Nodes in Colosseum

A great fairly old school area that offers one of the few Bluies Tradventures that gets all day shade; In The Wake of the Flood. Note that the main topo for that wall only shows about the upper two thirds of the cliff.

This area is located on private property owned by the Hydro Majestic Hotel. Access could be removed at any time. Please respect the land.

WARNING: In 2016, a massive landslide in the area that that includes Zucchini Crack / Finnegan's Wake has made that route and the routes beyond it inaccessible by destroying the access ledge, and possibly damaging the rock on the surrounding climbs.

It MIGHT be possible to climb these routes IF you can get to the base, but be EXTREMELY careful of the rock quality, and any bolts or fixed gear.

All routes BEFORE Zucchini Crack / Finnegan's Wake (including Love, Beauty and Danger , The Wake of the Flood, Mixed Business and The Conflagration are okay to climb.

Nice moves up the slabby side of the arete on sandy rock.

Steep arete pumper.

A good slightly runout adventure up a long wall that starts up Pure Spirit's corner then straight up bolted wall above. The print guidebook says this is a sport route - it is not. Bring a big cam for the start (#5 camalot - and a handful of finger/fist cams for wall section leading up to the very high first bolt). The grade 25 crux is at the 6th bolt - but can be easily avoided at grade 23 by climbing 1m right of the bolt.

Start 60m right of tunnel at left leading corner marked PS.

1. 8m Corner to tree.

2. To right wall, diagonally up and right around arete via pulpit cave and up to ledge with a roof. #Historical "A small, senescent tree exists as a belay, with a rickety piton half inserted into a small crack." [Allen 1963]

3. Escape roof of ledge by traversing right along ledge and down to gully.

4. "Climb the gully by backing and footing out from under neath the overhanging chockstone. Scramble easily off to the right, or straight ahead."

Start as for Pure Spirit.

1. 8m Corner to tree.

2. 17m (12) Corner and slab to tree.

3. 30m Ramp to path. (Owens 1995)

This climb is now mostly dirt and vegetation, interspersed with moments of below average rock and pro.

3a. 10m (16) Escape the Dihedral Of Dirt via short ironstone wall with crack at base.

Better than anything at the Sunbath! Starts 10m right of Pure Spirit. Slightly overhung orange face with undercut start. Both pitches can be combined with a couple of slings to extend runners.

1. 16m (22) Sustained face finishing up left arete and onto ledge & lower-offs. **

2. 14m (23) Right off the belay easily and climb very steep right edge of buttress and techy arete to ledge and lower-offs. Route does not go to the very top of the cliff.

Definately climbed before, but no FA details. Listed as an unknown "thin crack ??" in Rockclimbs In the Upper Blue Mountains Second Edition.

The clean-looking thin corner crack just past Pure Spirit. Up thin corner, through sandy bulge, and up flared crack above.

Either continue up corner/face for another pitch back to Sunbath area, or rap off tree hanging out over cliff.

An excellent two-pitch bolted route that climbs a proud, clean arete. Both pitches can be combined for an excellent long pitch which eliminates the hanging belay.

Access by walking down the tunnel/stairs from The Block area, and turning left towards the Colosseum at the marked intersection, and walking approx 100m along the base of the cliff. Do not confuse this with the first bolted arete you come to! Coordinates at the base of the climb are S 33° 40.331', E 150° 16.499'.

1. 20m (23 M0) Stick clip and batman to the first bolt. If bringing a second up the pitch, hang a long sling from the first bolt so that they can use it for aid. Thin arete moves past three more bolts to a rest, then balancy moves lead to a tough mantle and another rest. Move right under the roof, then wild moves up and around the lip to the desperate anchor clip and semi-hanging belay. 9 Bolts.

2. 25m (21) Hard move off the belay, then classic arete slapping and laying away. Exposed and atmospheric. Finishes at a good stance. 11 RB to a DRB belay.

To escape, either rap the route to the ground and walk out, or CAREFULLY scramble 10m up the slope to the gravel ledge at the base of Gimme Shelter on the upper cliffline. Best to belay each other and sling a bushes on the way up. There are double rings at the base of GS to top belay the second person.

This pitch can be accessed from above by abseiling down from the double rings at the base of Gimme Shelter, and rapping the route to the ground. A 60m route reaches the ground.

Amazing climbing up a long blunt arete, but quite tough. Just a single aid move low-down on the route! Bring a light rack for the initial start up Mixed Business.

Start as for Mixed Business. Up to first bolt on MB, then follow line of bolts heading left to the arete. Aid off first bolt on the arete, then climb free to the top.

Sporty climbing up a linked series of features with a hard crux, and a mix of gear and bolts. Take a full rack. Can lower off from the top with a 70m rope.

Start up thin crack left of The Wake of the Flood. Up crack on gear and flake features, following the line of bolts in the middle of the wall (with gear along the way) to crack at the top of the wall, and up short corner-thing to anchors.

One of the best trad climbs in the Blue Mountains. Long and extremely varied. All three pitches can be combined into a single mega-pitch if you climb on double-ropes and bring enough gear (a double rack and some pre-planning should do). If you're not game to combine all three pitches, the first two go together very logically with little to no extra rope management required.

1. 20m (20) - Up crack to V-chimney. Belay on ledge above Chimney.

2. 20m (21) - Steep crack to body-squeeze slot. Belay on obvious ledge.

3. 10m (23) - Tricky finger crack to belay on old carrot bolts (23).

To escape, traverse 3m left (past a new bolt) to new rap anchors. 1 x 34m rap to the ground. An uncut 70m will get you with some rope to spare.

Start at the slab directly below the lower hand crack of TWotF at carrot. Take BD cams 0.3 - #3 WITH doubles of #1 and #2 and either a #4 OR #5.

Up slab past carrot and gear to hand crack (shared with TWotF). Up hand crack and break left where crack splits (TWotF continues more directly up and right), and up into dihedral past more gear to a bolt. Then up finger crack to ledge. Left a move, then continue up past 7 more bolts following the line of the bolts to anchors on top ledge of stunning red wall. Can also continue up Mixed Business or The Wake of the Flood (P3) to top out.

A really long pitch of mostly juggy grey rock. Starts 70m right of INTWOTF at orange undercut wall. This route climbs the grey arete of the left side of this wall. There is a LOT of bolts, all FHs - bring at least 18 quickdraws. A 70m rope reaches the ground on rope stretch.

10m right of GB up middle of orange wall. A route with potential but needs quite a bit more cleaning of loose rock to make it worthy. Lots and lots of FHs - at least 15, could be 20. Start by finding the longest stick you can find to stickclip the annoying spinning FH above the undercut (or there's a ringbolt 1.5m diagonally left of the hanger that appears to support an alternate start). Boulder through steep choss then up long orange wall that improves in quality as it gets higher. Finish up nice flake and final wall to ledge and lower-off chain (that looks like it cost $100). Rap to clean if you care about your rope. A 70m rope just makes it down.

#Historical [Allen 1963]

Start: At base of a long deep chimney approx 300m right of Pure Spirit.

1. (35m) Back up long chimney, wrestle with tree halfway up and continue climbing, or traverse delicately either way out of chimney. Continue to left above chimney, and climb exposed "dirty nose".

2. Up grassy ledge to corner with long block-like ridge between containing walls. Tricky start, up until roof, awkward step left, then along to a large tree belay.

3. Up to very large grassy ledge with large trees, up right to very bushy ledge and scramble up to "L" shaped corner [next cliffline?].

4. Climb wall on left in long pitch. Or "Corner. Arete left or corner has been climbed. Not good." [Owens 1995]

Start: Unknown. Piton and bolt runners and large cams?

1. Slab.

2. Seam.

WARNING: A massive landslide above this route has made this route inaccessible, destroyed the belay ledge, and possibly damaged the route! It MIGHT be possible to climb this route IF you can get to the base, but be EXTREMELY careful of the rock quality, and the in-situ rap-tree to escape the route.

The hand to finger crack up the sandy wall well past Wake Of The Flood. Originally called Zucchini Crack when first climbed. Re-climbed recently and accidentally claimed as an FA under the name Finnegans Wake (as per the Blue Mountains guidebook). Has gotten harder over the years because of the terribly sandy rock.

Hand & finger jamming, then into incipient seam to tree (Finnegans Wake ends here), then further up crack to where it ends, and step left and follow the line through two more bulges (crux) to the top of the cliff.

WARNING: A massive landslide above Zucchini Crack / Finnegen's Wake has made this route inaccessible by destroying the access ledge, and possibly damaged the route itself! It MIGHT be possible to climb this route IF you can get to the base, but be EXTREMELY careful of the rock quality, and any in-situ bolts/gear.