Ascents in Oceania by Kurt Doherty

Not sure what to make of this one. With only the start holds chalked, I went for the obvious jug at the lip of the roof and up the face, not direct up the corner feature as shown in the SEQ guidebook—is this correct? Start moves were tough, but over very quickly. Definitely a one-move wonder, much like Little Wednesday, and would be harder the shorter you are. Overall, would agree with SEQ guidebook on 24.

BOOM! So happy. Placing and clipping second scared the pants off me...almost climbed to the third before getting it done. Almost stuffed my hands after that too. Such a good feeling getting to that jug!

Only just pulled this off—forearms were exploding as I rounded the lip. If the anchors were still in steep territory, I'd have been out of there. As soon as you commit to setting up for the move to the jugs, it's on like donkey kong. Not the most amazing route, but definitely fun! Would say 24 is bang on.

Super fun line and happy to read it well and bag the onsight.

Pretty chuffed to nab the onsight. Sequenced really well and found many of the holds to be much better than I was expecting. Crux was pretty darn fun, especially with numbed out hands; thankfully managed to rest just enough before it to pull through. Thanks for the permadraws; made it very easy to consume.

Gym climbing in a spectacular area. Big holds with some big moves. Fun.

Great steep thuggery. Very happy to get the onsight. Felt strong and climbed fast. Awesome.

Very nice climbing. Hard to read Lower Slider's pockmarked rock sometimes!

Great punchy little number. Over very quick and likely soft for 23 but still good value.

Squeaked this in with very little skin. Start was very sharp and more difficult than I expected. Crux was quite enjoyable.

Great route. Little tricky at the first roof but you get a good stance at half height and it's fairly cruisy after that. Nice to do something new.

More great wall climbing—great addition guys! It's pretty engaging on the headwall and was a very rewarding onsight. Quite solid for the grade.

Not the best warm up. Spicy to second bolt with the boulder below then short techy crimp crux to easy finish.

Cool little start to a tough mantle/long reach around the 3rd (I think). Had to work hard at the 4th as I didn't sight out the holds as well as I should have. Finish was also pretty touch and go as I was feeling pretty fatigued by this stage.

Stiff start, then easy climbing to an interesting and committing finish on the arete. Loved the final moves.

Fun finishing moves but its over all too soon. Soft for the grade; should be 21.

Great climbing! Made me think quick once I rounded the lip. Got on this to get another route in before the massive storm hit, and very glad I did. Not bad for 22.

Jug life, thug life. Very good value. First bolt is epic to stick clip...rock holding the gate open got caught against the hanger. 9kN is plenty for a top rope fall right? Haha! Couldn't believe our chances.

Great little route with a really cool finish. Thoroughly enjoyed this and think it's a great addition, albeit a short one Second bolt is definitely awkward to clip and forces you off the line-of-least-resistance. Could be hard 21?

Quick trip up to Cave 5. Only had time for one so picked this. Pretty sweet route. Would probably give it a star, though need to do it's neighbour to compare. Cave 5 is an awesome location.

Great value for the grade. Everything is where you need it with some perfectly timed climber-reviver stops along the way. The finish is one of the best I've experienced on any route in QLD at the grade—technical and flowy if you climb it right. So enjoyable.

Fantastic. At the easier end of 22 I think, but it's very much my style. Some surprising holds and enjoyable sequences on good rock.

Definitely cool, though probably only hits the grade if you make sure you climb over the bolts, and don't just traverse the ledge. The rock was horribly spoogy and I only just got the onsight. I also made the mistake of clipping the shiny biner at the anchors but failed to notice that it was attached to a rusted out hanger—as soon as I sat back on the anchor clip, the hanger broke and sent me plummeting. The whole anchor just needs to be replaced as the good looking hanger has two rusted out biners that are far from appealing.

Fun first crux quickly sees you grappling some very prickly pineapple features. Good climbing, but I wouldn't rate it any better than 'Never Ask the Moon'. Also, not sure it's a full grade harder than it's neighbour. Still, good work Cal!

Fantastic face climbing. Interesting the whole way, and steeper than it looks. Builds a great pump...were it only longer!

Great climbing on consistent holds. Really enjoyed this one, though it seemed to wander back and forth across the bolt line at times, which had me concerned I was getting off-route at times.

Favourite of the day. Thoroughly enjoyed the climbing and bolting on this one. Multiple cruxes, though none particularly hard for the grade. I found the bolt spacing on this to be perfect—great amount of climbing between clips that kept me focussed but not at risk of getting hurt if I fell. Super good! Great finish to a short 4 hr session at the cliff for Father's Day.

Really enjoyable. Felt easier than it's sibling and not as bouldery as I was expecting. A much better warm up option than my memory of Strip Clubs.

Great climbing. Butchered the crux a little and flash pumped a bit, so spent a long time resting on the jugs just after it before realising there was a huge ledge just above me haha. I spent more time resting there thinking the finish was going to the be the main crux, but it turned out to be jugs. Very fun route, and a nice length. Would be classic if the ledge wasn't there.

Good fun but didn’t feel 22. Well easier than Flash Flood.

Great climbing. Sequenced the start boulder really well, finding the holds quite a bit better than I expected. Headwall was good fun too, with some nice consistent movement...kind of a shame it doesn't keep going! I ended up doing the extension, but it adds nothing more than some extra metres.

Hands numbed out mid-crux but otherwise went okay. A little disappointed with how the simple the rest of the arete was to climb, was kind of hoping for something a little more engaging than simple jugging, but it's a cool position and a fun crux.

Really enjoyed this one. Moving above the first break was much harder than I expected. Sequenced poorly above the third and had to work a little harder than I should have, but the rest was pretty straightforward. Bolt spacing makes it feel more exposed and exciting than it really is. Called it a day after this as rain was quickly heading our way.

Fun start that wasn't quite as "streno" as the route description led me to believe. Middle of the route was enjoyable, though the movement was a little repetitive. Finish was a tad confusing; big jugs up right or nails (not 22) holds direct through the bulge...obviously, I went via the jugs, but it felt a little off route given where the last bolt and anchors are positioned.

Dyno at the start and moving onto the half-way ledge above it provide the best climbing of the route.

Nice cranking all the way, but its definitely closer to a 19/20 than a 21. Sequence at the start through first and second bolts is great. A fall clipping the third could be nasty.

Excellent climbing.

Great little climb. Felt hard for the grade, but haven't climbed for months and am still recovering from pneumonia...

Onsight central.

Had next to no chalk on it and found the rock harder to read than expected.

Definitely a classic. Great variety of rock, just wish the headwall was longer.

Pretty sweet features through the roof and short headwall. Rap rings seem unnecessarily high above that second bolt — huge ground fall potential if you were to slip on the lichen Set up an extended draw for Will to clip if he made the ledge, but sadly he couldn't clip the second.

Draws on for Cameron. Not too bad. I think the nearby ramp at the start can detract from the grade though, if it's used.

Great climb; one of the best for the grade at KP with some quality movement. Agree with SEQ guidebook on it being 20. Think it's solid at that grade.

Cool start. Not 21 in my opinion—agree with SEQ guidebook on 20. Like all the routes in the section, the rest of the route is pretty straight forward and juggy.

Pretty good route. Again the start sets the grade but would say it's no harder than Spider Fingers (though I did feel I may have gotten off-route higher up which could account for the difference) Regardless, it's aptly named given how sandy some of the holds and rock are and I was praying a few holds weren't going to break as I pulled through. I was certainly getting pumped and just had to keep on trucking.

Cool route. Went left too early and made it into a 22...chalk can lie haha :p Marked some rock near the huge undercling with X's as it's very loose (main undercling felt fine).

Seriously good technical climbing. Nothing too hard, but good body position and sequencing will get you through. Really really enjoyed this.

Another really good route. Great flowing sequences. Stiff for the grade but less technical than 'Thirty Three Years'.

Pitch 1 only. Really enjoyable, largely due to getting 9 kneebars along the way. Will definitely come back for the rest as pitch 2 looks epic.

Not too bad. Was quite damp through the corner. Upper half was great jug hauling.

Not sure it's worth two stars—start isn't great, but it is a very enjoyable route overall with awesome exposure and seriously good length.

Short, fun thuggery.

Straight after Little Triggers. I almost dropped the crux, but just got through. Makes me feel like a beginner haha!

Snuck in a send of this while Mum and Dad tried That Boy Needs Therapy. They didn't really enjoy it, but I quite liked this. Short, distinct and enjoyable crux at the start, then a few other nice sequences into the corner/arete and moving past the last.