin of his teeth. So far he's suggested "maybe 30, 31" for the grade - we'll go with the latter!

Start: 10m R of 'Pegasus'.

1. 35m (31) Hard moves take you R through the roof 10m R of 'Pegasus' to crux into bottomless corner. On up corner to belay.

2. 27m (-) Easy ground.

A brilliant complex roof problem. Located 1 minute's walk downhill - left of the 'Sweet Sensation' cave. Sit-start right at the back of the cave, and climb out, down, and around to a cruxy finish out on the lip.

Start as for 'Apfenschaukel', but head right through a big gaston move. 2nd ascent was quickly made by Toni Lamprecht in about 5 minutes!

Very bouldery crux section involving a long series of painful pockets.

Start: Ringbolted route 3m right of 'Chinese Water Torture'. Establish in 2001, an ascent by German hardman Andy Hofman grade 8a - 8c as not sure on Aussie grades! Recent ascentionists suggest 32 after repeated attemps by some very strong climbers.

Start as for Mr Knox. Follow the obvious line of good holds out of the cave and head right via big moves to the arete. Continue up the right-hand arete to top out.

Popular. Sit start on good flakes at the lowest part of the roof and climb the line of flakes, pinches and edges all the way out to cruxy moves at the lip. Finish at the big jug on the face or top out.

Start back of cave with LH undercling jug and RH arete. Slap up arete and edges in roof. Give some beans to gain the arete and finish up glory jugs to top out. Stay tight to avoid dab. Recommend sweater over rock as crashpad. (Project #34 in guide).

📹 When in Rome

Start at the bottom of the cave, climb the long roof crack and top out through the little hole.

Stephen Waring

Trent Searcy

Start matched on the low hueco jug. Climb the steep orange/grey prow using the arete or directly up orange cove. Top out on jugs and slab.

Previously a long-standing open project prior to Klem's arrival. Originally graded 11, with some people thinking it's still not far off that.

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

Crawl into the dark cave left of 'Passion' and sit-start on the right matching a big sloper. Traverse left via a massive iron-cross move (hence the name) and finish on the left.

Start on the furthest RH sloper right of 'Rave Heart' original start - then traverse left into 'Amniotic World' and finish up it.

Jump start, left of Body Eater, and dyno towards the lip and top out.

A big traverse starting to the right of Problem #3 and finishing as for Problem #1

Doesn't look like much but packs in some hard technical climbing. From a desperate sit start off side pulls climb the boulders nose past increasingly sloping holds.

Sit start/crouched on slopey edges and up pinching up the arete.

Sit start on the arete, slap up and finish as for The Quickening.

Start as for The Quickening, head right through crimps from the jug.

Sit start left of the arete on a sloping break. Hard moves leading left before moving up to a high and commiting finish.

Start up Middle Path, where Middle Path joins Path of Yin continue traversing right into steepness. Do the big dyno and then traverse further right into Eye of the Tiger and finish as per it's anchors.

A shameless linkup but worthy none the less! Start up middle path and continue as per the flying duck. Do the crux dyno of the duck and then immediately head left into a rest before finishing at the path of yin anchors.

Starts as per PFOD then joins CL for a couple of bolts. Takes traverse line a few meters south of CL to same anchor

As for Cl but keep going straight up via very reachy moves.

Start: Start as for CL.

The only bolted line in this cave.

Classic Power Route.

The line out the middle of the big red cave. Three sections with increasing difficulties separated by good rests. Rock quality is second to none at the top. Glory jugging up final corner to double U bolt belay.

The RH finish to 'Le Petit Mort'. Keep on truckin' up the steep headwall after doind most of LPM. Some people start up Chasin' the 'Shadow' instead, but they are silly.

A whole new route without a single extra bolt!

Start as for Red Vinyl.

Extends Red Vinyl to the lip. No more bolts, although it does now have it's own anchor. Make sure you clip the last bolt on Red Vinyl then drop back down right, up, then back left to the crux. You need an alert belayer once you're out near the lip.

Dual Fuel? Jule Fuel? Who knows how it's meant to be spelt. The usual warning applies: there's only a single bolt between you and the ground at times.

Start as for Nomads / Red Vinyl

Start as for Red Vinyl then link into Breathing Gasoline after about 9m. This eliminates the rest on Breathing Gasoline, making this route rather more sustained! For the record, on 26/4/09, not really knowing what went where, Mike Patz sent a similar link-up at the same sort of grade, this time starting up the first few bolts of Nomads then finishing up Breathing Gasoline.

The other competitor for the most impressive line here, although it doesn't get as many stars. Yet to receive a 2nd ascent.

Start near the lonely boulder about 15m R of Bwana.

Up from the left to gain the faint arete then move R and up the steep grey face to the top.

Looks like a pissy little link up but it was actually done before Aging 'Gigolo'.

Start: Start as for 'The Floating Cloud'

Looks like a pissy little link up but it was actually done before Aging Gigolo.

Start up The Floating Cloud then move left into Aging Gigolo.

Amazing line. 2nd from right

Start as for 'Low Land' and once hitting the jug head straight up via a big move on crimps

Australia's hardest pure jam crack. Purportedly quite exciting with proper hard moves above a ledge and limited chances to stop and place gear. One for the smaller handed folk.

Stand start on crimpy ledge, up to the crimpy sidepull and move over left to the glorius jug which is then only one dynamic move away from the top! Nice project, graded at around V8 - V10!

Potentially grade 31+ Simon Parsons was very close to completing back in the day. Traverse the wall on the City side of the road only using the blocks 4 and under. #traverse

aka Death by a Thousand Cuts. Pretty meaty at the grade. Long Road Home into DIM.

Simian Ling Nights into DIM.

After The War into Descent Into Madness. Hardest moves near the start... but there’s plenty to keep you thinking late.

Mega. Stand start in the pit down right as for Day of the Ape. Up left as for DOTA to gaston on HD. Epic shoulder press down into start of straining rail finishing via whichever of its variants pick your fancy. Quite a few tough moves in a row. Worth extending left for the full experience.

Beware the monster. When you find it you’ll know. All time, hard and a bit terrifying. Roof to hard moves to gain the flake and amazing arete. Be careful up high.

Sit start to Tantalus. Overall, no harder than the original but the sit start adds some nice moves and a little fatigue.

Tantalus' crimpier, narrower neighbour. Compress up the left arête and right crimp rail from a stand (left hand sharp side-pull on the arête and right on the crimp rail)

This is deceptively difficult. A very short problem - one hard move. Use the positive holds on the arete to reach the obvious ledge (finish here) - use a controlled pull from the ground - do not jump from the ground. Stand start.

Sit-start and climb the scooped, featured arete to a crimp on the lip. From here traverse right, matching on the sloper to gain better holds and the top out. Fantastic climbing - make sure you match the sloper! Dont even need to try this to see it's 3 stars!

Sit start in the hueco down low. Work your way along the rail in the cave into Slippery Nipple Stand. Area Classic.

5m L of X-Men up obscene steepness. Just awesome.

Prepare to be dominated. Climb Miss Sixty to last bolt, then grapple the overlap diagonally R passing another 5 FH’s to shared anchor of next route. Absolute beast of a pitch. Super good.

A real hidden classic.

Sit start under the steep wall on the right side, at the big undercling.

Head up following some slopey ledges, then swing across to left side of bloc, tricky tension moves guard the finish up then onto the arete. Highly recommended to scrub the top, as this bloc doesn’t get much sun.

Stand start. Hard mantle around a bulge.

This boulder is 10 m down stream of Mad Woman's Breakfast.

Sitting on other boulders, there is a short roof under the boulder. From the start position, your back is to the river.

Sit start on obvious large sloping feature with your left heel by your hands. Up to a small slopey crimp, or if you like, to the very small, incut and very sharp flexing crimp. Then pull hard and throw up to rail, match then very hard mantel top out.

Start at the Underbelly and link under through magic bean out other side.