Node in Short Leaning Peak Ridge

APPROACH: From Lower Portals car park follow the track to The Lower Portals (3.8 km) and once at the portals bypass them by taking the steep track on the right. Up to the ridge and back down to the creek. Rock hop upstream until you get to Barney waterfall (on your left). Scramble to the top of the waterfall on the left and walk across the waterfall, the route starts here just above water pools scooped in the slab.

ROUTE DESCRIPTION:

1. Follow the bushy ridge until some open slabby sections are reached.

2. Scramble up for about 100m or so finding LLR until a new bushy section is reached.

3. From here either follow easy grade 4 rock leading right and up or jump left on a juggy wall (cleaner climbing but harder) to a ledgy area below an exposed blank wall.

4. From here the route traverses left on a bushy ledge until you find a low angle easy juggy ramp leading up and right, or alternatively climb straight up on grade 10 rock but runout.

5. Keep climbing up until a bushy gully on the left leads up to a bouldery move to exit on a shaded ledgy area

6. Carefully scramble over blocks and thin exposed ridge for 50m until top of a notch. Downclimb into the saddle over a chockstone with big exposure either sides and back to the ridge.

7. (crux) From a belay tree (optional), climb up trending left to a black boy and ledge on grade 4:

   a) Keep climbing up (grade 5/6) with a couple of trees as protection or solo until easy ground, or

   b) Traverse left, sling solid tree and climb up easy grade but exposed over big drop.

8. Walk to the summit.

To descend: Walk along top of peak towards East Peak and walk down until bolted anchor is reached, from here, abseil (60m rope recommended) into the saddle.

Notes:

1. A 50m static rope will safely take you to the bottom of the abseil, if weight concern is an issue. No downclimbing involved.

2. As of 2022, Queensland State Emergency Service (SES) has added a bolt with two rings high on the ridge to aid the staff in their rescuing efforts. Please do not remove it.

3. As of mid June 2022, there's now four bolts with rings on the so called crux aka. final scramble/climbing section, shortly before the summit. Presumably also installed by SES to assist with rescues. These could be used to lead or top belay people thru this section if necessary, but rope drag would be horrendous and will damage the vegetation that the rope will have to drag over and/or thru.