★★ Mostly Harmless 18 M0

One of the best adventures you can have in Sydney. High quality climbing on good gear with excellent exposure. Keep in mind this is a mixed route on the sea cliffs, at least one member of your party should be very experienced placing gear. Wear helmets and bring head torches (although try not to use them as the houses that can see you, might call in a rescue on your behalf). Gets in shade from about midday onwards. Allow 5 hours car to car. Although it’s possible to climb the whole route with a single rack of cams and some draws, placing the wrong cam too early can easily leave you stranded without a belay anchor. Doubles of BD #0.3- #2 recommended, Nuts optional. All the gear placements are bomber and anything harder than grade 13-14 has bolts. Bring some extendable draws and a 60m rope.

The line climbs a corner system on the south side of the big buttress. If you reach the end of the ledge system you’re walking on, you’re about 150m too far.

Pitch 1 - 15m (17) Start on the ledge about 5m above the water and on the left hand side of the huge buttress. Place some gear for your belayer and start up the face trending left over the small void toward the U bolt at 10m. Good gear in the horizontal cracks although save a #2 for the mantle onto the belay ledge and some smallish stuff to build an anchor. (#0.3 - #0.75 all fits if you climb up a meter to place it)

Pitch 2 - 30m (16) Continue up the easy stemming corner with great cams and some decent large nuts. After about 15m trend right onto the face passing two U’s. Keep going up the face trending right and towards the arette on some of the nicest holds you’ll ever crank on (#2 -#4 work well in the horizontal cracks here). One more U bolt gets you past the last outrageously exposed mantle and to the next belay ledge. DBB

Pitch 3 - 10m (14) Easy climbing up the chossy band. Some gear low down and a couple U’s to help though the mantles. DDB on huge ledge

Pitch 4 - 12m (20 / 18m0) Crux pitch. Goes at 18 if you climb the aid ladder and rest on every bolt, otherwise, it’s a pumpy, footless grade 20 (with the ladder start) or if you’re 9ft tall it goes free at 24. Fully bolted from here to the top. It’s recommended to keep this pitch short (rope stretch) and belay at the close grassy ledge unless your second is confident they won’t fall down low. If you want to link pitches it is significantly safer to link the previous one in (3+4), rather than P4+5.

Pitch 5 - 17m (16) Traverse left and up following the (slightly run out) bolts with a nice exposed finish and a short vegetated scramble. DBB in the wall up high.

Pitch 6 - 10m After you’ve finished admiring the view exit by scrambling north into the bushes (pack your gear back into your bags here). Keep traversing north for about 50m under a small waterfall and through a wave like overhang. Boulder out the last couple ledges at the solid golden rock flake (tricky enough it can be worth considering roping up) before jumping the fence and walking nonchalantly back to your car.

Minimal bolting trad where possible, especially around the central descent ropes, most of these routes have been climbed on gear