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The Surgery 26 routes in Cliff

  • Avg. Height: 5m
  • Style: All Boulder
  • Approach time: 8mins
  • Favorites: 4
  • Ascents: 88
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Description:

A great long bouldering cave tucked down behind some houses in blaxland. Avoid like herpes after rain. All the problems have been renamed in a "Surgery" theme as the original names have been lost to time. Names and grades are welcome for the unnamed problems, I just haven't done them.

Access Issues: inherited from Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains are a World Heritage listed area. The Grose Valley, the cliffs around Katoomba and much of the Narrow Neck peninsula are part of the Blue Mountains National Park which is managed by the NPWS. The Western Escarpment - where most of the climbing is - is Crown Land managed by the BMCC. While the NPWS Plan of Management nominates several locations in the National Park where rock climbing is deemed appropriate, the majority of the climbing remains unacknowledged. To maintain access our best approach is to 'Respect Native Habitat, Tread Softly and Leave No Trace'.

Approach:

From the lights on highway at blaxland (300m past the lappo) follow Coughlan Rd past Blaxland high school until you cross the train line. Take the first right and go straight onto the pebblecrete drive down behind the houses. Park at the end of the straight just before the road starts heading back up the hill.

Descent Notes:

From the car walk straight down through the scrub crossing the fire road till you hit the start of the cliff line (100m), follow along the BASE of the cliff left 80m and your there.

Ethic: inherited from Blue Mountains

Mixed-climbing on gear and bolts has generally been the rule in the Blueies. Please try to use available natural gear where possible, and do not bolt cracks or potential trad climbs.

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.

It would be appreciated if brushing of holds becomes part of your climbing routine - do it with a soft bristled brush and never a steel brush!

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. Generally it's best to leave all this sort of stuff to the local climbers.

History:

No history yet, has been climbed at for a long time. Any history is very welcome.

Routes

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RouteGradeStylePopularity
1 Jack-knife

Start from the big jug. Out and up. Committing.

V4
Boulder
2 Gingivectomy

Long undercling traverse. Some rumors of this traverse being grade 25.

Boulder
3 Nephrectomy

Start matched on the undercling. Big moves and Big fun

V3
Boulder
4 ** Photocoagulator

Start at the back of the cave.

V4
Boulder
5 Prosthesis

Chipped.

Boulder
6 Oxycel

Same Start as Go Go Gadget but follows the left edge of the cave to finish on the black jugs.

V2
Boulder
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7 ** Go Go Gadget

Start in the rad underslot, big moves to a high finish

V2
Boulder
8 ** The Nurse

Double side-pull start then up via crimps and slopes to the rail jug. A great problem and tricky until up figure out the beta.

V3
Boulder
9 ** Doctor

Same start as Necrosis then hard move into The Nurse to finish at the jug rail.

V5
Boulder
10 Necrosis

Start at double undercling then up via nice crimps to jug, direct start V1

V2
Boulder
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11 Botox

Start on jug right of the flake then undercling/side pull the the flake to finish on orange horn.

V1
Boulder
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12 ** Rocky-Davis

Start match on the undercling up via slopes and crimps to the camps ledge then big moves to high jug pocket.

V2
Boulder
13 Can you campus.

Simple campus from left to right

V0
Boulder
14 * Roof Pocket

Start on the X jug rail above the ferns, traverse the roof until the campus ledge then finsh up P13

V3
Boulder
15 P15 slopey
Boulder
16 * Hope

A fun campus problem, start with a small pocket and crimp, move right to finger jug, left hand to small crimp above then swing right to a good incut high edge, match.

V4
Boulder
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17 ** Say aaaaaaaah

Start on the big jug up to another jug pocket with glue on it then big moves up and right via crimps. Keep trucking right past another jug pocket to finish as teflon.

V4
Boulder
18 *** Teflon

Crag classic. Start in the back of the cave, big moves on big holds. Finish on the high big sloper.

V2
Boulder
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19 Mosquito clamps
Boulder
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20 Anti-anxiety Arete

HIGH.. This problem is 6m+ Has top rope anchors.

Boulder
21 Sandy Candy

Scary ground up high ball, left hand on the arete. Has top rope anchors.

FFA: Ben Jenga, 2012

V2
Boulder 5m
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22 Excision

Got better holds then the right hand side. Has top rope anchors.

V1
Boulder 4m
23 The Hyperhidrosis Problem

Straight up the middle of the face to top-out mantle. Use of either arete is "out".

Thin and balancy. Has been climbed to 1m from the top.

Boulder Project 6m
24 Gastroplasty

Harder of the two sides. Has top rope anchors.

V1
Boulder 4m
25 Anaphalaxis and the Angry Ant Attack

The ants are gone... :(

V1
Boulder
26 * Black Trash Traverse

Long block traverse from right to left. Start in small pockets on the top edge and traverse to the far left edge of the block

FFA: Ben JengA, 2012

V1
Boulder
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