Einträge in Mount Zero

Most of the following has been copied directly from Kieran Loughran's excellent Amphitheatre guide - thanks!

'Mount Zero' is the northernmost outcrop in The 'Grampians'. Its many outcrops look promising from the road but, in general, that's the best place to stay. 'Sport Crack' and 'Ephemeral Lakes' are of interest to sport climbers and 4 'Cornered' Crag offers reasonable easy climbs. That's about it.

Actually, I lied about staying in the car. The tourist track to the summit of 'Mount Zero' is most enjoyable. At the top, it's heartening to see that some environmentally-conscious people have pinned the summit together so that it doesn't fall apart on us.

Incidentally, 'Mount Zero' was named by Thomas Mitchell in 1836 because the temperature was 32 fahrenheit at dawn on the morning of the ascent. I thought that this was a bit weird but Mitchell was scientifically-minded so his thermometer was marked in Celsius but he had to report to his English masters in Fahrenheit (good German name). Maybe he had a sense of humour, despite his reputation for being pompous.

Most of the following has been copied directly from Kieran Loughran's excellent Amphitheatre guide - thanks!

"Coito, Ergo, Sum". Latin scholars enter at their own risk. One of the nice climbs at 'Mount Zero'.

Most of the following has been copied directly from Kieran Loughran's excellent Amphitheatre guide - thanks!

A collection of buttresses on the north-east slopes of 'Mount Zero' with a couple of good hard routes, another couple of reasonable easy climbs and a lot of choss.

Most of the routes here have their starts initialled in case they get lost (no great loss for the most part). This area was burnt-out in early 1996 so is probably heavy with regrowth by now.

Roof left of "Sport Crack".

It's unfortunate that this crack was bolted, but it's a bit late to do anything about it now. It almost deserves two stars to con sport-climbers into jamming.

Start: On the lowest and east-most crag, there is an overhang with a bolted crack through the ceiling.

Kachoong on roids! 50m uphill from Sport Crack is a wall capped by large roofs. This route climbs right edge of wall then swings left across massive roof flake and straight through the guts of the overhang above. 7 RBs.

Good, strenuous route...unless it's an April Fool's joke.

Leave it for Saddam Hussein. This description is as accurate as a Scud missile.

Start: Start L of 'Ephemeral Lakes'.

The name is much more interesting than the climb.

A very short pump. Desperate and worthless.

You would have to be extremely desperate.

R-leading diagonal for 2m. Delicately up and follow L line.

Start: On the steep, yellow buttress most prominent from the road, just behind (south of) Pangaea Wall. Start 4m L of undercut arete.

Balance R from vegetated chimney for 2m, then up through bulge and up groove.

Start: On a compact, bulging buttress below and R of the highest bluff of 'Pangaea Walls'. Start at distinctive pink-stained rock on L, below tiny roof.

A chossy collection of buttresses on the northern slopes of 'Mount Zero' that is easiest approached from the walking track. The only notable thing here is the potential bouldering cave beside 'Toolondo Waters'.

It was meant to climb the hanging corner but didn't.

Start: Start well below and R of the hanging corner at a distinctive V-corner, just L of the cave.

A bit of a novelty.

Up shallow L-facing corner and slab to dark scoop. Move 5m R to arete and pass upper roof on R.

Start: A small gully 30m R of 'Toolondo Waters' has a black roof to its R. Start 7m R of gully, around the arete.

Up to ledge at 8m then through overhang at U-shaped block.

Start: Start 30m R of Wuggies in Love at blocky, hanging chimney.

A supposedly obvious crag situated a little north-east of the summit distinguished by (surprise, surprise!) four corners. This is the most coherent of the crags at 'Mount Zero' and is probably worth a visit.

The cliff faces north and gets full sun. Climbs are described from left to right.

The left most corner, then move R and up the crack.

Sustained face climbing.

Start: Start up the bulging wall 2m L of 'Future Legend'.

The scrubby second corner, R of Waiting.

The best climb on the crag. The third corner.

Pretty dodgy.

Not nice.

Start: Start just L of 'Lost Daze'.

Up 2m, move L and climb the line up the wall.

Start: Start as for 'Lost Daze'.

The fourth corner.

Past 'Lost Daze' and the unclimbed arete, on the small wall at the end of the cliff. Follow the obvious line.

This area is mostly garbage though the small cliff just below the lookout has some merit.

A big line but not worth it.

Start: About 30m before the hand-rails and stairs traverse around to the R below the summit block and continue down and around until below the trig point and the lookout, below and slightly R of the huge corner.

1. 21m (10) Up a system of vague corners to a large ledge below a roof in the corner.

2. 20m (10) L under the roof and up the chimney-corner to the top.

Quite nice. A left-facing flake crack, well R of 'Twenty Below' and finishing 2m R of the summit lookout fence. Immediately before the lookout, traverse anti-clockwise below the lookout and descend a short chimney to the foot of the summit facet. The line is obvious.

Initial impressions can be deceptive.

Start: The chimney-corner 30m R of 'Little Women'.

Nice face climbing. Take cams to 3½.

Start: Belay in a clear spot just left of 'Little Women'.

Lovely arete.

Start: Start as for 'Little Women'.

Here is another area of choss. Some of the rock here looks good but it doesn't seem that anyone has found it yet. Apparently there have been many worthless climbs done here that have not been recorded. Let's hope that they stay that way.

Beware of falling newspapers? A true cliff-splitter.The chimney that splits the tier R of the overhangs.

Loose.

Start: Maybe 40m R of 'The Age Chimney' is a vague rib just r of twin scooped corners and 40m L of a descent gully.

A face crack 5m L of the corner to a ledge below the overhang. Heavens knows what happens there.

Take the corner to below the overhang. Keep going somewhere.

This very accessible cliff [100m walk in] boasts a handful of good middle grade routes.

30m left of Big Chimney Corner. The vertical face with obvious horizontal breaks left of the wind blown overhangs and before the cliff becomes overhanging again to the left. Start up the slightly easier angled rock in the middle of the face then up past the horizontals to a narrow ledge below a smooth wall. Step left and up a short crack to a large ledge. Finish up the flake corner.

10m right of Ambulance Blues and 20m left of Big Chimney Corner. Just right of a section of wind blown overhangs. Leftward up easy rock to a ledge below overhangs. Pull through the overhangs [suspect rock] at the break to get onto a ledge. Up steeply past a short shallow crack and up the headwall.

10m right of Greater Tuberosity and 10m left of Big Chimney Corner. There is a small left facing flake corner 10m up. Climb up to the base of this corner. Straight up from here, moving left into the shallow water groove at the top.

Between Big Chimney Corner and Volksgrenadier is a well trodden expanse of easy rock. Up anywhere. FA Unknown

The obvious big line where the track meets the cliff. Up the juggy left wall, near the top step across the chimney to a ledge and finish up a short steep corner. FA Unknown

Varied, steep and enjoyable. Appears to be well travelled. Just around the right arete of Big Chimney Corner an undercut start leads to a steep wall, up this to finish up the short corner above. FA Unknown