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Tiger Face Mostly Trad climbing 15 routes in crag

15
AU
1517192123

Summary

Roughly 800m of super daunting cliff: 60m high at its lowest point (N.E. Buttress) and 140m high at its highest (just left of The Graveyard Ridge).

Description

Very few routes established here, due to the severe overhanging lower sections. The one accessible section has seen routes on top of routes established. About 10-12 routes in 800m of cliff, with 5-6 of those all at the Solar Quartet area.

Climbs arranged L to R.

Access issues

Access from the sluice gate all the way to the big gully below "Heartbreak Ridge" is across private land, please stay on the QPWS fire track.

Approach

Very severe approach:

  1. Tiger Face LHS:

From the sluice gate, walk up the hiker's track to the tree line, continue for another 200m until you see the first National Parks sign on the track:

Tiger Face - 20200801_160941-R.jpg

behind you, about 20-30m on the right, you will see a faint track heading off right into the scrub:

Nympho Buttress - N.E. Crags access track

Follow this down to & across the gully, then up the steep slope to the cliffs left of The Hourglass Cliffs and climb these (grade 4-5)

Tiger Face - Access cliffs.jpg

Tiger Face - Tiger Face access track

Continue up the nasty scree slope above till you arrive at the cliffs.

Access time roughly 1.5-2hrs.

  1. Tiger Face RHS:

Up the slope from the sluice gate to where the QPWS fire access track crosses the paddock and turn Right:

North West Columns - Track turn-off

follow this bulldozed track/road down around left below a knoll, then right along to a grassy paddock till you come to a steep fire track & turn Left up this. When you come to the main fire track above, turn Right and follow this along until it ends at the deep gully & clamber up "Heartbreak Ridge" on the other side (100-110m vertical gain):

Paparazzi Cliff - Heartbreak Ridge

up to The Insignificant Cliff:

The Insignificant Cliff - Insignificant - stitched.JPG

turn right & continue, following the cliff line to Paparazzi Cliff:

Tiger Face - 20200119_174913.jpg

turn Left up here for about 10-15m, then turn Right & walk through some bush-boys & scrub to cross a narrow ledge on a small cliff face. Continue up the scree slope, then rockface till you arrive at a corner (4-5m high - grade 2-3 scramble) below The Graveyard Ridge, scramble up this & make your way up through the nasty chest high vegetation to your desired spot.

Access time 2-2.25hrs

Ethic inherited from Mt Maroon

Sport bolting is a big no-no here. If you place a bolt here, you'd better have a damn good reason, even then, expect it to be chopped.

History

History timeline chart

Named by Rick White; a "Tiger" in 1968 climbing terminology was a very strong leading edge climber. Back then, the toughest grade in Australia was 18!

The very first route to breach The Tiger Face was Rick & Chris' "Tiger Face Escape Route" in 1968.

Later developed by Trevor Gynther & Tony Kelly who established 5 routes here in the early to mid 70s. Trevor & Tony became totally hooked on the Tiger Face & turned it into a project, hauling 20l containers of water up & then filling them bit by bit. One day they came back to find there'd been a bush fire & the water containers were melted.

Trevor took a serious, 15m whipper off a project (on the blank face right of POV), & busted his ankle & had to roll downhill, then crawl back to the car - a 6hr trek.

Chris Frost established several routes here with various partners in the 80s: Chris & Kim Carrigan established a very bold route here in the 90s. In an interview with me, Kim said that the Carrigan-Frost (24) route was one of the most serious routes in Qld.

Evan Bieske & Peter Lehman established a route here in the late 80s: Kelvinator Country - named after the refrigerator sized block that came off during the first ascent.

Darrin Carter established a route here in the 90s, as did Saul Squires with .

Henk Morgans & party established the very hard "Solar Quartet" in 2004.

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Some content has been provided under license from: © Australian Climbing Association Queensland (Creative Commons, Attribution, Share-Alike 2.5 AU)

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Routes

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1
18 Kelly-Gynther Route Trad 70m, 2

Start: At a block (shown on topo), below a crackline on a clean face, far LHS of Tiger Face, just Right of The N.E. Buttress.

Up the crack-line, to the overhang, & up through this.

FA: Tony Kelly & Trevor Gynther, 1972

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2
23 Bright-Kembery-Squires Route Mixed trad 120m, 2

Start: about 50-70m Right of the N. E. Buttress, 40-50m Left of TRHFD.

Height is a best estimate only.

Route details & pitches unknown.

FA: Saul Squires, Miles Bright & Neil Kembery

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3
18 M4 The Red Haired Farmer's Daughter Aid 120m, 4

Start: About 100m right of the N.E. Buttress (see topo of start) in the shallow corner. The initial 1st belay block is now gone.

  1. 47m 18 - Up the crack/corner.

  2. 25m M4 - Up Right to bolt belay.

  3. 16m 16/M1 - Step Right from top nut, up, free to tree belay(?).

  4. 20m 12 - Stay left of mank gully, left up ramp.

  5. 12m 13 - Crack to top.

Named after they spotted a girl on horseback that day. (Length of route is an approximation only)

Trevor's original notes: "trees" may no longer exist.

FA: Trevor Gynther & Tony Kelly, 1975

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4
23 Sharrock Route #1 Mixed trad 120m, 1

Start: About 40-50m downhill from TRHFD.

Unknown details of route. Height & grade are guesstimates.

FA: Glen Sharrock, 1995

5
Sharrock Route #2 Mixed trad 120m, 2

Up the sloping corner.

Height & grade are unknown.

FA: Glen Sharrock

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6
23 The Carrigan-Frost Route Trad 120m, 3

Start: at the first easy access section of cliff, behind a big gum tree (see photo topo).

  1. 50m 23 - Straight up on thin holds & small gear with big run-outs.

  2. 20m 14 - Short & easy pitch, trending slightly left

  3. 40m 21 - Straight up, then trend right to merge with last pitch of K.O.E's.D.

(Height is approx.)

Kim: pitches 1&3; Chris: pitch 2

FA: Kim Carrigan & Chric Frost, 1996

7
22 Knocking On Evan's Door Trad 120m, 4

Start: Right of TC-FR. Shares pitch 1 with Zoomers On Speed.

  1. Straight up

  2. Out left from belay, above overlap, trend Left to belay.

  3. Straight up to 3rd belay

  4. Crux pitch: Straight up, passing an old Petzl bolt to very loose top-out. This pitch merges with TC-FR.

(Route length is approximate)

FA: Chris Frost & Jon Pearson, 1989

8
22 Zoomers On Speed Trad 120m, 4

Start: Right of SQ & TC-FR.

  1. Up the first pitch of KOED.

  2. Up trending slightly Right.

  3. Up trending Right into corner.

  4. Straight up to top.

(Route length is approximate)

FA: evan bieske, Bill Lukin & Chris Frost, 1987

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9
23 AID:A1 ★★★ Solar Quartet Aid 130m, 4, 25

Start: About the same as for TCFR. Bolts + trad.

  1. 45m 17 - From large tree left of a large right leaning corner crack, up steep slab trending right to the orange wall and DBB at overhanging corner.

  2. 25m 22 - Up steeply into corner (careful of loose blocks), first bolt is high & natural placements available pretty sustained up corner then onto face following bolts to DBB. The best pitch!

  3. 25m 23 A1 - Up face small cam placement in crack on left, trend right towards overhang (very tricky moves through the overhang) follow to the large ledge with a tree and DBB. (This pitch is run out and will need another bolt after the lip of the overhang)

  4. 25m 21 - Follow BRs to DBB. You’ll need a dozen brackets for this pitch. (pitch 3 not free as yet & open to anyone)

FA: henk morgans, peter jones, Nick Bilton & James Fisher, 2005

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10
19 Plate Of Vegetables Trad 120m, 4

  1. 30m 19 - Start at vague left facing corner 100m left of The Graveyard Ridge (wait for photo upload). Crux pitch; up this on thin holds & run-out gear to easier ground.

  2. 45m - Up the slab, trending toward the prominent right facing corner & crack above. Sparse gear.

  3. 20m - Up the crack corner (off-width) to ledge.

  4. 12m - Up the short face above to top-out

(Route lengths are approximate, but can be done in 3 pitches on today's 60m ropes.)

Named at the restaurant in Beaudesert, after the FA.

Tony took a big fall on pitch 2, running it out with no modern gear back then & ended up straddling a Bushboy stump.

FA: Tony Kelly & Trevor Gynther, 1972

11
18 The Vapors Trad 130m, 5

Start: First pitch is possibly Plate Of Vegetables, heading out Right.

  1. 17 __m - Start up the thin finger crack just left of Kelvinator Country.

  2. 14 __m - Traverse Right across the face.

  3. 17 __m - Traverse Right across the face.

  4. 12 __m - unknown

  5. 18 __m - unknown

(Route length is approximate. Data from Screamer mag, Spring 1989 & Chris Frost.)

FA: Chris Frost & Bill Lukin, 1986

12
19 Kelvinator Country Trad 120m, 3

  1. Start right of POV, route trends right across the blank face

  2. Unknown

  3. Ending up in the trees & vegetation on the right.

FA: evan bieske & Peter Lehman, 1987

13
17 Fortune Cookie Trad 140m, 4

Start: about 70m Left of The Graveyard Ridge corner, just left of a 2m corner.

  1. 20m 16 Up, then trend Right, to groove, then up to belay.

  2. 32m 17 Up, then trend Left, then up cracks, Right across pillar to stance & belay on block.

  3. 30m 16 Up, then trend Right, up Left, then Right, belay at roof.

  4. 60m 14 Up Left, then up, trending Right as you will.

FA: Robert Staszewski & Trevor Gynther, 1978

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14
18 Stacked Bacon Mixed trad 140m, 2

Start: Roughly 15-20m left of where The Graveyard Ridge meets The Tiger Face. A prominent column + crack/corner (see topo).

  1. 20m 17 - Up wall for about 20m, then out right onto small ledge & tree(?) belay.

  2. 33m 14 - Back out left, & up the crack & over blocks passing a home made bolt plate:

    Tiger Face - bolt+plate-Stacked Bacon

  3. 39m 18 - Over block, trending Left, to tree belay(?).

  4. 15m 7 - Left up wall to large gum(?).

  5. 35m 14 - Groove to top.

(Highest part of the cliff, route length is approximate.)

Note: these are Trevor's original 1975 notes, so "trees" may no longer exist.

FA: Trevor Gynther & Alan Stephens, 1975

15
15 M3 A Slice Of Cold Mutton Aid 130m, 4

Start: Unknown. "Easy free crack start. Mixed free + aid."

  1. 47m 14/M3 - "Left from the overhang to bolt belay."

  2. 37m 15 - "Up and across Right."

  3. 34m 13 - "Stay Right, avoiding the mank."

  4. 12m 13 - "Crack to top."

(Trevor's notes)

FA: Trevor Gynther & Tony Kelly, 1975

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Tiger Face - Right of TCFR-18

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