The Scones, Bouldering

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16 Pocket Boulder

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Summary

Sandstone bouldering area near Glenreagh with a very short approach.

Description

A great mini-crag with nice boulders below it. The crag itself has a variety of juggy faces, aretes, and cracks. Landings are generally quite flat but one or more crash pads are recommended. Some of the problems have deceptively slopey top-outs. The Scones seems to see waves of activity over the years so a wire brush (and possibly an old rope) can be handy if you want to attempt more obscure problems or put up new ones. The area faces west and is on Crown Land.

Although many problems have been done over the years. Until the development of this guide, none had been recorded. They have been described as 'Projects' in this guide but should be updated with a name and grade as they get 'repeated'.

Access issues inherited from New South Wales and ACT

If you have benefited from climbing infrastructure in NSW, please consider making a donation towards maintenance costs. The Sydney Rockclimbing Club Rebolting Fund finances the replacement of old bolts on existing climbs and the maintenance of other hardware such as fixed ropes and anchors. The SRC purchases hardware, such as bolts and glue, and distributes them to volunteer rebolters across the state of New South Wales. For more information, including donation details, visit https://sydneyrockies.org.au/rebolting/

Approach

The Scones are about 100m east of the Orara Way, 6.7km north of the Golden Dog in Glenreagh.

From Glenreagh, drive 6.3km until you see Boundary Rd on the western side. It is best to park somewhere here and walk to the boulders ( as opposed to where it is shown on the map). To see where the boulders are drive another 400m and bust a U-turn. The boulders are visible from the road , on the eastern side. The first boulder you will encounter if you walk from this end is Oreo.

The routes are described in two areas: the south and north. The south area is described starting at Kremnos boulder, going up to the crag, south along the crag and then back through the boulders. The northern areas are described from south to north.

Ethic inherited from Coffs Harbour

Climbing ethics in the Coffs Harbour area generally follow those of the rest of Australia. The sandstone often offers solid, natural protection which should be used instead of fixed protection where possible. Tape, ribbon, or something similar tied around a bolt or inserted in the route will indicate an incomplete route. Please respect these routes as projects until the marker is removed.

History

History timeline chart

The Scones was first visited in the late 1980s by Larry Dixon and his mates but in those days 'bouldering' consisted of soloing high ball cracks and faces. Being about 20 years before the introduction of crash pads, bouldering was a lot more serious. No boulder problems were ever recorded in this era. The area saw sporadic visits over the next two decades but energy was mainly focussed on the developing sport climbing areas.

The Scones was 'rediscovered' by Ben Whittaker and Artie Schultz in the mid 2000's, who bought a modern bouldering ethic to the area. They established around 30 problems from short and steep through to high and scary including the routes on the classic Kremnos Boulder. They called the area 'Kremnos', due to the northern boundary being flanked by Kremnos creek.