Cooleman Ridge is part of the Laidlaw Volcanics. It's an excellent training ground although it won't prepare you for the long runouts you might find when tackling some of the routes around Canberra.
Cooleman Ridge has a lovely set of boulders set over six semi-distinct areas, spanning VBeginner to V8. Cooleman has a lot more than one might expect at first glance. In fact, it covers the basics of lower grade bouldering, with some steeper and shorter climbs to be found around Niblo and Horse Paddocks, and some taller lines, verging on highballs to be found at Sun Blocks and Pony Boulders. The rock is not hugely featured and many climbs rely more on friction, balance and a bit of nerve to complete than pure strength. The higher grade boulders are exercises in crimping, body tension, and pure willpower. People have been bouldering here since the early 80's so what has been climbed or not is very hard to quantify. It is not the place to be to concerned about grades and lots of variants have been done. There are also boulders that go beyond what this guide covers that have also been climbed on long ago.
While recreation is considered a priority for Cooleman Ridge, care should be taken to avoid damage to the habitat of the vulnerable Pink-Tailed Worm-Lizard which likes the same areas we do.
Adherence to these practices should allow Cooleman Ridge to remain open and provide a low commitment bouldering area for those summer afternoons.
Notes:
While some of the harder climbs on the ridge were created by chipping, where previously no climb was possible, please leave your chisels at home. There are not so many climbs at the higher grades that they should be brought down to lower levels!
Cooleman Ridge is part of the Laidlaw Volcanics. Huge eruptions over 400 million years ago blew out enormous quantities of ash that has been compressed and hardened into various ignimbrites since. The rocks are volcanic in origin, not plutonic like granites.
A detailed history of the geology of cooleman ridge can be found at: http://www.coolemanridge.org/geology.html
Without the hard work of Chris Warner in putting together topos for all of the areas on Cooleman Ridge, much of the information here would most likely have remained in people's heads. Therefore it should be noted that this guide draws heavily on the expertise and information he freely provided to the Canberra Climbers' Association and for that he has the author's thanks.
Some content has been provided under license from: © Canberra Climbers' Association (CC BY-SA)
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