Routes as trad in Shock Wall/Fire Bug Mall

Blue Mountains trad multi-pitch classic (with zero bolts!). This is the major corner system just left of the steep orange buttress. Gets sun by 8:30am in winter. Original pitches are described here, but it’s better to combine pitches 1 & 2, and 3 & 4. Note that the topo above greatly foreshortens all but the first pitch.

1. 22m (17) Hard start to get out of shale band, then up narrow chimney and corner to stance below roof. You can throw your rope over the little tree 4 or 5 metres up and use it as a slightly exciting top rope anchor to mitigate the start being hard to protect.

2. 10m (17) Over roof and up lovely corner to belay either beneath block at stance with bird crap, or (better) on ledge 2m higher, left of block.

3. 25m (17) Negotiate blocks, then follow incredible steep corner and sloping shelf to belay in cave. The money pitch.

4. 6m (14) Traverse hard left and out to double carrot belay (taking care with thin ironstone plates). Watch out for abseilers! If you have linked the previous pitch into this one it can be worth building a trad anchor just below the top out to avoid heinous rope drag and then scrambling off (roped up) from here.

1. 30m (16) Crack to ledge.

2. 28m (18) 'Steep' crack to top.

3m right of VHRD. Belay 10m left of Goldstar on the ledge. 1x carrot bolt and small gear to set up a belay.

A great sustained layback corner, most people just climb the first pitch to the chain.

1. 27m (19) Corner to ledge.

2. 30m (-) Thin crack, gully and out.

Start: On a flat rock at the large eucalypt at the bottom of 'Solo Gully'.

1. 40m (15) Up 3m to carrot then traverse R 10m (small cams). Up to another carrot then R 10m to double rings on far side of ledge.

2. 20m (15) Awkward move up the corner and onto the left face. Up corner 2m (wires in crack) then move onto the right face at carrot. Follow carrots R across wall and up to cave. Double ring belay in back of cave or double carrots at the edge of the cave.

3. 20m (14) Follow the carrots to the left, don't be tempted by the ring bolts (those are for Shock and Awe). Scary move out of the cave to pull up onto the wall. Follow carrots straight up. Mid sized cams can supplement the carrots. Belay off big tree 10 back or double rings 5m over to the right.

30m left of the 'Gully'. 15m further left on the Goldstar ledge with a belay carrot bolt. Traverse out to the line and up to the stellar diagonal hand jam crack to the chain belay on Thruxton. One of the best single pitch trad routes at Mt Boyce.

Rap-in climb out route. Rap anchor located in the cave about 10m right (facing out) of the top of Goldstar. Abseil 35m tending slightly left (facing cliff) clipping in to carrots on the way down. Double ring belay on a grey nose about 20m above ground. Take care not to abseil past the belay as ascent may be highly problematic and your rope probably won't reach the ground. Take medium wires, slings, large hexes, and a few medium cams. (Or just bolt plates and run it out).

Grey face with two bolts 6m left of Fire Bug. Double ropes or long runners useful to optimize the trad gear.

Start as for Manx/Bonnieville then follow the carrots up the wall and over the boulder/roof at the top. Take small cams, a medium wire, and a #3 Camalot or similar for the start

Start: QUICK ACCESS TO P2: Climb spikes 20m left of Superbug/Firebug and then traverse left 15m to get to the start of P2.

ORIGINAL ACCESS:

Traverse in around ledge at the bottom of 'Solo Gully'. This is easy but a bit scarey. Can be protected with a couple of medium cams. Belay on double rings

1. 25m (22) Descend and climb out to arete. Ring just around the corner. Now traverse right and slightly downward on pumpy jugs to double ring semi-hanging belay.

2. 25m (25) Crank and heelhook madly up to the horizontal break for a lie down rest in the slot. Thin and reachy power cranking gets you up the next blank section, then more easily up to the steep headwall. Straight up to double rings in the cave roof, or (the original line), traverse right and up to the Angels belay.

3. 25m (23) Move to double rings at the left end of the cave. Pull up through the roof crack and then onto the hanging orange wall. Up the wall diagonally right and then pull through the roof above to the left of the rings. Double rings belay over to the left.

Start as for VHRD.

1. 6m (-) Up to ledge.

2. 34m (14) Crack and ramp to ledge.

3. 24m (14) 2nd crack from the right to gully and out.

Start: First pitch as for Manx.

1. 6m (-) Up to ledge.

2. 34m (14) Crack and groove (keeping away from Manx). Left to high ledge.

3. 24m (14) Crack to top.

Right hand side of the gully coming down.

Start: Streno crack, overhung corner and roof to top.