Routes in Bunny Bucket Buttress and Hotel California Area

Pull thru on gear on first pitch and go up escape gully to avoid choss at the end of pitch 8.

Lots of fun and still an adventure, top 3 pitches of Hotel California are fabulous! You want to be solid with exposure! Start first two pitches of CC. First pitch to ledge at 40m but don't stop here, go up through bush then up 5m wall to DDR belay (60m). Second pitch 40m to ledge then traverse right along ledge onto last 10m of 3rd pitch of HC. Follow Hotel California from there.

The Original, Classic, Epic.

10 pitch sport route (all rings or homemade stainless hangers, which some odd-ball fat nosed biners struggle with, but take bolt plates for the carrots instead incase, and for the anchor above pitch 3, and in case the belays get too crowded). Rap in as described above, then walk right past pinnacle at 40 m, hit base of cliff at 100m, drop down, then go up to cliff (near start of Big Nose). Walk round the base of buttress and drop down a bit, then go up and you can see a 8m pinnacle/flake leaning against the steep face. This is the start. About 350m walk. There is a much easier variant to the first 3 pitches by starting up Contented Cows, all rings at 17, 8 (12m), and 19.

There is a blue emergency bin below Pitch 5, with some water, food, clothing, torches, and basic shelter. Don't call 000 just because you are benighted, so the police don't have to go out at night to babysit you. Please arrange to replace anything you use.

1. 45m (22) Up and left to ledge, through overhang, further up and left, through roof, then back right to the belay.

2. 30m (20) Straight up the groove until easier climbing, then up and left to belay on ledge.

3. 40m (17) Up and slightly left to ledge, then pull through roof and up. Scramble to base of next short wall, belay off homemade hanger and carrot (TAKE HANGER FOR CARROT!). Old tree anchor seems to have either degraded, or was a poor choice to begin with.

4. 35m (10) Up short wall, then scramble up and left about 30m through vegetation to the base of the cliff corner and anchors (rescue drum here).

5. 30m (17) Up the right wall of corner and arete, then traverse left to the ledge. Carrot + RB Belay.

6. 50m (19) Up onto the wall then traverse right about 20m and up following rings to ledge and belay.

7. 30m (20) Thin move to start, up to roof and jugs, pull through and up to ledge.

8. 25m (18) Up wall, then jug haul through the bulges to the top. Belay anchors are back and right about 6m in a small cave.

9. Scramble up and left to the base of the choss cave, then right around the base about 20m to the start of the last pitch. (You can escape left and up gully from this ledge).

10. 20m (16) Straight up the wall to belay at anchors on top.

To exit, see notes above.

Awesome 'finger-pickin' fun, or 23 M0

Start at pillar beside track before reaching California's buttress.

1. 25m (21)

2. 45m (26 or 23M1)

3. 30m (21)

4. 30m Scramble

5. 30m (20)

6. 30m (20)

7. 30m (21)

8. 30m (18)

Used to be a carrot patch for the sports bunnies, with an awesome final wall. Now it has rings all the way. Carrots are still there, so take some brackets if you need to share a belay. Don't go as a party of 3 unless you are experienced, it eats too much time. If you have a pack, haul it on the second rope if you're getting tired. Don't leave toilet paper or rubbish, you're in a National Park, behave accordingly and don't get on routes like this if you don't know what that means.

People have stupid epics on this all the time. Please read :- http://www.chockstone.org/Forum/Forum.asp?Action=DisplayTopic&ForumID=15&MessageID=26665&Replies=58&PagePos=0&Sort=#NewPost

Generally safe, but run-out at times, with a few loose patches of rock. Take helmets as belayers are lashed to small ledges and can’t dodge shrapnel. Take 2 50m ropes (for rapping down, or retreating), 16 draws and a few slings.

There is a blue emergency bin below Pitch 6, with some water, food, clothing, torches, and basic shelter. Don't call 000 just because you are benighted, so the police don't have to go out at night to babysit you. Please arrange to replace anything you use.

ACCESS: It’s halfway to Hotel California from Mirrorball. Rap in as described above then walk along the track to the right (facing the cliff). After 30m, drop down around the base of Old Skule (clean arete on next pinnacle) and go 70m horizontally right thru the scrub till you hit an orange buttress. Continue down a bit and about another 70m to red rope and BBB sign:

★★★ Bunny Bucket Buttress 18 - 20220101_075236.jpg

Now scramble up and right to a ledge 15m above the track, right of a chossy white patch, just right of a short squeeze chimney. Walk 10m right on the ledge till you see the bolts at the boulder problem start. (If you go down hill to a big fallen boulder, or see a 30m high black then orange corner (Randy Rabbit Ridge), or traverse beneath a choss cave, you've gone too far).

Print out topos and route description or save them to your phone, as you probably won't have reception down there.

1. 20m (18) Traverse out right and back left to flake, reachy. Up to ledge, 2RB.

2. 20m (18) Right and up seam and corner to ledge. Up a move and diagonally R to arete, then R to ledge and 2RB.

3. 40m (18) Up dirty slab and R across corner, traverse R to nose and up corner and nose to ledge. 2RB on block or walk R 8m to 2BB at base of wall.

4. 30m (8) A hard hands-free problem, diagonally R past bolts to 2RB on block further up or tree belay at the top of the slab.

5. 40m (8) Climb across ledges and walls (and a lot of bush...) past bolts to below orange overhang, L to 2RB below corner.

6. 40m (18) Up choss and head out L staying low under roof. Rope drag possible, but its fine if you sling the first 4 bolts. Head up pumpy wall to big ledge. 2RB.

7. 40m (18) Up vertical pump. Needs 15 draws. 2RB.

8. 40m (13) Left across ledge, diagonal L past bolts and across groove. Climb loose left wall to 2RB on top. Rope drag possible, but it's fine if you sling the first few bolts.

The first three pitches were retrobolted January 2011 entirely on RBs/UBs/FHs, so no brackets are required, although it's wise to take a couple in case you have to share belays. The first three pitches (17, 8, 19) of CC linked into the top of HC makes for a sub-20 outing.

1. 45m (17) Low angle cracked face then slab just left of arete to ledge and anchors. Sport pitch on ringbolts.

2. 15m (10) Short vertical crack. This pitch can be linked into pitch 1. Sport pitch on ringbolts.

3. 40m (19) Thin black face trending slightly right to ledge. Clip high bolt (with difficulty) then crux horrible chinup/mantle onto short face and up to ledge and tree belay. Sport pitch on ringbolts.

4. 10m Trad corner about 15m left of Hotel Cali's bolted line.

5. 10m Short thin corner to big shale ledge. Walk 10m left to belay.

6. 40m (22) Follow the Hotel California traverse on the top head wall for 5 bolts then head straight up the seam crack on good but spaced trad to a poor carrot belay on ledge. (U rap station 8m R and down)

7. 45m (22) Hard moves over the bulge (two BRs) then straight up the epic trad protected juggy face. Take 8 slings. carrot and U belay. Scramble up hill to cave. Walk right and up short rock step to under chossy upper cliffline. Walk left under this clliffline and up exit gully.

A more funky version of BBB, with a bit more variety, but pumpier and more climbing. If you waste time on belays this will take a long time. Start in big black corner leading to orange wall 20m R of BBB, and 10m left of a huge sloping boulder sticking out of the ground near the track. If you are benighted, go left to the Blue emergency bin on BBB around pitch 6. See notes on BBB.

1. 25m (19) Loose then up reachy corner. There are a few small chain hangers on the first 2 pitches, people have threaded them.

2. 20m (19) start on left and up then airy traverse R to belay ledge. Possible to link P1 & P2.

3. 25m (19) up weird v corner on slab to ledge

4. 40m (18) Boulder start then up and r to corner, move around arête and up to grassy slope, up 8 m wall to belay at top

5. 25m (17) up slope and up arête past bolts to belay on top. (second could wander up to the base of the wall after you've clipped the first ring to give you a better belay -less rope stretch- for the hard move out of the cave).

6. 20m scramble left a move, up corner, then right to belay on tree on right. Can join P5 and P 6 but you'll have drag unless 2nd moves up as above.

7. 15m (18) up wall on right, clip 3rd bolt (above ledge) with screwgate to limit fall

8. 30m (19) up L to corner then huge traverse left under roof and up wall. Awesome position

9. 20m (17) Walk L 5 m (can move belay to here) and up pumpy wall to cave

10. 30m (18) Up wall and head right. Up slab, pass first belay and go to 2nd set of paired rings (you can link P9, 10, 11 into 2 pitch by belaying at first set of rings)

11. 30m (19) Up and right to nose. Step R around nose to undercling and up, later unclip that bolt to reduce drag then left to arete to finish. Follow BBB access to escape

Obvious roof crack 5 metres right of Bunny Bucket’s pitch 6 start. Use the first 3 bolts of BBB’s pitch 6, climb up to ceiling and then traverse right (size 6 cam to protect) to enter the roof crack. Requires two 5s and one 6 size cams.

Climb easy face and finish at trad belay on obvious ledge (BD 2 and small wires).

Rope drag is manageable on a single rope with 1-2 roller carabiners and several long slings.

Rappel from trad anchor to clean face (60m rope is fine). Re-lead and then back clean roof and traverse.

Obvious roof crack 5 metres right of Bunny Bucket’s pitch 6 start. Use the first 3 bolts of BBB’s pitch 6, climb up to ceiling and then traverse right (size 6 cam to protect) to enter the roof crack. Requires two 5s and one 6 size cams.

Climb easy face and finish at trad belay on obvious ledge (BD 2 and small wires).

Rope drag is manageable on a single rope with 1-2 roller carabiners and several long slings.

Rappel from trad anchor to clean face (60m rope is fine). Re-lead and then back clean roof and traverse.