★★ Alive in a Bitter Sea 25 R

Classic Blueys steep face climbing in an inspiring location, but with the old-school epic of extremely bold climbing above gear.

Original bolts replaced (like for like) with Glue-in Stainless Carrots in 2016!

Access either by walking to the top of the route from Echo Point and rapping the route (recommended), or by climbing the lower pitches of Echo Crack or Silent Echo to the huge shale-band ledge at half height.

To access from the top, make your way from Echo Point Upper Viewing Platform, down the ramp and head towards the Lower Viewing Platform. 30m after you turn left from the bottom of the ramp (heading towards the lower platform), there is a yellow mark on the fence on your right. Step over this, then down scrub heading vaguely right through bush to rock pagoda. Keep the rock on your right initially as you head down the hill, following a vague weakness and a number of yellow arrows. When the next cliffline appears on your left, hug that and down a number of small shelves to arrive at 2 x carrot + 1 fixed hanger belay directly above Echo Crack.

The top of Alive in a Bitter Sea is at 2 Stainless carrots (and one original Bash-in) atop a series of big teetering blocks, approximately 10m across the wall directly in front of you, at the same height as the Echo Crack top-out.

1. 25m (24 R/X) - Hard moves directly up past 2 carrots (caution getting to 2nd Carrot). Traverse straight right via balancy moves for several metres to flake. Up this with gear, then hard moves up vague corner to placement, and directly right to detached flake, up this to gain "hanging blunt arete". More hard moves up arete past one last carrot bolt to belay on small flake stance (Piton + Bolt + #4/#3.

2. 40m (25 R) - Stupidly hard at the grade. Traverse directly right from the belay for several metres, then diagonally up and right to shale break , then up via 2 carrots of sustained hard climbing up blunt arete to infamous dyno, and more hard arete climbing to belay on small ledge (3 carrots) - Consider shifting the belay further right to be out of the way for the nails at the start of the next pitch).

3. 15m (23 R) - Straight up via utterly desperate thin moves off the belay to a very high carrot (caution getting to this bolt!), more hard moves past gear to another carrot, then easier climbing up (trending vaguely left) past several placements to belay on top of big flake (3 Carrots).

4. 10m (14) - Traverse left along face, then across Echo Crack past 3 carrots and several possible gear placements, up onto belay ledge (2 Carrots, 1 FH).

Walk back up to Echo Point.

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/