Routes in Cosmic County

The first route at The County (16/6/79). Very popular, and very classic. The obvious splitter hand crack. New lower-off from shackle on tree at top.

The arete right of CD. Many people traverse in from the left or right. 4 carrots plus medium-large gear.

Start: Right of the arete. After hard boulder start it is much easier than it looks. Rebolted 2015, including a lower-off. Bring 5 bolt plates, wires, a sling for thread and a few cams including #4 camalot. Start is now protectable preclipping RB as wire placements have all blown.

Steep, thin and strenuous. The best thin crack in the mountains, maybe? Crack 4m right of BEC, to a lower-off. Take a single rack up to fist sized, plus plenty of extras in the tips-fingers range.

Start as for DD. Right a bit then up wall to hairline crack, up this to top.

"The first ascentionist deviated from the crack to the arete at one point on what is now considered to be the crux". Start 3m right of JC, below crack. Lower-offs at the top.

Fantastic route! Start as for Toyland but instead of traversing along the overlapping flake, push straight upwards towards the anchors. Now the preferred version. There is potential for a small wire to be placed in between the second and third bolts to stop a probable ground fall off not inconsequential moves, it seems the placement is tricky to spot though.

One of the best face climbs around. 4 rings, anchors and a #3 Camalot before the first bolt, up the glorious perma-chalked scooped red wall.

Start 2m R of BitH. 5 BR's and 1 RB. A #5 placement before the first BR is optional. Chain lower offs.

Start 5m right of IS31 at ground level at the base of the ramp. Due for a rebolt as at 2023 - hopefully with many fewer.

Popular. Brilliant climbing. Start as for R. To ledge, use thread runner as ring bolt has disappeared. Traverse right (0.3 Camalot recommended to help protect second) then straight up between R and R!. 10 bolts and 2.5 & 3 Friends plus DRB anchor. Now has an extra pitch at 17 which can be done in one long pitch, requires 4 more boltplates and a small cam. DRB lower off @ 49 mtrs. Rebolted 2015.

Up the L corner of Bernutts Block to top of block, then short crack to tree.

Take large cams. Start 3m R of PBF.

Start as for Comfortably Numb up to flake then left and up. 5 carrots and 4 FHs. Can supplement 1st and 2nd bolts with a cam in the flake. DBB and walk off right.

Left arete of Bernutts block.

Most people skip the average first pitch and walk up the gully to the left to gain the ledge. Start 29m right of 'Penney Ante'. 1) Arete and slab below short compact wall. Up to big bush ledge. 2). Move up R off the ledge to take the left side of the wall, a few metres right of the arete, following a subtle scoop line past 3 bolts (brackets required).

Start left of the vegetated crack. Fixed spike and heaps of carrots.

Start 1m right of GC. Bring a medium cam.

Left hand route on the R wall of Bernutts Block. Wall and right side of arete.

Scramble to ledge 7m diagonally right of SM. Up outside of the block to top.

Start just right of AP.

Start at painted "X" 3m R of CA and just L of K&Q. The carrots are looking pretty old. Up and left around roof, up easy slab to short corner and up. DBB then walk off.

Great technical climbing just L of the vegetated crack. Solid, consistent and crimpy.

Start 1m right of IRBS. Straight up. Previously protected by carrots but they have since disappeared. Bad pro and long run outs with potential ground fall.

Adequately protected but take care! Start just below rightward leading flake. Up flake to thin gear, then up face to top. Belay on DBB and walk off right.

Start as for RR. Thin corner to above rooflet (hidden bolt, don't go right), right up flakes and cracks to wall and overhang. A few small cams wouldn't be a bad idea.

The ultimate face-climbing testpiece up an improbably blank wall. Consider bringing a #0.5 or #0.75 for the runout at mid-height.

Start 2m right again. Onto wall left of bolt, up, slightly left to flake, wall on right, then up past two more bolts to crack and up to chains. Take wires.

Bouldery start followed by a quick scramble to the corner crack. Up crack to top of block then crack to tree.

Take all your friends with you!

Start: Crack 3m right again.

Right again.

The best way to approach TZ and continue as one pitch. Start at the steep orange corner 2m right of CBX. Up to join TZ at ledge. Take double rack of small to medium cams (up to #3). Some loose blocks down low but easily avoided.

Natural anchor (small cams) at top. Walk right 10m to abseil off 'Highlites' anchor.

Arete past dubious carrots and 'fixed' wire! Take Care!

Start: 5m right again.

"This desperate line is somewhat easier than it would first appear." This is the striking splitter crack in the upper part of this wall. Take doubles of #0.5-1 cams. Originally approached via Jitterbug, but its much better to start up TZ Direct and do it all as a single pitch. Walk 10m R to abseil off the Highlites anchor, or keep walking R to the descent gully.

As for BE then through roof, up nose and right side of the arete to ledge and lower-offs. The FHs look really bad now.

Start at the 'WE' initials 2m R of GRitS. Up wall past tree and large ledge, trend left to arete and up to lower-offs.

"This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper" (T. S. Elliot's The Hollow Men). Fantastic hard climbing. Big moves or big whippers! Stick clip the high first bolt and climb the awesome seam past another 7 or so fixed hangers. Bring trad for between the first two bolts (#0.4-#0.75 cams, small wires). Continue past the lower offs and top the cliff for full value - hopefully the anchor will be moved up next rebolt.

Start as for CoD but head left.

Good crack and wall. 'WOB' is marked at track level.

Start: 'Grovel' up to ledge 6m right of SD.

Start 2m R of TGEM.

Start 1m right again at crack in right wall. Rebolted on Us with chain+rung lower off.

Start on the right side of Memory Lane, 15m diagonally right and up from FV, 5m L of WW. Up and rightwards to arete, up arete then left across wall, up and right on flakes to arete and up to tree. 2). Take lefthand line to the top - getting into and out of the cave is interesting.

Start at gum tree 11m right of HPD. Daunting but nevertheless an excellent climb right up the middle of the wall. Take friends. Has apparently had lower offs added but you will need a very long rope.

Meanders up a desperate looking wall but fortunately its not too hard!

Start: 4m right.

The open book corner 8m right of LO. Excellent and varied corner crack climbing on nice rock. Definitely one to do if you have ticked off the other classic cracks the County has to offer. Don't be put off by the vegetation, it is mostly bridged around and is fairly inoffensive.

Take large cams. Start 2m right of TEMH.

Up to flake, up and left to wall and vague rest then slightly right and up.

Start: 3m right again.

Start 2m right of BE.

The vegetated crack. "Had to be cleaned and will get better with more ascents" ... it doesn't look like its upkeep has been maintained!

Keep to the left edge of wall to crack. Take wires.

Start: 4m right.

Start 27m right of the 39 Steps. Follow thin rightward leading diagonal to roof, left along lip to short corner, up and off.

Up corner briefly, right to flake, up and right at finish.

Start: 2m right of TACN.

Marked arete 5m right of P. Looks great from the top of The Eighty Minute Hour. Take care!

Long Life. Freed by Mal Grey. Aided at 22M0, scary.

Excellent, and now with more bolts since the flake at the top broke. Start a few m R of H. Re-bolted 07/2015. Up past 2 BRs to FH, up past break to flake then BR, crux, and two more BRs to top. Stainless Glue ins. Bring 6 bolt plates, small wires and camalots #1 and smaller. Belay from DRB at back of ledge. Abseil, or walk off R to gully.

Good crack!

Start: 5m right.

Start about halfway down the ramp. Hard start then stella edge climbing with a big reach down low, keep on pushing hard moves and decent recovery holds. Fixed Hangers. Single ring lower off. Consider a 0.5 and/or 0.3 cam for the runout at the tippy top.

A classic vegetated crack corner grovel, 3m right of NB&P, 2m L of WW.

Start 2m right of P. Thin corner.

As for CaS to break, right and up past bolts. Finish as for CaS.

Bridging.

Start: Up wall, bridge corner, right and up.

Direct finish to WLIAB. Good Value!

Start: As for WLIAB, left a little and onto wall, right to arete and up past 2 bolts to top. 2 bolt belay

Wall and corner left of roof.

Start: 1m right.

Cossey?

Start: 2m right again.

Start 5m right of WW. Flake to roof, over this to ledge, up then right of arete. Finish up TEMH.

The slabby corner initialed K&Q, just right of X. Has been the scene of at least one accident. The entire crack is solidly overgrown and presumably difficult to protect. Take Care!! Watch for loose blocks at top.

"A bit of lurching around on monster buckets, with a great finish. The crux is a bit reachy."

Start: 6m right of CC.

Use tree to get to wall, then flake on wall - bolts - finish left of blocks. Rubbish!

Start: 3m right again.

Doh! Up left side of small corner to top.

Start: 1m right again.

Start 5m right of MC. Slab to roof, over this, diagonally right to nose, groove then left to ledge (rap point). 2). Traverse left and up to roof, right and up.

Up to FH as per The Allied Chemical News then head left towards the arete and up.

Wall right of MC, has been rebolted though worth bringing boltplates as the most strenuous moments are often trying to clip the Ubolts that are at least a foot higher than originals. (Some people bring a #2 or #3 cam, but I don't know where they are used). A fantastically hard and pumpy climb, worthy of the two chipped pockets!!

Crack to roof and up.

Start: 2m right again.

Up and slight right ,crossing QD at about 3/4 height, to chain on left.

Start: 2m right again.

"A most pleasant route".

Start: 5m right. Orange rock beneath overhang.

Chimney, being careful of loose blocks, to bushes, then cracks to chains above tree. Second pitch available but looks like a scramble/bushbash.

Corner and groove.

An interesting arete.

Start: 4m right of MB.

May require a modicum of thought!

Start: Slab to the right 2m.

"Steep and sustained. A proud line indeed."

Start: Leftward leaning corner!

Chossy top wall of Memory Lane! Start 6m right of the finish of Fantastic Voyage.

Start 3m right of CM. Stem up corner (high first bolt) then lovely pocketed headwall. Lower-off at top. Bolts are currently old red rusty fixed hangers that only accept small biners.

"Bit of an outing...the feature of this crack chimney makes it worth a visit. The Countys answer to 'Cave Climb'.."

Start: Crack/chimney 22m right.

Start: 2m right of CS.

Start 20m right of CO. Yellow blocky corner, left to blank corner, to roof, over and right to arete. Take care!

Start marked SRCR!

Start: 1m right of A on wall.

Up and a bit right.

Start: 2m right and below the previous route.

Start 4m R of HCMT. Thin corner, slight bulge then right up to left leading ramp, up this to finish as for HCMT.

Start: 4m right of C. 1) Corner (rings?) to ledge. 2). Up to top following bolts.

"The climb boasts a complicated history of aid elimination. On the first ascent two rests were used on the section above the horizontal break, one under the roof and one on the flake above. The stoic leader then bolted up the final short headwall in driving rain to the top. Though he did the climb in one pitch he went to the trouble of establishing a hanging belay station below the bolt ladder. This was done for the benefit of future parties who might attempt a free ascent using the belay as a much needed rest. Mike Law made the second ascent and managed to lead the first pitch completely free but left the grade at 23. A month or so later Warwick Baird did a free ascent of the whole climb though he did break the route into 2 pitches. A few weeks later he made an attempt to lead the climb completely free in one pitch but fell 4m from the top when a hold broke. The following weekend he returned again and finally managed the task that had eluded him on previous attempts. "The climb now stands as the hardest and most sustained lead in the Blue Mountains" (May 1981). Mark Baker added the direct bit over the flake.

Incipient crack 5m right of K&Q.

An easier finish to Intaglio via original Toyland, which avoids the extremely cruxy finish of the standard route.

As for Intaglio to 2nd last bolt then traverse right and finish up original Toyland via 3 more bolts (clip 2nd bolt high, traverse low) to Toyland anchors. Easy to clean on loweroff.

Crack, cave and pillar. You can make it harder by jamming through the roof!

Start: 2m right of S.

Start 5m R of WE. Corner to roof, wall via crack to ledge (big cam!), seam to top.

Marked CC.

Start: 6m right of SP.

Start at tree at the back of the Lighthouse Rock. Interesting start. Can be done without the tree at grade 19.