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Pole 28

Access: Access road is 4WD only (and probably should be closed)

Due to heavy rainfall in 2021/2022 the road down to this crag is now in very poor condition - with a liquefied mud section up top that can bog even the best 4wd vehicles. Advise walking down instead.

See warning details and discuss

Created about two years ago

Seasonality

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Description

Nice crag with one cliff in the sun all day and the other getting afternoon sun.

For the so-called "lower Pole 28 area" - which is actually the Flying Fox Area, climbed since 1970 - rap off the power-pole atop the cliff, just downhill from the upper Pole 28 left-side climbs (Alpha Male etc). Or use the Flying Fox Area descent.

According to mapping this area is located on private property owned by the Hydro Majestic Hotel. However it is also the location of high voltage powerlines and access is via a dirt road built to access these lines. Please respect the land.

Access issues inherited from Medlow Bath

Many of these crags are located on private property - and could be closed at any time. Do not piss off local residents by parking cars at the end of Belgravia St - park back near the train line and walk 100m up the road.

The Belgravia St descent track and Devondale bouldering is located on private property (it is NOT owned by the Hydro Majestic Hotel). This property changed hands in 2018 for a cool $1.9 million, and the new landowners have not expressed concerns about the public on their land - yet. It is very important that this property is treated with utmost respect - and if you are approached by the owners then please be courteous. If they have concerns please get them to contact ACANSW.

Blue Mountains City Council is the land manager for The Block, Katoomba Bros, Sandpit, Valley Farm & Sooty Crag. Access to all these areas is via the private land mentioned above.

The mega lux Hydro Majestic Hotel owns private land that includes the Sunbath Wall, Reservoir Dogs, Sporting Complex, The Underworld & Pole 28. Access to to these private land crags is NOT guaranteed and could be closed at any time.

DJ crag is also located on private property - with the owner apparently living below the cliff itself.

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)

Areas

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Routes

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The next 5 routes are on the right side of the descent stairs (facing out)

Start on left of main wall at slight corner. Follow left line of rings to lower-offs.

FA: J DeMartin, 2010

Start as for JaLL until second ring then head slightly right and follow rings to lower-offs.

FA: D Taylor, 2008

Great climbing with shade in the morning and sun in the afternoon. Lots of bolts and plenty of stylish moves. Hard for the grade!

FA: D Taylor, 2008

start 5m right of PtP. Scramble up to ledge, clip ring in roof then straight up to lower-offs.

FA: M Spring, 2008

Steep problem tending right then up. Mostly 19-21 moves with a single 23 sequence near the beginning. Very stylish climbing.

FA: D Taylor, 2008

The next routes are on the left side of the descent stairs (facing out)

Left most line

FA: Jason Lammers & Rick Phillips, 2011

Direct between the scoops

FA: Jason Lammers & Rick Phillips, 2011

On the left side of the crag coming down the stairs, third route along. Nice rock in the sun all day, and out of the wind! Good bit of winter rock!

FA: Tom Hepner, 2010

Up AM, then continue directly up the arete.

FA: Jason Lammers, 2012

First 2 bolts on BM then head left passing another bolt to gain arete and finish as per LoFi.

FA: Jason Lammers, 2012

Fourth climb along the left wall, a few metres past the blunt arete and Alpha Male.

FA: Tom & Hannah Hepner, 2010

Pleasant corner crack with overhanging crux, then easy corner and equalised small trees belay. Good protection throughout, mostly wires and a few cams. Sheltered from westerly wind and sun.

FA: Graham Dowden & Rene Provis, 18 Jan 2021

Arete to shared lower off with SM

FA: Jason Lammers & Tanya Greeves, 2011

Cool orange streak

FA: Rick Phillips & Jason Lammers, 2011

Right of SM

FA: Jason Lammers, 2012

Straight up avoiding the bolts of Surprisingly Sweet. Great gear, tree belay.

FA: Graham Dowden & Peter Martland, 30 Apr 2021

An easy corner on which to practise trad. Stem or thrutch up to tree belay.

Burly overhanging roof crack with awkward exit followed by easy corner and tree belay. Make sure the cams stick, and add an extra grade for the crack exit.

FA: Graham Dowden & Rene Provis, 26 Jan 2021

Seam crack through roof. Originally attempted on gear by Damian Taylor and sundry.Chris Coghill, added some bolts when his gear started falling out. Rohan took offense, chopped the bolts and climbed this natural masterpiece And the world was a more ethical and morally brighter place. Amen.

FA: Rohan, 2013

Hard start and little wall then right on jugs through the roof.

Start: Middle of big cave.

FA: Karen Allen, 2011

Up the easy start to lip of cave. Traverse the lip on jugs, and then pull onto easy orange head wall using dippy crimps.

Start: 20m R of FF just before next cave

Set: Jason Lammers

FA: Tim Mayer, 31 Mar 2018

First 5 bolts of HW then directly up to tricky mantle and slab finish

FA: Jason Lammers, 2011

Up the steep crack, then move right to lip and up.

FA: Jason Lammers, 2011

Hard start to overhung arete - pull around this onto bright orange headwall.

FA: Heath Black

Set: Rick Phillips, 2011

Orange face on left side of shale cave, about 20m right of previous route. Right trending line to lip of small roof, hard move above this then flake to finish.

FA: Neil Monteith, 2011

Rambly corner crack, then trend left up grey juggy wall to tree belay.

FA: Graham Dowden & Rene Provis, 25 Nov 2020

Start: 2m right of TNSOOS Second Year.

Shallow corner crack topped by block, then bash up gully to right avoiding ants. Tree belay.

FA: Graham Dowden & Rene Provis, 25 Nov 2020

Hard for the grade. Starts in obvious orange corner and follows rings around roof at mid height.

FA: Tanya Greeves, 2011

The dead-horizontal roof crack you can't miss walking to the far side of the crag, but looks like everyone did?

Release your inner crack-monkee and blast into pockets, upside-down fingerlocks and 360 cut-loose trickery. Finish at hands-free ledge above and backjump.

Take a single rack to 3 with doubles in 1 and 2 and triples in 0.4.

FFA: Anton Korsun, 29 Jun 2022

Named after my kinship, the three brothers. Really nice climbing on good features, with just a few spicy moves. Stick-clip first bolt for sweet boulder moves through undercut start on good face holds, then pleasant wall climbing on funky features to a thin finish over the bulge. Start: Up the centre of a narrow south-facing wall with an undercut start and a corner to the right. FA: Tom Hepner, Hannah Hepner, Tom ‘T-bor’ Thomson - 2010-00-00

FA: Tom Hepner, Hannah Hepner & Tom 'T-bor' Thomson, 2010

As for BTAN to 2nd RB. Traverse L to 2nd RB of BK and up

Start right of Brothers K at crack.

FA: Rick Phillips, 2011

2m right of corner. Up the techo red wall.

FA: Jason Lammers, 2011

Line of bolts up a steep orange nose.

Set: Tom Hepner

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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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Tue 25 Apr
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