Routes as trad in The Fortress

A light rack of cams (maybe BD 0.3 - 3) is more than enough to protect this. Most bolts are carrots

1. 18m (8) Up a few metres to bolt (used more to show direction than for protection). Up to vertical crack for pro and up bulbous wall (another bolt on right) to DBB at top of buttress. Walk up and right 8 metres to start of next pitch. DBB on wall. Many people don't find the start of this and have epics, walk 8m, find the DBB!

2. 40m (12) Left of belay grunt onto wall (crux). Natural pro in crack or horizontal breaks up higher. Clip bolt on left. Then move diagonally right to small friend (#0) in horizontal crack and further rightwards on easy stuff to bolt (clip with sling to reduce drag). Up left clipping two bolts, steep tricky move (easiest if you move left). Easy 10m ramble with two bolts to DBB. Best to give your second a tight rope when they start the pitch.

3. 16m (9) Bolt on right shows the way, then up crack on left to belay. (Bolt and #½ friend or purple camalot.)

4. 45m (8) From right of the belay move up a few metres, then traverse left past bolt runner to arête/ridge. Up ridge 30m past 4 bolts. Walk across rightwards to bolt on little buttress. Over this and walk 10m+ (no bolt protection) and scramble through small bushes up easy crack into cave to DBB (at your feet).

5. 21m (12) From belay start to the right. Up wall trending left past 4 bolts. Climb onto large blocks at top. They seem OK. And traverse right passing bolt that protects the second to DBB.

6. 26m (8) Clip bolt on right of belay. Stand on rock thing and up. Follow ridge with a few bolts to top. DBB.

Mixed carrots and trad route up the grand wall right of Tom Thumb, like 4 pitches of Cosmic County climbing. Simon Carter's Blueys guide has description and good topos. Be aware that this has not had a lot of traffic and there are some loose holds still. Steep face climbing, good rock and reasonable pro.

Rack: 15 draws, 15 bolt plates, single set of cams from finger to fist. Climb on double ropes or use long slings to reduce rope drag. Bolts are all rusty bash in carrots. Belays are mostly old carrots but some have a single U bolt.

Start: rap as for 'Tom Thumb'

1. 18m (8) Up 'Tom Thumb' P1, onto block at 10m and up right to bolt belay. Then walk R into gully and scramble up 10m to stance below chimney gully (no belay bolts).

2. 45m (18) Up block and layback then R up wall past bolts and crack, then R to steep wall and bolts and up slab past cams and hard mantel, left top 3BB in break. Semi hanging belay.

3. 35m (19) Up and slightly R past bolts and cams, then left into corner (good thin break at top) up steep wall (BRs) and runout up to slab and 3BB below cave. Best pitch of the route.

4. 30m (18) Up to cave and rightwards in the 12.30 o'clock direction past bolts then leftwards up corner (spaced pro) and easy arête to DBB on big ledge. (The original last pitch went left with no gear, avoid!. You can run new P5 and P6 together but rope stretch means you could hit the big ledge in the middle.)

5. 15m (18) Walk R and up 2 waves of rock past 5 BRs. Belay on a high bolt (use wire - hanger doesn't fit) and a Ubolt. There is a 50 year old carrot on the ledge from Bryden)

6. 30m (19) Up steep wall past 2 BRs and sling, then up left on easy wall, walk 6 m to left end of rock band and 2 BB.

Walk left to hit track.

The filthy vegetated gully/chimney system to the climber's right of Tom Thumb.

An old Rhum Dhu climb.

Verbatim description below from Bryden Allen † 's 1963 Rock Climbs of NSW.

A magnificent climb up the centre of the face of great variety. Standard: Mild Severe.

Start: There is some scrambling at the start and the climb is by no means easy to find. The diagram gives the rough area and it is a fairly obvious line of weakness. It is best approached high on the right.

1. 20' Start in the corner with short wall on the left. Up the wall (tricky if wet) then around to the left, piton belay.

2. 30' Up the crack ahead and out into scrub.

3. 120' Up through scrub a walk around to the left along a sandy overhung ledge.

4. 80' Belay (piton) below a vertical corner with a rectangular block blocking the start. Up over the block then up the corner and then the right hand face.

5. 110' Up the magnificent wall on the right traversing to the middle. Tree belay.

6. 20' Farther up then back into the gully.

7. 90' Up the gully till one strikes bush. Push on and just .before one sneaks off to the left there is a bolt belay on top of yellow rock.

8. 70' Traverse left and up till confronted by a short yellow wall, up (easier than it looks) and a bolt belay on top.

9. 100' Walk left 100 feet, belay on yellow block.

10. 60' Sneak up the overhang.

11. Walk up the grass then the 10' remaining little wall.

Approach: abseil the route, a rope protector is comforting - sharp ironstone at the top.

Some bolts have been recently added (2015?). The bolts aren't always easy to spot, camouflaged by lichen.

1. 6 bolts up to 2 abseil rings at deep undercut, then 3 bolts above to the oiginal TBB.

2. 2 bolts above, then various horizontal breaks for cams (BD 3, 1, 4, 0.5), DBB (abseil rings) on ledge at top. Plus, a sensible bolt just above to protect the easy scramble to the grass & scrub.

While it's probably best noted as a good escape route from the bottom of the cliff, it's actually not a bad little number in its own right. Some of the climbing might feel a few grades harder than grade 11, but by and large it's possible to find a line that conforms to the grade.

A standard rack of wires and cams (to #3 camalot size) is sufficient, although a #5 camalot is also recommended. Helmets are an absolute must and 60m double ropes are highly recommended as well. Definitely not for the inexperienced.

1. 20m (4) Up the easy ledges then halfway up the right tending gully. Belay off a small tree.

2. 35m (11) Move left along the obvious traverse line then up as you will to the large, steeply sloping ledge. The initial moves up are harder than they look and it's much easier to traverse back onto the wall from further left.

3. 80m (4) Walk up the ledge, trending left initially, then solo up a short 8m wall (might be an idea to belay up this). At the top of this move up and slightly right to the small stand of saplings below the obvious squeeze chimney corner crack (#5 camalot for this belay).

4. 45m (11) Grunt up the squeeze chimney for a move or two then fondly bid it farewell and venture out onto the right wall. Engaging climbing (suss dinnerplates) to the top of a lovely little exposed pinnacle perched in the middle of outer space. Step back to the main wall and up to a spectacular belay ledge.

5. 55m (11) Move right and up the obvious chimney (which is often wet at the back). At the top, head left and up a steep dirty gully for about 15m, passing the two dodgy looking banksia trees. Belay off a small gum further up, with the trusty #5 camalot in a block just to the left.

To get off, walk directly away from the cliff for about 250m and you'll hit the Fortress Ridge walking track. Turn right and follow the track back to the Mt Hay Road, taking the left fork at each junction. It's about 45 minutes of flat walking back to the road.

Expeditionary undertaking. Classic Ewbank no doubt. Obvious crack in yellow and black wall capped by large roofs on SW facing cliff below Fortress Ridge. Visible from Evans Lookout.

Leave car on Mount Hay Rd and walk along 4wd track on to Fortress Ridge. At end of track head WSW along prominent subsidiary ridge. Upon reaching cliffs, head S around small upper cliffline and down bushy ramp. 3 long abseils on double ropes to reach a big ledge. Scramble L along ledge and down bushy gully to short abseil at bottom.

Start: Walk NW 300m to base of route.

1. 18m (16) Black crack to small bushy ledge.

2. 24m (19) Up over 2 ledges, then corner-crack to grassy ledge.

3. 20m (18) Belay under small overhang on R. Corner to ledge. (good bivy site?)

4. 30m (21) Crux. Cracks, then major crackling to foot ledge on L, below small roof.(#1.5 cam, wires).

5. 15m (19) Crack to shale ledge on right. (Cams 3m above ledge.)

6. 15m (21) Equal crux. Overhanging crack to large slot. Bolt belay.

7. 25m (18) Crawl 3m R, then left up wall to corner and roof. Now left to aerate and crack above to ledge.(Poor pro).

8. 20m (12) Crack, and corner to tree.

9. 50m (12) Up to black slabs, and up.