Route in Fire Bug

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.