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Mt Difficult Cliff 53 routes in Cliff

  • Avg. Height: 52m
  • Style: Mostly Trad
  • Approach time: 45
  • Ascents: 153

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Description:

Some excellent trad climbing but there's unfortunately a lot of choss among the good stuff. As the cliff is reached near it's right-hand side, climbs have been organised from right-to-left.

Access Issues: inherited from Grampians

National Park

Approach:

Follow the walking track up from Trooper's Creek campsite, past the 'Wind Cave' then more steeply to reach the cliff just left of 'Nostalgia'

Descent Notes:

The easiest descent from the top of the cliff is at the left end. Follow the cliff-top to the waterfall and descend this via terraces on the left (facing out) to the tourist track.

At the right-hand end locating the gully beside the Epaminondas buttress is tricky. Abseil Gully, despite the name, is not a good descent option and it is also not easy to locate from above.

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

Areas

Map Name Style Climbs Ascents Height Grade Band Topos
1Wind Cave Sector Boulder,Top Rope and Trad 5010m
2Abseil Gully Sector All Trad 7725m

Routes

RouteGradeStylePopularity
1 Mission to Mars Variant (1b)

Start as for 'Rollmop' in 'Abseil Gully' and up the slab just right of the wide crack for 5 metres or so then out left onto the wall left of 'Rollmop' and up the line to the horizontal fault of the first belay of 'Mission To Mars'.

FA: Kevin Lindorff, Jeremy Boreham, 1993

15
Trad 30m
2 *** Mission to Mars

Every pitch is good, with the third being particularly intimidating. Takes the slab and flakes 15 metres right of where the track meets the cliff, 5 metres left of 'Abseil Gully'.

  1. 30m (20) The grey slab past 2 bolts to base of shallow, right-facing corner at 12 metres. Up to horizontal traverse line coming in from right and move right 3-4 metres to belay.

  2. 30m (22) Move back left to the line and go up until the corner ends at a small roof. Swing around left onto the slab and DBB.

  3. 20m (22) Step up right, then straight up steeply until 5-6 metres above belay and the first runners in horizontal. Tend right and up to gain the rising left line. Follow this line around the bulge to the ramp and easier ground above.

FA: Kevin Lindorff, Jeremy Boreham, 1993

22
Trad 80m
3 Mission to Mars Variant (1a)

Esay line 5 metres left of 1st pitch to base of shallow corner.

FA: Kevin Lindorff, Jeremy Boreham, 1995

11
Trad 12m
4 ** Nostalgia / Up, Up and Away

First pitch is excellent and many parties abseil from that point. The route 'Up, Up and Away' was essentially a repeat of this climb. Start : 10 metres above ground-level where the track first meets the cliff are 2 gumtrees. Belay at the right-hand tree.

  1. 40m (18) Up past blig blocks and flakes then thin groove up wall above to belay just next to gumtree.

  2. 27m (17) Shift the belay a few metres left behind the big flake to below the right-hand of two crack-lines.Climb this crack then make a leftward rising traverse past the arete. Step around this arete to base of a big chimney.

  3. 12m (17) Up the right-hand line in the chimney-gully and up a short, overhanging jam crack

FA: Greg Lovejoy, Andrew Moore, 1990

18
Trad 84m
5 * Neck Romancer

Be warned that pitch 2 has a very long (25m) runout and a dodgy piton runner has to be placed on lead on the crux pitch. Start at the left of two flake-lines about 15 metres left of where the track meets the cliff.

  1. 15m (20) Flake and slab past a bolt to ledge and BB.

  2. 42m (17) Up left from belay for about 8 metres, past bolt at 4 metres then traverse right to below the prominent left-hand crack. Up crack and traverse right to belay behind big detached flake.

  3. 28m (21) Traverse back left to base of left-hand crack. Up this (peg runner needed but not in place. FA hand-placed and tied-off a long-dong nut tool), passing the bulge above on its left side. Up face next to arete to roof, step left around arete to belay on the ledge above the corner.

  4. 12m Finish as for 'Nostalgia'

FA: Nicky Sunderland (1,4), Kevin Lindorff (2,3) and Mike Wust, David Jurke, 1990

FFA: Kevin Lindorff, 1990

21
Trad 110m
6 Guillotine

Cliff-splitting chimney on left side of grey wall. about 30 metres left of where the track hits the cliff.

FA: Michael Stone, Geoff Gledhill, 1970

13
Trad 110m
7 Squeeze Box

Corner on other side of buttress, about 18 metres left of 'Guillotine'.

13
Trad 100m
8 ** Queen Bee
  1. 35m (10)

  2. 25m (10)

  3. 20m (15)

  4. 15m (12)

FA: Michael Stone, Geoff Gledhill (alts), 1970

15
Trad 100m
9 * The Bumble Variant
10
Trad 50m
10 Sweet Thing

Climbs fragile face between Beeline and Bumble Variant. Climb wall almost anywhere until roof, which is taken at the obvious notch. Continue directly past blank bit to a good ledge. Abseil off horn.

FA: James Falla, Debbie Sweet, Jon Bassindale, 1999

14
Trad 45m
11 * Beeline
12
Trad 91m
12 Hornet
17
Trad 45m
13 Kabana Direct Start
16
Trad 15m
14 Kabana Variant
13
Trad 45m
15 * Kabana
11
Trad 100m
16 Guacamole
17
Trad 70m
17 Dreaming Arete Direct
14
Trad 67m
18 Dreaming Arete
14
Trad 82m
19 Ke Bab Alternate First Pitch
6
Trad 18m
20 Ke Bab
10
Trad 73m
21 * Aerospace
24
Trad 87m
22 * Procrastination

Varied and sustained climbing. A 5-inch cam is useful at the technical crux even though it's not an off-width move and multiple 4-inch cams are handy on the wide flake. 40 metre abseil from top of flake. Best to lower the ropes inside the crack and start the abseil down the crack - throwing the ropes over the outside of the flake risks them catching on the opposite buttress and lands you in the middle of the unpleasant vegetation at the foot of the gully

18
Trad 82m
23 ** Strutting Through the Stratosphere
  1. 15m (22)

  2. 35m (22)

  3. 25m (-)

FA: Kevin Lindorff, Tony Marian, 1990

22
Trad 75m
24 * Vee Line

Great, sustained first pitch. If you enjoy caving keep going, otherwise full 30m rappel (watch rope-ends!)

17
Trad 73m
25 Deception Gully

Worthless gully 6 metres left of 'Vee Line'.

8
Trad 64m
26 Whipped Cream Direct Start
12
Trad
27 * Whipped Cream
10
Trad 74m
28 Ravenous Intent

Start immediately right of 'Entree Direct Start' and use tree to gain face via tricky move then up wall above

FA: Kevin Lindorff, Jeremy Boreham (in winiter), 1983

21
Trad 20m
29 * Entrée Direct Start
22
Trad 18m
30 Pilgrims Progress
11
Trad 60m
31 Entrée
9
Trad 61m
32 The Hard Days Night

FA: Geoff Gledhill & Alen Glenhill, 1970

11 M4
Aid 76m
33 * Bolt Out of the Blue
21
Trad 27m
34 Feline

The right-facing corner 18 metres left of 'The Hard Days Night'.

15
Trad 46m
35 Feline Variant Finish
10
Trad
36 Birthday Suit
16
Trad 70m
37 Plead for Me

Remarkably overhung off-width chimney a few metres left of 'Birthday Suit'

FA: Charles Creese, Peter Watling, 1987

18
Trad 15m
38 * He Who Walks Through Shallow Water

Good fun steep wall climbing.

Start: Start approximately 200m left of Strutting Through The Stratosphere and about 150m left of the big roof that marks the aid route Hard Day's Night at an attractive looking orange & black wall above a white arrow on the walking track.

FA: Josef Goding, Simon Pateman, 2001

21
Trad 15m
39 ** Gale Force

Start: Shares the start of 'He who walks through shallow water' until #9 nut, then traverses left past steep thin moves past 3rd FH into scoop. Up and left out of this to easier ground and DBB. Move right on large ledge to Abseil station. Not as sustained as 'He who walks through shallow water'

FA: Josef Goding, Simon Pateman, 2001

21
Trad 16m
40 Top Access

Hard to see why anyone would bother. Start at rap anchor of 'He who walks through Shallow Water'. Move left about 6-8 metres along large ledge to obvious crack around 2-3m from far LH end. up this with difficulty to very easy ground above.

30
Trad 18m
41 * Dead Calm

Follow the main track for about 5-600m past 'Gale Force' until about 30-50 metres past the creek. Takes left-hand side of prominent. 5 FH and1ring (sticking way out), lead right through steep moves until you reach the easier face above (lots of natural pro). DBB/rings lower off Approx 25m to ground.

FA: Joe Goding, Graham Holden, 2001

21
Trad 30m