Wild Blue Yonder 18

Access best by using a 100m static to abseil the approx 85m (?) from the top of Home James, down that route, continuing down past 'Back in an Hour' and through the hole/'cave' formed by chock-stones which brings you out onto a large grassy ramp/ledge. Stay on the abseil rope for the short scramble down rightward (facing in) to a bolt anchor above Wild Blue Yonder. Another short (30m?) abseil from bolts gets you to the start of that climb (at the ledge above Goat's Head Soup). The original route (17, scarier with just a single carrot bolt) started about 10m left of Goat Island - one or two moves from the left end of the ledge accessed the big diagonal ramp/line. This better version (18, more direct and well protected) starts about 6 or 7 m right of the original.

1. 30m Up via a bolt runner (18) to gain the 'line'. Follow the dyke diagonally left to the original carrot bolt then up the slab via three FHs to a ledge and bolt anchor. From here, it is easy to scramble up around left and eventually hit the south side climbers' access track. Alternatively:

2. "25m Head up to the 'Goat Island' belay.

3. 40m L to arête, up, staying to the right of the vegetated gully, belay beneath chockstone. Scramble up unpleasant vegetated gullies to arrive below the hand-over-hand chain" (Mt Buffalo 2006 guidebook, Lindorff and Murray)

Climbing here varies from trad climbing, mainly up obvious lines and features, to sport climbing up slabs and sections of rock impossible to protect with natural gear. Of course, there are lots of climbs protected with a mixture of trad gear augmented with occasional bolt runners. Given that the trad ethic is still strong here, and the continuing need to minimize our environmental climbing 'footprint', please avoid unilateral decisions to retro-bolt and be restrained in using fixed protection when establishing new routes.