Routes in Australia for selected grade

Discontinuous cracks.

Start: Start just L of 'Revolver Crack'.

The deep crack.

Start 20m right of Melville's Cave.

Crack to horizontal break, then go 2m right and up crack.

Start: 1m left of small cave on the grey wall just left of the descent gully.

The crack with a hard start.

Start at the right side of the grey wall.

The wall between 'Cartridge Arete' and 'Cartridge Chimney'.

The chimney.

Start: Just R of 'Cartridge Arete'.

A nice little line. Start up the left edge of the orange wall, then step right and proceed up the weakness on good holds.

The steep orange corner facing L.

Start 0.5m R of OC.

Layback for 5m then step right into crack.

Start: Start 5m right of 'Cobb & Co'.

The undercut direct start to 'Marshmallow Sea' is definitely a little harder than the original.

Move left to the sparsely protected smooth wall facing the road.

Start: As for 'Deck Gully' but move left and up, finishing past the small overhang.

Good beginner's lead.

Start just left of the plaque and right of the small overhang. Climb the wall between 'Hammer' and 'Slip Knot'.

The chimney on the south-west side of the outcrop.

The scrubby corner.

The line.

Start around R from 'Castration', on the wall facing The Pines, at the initial.

An obscure choice for this era when almost all the other classics of 'Arapiles' were still unclimbed! For over thirty years guidebooks placed this climb in the wrong gully. The good news is that no-one has missed it. Some awful rock.

Start a few metres right of A Sore Finger. There's a wonky letter S painted somewhere.

1. 22m (7) The loose juggy crack to a large ledge.

2. 32m (7) R and up loose dangerous rib.

3. 12m (-) Scramble off.

Head R then up the chossy front-side of the prow.

Start: Start at the teetering stack on the R side of the gully, at the initials.

Probably worthless but no-one has definitely located it.

Start about 60 metres up King Rat Gully where the left side becomes a short juggy wall. Prairie starts at the steep line 2 metres right of a corner.

Up the crack on good holds until a ledge at 25m. Traverse off left along tis ledge.

Follow Lizard Procrastination to the ledge below the final overhang. Head up and right on juggy wall to ledge on right arete. Step back left and up steep juggy crack to top.

Completely redundant by today's standards...but then again it was another era back then, even pre-metric.

Start: Start just R of T.

Start: Start 10m R of 'Tiresias'.

1. 12m (7) To ledge then R up ramp.

2. 23m (7) L, over crux bulge and into chimney to finish.

The first climb done in the Organ Pipes. A very pleasant outing. Start 8 metres left of big dead gum tree.

1. 20m (7) Follow crack, or face just left of crack, up buttress to ledge and the former location of a plaque to climbing pioneer Bob Craddock (who died in a car accident).

2. 25m (6) Step up and right around to the front of buttress and up to belay left of big tilted boulder.

3. 10m (8) Up short wall just left of boulder then up flaring chimney. An alternative to this pitch is to traverse left for 3 metres above the void and then climb the steep wall 7 metres left of the chimney. Optional fourth pitch is grade 10: From big ledge climb steep wall on right and finish up a crack on the left of the pinnacle. No one seems to do this these days but it is quite good.

This was originally called Sage but as there is already a real climb of that name at Arapiles it has been altered.

Northern side of Leafy Quoit Lump. 4 metres right of the overhang, follow crack to the right of hanging boulder, finish up to gap in blocks. Scramble off to right.

This climb is on the north -east face of the buttress. One metre to the right of Past & Present.

The line starting just left of Charity

Up the crack.

Start: Start under the L crack on the main face.

Ramble up the low angled buttress.

Start: Start at the next buttress R from T.

Diagonal crack.

Start: Start just R of P.

Up low angled face 2m right of 'Dignity' to summit.

Up right side of big block on slabby terrace. Step right at bulge.

3m right of SS, Slab to weakness. Trend left up slabby rib and bulgy crack then juggy bulge.

Slab and bulge at right end of slabby terrace. Continue up yellow tinged corner.

This is probably what Noddy has written up as Marbles in Argus, but graded 11!. Start 4m left of Pure and Simple, just right of a flake sticking up out of the ground. Head straight up. Good gear and climbing the whole way.

Involves a rubber chicken. On the side facing Cecilia, climb low angled, juggy crack on left.

Scramble down and around the corner left of ETGZ. Start left of right arete. Up and step left onto 'emohawk'. Then up slabby arete.

This bit of rock is getting more crowded than High Dive Gully. It would be surprising if any of the climbing is new.

Start up Kincaid then cross to steep juggy crack on the right wall. From the big ledge (belay possible) climb past the No Standing chains then centrally up headwall.

Start: Start 2m R of FoF.

Up Loboff till the start of the traverse, then up left through funky bulge.

Start at the top of TK, at the south side of the slot. Chimney out above the Keyhole towards Central Gully, then move around arete onto the south face of Bluff Minor, which is easy but exposed, to bag the summit.

An easy pitch for parties wanting to get from Kestrel to Flinders Lane without an increase in grade.

From the belay at the top of the first pitch, step right and climb up right a couple of metres to a ledge system. Walk right across the mossy ledge system to the corner on the final pitch of Yo Yo and follow this to Flinders Lane. Make sure to place a good directional runner after the traverse.

A way to the top of the cliff. Unfortunately it breaks down very quickly into an unpleasant gully.

20m (8) From the right end of Flinders Lane, climb a juggy corner into a chimney. Belay on second ledge. 45m (4) Up the chimney-gully.

The challenge of this old route, should you choose to accept it, is working out where it goes.

Start as for 'Radish'.

1. 36m (5) Up the easy corner and then traverse right around the buttress to the next line. Up this, or face on left to next ledge.

2. 24m (5) Climb short corner then step left and traverse left below overhangs to belay.

3. 15m (5) Traverse left again under bulge and up through weakness(this is probably a few metres left of the second pitch of Shaggy's Route) to a ledge level with the Eagle's Nest, a prominent nose of rock to the right. Now left and up again to the next ledge.

4. 15m (5) Up wall to a huge ledge with buttresses rising on both sides.

5. 30m (5) Up by the lefthand buttress, The Belvedere, and up to join 'Syrinx'. Scramble off right.

A gentle romp that could serve as an alternative start to The Dribble.

Up the Pan Grove slab to whitish blocks at 15m. Instead of moving right (as for Pan Grove), continue following the left-leaning groove. When the groove peters out, step slightly right and finish in the obvious groove. Note: the steep bulging crack on the right is lovely to start, but the finishing blocks are a bit dodgy. Belay on the Senior Citizens terrace and descend Pan Grove.

A hybrid route between Llareggub and The Flue.

1. 23m As for The Flue – the major chimney left of the grotto. Belay at pre-existing rap station.

2. 12m Up steepening prow, past left side of roof, to another rap station, as for the easy top of Llareggub that no-one does anymore.

3. 10m Easily to top of pinnacle for spectacular views. Descend north side of pinnacle into Pan Grove.

Gets more atmospheric the higher you go. Takes the north ridge of Deadpoint Wall. Start below the U-shaped gully behind Death Row Pinnacle.

1. 40m Climb clean rock on left side of the usually-dry little waterfall. Continue easily up and left to base of ridge.

2. 20m Up to short orange corner, step right onto prow of ridge, and up easily to big ledge.

3. 15m Bridge line 2m left of steep orange corner, and continue up nice wall on left side of the ridge to the big terrace.

"The holds just keep on appearing" Follow the obvious left-leaning diagonal rib to the arete then up.

5 metres right of Howling. Start as for 'Laurel and Hardy' directly under the rap chains. Thereafter take left leaning crease in rock and the easiest left line to the pinnacle summit.

Instead of going up to the front, follow the track around and up onto the north shoulder of the Pharos. Start at a low-angled, blunt spur just left of a vegetated gully.

1. 43m (8) Up the buttress to a small ledge. Continue on steeper rock to another small ledge. Step off right side of ledge (straight up is grade 14) then up to a ledge below a short gully.

2. 15m (4) Up the gully to a large ledge. Continue up to the next ledge, the Tennis Court.

3. 20m (8) From the top of the pedestal, climb the tricky weakness left of the red overhang. Belay on the first good ledge.

4. 23m (7) Up to subsidiary summit, step across gap then up to summit.

Exit the key hole and climb down past rappel station, sticking to easy terrain.

Easy chimney immediately right of "Cranky Babies", finishing up right wall.

A gentle ramble with spectacular views all the way. Sort of a companion route to Spiral Staircase. The name also derives from the fact that the first ascent team had a combined age of 269, and featured more than 200 years of climbing experience. Starts between West Coast Dogma and Sombrero, where there is an obvious ledge 2m above the ground.

1. 30m Mantelshelf onto the ledge and continue up and left to a nice flat ledge.

2. 20m Up easily from the left end of the ledge for 3-4m. An unlikely traverse left around bulge at the horizontal break (nice exposure) leads to the base of a gulch. The enigmatic Duck Crag is up on the right.

3. 40m Follow the shoulder all the way to the top.

Not great.

Some distance down right are low-angled mossy faces with ledges in between. Scramble up to deep, right-facing chimney. This is your mission should you choose to accept it.

The "obvious" right-facing corner on the wall right of Sombrero, then the left of twin lines up the headwall.

Start up the South Pacific corner, then take the right-hand line past an unusual rock crypt.

Best approached by one of the other climbs in the vicinity. Step across the tree-filled gully behind the top of South Pacific etc, follow the weakness in the wall and finish centrally up the juggy tower.

The easiest slab at Arapiles(?). Could be done as an approach pitch to Long John Silver. Climbs central weakness in the slab around right from Blackbeard. Scramble up to start. Gentle slab split by a juggy crack.

Take the clean orange slab above the southern edge of Duck Crag, finishing on the left side of the summit block.

The major corner-chimney bounding the left side of the black slab, mainly climbed on the slab.

Nice rock, nice moves, brilliant nut pro. With that many superlatives it's gotta be worth a star, right?

Start: Start right of 'No Turning Back'.

Twin cracks 2 metres right of Barefoot In The Park.

A short way downhill from Sheer Ecstasy Wall on the same side of the creek is a small wall. At the start there are two left leaning parallel cracks that merge about halfway up. Take the right hand crack. This has a bouldery start. To the top. Good pro and an easy walk off.

Start at the left hand of two corners where the two walls on the terrace meet, a couple of metres right of "Young, Old and Amputees". The corner.

Walk through to the back of the gully where the floor ends at an edge. Up into a scoop in the right wall, then rightwards up ramp and corner. Exit left to belay on boulder ledge. Be wary of the rock. Descent: scramble through (suggest staying roped up) to the rap chains above Fly By Night.

... of depravity. A spelunking expedition through the bowels of the cliff. Climb into the chimney past the beginning of Open Road and A Bridge Too Far and just keep on going. Easy chimney climbing with a dodgy flake system for gear leads to a good belay above massive chockstones. Some of the poorest rock you'll find at the Mount, not a classic. Turns out to be a variant start to Hunting For Swedish Fish (in Cheops Buttress area).

Climb the front of the clean rib about 12m left of Wedding Tackle.

An alpine-flavoured adventure that surely ranks as one of the finest routes of its grade in the world

Start: Left of the prominent ridge is a large terrace. Approach from below and to the left.

1. 43m 3 step onto ridge and up

2. 27m 5 up and over pinnacle

3. 20m 4 up wall to big ledge on right

4. 30m 5 head on up

Middle of left wall into shallow corner. Exit left

Bridge up groove at back of alcove, swing left onto large flake.

Obvious left diagonal to thin crack

"The climbers were so thick they were like ordinary trees". Good to do if the other routes are busy though there could be a bottleneck on the last pitches of 'Tiptoe Ridge'.

Start: Start below big right-facing corner system.

1. 30m (5) Up easy slab to rock rib just right of corner. Belay in gap between main face and small pinnacle.

2. 10m (1) Wander across left to a stance closer to the corner where the 'Tiptoe Ridge' buttress meets the main face.

3. 50m (6) 'Excellent' climbing up the corner to the notch behind the 'Tiptoe Ridge' pinnacle.

4. 50m (4) Finish up the last 2 pitches of 'Tiptoe Ridge'.

The first recorded route at 'Arapiles'.

The original route wandered around a lot more than the route as described here. It is fairly safe to say that all of the rock between 'Siren' and 'Ordinary Trees' has been climbed.

Start: Start on the right side of the 'Tiptoe Ridge' buttress, about 10 metres right of a major corner (Ordinary Trees), where two detached blocks are sitting just off the ground. There's an overhang about 6 metres up and a large dead tree marking the top of the pitch.

1. 25m (4) Up the wall, passing the overhang on the left, then up to the dead tree.

2. 40m (2) Up the easy face left of the scrubby gully to large ledge.

3. 35m (5) Directly up face until about 8 metres below the Eagle's Eyrie (prominent cave). Traverse 8m metres left, passing under roof and up to ledge level with the Eagle's Eyrie. Climbing direct to the Eagle's Eyrie and then traversing left is grade 10

4. 35m (4) Step left and up chimney right of 'Tiptoe Ridge', joining that route near the top.

Not really a climb, just an escape route. The diagonal ramp leading right from the base of the 'Siren' corner.

Botanical line behind large dead tree at right end of 'Rotten Row'.

Crack 5 metres right of 'Tschumpel', 1 metre left of 'Bindi'.

Chimney line 6 metres right of 'Tschumpel'

This pleasant, easy crack midway between The Clown and 'Court Jester' was probably first soloed by Louise to get access to the top of School For Scandal during her massive cleaning exercise.

Another long ramble, about half of which are bits of existing climbs.

1. 40m Climb A Whale of a Time until level with the big terrace on the right. Step left and belay on the shoulder of the ridge.

2. 25m Diagonally left to the base of the left-leaning line (the right-hand line is Court Jester – steep and loose).

3. 25m Up left-leaning line, to finish steeply up right wall – highlighted by a classic mantelshelf and incut jugs.

4. 20m Easily up ridge to terrace.

5. 30m As for 5th pitch of Beau Geste.

Pleasant access route to the big terrace.

Blunt, slabby arete starting 10 metres right of Beau Geste.

Takes the low angled groove at right end of wall. Shares anchor with I am a Banana Expert.

Looks quite pleasant despite the odd small shrub. Was upgraded to 15 in Carrigan guide; someone must have strayed onto the then unclimbed Maiden Voyeur!

Start: There is a small square chipped in the rock at the base of the route.

Not without merit, despite the long scrambling start. Start about 50 metres left of Leaden Echo below black and orange buttress.

1. 35m (8) Potter up the easy-angled ground for about 15m until a corner leads up and can move around right onto righthand face. Follow line left past little roof to small stance above arete.

2. 35m (8) Around the steepening and follow the flake (could extend the previous pitch to top of flake and belay level with ceiling of Fiddler On The Roof) . From the centre of the wall go up and slightly left.

Classic, square-cut corner starting dirctly behind small pine. Finish up easy ground above corner.

Up the crack then arete till angle eases. Follow sharp arete to spectacular summit.

Start: Start at a crack on the east face of the pinnacle.

Follow arete all the way to top.

Start: Slightly uphill of BNP, 5 metres left (description says right but that makes no sense) of the start of 'Generation Gap', at the left arete.

Pleasant easy climb up a great line. Left facing stepped corner left of the bulging wall with Lou and Evelyn.

Up streak and continue straight on.

Start: About 1m left of 'The First Kiddy Climb' and a bit lower is a orange streak in the middle of black.

Sorry kids, but these 2 routes are the complete pox left of the unclimbed grotty corner at the left end of the wall of Mermaid Ave

Not destined for greatness, but when you are only 8 and 10 years old putting up a route is exciting.

Start: 1m left of the chimney/corner (unclimbed)

Originally "About a Fat Wench from Normandy, who Pretended to Have a 'Snake' in Her Belly". Hard to believe he was the father of modern surgery, isn't it?

Start: Start: On top of large boulder leaning against wall 2m left of 'Mermaid Avenue' and also looks ok.

An old fashioned line, or is that lane, as in bus? Good.

Start: Between Lou and 'Stone Age' there is an obvious large chimney in the middle of a sizeable wall. This line is 'Mermaid Avenue'.

You know what to do.

Start: Start: 2m right of 'Poles Apart' at another line of cracks.

Huge old-fashioned chimney.

Pad up the centre of the lovely clean slab left of Silver Bullet.

The huge slabby corner which is essentially the approach ramp for 'Solar City' and 'Werewolf'.

Not as good as first thought but not bad and shady for most of the day. Usually done in one pitch.

Start below the right of two obvious weaknesses right of Acapulco Gold.

1. 12m (7) Follow line to good ledge on right.

2. 18m (7) Step left then up line. When gully is reached, either climb easy wall on right or traverse easily right on narrow ledge to rap anchor of Serpent.

Takes prominent ramp on the wall left of Guiding Light. Essentially provides an easier finish to He Certainly Is. Start in the gully uphill from The Bishop’s Crook.

1. 18m Up nice grey wall opposite Guiding Light, with a step right 3-4m up. Belay on big ledge.

2. 14m Short crack, then follow right-trending ramp to the base of the prominent corner.

3. 18m Climb the shorter (and easier) corner on the right, then trend up right to top-out where Guiding Light finishes.

A quirky ramble that is very enjoyable. There was a serious accident on this climb a couple of years back, showing that a lapse of concentration can get you hurt anywhere. Start at the foot of the chimney-gully.

1. 32m (4) Climb diagonally rightwards up the easy wall to large ledge.

2. 13m (6) Scramble 5 metres to next ledge and take vague corner-weakness 4 metres right of arete to summit. This summit has also been reached by the wall on the opposite side of the block, from within the chimney; much harder and not recommended.

3. 15m (6) Downclimb from summit, step across chimney then up wall to main summit.

Not a bad lead with enough gear in horizontal breaks (take cams) and interesting moves in between.

A good climb for beginners to follow as protection is limited. Start 2 metres left of V-corner of Pete Made Us Do It.