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The Fortress 16 routes in Crag

  • Avg. Height: 170m
  • Style: ?,Trad
  • Approach time: 45 minutes
  • Ascents: 67
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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'.

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.

Some content has been provided under license from: © Australian Climbing Association Queensland (Creative Commons, Attribution, Share-Alike 2.5 AU)

Routes

RouteGradeStylePopularity
1 * Fortress Crack
21
Unknown 200m
2 Butt Crack
10
Unknown 150m
3 Internal Hatred
15
Unknown 160m
4 Trouser Snake

FA: Angie Bishop, Hayden Brotchie, 2005

14
Unknown 85m
5 Pseudechis Wall

FA: Hayden Brotchie, Angie Bishop, 2005

12
Unknown 120m
6 Grand Central Route

FA: B Allen, I Logan,

12
Unknown 210m
7 The Great Rum Beer Chimney

The filthy vegetated gully/chimney system to the climber's right of Tom Thumb.

8
Trad 200m
8 Trogan Horse
14
Unknown 200m
9 Old Spiteful

FA: T Batty, B Allen,

15
Unknown 300m
10 Self Abuse
15
Unknown 150m
11 The Wind Cries Mary

Mostly bolted (carrots) route that climbs first pitch of Tom Thumb before heading off right on wall. Refer to Sydney Rockies site for most up to date route info. Be aware that this is a new route and there is a lot of hold breakage still to go.

Steep face climbing, good rock and reasonable pro.

Start: rap as for 'Tom Thumb'

  1. 18m (8) Up 'Tom Thumb' P1, onto block at 10m and up right to belay. Then walk R into gully and up 10m

  2. 45m (18) Up block and layback then R up wall past bolts and crack, then R to steep wall and bolts and up slab past cams and hard mantel, left top 3BB in break.

  3. 35m (19) Up and slightly R past bolts and cams, then left inot corner (good thin break at top) up steep wall (BR) and runout up to slab. Cam belay in letter box 3m below cave.

  4. 30m (18) Rightwards 12.30 o'clock past bolts then leftwards up corner and easy arête to DBB on big ledge. Walk left 20m to another DBB.

  5. 50m (18) Left past bolt and trend left 11.30, left of bush and up line leading into orange corner past average cams and poor sling. The corner is fused and blank, it turns out, and head onto jugs on the right arête to find a bolt and sling runners. Then up slab and scramble up ledges and corner to top. Walk left to hit track.

FA: mikl law, Brian Simonds, 2011

19 to 20
Trad 180m
12 Landing Gear Down
16
Trad 140m
13 ** Tom Thumb

  1. 18m (8) Up a few metres to bolt (used more to show direction than for protection). Up to vertical crack for pro and up bulbous wall (another bolt on right) to DBB at top of buttress. Walk up and right 8 metres to start of next pitch. DBB on wall.

  2. 40m (12) Left of belay grunt onto wall. Natural pro in crack or horizontal breaks up higher. Clip bolt on left. Then move diagonally right to small friend (#0) in horizontal crack and further rightwards on easy stuff to bolt (clip with sling to reduce drag). Up left clipping two bolts, steep tricky move (easiest if you move left). Easy 10m ramble with two bolts to DBB. Best to give your second a tight rope when they start the pitch.

  3. 16m (9) Bolt on right shows the way, then up crack on left to belay. (Bolt and #½ friend.)

  4. 45m (8) From right of the belay move up a few metres, then traverse left past bolt runner to arête/ridge. Up ridge 30m past 4 bolts. Walk across rightwards to bolt on little buttress. Over this and walk 10m+ (no bolt protection) and scramble through small bushes up easy crack into cave to DBB.

  5. 21m (12) From belay start to the right. Up wall trending left past 4 bolts. Climb onto large blocks at top. They seem OK. And traverse right passing bolt that protects the second to DBB.

  6. 26m (8) Clip bolt on right of belay. Stand on rock thing and up. Follow ridge with a few bolts to top. DBB.

FA: Hayden Brotchie and Jenny Bradford,

13
Trad 150m
14 Eeyore's Alternate

FA: Hayden Brotchie and Angie Bishop,

15
Unknown 55m
15 ** Black Snake Moan
22
Unknown 200m
16 * Voyteks Corner
24
Unknown 150m

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