Nodes in Black Hill

Slabby granite tors. A mini version of the You Yangs but with shade.

Be aware of snakes as they're quite common throughout the reserve.

Two good bolted slabs on a shady wall

Stick-clip and batman the undercut start. Follow the rising diagonal left, then straight up past a series of spaced pockets.

Same start as for HH to the second bolt. Move right and up the face to meet the arete after the third bolt.

Direct Start

A couple of cute low angle sport slabs. A good place to introduce your children/non climbing intimate to the game.

Start on the right hand side of the slab, up past 2 FH to DRB anchor.

Start as per LBFF to first bolt then follow the lovely dyke left to two more bolts.

Various boulders from gritty to great.

Really good sit start on opposing side pulls and up via thin edges and high steps. Located on south side of Vapour Trail boulder.

Two short walls formed by a large split boulder. There are some great face holds on these walls, but as with all rock at Black Hill please try to climb as gently as possible so the holds remain on the walls for the enjoyment of future climbers.

The nice seams around the right arete.

Seams up left side of arete take good wires. Could do with a good brushing.

Short but fun face climbing up great discontinuous dykes on middle of wall. Rebolted 2022 with three FH's. New ring on top for belay.

Delicate climbing up left side of face to a great position on the arete. Traverses R to finish at the Facing Page lower offs. Was originally led with only a single carrot where the second bolt now resides. Retrobolted 2022

2 carrots directly opposite Binder. Stem start.

The collection of small boulders on the hill above the obvious 'meadows' at the NW corner of the park, where the base track swings east. The large block of 'Lip Service' is an obvious marker.

Would be a 3 star classic if only it didn't have such teeth. Sit Start at left hand end of obvious lip traverse, engage hamstrings and aim for the obvious crack at the far right end. Mantle. Can be done right to left at the same grade.

Some excellent high ball eggs and a great low ball corner...

Excellent gold and very overhung corner at top left of Olice Grove (corner facing uphill). Sit start with LH crimp and RH gastons. Shouldery start gains low lip and easy finish. Really good.

5m golden egg above Peabody Boulder

Pop or reach good but very sharp jug on left arete of The Golden Egg. Easily on sharp jugs up up and away.

Low start on very poor side pulls to gain jug and up.

Excellent stand start RH arete... gets easier as it gets higher but exciting enough.

Excellent tor below The Golden Egg. Gold left and front face that becomes black on the right side.

Stand start just left of lower left arete climbing into obvious scoop.

Thin sit start to gain the stand. Has lost a key hold so might be harder.

AKA The Scoop Sit Part 2... 2 very hard moves gain the good holds on the Scoop. The original V4 may be able to be repaired but maybe not.

Fantastic gold north face of Peabody Boulder. Hard sit start to gain head height edges then fantastic climbing up via protruding knob. Be gentle with the exit flake. V6 stand start from the obvious edge.

Sit start to obvious black jugs at face level. Long move to rubbish holds and up. Pretty solid!

Directly opposite Peabody Express. Sit start and up left over obvious steep short prow.

After the Olive Grove is a group of large blocks immediately adjacent the track. The fused corner feature of 'Boundary Rider' is obvious on the largest block.

Excellent. The overhung layaways of the boulder problem start lead to a couple of tenuous moves getting established in the corner. Would go on poor trad and would be bolters should consider the lines proximity to the popular base circuit track. May have been climbed previously this line has been soloed above pads... and that is an excellent excursion for those so inclined.

Large flat edged facets make this a Black Hill anti-type. Great technical jug hauling to establish hands at base of fused corner. Jump off or swallow the medicine, add a star and quest onward as for The Boundary Rider.

Excellent large block approximately 150m downhill from Pumping Ugly Muscle. Can be approached via that cliff line or by contouring gently uphill for 150m from The Boundary Rider.

Excellent twin arete on the SE corner of the block (right hand side approaching from above). High and proud this is actually much less committing than it looks. Descent is via one of the East face problems (also V2) so best to have someone who can move your mats into place.

Could be a bit stiff but taller dudes than me could reach the better bit if the RH start so maybe its soft... you decide! Sit start to Aretika using the lowest of several poor slopers on left and the RH layaway edge. The crimp further right is the SS for The Golden Rails and is out on this problem.

Fantastic flat edges bust up the unlikely golden wall just right of Aretika. Start move is the hardest although a tenuous move or two near the top as well.

The next line left with obvious black edges. Hard start then easily to top. Probably the most secure descent on good holds with a small jump at the bottom.

Sit start. Excellent sequence of hard moves from poor gastons.

Meaty stand start on right facing underclings between the Blackness and RHS leads to deceptively poor edges and mantle.

Easy warm up on jug edges to slab. Could be used as a descent but the slab is a bit insecure and grungy... probably best to reverse the jugs on the Blackness.

Punchy sit start on obvious jug rail leads to easy moves up to slab.

A collection of excellent north facing boulders 50-100m below PUM and Anguish walls.

Closest large Boulder below Anguish. Non descript from above the north face is home to an amazing collection of hard to connect edges.

Outrageous central line on excellent spaced edges. Very difficult move at 3m.

Stand start at high single joint edge on right side of face. Campus to jug edge and again to sloped lip. Just your typical black hill horror mantle on nothing to gain slab and freedom!

Surprising. An amazing feature of 3 blocks stacked on each other like crazy granite dominoes. The lowest block is a prominant 8m cone shaped block with an East face begging for a couple of bolted slabs... watch this space or get out there and do the work for us all!

Technical sit start on great diagonal edges to gain LH layaways and there after the arete.

Eliminate. As for Face Off but make difficult moves direct up the face with no use of left arete. Foot dyno anyone?

Exquisite. Sit start in the middle of the middle block and traverse the sinuous lip left, through and up to a climactic finish and mantle back right (lying down or bridging on the left block at the finish is a definite no no).

NZ muscles! Behind Liptasm on the inner green lip. Low start at far right arête brings the jugs to hand then traverse left to flake and up. Seems burlier than it should.

The west arête... fun and easy warm up which would be much improved by a good brush of the upper arête

As for the warm up arête but heel hooking the lower arête eliminated. Ends up staying further left spanning the arêtes.

The group of boulders either side of the base track in the NE corner of the park (near Static Relief)

Excellent! SS at obvious jug layaway. Up powerfully via abysmal slopers to gain good but poorly directed edges. Technical rock overs lead to the top. Descent via groove to left (~V0).

Good old fashioned highballs.

The diagonal slab rises in parallel to the gulley its on, so one is still quite close to the ground on the crux. Topping out is high but easy - do note, however, that the way you just came up is also the descent! Jumping from half height takes care of the rest.

Opposite Monkey Glove Fight is a undercut buttress - access can be obtained by climbing into the fork of the tree next to it and stepping across. Every Snowflake is the easy but slightly high black slab.

Having become established on the slab of Every Snowflake is Unique, step right out to the arete and follow it to the top. Rather high - the route falls into the grey zone of being too short for a good sport route and too high for a popular boulder problem. But it makes a great highball - and incidentally, it was done ground up - with some careful scrutiny of the last moves from the top of the boulder. Athol backed off this (and that's my grade, by the way), which was kind of satisfying, cos every time I did something at Black Hill, I'd have one of the best Himalayan climbers of our generation (ie Athol) telling every one within earshot that "its not real climbing anyway"!! The name of the route dates from much later.

Just north of How I Learned to Stop Worrying is "The Highball Slab." This route takes the left hand side of the slab - there's a big comforting hold at 3/4 height where you can think about the future. Down climbing the entire route from the top of the boulder is not too bad, so that puts things in perspective. No idea who did this - I saw chalk on it in '02, which was what lured me up there. Grade intended to reflect the height. A classic.

Filling in the few gaps left by the original old men. Looking down over the top at Charlie’s HB Slab there is clearly a RH finish up an incipient line. SOMB takes the direct line to this half way between HBS and Choss.

This is what you get when you take a mountaineer bouldering! Don't pull or stand on the outer edge of the flake! And the top is really nice.

The obvious left hand route leading into the diagonal. Two things about the flake - you don't want to hit it - and it wobbles slightly. There is also a great problem on the blunt arete just right of this.

The obvious undercut arete down the hill from the slab. Grab the perfect edge, Step up high and try to remain in balance. Martin Lama has climbed the wall just opposite - looks good.

Cluster of blocks around the Northern Lookout

Very obvious boulder split by a wide crack visible on the left just beyond the final access track to the lookout.

Rounded left arete.

SDS Left arete of central cleft.

Arete right side of the cleft.

From the car park go through the gate and follow the jeep track to the left. After about 500m veer right, uphill onto the ridge track. After another 200m you'll come to a sign saying 'Ridge Track 1.7k'. Follow this for another 50m. 'Virgin Summit Tor' is on the right. The first route you come to will be 'Wuss in Boots'.

Excellent obscure and hard at 23 (whoever put it at 22 is on drugs... many very good climbers regularly onsighting 24 have failed to get up this despite multiple attempts). Having said that it climbs exceptionally well when you find the right positions.

The superb looking finger seam up the front of the buttress. Small cams in the good slot between the first 2 BR. 2nd BR is positioned too high so may need clipping with a wire.

DRB anchor shared with Dicky Knee Dihedral.

2 black hill stars.

Now traverses in from right past a painted FH after the tree stump it started off burnt plus starting holds fell off the original direct start. 2 RB and a couple of wigglies in the excellent corner. DRB anchor

Rebolted including new anchor 12/23. Bolts and glue provided by Safer Cliffs Victoria.

3 RB.

Rebolted 12/23. Bolts and glue provided by Safer Cliffs Victoria.

3 RB to DRB anchor.

Rebolted 12/23. Bolts and glue provided by Safer Cliffs Victoria.

Good climbing past 2 RB. Note it is easy but runout through the scoop to 2nd RB. Can be climbed direct at top but most step left. DBB with FHs anchor on top.

Rebolted 12/23. Bolts and glue provided by Safer Cliffs Victoria.

Carefully up the right side of the huge flake. Slab above passing 2 RB to DRB anchor.

Rebolted 12/23. Bolts and glue provided by Safer Cliffs Victoria.

2m L of Russell's Megaroute and better than it too.

Carefully up the L side of the huge flake and slab with 2 RB to DRB anchor.

Bolted 12/23. Bolts and glue provided by Safer Cliffs Victoria.

10m left of No.11YKK down on ground level. Climb the nice handcrack

Very fine fused seam behind a large tree. Goes clean. The bolt mentioned in the previous guide was pulled out be hand apparently (not the only time this has happened at Black Hill by the way) and is not required.

Pulled out by hand on abseil!

On the block immediately E from Virgin Summit Tor.

From 'Virgin Summit Tor' go another 50m along the Ridge Track than veer L and down to find 'Half Man, Half Biscuit'.

Use the area topo to orient yourself from here.

Forest Reserve

A number of excellent thin boulder problems can be had on the half man and pumping ugly muscle walls

Sit start on foot jug with RH layaway in front of big spike at left end of face. Up via hugging and more difficulty than seems reasonabl until able to climb around left to finish on foot ledge on east face.

Extends LAL left via more tenuous moves to gain arete, eventually finishing at the foot ledge on the east face.

Sharp sit start 1.5m left of BVL. Layaway edges up and left via small flat tops and continue left to good layaway just inside arête

Sit start with LH gaston (LaL start) and low RH layaway. Push up right to join BVL at very thin flake.

Stand start on very thin lay always a metre or 2 left of BVR. Pretty sharp!

Sit start as for the Golden Path. Up via large undercling to jug (or layaway jug up left if you feel inclined). V1 as a stand which makes one wonder why people are forever building cairns to get into the route!

Sit Start 3m left of PUM stand on excellent golden edges. Traverse up and right to gain the stand start (the large undercling above is out, about V2 with it in).

Golden Path into PUM stand. Only V4 to the stand but sustained crimping tips it over the line.

Start immediately below PUM bolt. Long hard move via thin undercling to poor edge (the large undercling further left is out). Finish at jug gaston/layaway beside bolt at 5m.

Sit start with big underclings and make powerful moves into line until the obvious large side pulls at 4m (or just swallow the medicine and keep cranking through insecure groove to top)

The first decent bit of rock off the track approaching Northern group, with a nice incipient diagonal on the left side. Too short to bolt, pretty high on the highball. Has easily accessed DRB anchor to top rope. 3 obvious lines all desperate.

Obvious vertical then stepped crack. Good climbing.

Fairly blank wall between the obvious lines. Bring your chisel tips!

Beautiful rock... shame its so short. Seam to blunt arête.

Undercut and difficult getting off the ground. Pull up on good locks and through the flaring groove above. Grade 14 above 5m, so makes a reasonable highball boulder problem... although has also been described as "insecure 24 exiting onto the slab at 6-7m with a big dead tree lying on the ground behind you", so you might want to rope it first!

Half Man Half Crack then up thin bolted face above (3FH, DBB below capstone). The capstone can be climbed at about 14 on jugs for those committed to topping out. 2018- Apparently some douche has stolen the hangers (which can’t be reached from adjacent crack climbs)