Routen in Diamond Falls

Start 20m right of where the access track meets the bottom of the cliff line. The start is in a small corner faintly marked SS in the middle of the wall capped by a large orange roof.

This may start 25m right of Sweet And Sour at a corner that leads up to a shallow groove on the left hand side of a small wall above the track.

Located about 70m right from the start of the cliff line just beyond where the track makes it way through the middle of a small clump of trees. The first fixed hanger is clearly visible above the chossy start.

Starts up juggy overhanging "arete" a few metres left of obvious dank corner (corner is marked "RF"). The Bolt Bloke goes right just before gaining the headwall proper (Unity goes left). There are no permanent anchors for this climb. Either top out, or traverse a few metres left and use the anchors on Unity (The Bolt Bloke can be cleaned on lower-off from these anchors without any problems).

Located 5m to the right of The Bolt Bloke and is faintly marked with RF behind a tree. There is a fixed hanger 4m off the ground but how you get to it and where you go after it is a mystery.

Faintly marked CB.

2 pitches. Faintly marked CR.

2 pitches. Faintly marked FoY. This appears to be the line of carrots heading up to the right and then into the unknown.

The line of fixed hangers 20m right of The Bolt Bloke.

Techy, punchy, strenuous, and sustained from the 4th bolt onwards. Independent start between Uncouth Youth and You Crazy Diamond. Tough start, then cruisy past 3 bolts trending up and right into start of "groove". Up past 2 bolts to crux, then sustained hard climbing past 3 more bolts, culminating in airy climbing trending left after last bolt to anchors.

Rings 3m right of Family Jewels. Shares a few holds on Crystalis then heads diagonally left to from last bolt to shared anchor with The Family Jewels.

Start as for 'You Crazy Diamond' but between the 4th and 5th bolt follow the line of ringbolts heading left. Finishes at manky two FH & biner rap anchor (not the ringbolt anchor of Family Jewels further left)

Start up You Crazy Diamond for 3 bolts,1 bolt on Crystalis then thinly up new line. One for the old school technical face lovers. Great high stepping pocket crux with many other tricky spots to a high finish up the orange streak.

The classic warm-up of Diamond Falls. Good moves and a long sustained pitch that keeps you thinking all the way to the anchors. Start 12m right of Uncooth Youth, marked by a 23 etched into the rock. Rebolted 2019.

The line of ringbolts up the blunt arête 3m right of You Crazy Diamond. Hard moves getting up to and over the nose and established onto the arête followed by surprisingly pumpy face climbing between well spaced bolts. Finish at the anchors of You Crazy Diamond.

Start as for 8 Carat but at the 3rd bolt traverse right and continue to follow the line of ringbolts on the far side of the arête. 1. 30m (24) Caution: Beware of your rope length. 2. 28m (18).

3 pitches. Start 15m right of 8 Carat. Marked HO. The right facing corner with 2 fixed hangers to start.

Marked. Obvious trad-venture corner system. Originally climbed (and written up in the guidebook) as 3 pitches. Best climbed as 2 x pitches. Six or seven bolt plates, wires with doubles of med/large and a single rack of cams 0.3 - #3.

1. 25m (20) Stick clip fixed hanger with difficulty (stem off tree if vertically challenged), then up hard start past bad rock to gain corner. Wires up corner until it ends. Bolt, then slightly left and up past crux slab and weird unclippable bolt to gain second corner system. Up corner for 5m and belay on obvious ledge with hand sized horizontal breaks on the left, wires and a carrot up on the right.

2. 35m (20) Up harder, steepening corner until below roof (wires and small-medium cams). Carrot, and easy traverse under roof to bolt past lip (clip this to avoid rope getting stuck in the crack), then easy runout headwall to 3 x carrot belay 2m below cliff top. Either bush-bash uphill and left to gain main descent track or grade 3 traverse left, passing one carrot to double rings at top of easy grounds a coming and rap down that route (27m and 28m abseils)

3 pitches.

2 pitches.

Starts up In Harm's Way for one pitch. Nice trad line wandering rightwards across the middle of the large orange wall. Set of wires, set of cams #00 to #5 wild country, double up on #00 to #1.5 extender draws handy.

Access: Abseil to double U bolts with small footledge 15m above the ground. 7 bolts, wires, double set of cams from #0.5 to #4 with triples of #1 and #2.5 (wild country friend), take 20 quickdraws. Has a distinct crux. Climb up and slightly left past 2 U bolts, continue up and slightly left then straight up aiming for 3 fixed hangers half way up the route. There are 2 fixed hangers when you climb through the overhang at the top. Save a #2.5 friend for 4m before last 2 bolts.

Access as for Lucy. 4 bolts, wires, cams from #00 to #0.5 double from #1 to #4 and triple of #3(wild country friends) Start as for Lucy. After the two U bolts continue up past flake systems following line of least resistance. After 20m you will pass 2 rings. Continue up, at major overhang traverse 3m right to double U Belay on Diamonds and Pearls below stepped roof weakness. Continue up Diamonds and Pearls last pitch.

Access as for Lucy. 10 bolts, set of cams from #0.5 to #4 doubles from #1 to #2.5, take 15 quickdraws.

Variant last pitch to Giant Staircase. Rack as for Giant Staircase. At 14m take the left flake past 3 fixed hangers, slightly left then up via main left facing corner system to belay on double U bolts as for Diamonds and Pearls. Continue up Diamonds and Pearls last pitch.

Start up IF for the first 3 bolts then breaks left and a long way up with just the right mix of jugs and techie sequences.

Superdooper fun up an improbable line. Thin crux at 3rd bolt then funky flakes all the way up. Starts 10m before (left of) Diamond Jack.

Start as for Diamond Jack clip the first bolt then break left across the face on a series of crimps to a big flake undercling, dynamically up up and away. Finishes at the Diamond Jack anchors.

Start 25m right of In Harm's Way at the boulders just before the access ledge becomes alarmingly narrow, slopey and exposed.

1. 30m (25) Rebolted (2006). All U bolts. Wonderful climbing up the orange face to a small belay ledge with a 3 ringbolt belay. The top is a little runout, most people just clip the bolts but you can also place med cams if you wish.

2. 30m (19) This pitch drifts right up the good looking wall on very old carrots, and requires 10+ bolt plates and a rebolt. The ringbolts above and slightly left of the first belay are not it - that's Gem Stone. A 2 ringbolt anchor is on the ledge 10m below the top, but is poorly positioned for lowering off because the rope grinds on sharp ironstone.

Diamond Jack for 20m then, instead of stepping L to the easy 10m flake, step R for the top 15m of Girls Best Friend. Adds a bunch more face climbing to DJ including another excellent crux.

Start as for Diamond Jack. At the 5th bolt move right then straight up. Warning: beware of the rope length.

As per Jewel Thief to 4th bolt then straight up. Maybe 25, once you work out all the tricks.

Start as for Diamond Jack and then traverse right and up following the line of ringbolts. Stick clip the first ringbolt as it is quite high and the moves to get to it a little tricky. Beware of your rope length or you may end up down climbing the flimsy tree suspended over the void.

Gem of a second pitch to The Jewel Thief. When you reach the anchors of The Jewel Thief continue up 2m then left 5m passing a ring to reach the first pitch anchors of Diamond Jack, 3 rings and a carrot. Gem Stone starts from this belay. A good fitness extension of Diamond Jack. Also can be accessed by rap from above. Nine rings, double U bolt lower off 1m below top of cliff. 60m should reach on stretch if lowering back to belay anchors. 38m to reach bolt belay if topping out.

70m to the right of Diamond Jack the track passes a large boulder in amongst the trees. Warlock starts another 10m to the right. Marked with a W and the first carrot is visible 3m above the track.

One day soon this will go…?

Short, steep and good. In addition to power you will need loads of body tension to thug your way up this little baby. The first half is one of the better warmups for Mr Wall.

The extension to Mr Wendle. From the anchors of Mr Wendle traverse right along the lip followed by a killer rock over move that may or may not be a heart breaker. Now continue up the wall and finish at the anchors of Impossible Princess.

If the long routes are a little too intimidating this dynamic classic is for you. Fun climbing and jumping between some good holds.

Dont be scared of jumping!

No under dogs here. Shares a similar style to its neighbour Rhythm & Stealth. A lovely start up Impossible Princess leads directly into the wall above, past the Rhythm Method anchors and trending rightward and becoming rather tricky. Finishes on the same anchors as Rhythm & Stealth.

Unfortunately a hold has come off so the original sequence needs to be modified. The original grade is still valid. You just need to start the climb with your hands the right way around, having done that you should be able to unravel yourself along the traverse and set yourself up for the crux.

Start as for Rhythm Method but follow the right hand line of rings up the wall after 4m. Rhythm And Stealth is a rad boulder problem on top of another boulder problem with chunky moves and fingery holds. Quite a nice solid number if the weather is not so good but jugs in the cold.

Independent line starting a few metres right of Rhythm Method.

Variation to Mr Pink.

Boulderyness to top of cliff, anchors over lip up high and left past the "lonely virgin" finger lock.

Start: double dyno off cool slopes on boulder wall.

Tucker Time is sooooo rad. A technical boulder problem on the face down low leads to a massive rest you can bury bodies in, then truckin' on upward is another little punch followed by the crux of Super Duper Goo and finish with the best roof climbing known to man. Skip the last two bolts in the roof, get a little slack and take the cleanest 20m fall you've ever had.

Tucker Time.

Superb technical and powerful climbing the whole way, requiring much more fitness than most Blue Mtns routes. The pumpy runout finish just adds to what is a truly memorable route.

The pumper extension to Mr Magoo through the roof, the holds are good but the pump is mega.

Great climbing getting continually harder as you go. Start as for Mr Magoo but after the sixth bolt head left crossing Tucker Time and continue left and over the left side of the roof.

Tuckered Out is probably the best route on the wall, grade wise, climbing wise and fun wise. It has so much more climbing than most of the other routes. Climb Super Duper Goo but finish up the roof of Tucker Time.

Start as for Mr Meaner for 3 bolts then move a bit L. Sustained crimping for about 10m of independent climbing, eventually joining the top flake of Mr Magoo. Continue into Super Goo to the top of the cliff.

A good, less steep offering. A hard start that can be done many ways sets you up for a good rest followed by great consistent climbing. A big crux move guards the anchor jugs and easier climbing. Conservation is the name of the game on this one. Soft, and a small number of (mostly tall) climbers take 29, but for now there is still a clear consensus that it's 30.

One of the classic test piece 26's in the mountains that keeps you working from start to finish.

Start as for Super Weak to the horizontal break then thin moves to decent rest, big moves on big holds to finish. A touch easier than the original but you still have to do its crux traverse.

The continuation of Mr Weak. Trend right 2 bolts before the end of Mr Weak Via a couple of extra bolts punch the roof and finish at the obvious horn feature at the top of the cliff. Shares the anchor of Mister Glücklich.

A slight variation to Zac's original vision for the line. Start as for "Mister Gluecklick for the first 3 bolts then straight up the flake and finish up "Theda Bara". Enjoy.

An enjoyable outing.

Very sequency and originally graded 33 with consideration to modern climbing strengths and a loss of old school techniques. However it seems the modern climbers' old school techniques were underestimated. As a result most ascentionists consider the route to be about 30, with a few different sequences possible. As more people tick the route, the consensus grade will average out.

Was for four years the hardest route in the country. A classic Miller route, involving a fine balance of power and precision.

The greatness of life is impossible to realise before you cast your eyes upon this, the route of all routes. At the time of completion it was the hardest route in the country and the hardest climbed by an Australian. Up Fantastic Mr Fox and without dangling about on the rest, bust up and into a thin crux until you reach Grey Area's rest, shake out here then finish up Grey Area and climb to the top of the cliff.

Ever imagined what the best route in the cosmos would be like?...wonder no longer and get yourself down to DF today! The most technical, fingery, tensiony, positiony, brain flaking hard route around. There is no route better.

To avoid entirely stealing/climbing what was Ben's project (FMF), a variant was done in which all of the business of Ben's project is climbed. Hence the name.

A crag classic. Originally bolted and chipped by Kim Carrigan, this was the first route after Giles' Hairline 2000 to be climbed. The climbing on this landmark route is typical of the Blue Mountains. (Chipping is by no means a theme of the crag and is actually limited to this route. This route gives no justification for further manufacturing here or anywhere else in the Blue Mountains.)

Garth

Bypasses the top crux of Mr Universe by traversing right into Mr Carpet Burn and then climbs back across the jugs at the top of MCB to the chains of MU. Some have climbed this thinking they were doing MU but in fact missed the crux of MU. Still a fun outing nonetheless.

Stu Rhys

Packs a punch for the grade and the length. Start as for Mr Carpet Burn but at the mid height crimp rail traverse left and finish up Fantastic Mr Fox. Be sure to climb straight up from the last bolt via the poor right hand three finger pocket (which has crumbled away a bit which probably changes things) and the left hand door knob (not to give you beta ) - this is the crux of Mr Universe. People have been known to circumvent this crux by going right into Mr Carpet Burn at the last bolt and to traverse back on the jugs, thus completing said circumvention - this is the "28" (ha ha) version called Mr Puniverse (see above).

Australia's first 35 (albeit noting the question of how to grade Wheel of Life). An open project for over a decade. Alex took about 20 shots to send it, not long after he'd onsighted 9a at Siurana.

Ascents

• Alex Megos - 18 August 2013
• Wiz Fineron - 14 May 2019
• Ben Cossey

The first climb at DF, and widely considered to be one of the absolute best routes at any grade in the whole Blue Mountains. Giles sure knows how to pick them.

A 2m variant which usefully avoids some crumbled sandy holds on the original. Most people do Hairline 2000 this way.

People complain about link-ups, but if it's fun it's fun and this one's great. Up Hairline 2000 to the rest then right into the crux of Mr Tickle .... delishious.

A great line, fun moves and quite sustained.

Supposed to be the easier variant to Mr Tickle, some people lacking adequate forearm fitness actually find it to be harder. Start as for Mr Tickle but traverse left and finish up Hairline.

Often overlooked, but a fun climb in a nice position, with some interesting bouldery moves to a sting in the tail. Don't be put off by the obvious broken holds, it still goes. The anchor is now abysmal, for anyone looking for some rebolting. It’s also possible to start up Dogbite at the same grade to avoid clogging up the start of Hairline.

Bouldery and gymnastic with an engaging thought provoking finish. Needs a very alert belayer on the start moves as the too-low 1st bolt barely keeps you off the deck if the start holds are wet and you spooge off the (otherwise easy) move.

"The Ticklish Dog". At times a link-up is better than both halves and this recent addition proves this. An absolute classic. Climb Dogbite to the bottom of the slab then go left via a fantastic boulder problem to the marginal rest on Mr Tickle, squeeze this for all it's worth then to the top of this route.

The last route on main wall. Starts 1m R of Dogbite then keeps drifting R around onto the next face.

If Super Weak is too busy/sunny/windy, head around the corner to this less travelled sport adventure. A bouldery start leads to some interesting easier climbing and time for quiet reflection. Start as for Some Kind of Bliss and go left at the 2nd or 3rd bolt.

One of the best warmups here. Also good for end of day mileage, being in shade later than all other routes. Climb Slinky Dog for 4 bolts then move left into You Did it Again just above it’s crux (clip YDiA’s 4th bolt from above, then backclean SD's 4th bolt) and follow YDiA to the top. Maybe 24 if you’ve got the Bliss start wired.

Start up Woody then left onto the ledge, craft a way through the next bulge then easier climbing above. Not in 2015 guide? Treat the grade with suspicion.

A short but very hard number though the bulge before the bliss traverse. Pretty much V9+ on a rope. Unrepeated??

Another early classic. Enjoy. A few long draws will be handy.

A nice long excursion, some say easier than 'Some Kind of Bliss', some say harder. Great rock and position all the same.

Start: Start as for 'Some Kind of Bliss', go right after the 1st bulge.

A couple of bolts up high need replacing.

Traverse past SKOB for another 2 bolts then bust straight up via a hard pocket boulder, crossing Light Years and up to a chain at the top of the cliff.

Classic jugging! Sustained climbing following a great line on great rock for 40 meters!

Start: As for SKOB but keep traversing far right and up to a massive horn. Continue right for one bolt then make your way up through 3 rooflets, taking the right line of bolts. Traverse right under the final roof and finish topped out above Saturation Point.

From the horn on To Infinity And Beyond push straight up into a hard boulder to join Light Years.. Follow this till the second last bolt then traverse right back onto TIAB and finish out right.

Start: As for 'Some Kind of Bliss', then traverse a loooooong way before weaving up the wall above. A mission.

Nice position, nice moves and a little tricky just to make things interesting.