The Lookout Guide

A Crag Guide gives an extensive view of all sub areas and climbs at a point in the index. It shows a snapshot of the index heirachy, up to 300 climbs (or areas) on a single web page. It shows selected comments climbers have made on a recently submitted ascent.

At a minor crag level this should be suitable for printing and taking with you on a climbing trip as an adjunct to your guidebook.

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Rock climbing is extremely dangerous and can result in serious injury or death. Users acting on any information directly or indirectly available from this site do so at their own risk.

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Contributors

Thanks to the following people who have contributed to this crag guide:

Jason Lammers Murray Luen Warneke daniel rowlands Danger Innes Klaus-Dieter LISS David Barnes shaunm darren cox Dave Pastafarian

The size of a person's name reflects their Crag Karma, which is their level of contribution. You can help contribute to your local crag by adding descriptions, photos, topos and more.

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

1. The Lookout 9 in Cliff
2. Index by grade

1. The Lookout 9 routes in Cliff

Summary:

Seasonality

Trad climbing, Sport climbing and other styles

Lat / Long: -34.223359, 150.978496

description

This is the southern section of wall, and situated right below the brick-work remains of the old lookout on far side of chain fence. The routes are a little taller and a lot more exposed than the routes at Hargraves sector with a traddy feel. There are some random white numbers written at the base of some routes - these are not the right grades!

access issues

Many of the Wollongong crags are located in the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area (IESCA). This region has had a chequered history in recent times, with large swathes of popular crags having to be closed after it was missed that a new NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Plan of Management (PoM - 2018) had incidentally banned climbing along most of the escarpment. After a lobbying effort and a stroke of coincidental good luck an amended plan of management has been published (2023), modifying the plan to allow rock-climbing “… on the west- and south-facing cliffs of Mount Keira and on cliffs north of Bulli Pass."

Access comes with caveats and all climbers should be aware that that “… new bolts or anchors may only be installed with NPWS consent, and park infrastructure such as safety railing may not be used as anchor points as they have not been designed for this purpose. NPWS will not install, assess or guarantee bolts or other fixed protection points. Participants in these activities are solely responsible for their own safety.”

Given the pressures many rock-climbing areas have been under around Australia and the plethora of access issues that have followed it is imperative that climbers respect and heed the access requirements. Access granted can easily be access taken, noting from the PoM: “Locations where rock climbing and abseiling are allowed may be reviewed and altered to address safety issues, risks to visitors or impacts on cultural values or environmental values. Temporary closures of rock climbing and abseiling locations may be applied to limit impacts. Permanent closure of sites may also be necessary. NPWS will consult with representatives of the local climbing community before implementing any permanent closures.”

Please refer to the ‘Ethic” section for more notes on how to be a good steward for the climbing community.

inherited from Wollongong

approach

As for Hargraves Wall. At the bottom of the chimney descent gully turn right and hook around onto very narrow rock ledge perched above 15m drop. Look for ringbolt belays and stay clipped in at all times! This is not a suitable spot for kids, dogs or incompetents.

descent notes

Use the large trees at the top of the cliff for belay anchors. There are no top bolts.

ethic

The modern climbing scene and all the access issues that go with it requires modern ethic and all climbers should familiarise themselves with general good crag etiquette to ensure access is maintained into the future.

The following is a short summary for the area:

The Wollongong area has a historical mix of sport, trad, and bouldering, with fully bolted sport routes emerging as the dominant form in the last decade
Do not bolt or rebolt existing trad or bouldering routes
No chipping of the rock to alter the difficulty of a route or create new routes. Loose or dangerous rock may be removed with careful discretion
Top rope and lower-off through your own gear. Fixed anchor protection to be used for final lower off only to minimise wear
Minimise excessive chalk usage and make brushing of holds a regular routine. Consider using alternative chalk colours to minimise visual impact
Do not bush-bash new access trails, stick to existing marked trails where possible
Do not remove vegetation, both from around cliff bases and on the cliff. Brushing down built-up lichen, dirt and chalk off existing routes is acceptable maintenance
Do not leave rubbish or gear at the crag. Gear left may be confiscated by NPWS
Respect any announced closures of tracks, cliffs and areas in the region
Don’t play loud music at the crag, consider the amenity of nearby climbs and non-climbers alike
Speak up against anti-social behaviour, unsafe behaviour, or other activities that threaten access – contact your local advocacy association - ACANSW
Rebolting shall only be carried out by suitably competent and trained persons. The minimum standard is 316 stainless U-bolt or ring eye-bolts with pure epoxy glue. Refer to http://www.safercliffs.org
Remember you are responsible for your own safety, and the safety of your friends!

Learn more at https://www.cliffcare.org.au/education