Routes in Mount Piddington

Short wall with carrots in the descent gully

Start as for TW. Then up and left.

9m L of PL. Up. right to rest. Up, then to arete and stance. Up.

Start: Curving crack 5m right of "Xenon's Son".

1. 30m (-) Gradually widening crack to block, arete, slab to roof. Delicately traverse right to top of chimney.

2. 15m (18) Left corner.

Better than it looks!

Start: 15m left of 'Corinthian', marked with evident ‘A’ with a faded ‘BV’ above it.

1. 21m (13) Through choss, over bulge & up slab to ledge.

2. 15m (13) Left & up wall to cave, bush anchors on left

3. 13m (13) Up corner to tree belay. Use slings as ropes are ring barking.

Exit: From tree head up faint trail to meet access path which leads to decent gully.

Start 2m left of A.

1. 15m (18) Up thin crack then straight over bulge to tree.

2. 20m (18) Follow 'Ballrace' to end of its P1 (threaded slings in rock), over roof to ledge.

3. 15m (-) Up.

Start: Corner directly under CA.

Start 2m left of TW.

Variant start to Shugar.

Start: Broken crack on face 9m right of N.

1. Up crack to Shugar belay 1.

3 pitches. Crack 1m left of Kim.

Best option is to start up 'Genesis' and finish up this route.

Start: Left of 'Genesis' at short wide crack.

1. 20m (17) Crack, arete to 'Genesis' belay.

2. 18m (17) 'Arete' with bolts. Double rings at the top, saves using the mini bush for belay.

Start: Short chimney 2m left of S. No pro!!

Blocky corner 3m left of TW. More popular as a rap line than a route, and probably rightly so.

Start: 125m right of LLL. Corner with parallel crack 1m right.

1. 22m (16) Corner (or crack?) to ledge and tree anchor.

2. 33m (16) Awkward strenous bulging chimney to corner, then "classical" chimney.

Start at 'S' (for the Spartan)

1. 21m (21) Up right hand corner and up left into corner

2. 24m (21) Right to cave, hard move to arete and up

3. 12m (-) Up off ledge to obvious topout

Start 1m left of B. Arete and wall.

Start: Short chimney and gully to top.

Corner 4m left of N. Undercut start, then corner to cave (use high poor fixed pin and extra wires). Traverse left to ledge (poor piton + cams). Go left 2m up overhang (cam on left) and runout up wall to 2 carrot belay.

Start 3m left of AC. Up thin crack and arete for about 12m until the crack disappears, then up wall past two bolts to ledge. Clip the first bolt off this ledge and step left to finish up On Edge. Three carrot bolts and trad + a ring or two on On Edge if climbing the route this way. Rebolted 26/5/2012.

Start 10m left of Taboo (7m left of the waterfall).

1. 36m (-) Dirty wall and up to the pillar leaning against the headwall.

2. 16m (19) Up the headwall past 1 bolt.

Start: 5m right of M. Below obvious roof crack, marked.

The start of the first pitch was originally aided on the FA. The 1974 description read: "Flick nut 5m up into crack, climb rope then free to ledge".

But, the entire route has since been free climbed from the ground up.

Route Description:

1. 25m (18) Delicately stem up and under the overhang, trending right to just below the corner crack. Reach up into the hand crack (maybe grade 19 move?), pull the lip, and climb the corner to a ledge belay.

2. 20m (17) Battle with ferns up into the double corner to below roofs. Then, trend left over roof to Mirage belay 2.

Classic roof traverse above great space

Start: Right hand corner/offwidth, as for A

1. 16m (14) Thrutch up chossy corner then up and left to belay at bottom of offwidth. Trad and manky carrot belay.

2. 24m (16) What you're here for. Up offwidth in left corner, carrot at top then traverse into space. Watch your helmet at the squeeze. Up at chimney, belay there on gear or at two carrots on ledge outside. Can abseil here with a 60m.

3. 10m (14) Up and crank over side of offwidth, tree belay

Arete 8m left again.

1. 15m (23) Crack to arete.

2. 20m (16) Right, over bulge and up to ledge.

3. 25m (-) Crack, slab to the left. Corner.

Start: 6m left of KT.

Start: crack 3m right of SO.

Start as for the Phantom for 4m, left, then up to the end of the traverse.

Climbs the crack then the top head wall above. 6 bolt brackets for the climb and 2 for the anchor. Rebolted 26/5/2012.

Start as for Idiot. Drop down, traverse left then up.

Start: 20m right again.

1. 25m (18) Corner to pedestal.

2. 25m (20) Right to arete, down 3m then right into corner. Traverse under roof to next corner, then over roof to stance.

3. 30m (18) Crack to roof, right to arete, traverse to corner, up large flake to belay.

4. 20m (20) Right side of flake then up to tree?

Hostile, good second pitch

Start: At yellow crack on opposite wall to Spartan (8m L)

1. 25m (19) Up easy but soft yellow cracks, out left & diagonally up to ledge with bolt anchors

2. 25m (18) Hand traverse left to scoop & up

The climb was cleaned up considerably before the fist absent, and still climbs better then it looks. There are a few unnecessary bolts that were decommissioned in the '60's. "It may be done safely on purely jamb protection" J Ewbank 1967 guidebook.

The black V-chimney 1.5m left of AA.

1. 26m (16) Chimney.

2. 21m (16) Up to corner.

3. 20m (16) Up the corner.

Start: As for CnC. Trees, gully etc.

Start: Traverse line 1m right of H.

Start 0.5m left of P.

1. 18m (16) Diagonally left and over roof. Right to arete and up to ledge.

2. 10m (15) As for P.

Start 4m left of ST. On the right wall of The Animal gully.

Start above AC.

4m left of Idiot anchor. Middle of the wall, corner and wall.

Start: 40m right of Beserker, beneath very broken roof and chimney, marked.

1. 12m (-) Crack to undercut chimney, corner. Right to anchor.

2. 15m (11) Chimney to roof, then short wall on right to tree.

3. 30m (11) Either gully and up wall with "wet moss and no holds", or easier crack on left wall.

Start 7m left of OU.

Start: Thin corner.

Start: Blunt arete 8m to the right. Solo!

Start 3m left of HB.

Start: Approximately 25m to the left of 'Idiot'. Left side of the buttress.

1. 9m (11) Easy to tree.

2. 27m (11) Up, mantle, right and up to ledge and tree.

3. 16m (11) Left and up.

Starts 11m right of Flaming Youth on sloping shelf 5m above ground. Up to holds, diagonally left to break, up to nasty PR. Finish up very easy grey slab. Two stars in the old guide but probably very dangerous.

Start: 4m right of TWL.

1. 27m (19) Up onto pedestal and up broken crack to main wide corner crack. A couple of BD#4's or similar Corner and crack to alcove below roof. Belay on wires or medium cams.

2. 27m (19) Up and R to lip, up crack then R and up past trees to ledge. Belay off small/medium cams or wires.

3. 6m (18) Undercut crack, probably dirty. Place a high wire, pull up into line, get a finger lock and top out.

Start: 8m left of AC.

Start: Blunt arete 2m right of TLNW. Nice enough climbing but sketchy old fixed gear and negligible trad.

Start as for The Banshee. Up the L side of the arete past carrots to lower offs. One of the rare routes around here that gets afternoon shade.

Stunning technical arete 2m left of GW. Bolts are spaced and can be supplemented with cams (#2 & #3 Camalot).

Climb Abra Cadabra to break about 10m up, then left and up short orange wall past bolts to finish up easy grey slab.

Start below roofs 4m left of AGDftI. Small corner.

Start: 2m left of Pkea.

Start: Thin orange diagonal crack 4m R of SSD. Re-bolted December 2015. Take bolt plates, wires & small-med cams. Lower off.

Chimney system just right of Messiah's Exit. Enjoyable climbing that is mostly well protected (particularly if you sling the tree... twice). A cool outing for a hot summer day.

Starts at the obvious layback flake 4m left of On Edge. Most link pitch 1 & 2 and forego the final pitch, descending via lowers or onto ledge and sketchy traverse right (use a rope) to rap anchors on Angular crack.

1. 15m (17) Up sustained layback flake (big cams) to ledge (most link straight into 2nd pitch)

2. 15m (17) From ledge head right and up obvious crack through rooflet to lower-offs or onto ledge and carrot belay

3. 23m (??) Rarely done chimney pitch off to the left.

Lower-offs and new belay carrots added 2016.

Start: Corner 5m left again.

1. 27m (16) Corner, roof and wall to rest. Wall and ramp.

2. 25m (12) Up.

Wide crack 13m right of Flaming Youth. Take big cams including a #6. Climb crack to cave, right and up unprotected 10m++ arete to old bolt belay on top.

Start: As for TWL until it veers left. Up right side of arete and up.

Again a tricky and strenuous first section.

Start at a dirty jagged crack 20m left of Orang Utang, marked.

1. 25m (13) Up 10m then fall onto thick scrub on ledge. Continue more easily to tree anchor on next ledge.

2. 30m (15) Up easily to top. Tree anchor.

Could probably also be done as one long pitch.

Start: 9m left of Z. Scrubby chimney.

Start: 1m right of Z.

Starts on the left wall about 10m up the first pitch of The Animal. Tricky crack and roof to lower-offs.

Not good. Start at chain on Faith.

Start: 7m left again. Right of arete.

Small orange corner under roof 11m right of Abra Cadabra. Up to roof, left and up arete. Take care with pro.

Two right staggered finger cracks, cracks run out at about 21 metres and you transition to an adjacent climb. [Route will be merged]

Left hand variant to Brumby. Start as for B.

1. 38m (18) Up over fern? To shelf, left to mantle. Wall right of tree to block.

2. 22m (15) Left to bollard, up wall.

Start: Chimney 1m right of P.

It is serious if done the original way. But if you skip the boulder problem start and finish up The Messiah's Exit, it is a well protected classic. Start 1m left of The Animal. Arete, splitter finger crack, then L up dirty runout headwall.

The corner crack 4m left of Flake Crack.

1. 15m Up corner to chains.

2. 15m Left up corner and gully.

3. 22m Walk left, up into chimney.

The first route at Mt Piddington, and still one of the best. If you're at this end of the crag at the end of the day this route is a nice way to significantly shorten the walk out. It's not too hard to climb it with packs on, then do a 200m bush bash due east along the ridge to the firetrail. Start 17m left of 'Infidel' opposite the Cottage Boulder. It is the left most route on the slab. Now has a million bolts which didn't originally exist.

1. 30m Up slab to bulge, hand traverse around to the right and up to belay with an eclectic assortment of hardware.

2. Up slab, veering left and up. Pitches 1 and 2 can be run together if you have double ropes, or even on a single rope if you think about which bolts to skip and which to extend.

Start: 27m right of O. Opposite the main cliff.

Start: Thin crack 4m right again, marked.

1. 21m (19) Crack then right to next crack to below the block. Turn arete and head left to tree.

2. 30m (18) Finish as for Lord Jim.

A hard first pitch, strenuous and tricky. Starts at a square groove, marked.

P1. Up groove, (missing) peg runner, move out at top to left, and up to tree (and block) anchor.

P2. Up easy slab to top.

Can also be done as one long pitch.

Start: 11m left of B.

Start: As for HW. Chimney and corner.

The excellent finger crack of J into the excellent handcrack roof of ME. Lower offs added 26/5/2012.

The arete 2m left of Faith. Minimal gear.

1. As for Hocus Pocus to top of initial slab. Over bulge, up slab to Hocus Pocus belay.

2. Head diagonally right to top.

Start: Right of C.

Start: Flared crack 4m right of Rimensky, marked.

1. 15m (-) Groove to tree? and piton.

2. 30m (18) Crack and chimney.

Blocky arete about 11m left of Mustang.

Start: Thin chimney in corner left of E. 3 pitches. Take Care!

Start: Left arete directly below G.

Roof-capped corner 2.5m left of Judas.

1. 15m (-) Corner to roof. Left (crawl) to nose and ledge.

2. 24m (14) Wall on right.

Finger crack 2m left of Chastity. One hard move. Lower off shared chains on top.

Start: As for Curtain Call.

1. 24m (14) Up to ledge then delicately left on slab past two manky carrots.

2. 30m (14) Left into gully then trend right up arete past bolt to rap station.

Start: Just left of the boulder descent route. Take care!

Start: 9m right in chimney.

1. 15m (8) Wide easy chimney to small ledge and nut & thread belay deep inside cave.

2. 30m (12) Squeeze chimney "quite safe once it has been started" then easier chimney to sandy cave.