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Summary

Described by Mike Law as "possibly the worst cliff in the world, with some of the best climbs", you'll either love it or hate it.

Description

Ben Cairn is granite outcrop situated about 1.5 hours east of Melbourne. The surrounding area is heavily forested, picturesque but is not suitable for climbing in the winter.

It's a five minute walk in from the road and contains around 40 routes protected by a mixture of bolts and trad gear.

You can belay from the tourist guard railing or set up top ropes. Most routes involve friction slabbing. The rock is very fine grained making slab moves sometimes slippery.

Update: 25 Sep, 2011. Many routes may need cleaning to be safely climbed on lead.

Access issues

[As at 12 March 2018 Ben Cairn Road closed both ends due to landslip. Practically impossible to access].

From Melbourne take the Maroondah Highway to Healesville. Go through town, past the bridge, turn right at Don Rd and go 9.8km to a junction. Keep driving about 8km and the road becomes dirt. You pass a sign stating "Ben Cairn 1040m". Walk 5 minutes up the foot track to gain access to the crag.

Note: Both ends of Ben Cairn Road gated in winter. https://traffic.vicroads.vic.gov.au/ for further access information.

Approach

Follow the track marked Ben Cairn from the car park.

Areas

Add area(s) Add topo Reorder Bulk edit
Name
Style
Routes
Ticks
Height
Grades
1
Lower Cliff Area
 All Trad climbing
9
69
12m
2
Main Cliff Area
 Mostly Trad climbing
38
483
19m
20

Activity

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