Routes as trad in Blue Mountains

up the dirty crack to a crack going left on a 45. DRBB at top

straight up on the left side of the wall. DRBB at top

Up obvious crack line on arete.

1. 15m (12) Follow the right seam up the arete placing gear as you go, traversing left to tree and ledge beneath blank face.

2. 5m (6) Scramble up dirty gully.

Up rightmost seam on arrete as for Chicken Run to the little cave. From here continue directly up the corner crack. Tree belay well back from edge. A No. 4 Camalot helps near the end. Watch out for loose rock at the top. To get off, walk right through spikefest for 15m and rap from tree.

The wide arching crack between WW and NSU.

Up crack as for the start of GEITM, follow crack rightwards to the top anchors of TWBT. Nice easy crack, plenty of pro and you can clip the first couple of bolts on GEITM if you want.

Sick of sandy slabs and ringbolts? Be a trad lad and try the finger crack between Yoda and Queen or Country. Jam through the bulge to join the arete, finishing as for Yoda at DBB.

1.5m rt of Totally Testicular, at the top traverse left to DRB.

Needs lots of cleaning before FA is possible.

Varied climbing, spectacular views. Bring ten quickdraws including alpines, and cams (.5,1,2,3) for pitches one and three. U-bolt anchors.

1. 17m (15) Scamper up to corner crack and stem or jam, placing cams. Veer left onto ledge.

2. 23m (15) Up onto horizontal band, traverse to nook, mindful of the arête. Optional belay. Mount and straddle the suspect feature.

3. 10m (15) Stroll up to the crack for a bouldery finish. Fun problem, forgiving landing. Takes a .5 above the crux.

Walk off via faint trail heading right towards the Nepean.

Start up Charlotte's Climb and veer right on the ledge to climb the layback crack. DRB a few metres above.

A short pumpy crack which is just too tight for the casual hand jammer. A climb that your small hand friends can laud over you.

Easy looking crack. Don't be fooled! DRB anchors, can walk off.

Adventure up the most obvious line on the wall. So dicey. So trad.

At the very left end of the main area/cliff, short grey and orange wall at middle of large rock platform, with broken blocks at start. Up wall, BR.

A variation to Orion done in the 60s: "A slanting crack, L to R in upper part forms a good variation ... Dougle and party." [JME 1967] also shown in topo [BA 1963].

1. As for Orion to tree belay.

2. Right of orange corner to cracks, up, then traverse right at break to twin cracks on headwall ending below Bendy Bloodwood.

One of the original 1952 routes at the cliff, about which early documenters were not kind "Up through chunder" [BA] and "Wander aimlessly upward, picking your nose and eating apples until you get fed up and come wandering back down." [JME].

It is actually a pleasant easy ramble with good protection and belays, and a great introduction to the gorge, although probably a modern grade 12-14.

Start: Below broken corner system on top of upper rock platform (-33.78069, 150.63075)

1. 20m Wall, ledges and short corners to solid Bloodwood (tree) belay on ledge.

2. 25m Corner-cracks to BBB (Bendy Bloodwood Belay) at cave. Easiest to rap off here.

3. 5m+ Short awkward corner then scrambling.

80's hardcore testpiece through wild off-width roof.

Start as for Orion at discontinuous corners on ledge above main walking track

1. 35m Spot the target roof 35m above, and make up a pitch trending towards it, following best rock, and avoiding choss and vegetation as much as possible. Belay from 1 x carrot bolt, wires and small cams (0.2 and 0.3) on sandy ledge.

2. 10m (24) Up past carrot to confront intimidating roof. Most of the gear is small (doubles of 0.3 to 0.5) with larger gear (3 - 5) only necessary if aiding the crux. Belay from tree right of top out).

To escape, rap 45m from tree to big sandy ledge. From there, traverse left along ledge (looking out) until its possible to scramble down to the walking track.

Up 4 discreet carrots to DBB. Start left of first bolt. Reachy to ledge. Crux between 3rd and 4th bolt then jug city to the anchors.

Directly below MB, at a point on walker's track where it is necessary to climb to higher ledge, directly behind grass tussocks. Up wall with BR and good SLCD runners. Belay on ledge.

Start on left edge of ledge below Master Blaster Wall, on orange rock. Spectacular exposure.

1. 17m Up to traverse line, left above overhangs to PR. Poorly protected

2. 23m Left toward arete, up to AC, onto slab to top.

Twin water-streaked black wall with large turpentine tree at middle of base ledge, start 2m left of tree, directly below triangular orange patch. Good route up impressive black wall. Long leadouts with minimum protection makes it a serious lead. Up wall to groove, left to line of holds, to detached block then to break, right to water streak (crux). Cams needed.

Up short overhanging groove to PR, join MB.

As for MB to horizontal break. No protection, exposed. Good climbing. Left and up thin wall/slab.

Broken system with corner, chimneys and crack, a proper 1956 adventure. "Probably the best climb in the gorge" quoth Bryden Allen in his 1963 guide, but Things Have Moved On, particularly the notion of what constitutes grade 12, so it's now probably 15.

Start: At a pinch between boulders with the small brass Jack Murphy plaque -33.78141,150.63045.

Route and pitches can be varied:

1. 30m Up the broken corners and ledges via bushes to tree on ledge.

2. 25m (crux) Extract body from short V chimney topped by chockstone into either burly layback corner or 80-150mm wall crack.

3. 25m More burly laybacking up chimney/corner with rounded edges.

4. 25m Straight up with more of same.

To escape, skirt the cliff heading west/north-west to find the anchors above The Venom (on a big, waterwashed ledge by the cliff edge -sometimes running with water). 1 x 50m rap gets you to the belay at the end of The Venom P1, and another 50m rap gets you back to ground-level.

Just right of Jack Murphy's Climb, just left of orange streak. Steep and exposed. Protection down low is inadequate. A serious and dangerous lead. Up rotten corner, right to ramp, use BR as hand hold, leave ramp to good black rock and 3 BRs to small chain belay at ledge. Abseil off tree.

A few metres left of TV. A short wander. Up black wall then left to tree.

Sharing a few sections of climbing with The Venom, this line launches up the steeper, blanker faces, while remaining stylistically similar to its elder sibling.

Bring a double rack #0.3 to #3, a single #0.2 and #4, and an extra #0.3. Bring 2 x 60m ropes if rapping off from the top.

This route seeps heavily after rain, and will remain wet even when the rest of the gorge is bone dry.

Start (as for The Venom) at prominent thin crack at right side of black wall, approximately 8m above the Gorge floor (can be accessed by an easy stemming corner).

1. 15m 15 - Up black seam as for The Venom for 5m to major ledge system. Rising traverse left until directly below major orange flake, then onwards and upwards to bolt belay. Bring the full rack for this pitch.

2. 25m 21 - Up thin flake (#0.3 on left) and up prow past bolt to thin rail where you'll find a crucial #0.3/#0.4 placement in a slot out left. Fingery traverse right, and up to sloper and bolt. Continue up vague corner system to steep finger crack (2 x #0.3). Up this to bolt, then turn roof on edges (slightly right of bolt) and up face (unprotected) to bolt belay (shared with the end of The Venom P1).

3. 20m 17 - Shared with The Venom P2. Straight up nose above belay (#4, #0.4, #0.3) to bolt. Traverse straight left past another bolt, then up onto ledge system. Rising traverse left past #0.4 and #0.75 to bolt belay.

4. 30m 22 - Up seam past #0.4, #0.5 and #0.75 to bolt and rooflet. Gain the ledge, ignore carrots heading out left, and instead head right to bolt. Step out over the void, then crux moves straight up face to gain break (#0.3, #0.2), then upwards to gain ledge (#0.3, #0.4). Traverse right to bolt belay.

5. 15m 20 - Tricky moves (and gear - sneaky #0.4 slot out left) above the belay to gain stance under the roof. Blast out the roof crack slightly right of the belay via #2 and #3, and up crack (#0.5) to top out. Belay off #2 and #1 cams.

To escape, find the bolts above The Venom (up and right from where this route tops out -on the other side of the waterfall) and abseil 50m to the belay at the end of P2, and another 50m to the starting ledge.

A surprisingly modern outing for the time. This route attacks the most visually striking part of the gorge (the bit you froth over on the train from Lapstone to Glenbrook), weaving a route up the best rock and climbing.

Bring a double rack #0.3 to #3 and a single #4. Wires are also useful. Bring 2 x 60m ropes if rapping off from the top.

This route seeps heavily after rain, and will remain wet even when the rest of the gorge is bone dry.

Start at prominent thin crack at right side of black wall, approximately 8m above the Gorge floor (can be accessed by an easy stemming corner).

1. 40m 18 - Up black seam, then onwards between breaks to ledge with tree. Continue up weakness past carrot and prow to gain crack system to take you to bolt belay.

2. 20m 17 - Straight up nose above belay (#4, #0.4, #0.3) to bolt. Traverse straight left past another bolt, then up onto ledge system. Rising traverse left past #0.4 and #0.75 to bolt belay.

3. 30m 21 - Up seam past #0.4, #0.5 and #0,5 to bolt and rooflet. Gain the ledge, then continue up and left past 2 x carrots to crux. Committing moves up the face (#2, #1, #1, #0.5) to ledge. Traverse hard right via an assortment of gear to bolt belay.

4. 15m 18 - Tricky moves (and gear - sneaky #0.4 slot out left) above the belay to gain stance under the roof. Traverse hard right to right-facing corner (carrot) and up this (#3, #4) to top out and bolt belay.

To escape, abseil 50m to the belay at the end of P1, and another 50m to the starting ledge.

Corner 5m right of TV, immediately below a pair of Angophoras. A fair climb following the longest natural line on the cliff.

1. 10m Up roof.

2. 20m Up to roof, along roof to alcove, into layback corner, up right to ledge.

3. 20m Follow easiest line heading to base of black chimney. Belay.

4. 40m Into chimney/crack, good exposed climbing to top.

5. 10m Broken rock to top.

"The rock .. is appalling and the climb unpleasant in the extreme." [BA]

Start: Just left of the scrubby line of recesses in the centre of the wall between "Jack Murphy's Climb" and Southern Cross.

1. 40' Up short wall

2. 50' Traverse left through scrub to beneath first overhang.

3. 200' "Up a set of appalling rock recesses such as you see before you"

Up short overhanging groove to PR, join MB.

Subtle line with good positions. Start: as for Jerks 1n Heaven. 1: up past BR, left to PR, continue left to base of grooves and up to ledge. Abseil off as per Puddin Puller.