Ascents in New South Wales and ACT as Attempt by Paul Frothy Thomson

Just to the upper undercling crux. I didn't manage to stick it, and got tired of whipping off at the end of the day. One to come back for (and perhaps stick clip past the crux to work it out). Seemed great so far, and not too hideously hard.

Thanks Magui for trying to help me with the crux beta

Haha, I suck.

First attempt I forgot my shoes, so went for the "approach shoe send" -managed to get to the top bolt (terrifying!) but then couldn't even do the upper moves.

Second lap with climbing shoes, it took me a few falls to figure out the crux sequence -which feels pretty gnarly to me!

Essentially, 4 or so metres of really hard climbing, surrounded by gr20 or less. Can be contrived to be harder, though.

3 attempts -never even got close to touching the brief (but gnarly) crux sequence. Could do all the rest clean at 26/27, but wouldn't ever have a hope in hell of putting it all together for a tick.

Great rock, and awesome, steep climbing up a series of linked features. A bit more "conventionally grovelly" than most of the harder routes at Bungonia (which might explain why I could actually do most of it).

A couple of attempts. I was pretty happy with the progress I made given that I've never tried to climb this sort of roof offwidth (where I couldn't avoid using the proper technique), but I just couldn't quite finish it out. Bringing a more appropriate set of climbing shoes, socks, long pants, and spare blood would probably have helped as well Regardless, I certainly learned lots.

A pretty accessible way to learn these sorts of "pony shuffling" techniques in the Blue Mountains.

Big congratz to Zuni on the FA!

An EOD play since the draws were on it. Surprisingly cool climbing to the dyno, which didn't seem too hard, though is a bit frustrating to work. I didn't try the top couple of bolts.

Couldn't touch the crux sequence today. The rock quality through the hard bit is bullet-hard and brilliant, but either the sweaty summer sun, or my own weakness, meant I just couldn't do the crux fridge-hugging sequence. Might try again in winter.

Whipped off the crux a few times trying this as a warmup, then got over it very quickly. Rubbish conditions or not, I really don't think much of this route.

My 2nd favourite route at this crag! Awesome power-endurance style climbing from the cruxy undercling to the top. I was getting proper motivated on this one, but alas a key crux crimp took some damage which will necessitate a bit of TLC before this is climbable again. I bailed from the 2nd last bolt to avoid to any further damage to the hold, but I'll definitely be back!!!

Concluding the Whitman's Sampler day of this crag... I did a bunch of the moves free... but also a reasonable amount of aiding on this. Punchy boulders between okay stances. Nothing seemed V-impossible, but we were out of time and daylight at EOD.

Seems really cool, but it is not a good warmup Roofy bouldery start, then a scary middle, and a very interesting but committing upper face section that I ended up bailing from. Totally worth another lap when its not so cold, and I'm not doing it as a warmup.

Wow, monstrously huge and steep! Bailed 2/3rds of the way up when we realised we were running out of daylight, and were approaching "rope shenanigans" due the route length. Despite it being quite a mission to ground-up (especially as its so runout -there are 4 bolts in the first 20m!- and very traverse-y), I had a lot of fun on this, and am intrigued to return. I suspect its actually gr27.

Clean Ricardo Lagos to the belay then started up this immediately without a rest... Couldn't stick the nails crimp-move mid-way up and after a bunch of falls I decided I was over it (seemed a bit of an ordeal as a warmup). Didn't really get to the meat of the climb, but it seemed a bit snappy. I'm willing to re-appraise my opinion of this when I come back to it at some juncture..

Bailed off the 2nd last bolt after taking an awkward fall that hurt my ankle (trying to jump clear of the rope to avoid flipping). Some cool moves, but feels very squeezy, and the bolting up high is weird. Might be keen to have another look at some point.

EOD lap re-remembering the moves. Most of the moves came together really well, but I DID choose not to do the final move to the anchor (which I've done before) as my tenacity was well and truly spent by then.

3 laps. Really funky climbing, with a rad slimper start, and a bloody hard pocketed finale. Linked to the last bolt but never really sorted the final moves of that sequence to the anchors. Bailed from the last bolt in the end.

Ugh. Yep, I remember why I never got back on this. Basically an epic dawdle surrounded by a single nails move where my height just leaves me hideously bunched. No thanks, there are 10,000,000 better routes in the Bluey to climb.

Ugh, I remember why I haven't been back on this. Wandery, sharp, ledgy and bouldery. The top was too wet today to make it to the anchors, so I bailed.

Hideous conditions, and I was trashed from the previous day of climbing, but I can see why this is classic (even if I climbed it terribly). Didn't do the top mantle, and there was 1 move I never truly figured out (and a few that aren't truly "sorted"). Short, but intense. When it's on, it's on, and rest is a soon-forgotten notion.

A bit of an exploratory lap. Slowly made my way up to the final bolt on the headwall (with much beta-loading from Jason ), but got a bit intimidated on those final moves and bailed. Kinda sharp in the face-y section, but cool moves. The headwall is mega, and mega steep. Efficiency will be key.

Sooo hot and humid. Dogged to the final crux, then was over it.

Haha, shut-down by my own route. So spoogy and slimey today, that I couldn't even TOUCH the mono-boulder first crux.

Amazing climbing on awesome rock, but I got moderately trounced by it (both the difficulty, and the 1,000,000 degree weather). Didn't even attempt the dyno crux, and bailed off the crimpy moves heading left a bolt past the dyno. Very inspiring, but quite beyond me at the moment.

Repeat Attempt, not clean today... Couldn't stick the last move today for some reason, though much of this was "damp". Brilliant for a boulder problem.

2 x Exploratory laps. Bailed from the final moves, with the highpoint a few moves ABOVE the driveby crux. The crux section is high quality (though I found the setup sequence kinda sharp and unpleasant), with the sloper-pocket section and the driveby itself being particularly cool (on great rock), but I would definitely get sick of lapping the lower 15m to get to the Money on every shot. Kinda scary bolting.

Bailed before I could get pissed off. Onsighted to the first crux. Took a few big falls into space piecing together the final moves to the next clip, followed by bumping back up the rope (which was 3x more tiring than any climbing to this point), and then having the joy of doing the entire sequence all over again, and just realised that I couldn't be bothered. I won't rate the quality of this route since I didn't get anywhere on it.

My worst efforts in weeks. Struggling with the lower "crimp crux" today, though the upper moves were -comparatively- easy. Stripped it before I could get pissed off.

Wasn't feeling the dyno on the onsight attempt, and bailed from there (though now that Neil has worked out how to do it as a deadpoint, it's definitely worthy of another investigative lap, as the rest of the climb was great). Very thin and punchy start to a stance, a big move, and pumpy to the top on good rock. The rubbish 2nd and 3rd bolt placements rob this climb of it's potential (a massively oversunk biner-breaker 2nd bolt which protects a runout, hard move; and a dangerous "you will crater if you blow the hard move" 3rd bolt), and I'll re-rate it if the bolting is fixed.

Cruised to the crux, then couldn't really stick the crux move this time (I don't remember my old beta at all), though I didn't really give it a proper effort. Contrived.

I still can't campus... Can't hold the swing as I move out right.

End of day training lap... I'd forgotten how intense this route is. Finally pieces together the mid-height crux that I hadn't been able to do previously, but bailed from the top crux due to tiredness, and having already taken up too much of my belayers' day faffing about on this. A great route, and one I'm psyched for.

Linked to the high-finger jug near the end (with only the easier traverse-off to do) but jumped off here, rather than doing the final few moves to traverse off.

Repeat (attempt) for training. Randomly decided to continue up this on link, but only had 2 Quickdraws (and a carabiner from my daisy chain). Leap-frogged the quickdraws all the way up to the main crux, skipped the pre-crux bolt and fell with my fingers on the first of the 4-main crux holds.

Repeat (attempt). Haha, I suck. Fell off the crux a bunch of times as a warmup, and wasn't feeling it at all. I've ticked this before, so I bailed.

Cruised to the final move of the crux, then just spent the next 20mins lobbing at it with no success. Not sure why I couldn't do the move this time? Ended up bailing off the last bolt after my skin wore out.

After battling the spooge, sand and epic sandbag, I finally bailed off this at the sandpit mantle near the top. Life's too short to climb shit routes.

Never stuck the last move to the anchors before I got sick of taking the swinging whip at the end of the day. I enjoyed the climbing, and I'll definately come back when fresh and in the shade. The 3rd bolt is in a Totally hollow flake about 1inch thick (????!!!!), and the 4th bolt should be about 2ft left to be on the fall-line (the swing part of the whip is totally unnecessary).

Fell off going for the anchor on Onsight. Had a bit of a play on the last move, but I wasn't here for this and daylight was running out. Mostly finger-jugs the whole way, but for the last 2 moves... which were PUNCHEEEE.

Slaughtered. I never managed to work out the crux move before I got frustrated and pulled through. Slipped off a damp sloper halfway through the traverse and gave up. I didn't enjoy the crux, though objectively the route might be okay. I just didn't have the patience left to find out. The traverse seems intriguing and a bit intimidating.

Bailed off the last bolt. Onsighted to the bolt below the roof (2nd last bolt - About gr24 to here), then whipped off halfway between the crazy runout to the next bolt. Eventually figured out the moves up the flaky, mossy, dirty, unworn headwall to the "excitingly" placed final bolt... But couldn't work out the last 2m of climbing to the anchor, and eventually just got pissed off. A few bits of "okay" climbing, but super-contrived in the lower half (I had to FORCE myself not to touch any of the holds on the neighbouring routes), with flaky, grainy rock. And dirty, mossy and badly bolted in the top headwall. Hard for the grade? I wouldn't give it another lap.

Had no idea what this was, but it was DRY! Climbed the first 4 bolts (10m) to the MISSING 5th bolt, then tried to do the traverse left to the 6th bolt (without the 5th bolt) before breaking a footer and whipping off. Okay technical climbing to this point... but the bolt quality is rubbish, and the missing hanger makes the traverse ridiculous. Bailed from the 4th bolt.

Stripping the route for a friend. Climbed to the last bolt (with rests) then backjumped and down-climbed to clean. Steep and pumpy!