A Crag Guide gives an extensive view of all sub areas and climbs at a point in the index. It shows a snapshot of the index heirachy, up to 300 climbs (or areas) on a single web page. It shows selected comments climbers have made on a recently submitted ascent.
At a minor crag level this should be suitable for printing and taking with you on a climbing trip as an adjunct to your guidebook.
This guide was generated anonymously. Login to show your logged ascents against each route.
Warning
Rock climbing is extremely dangerous and can result in serious injury or death. Users acting on any information directly or indirectly available from this site do so at their own risk.
This guide is compiled from a community of users and is presented without verification that the information is accurate or complete and is subject to system errors. By using this guide you acknowledge that the material described in this document is extremely dangerous, and that the content may be misleading or wrong. In particular there may be misdescriptions of routes, incorrectly drawn topo lines, incorrect difficulty ratings or incorrect or missing protection ratings. This includes both errors from the content and system errors.
Nobody has checked this particlular guide so you cannot rely on it's accuracy like you would a store bought guide.
You should not depend on any information gleaned from this guide for your personal safety.
You must keep this warning with the guide. For more information refer to our:
Usage policy
Contributors
Thanks to the following people who have contributed to this crag guide:
Robert Mudie Wendy Eden Campbell Gome Douglas Hockly Kieran Loughran benwiessner Brendan Heywood Paul Badenoch Ben Hanley Matt Brooks
The size of a person's name reflects their Crag Karma, which is their level of contribution. You can help contribute to your local crag by adding descriptions, photos, topos and more.
Some content has been provided under license from: © Australian Climbing Association Queensland (Creative Commons, Attribution, Share-Alike 2.5 AU)
Table of contents
- 1.
Colosseum Wall Area
49 in Crag
- 1.1. Comic Strip Wall 14 in Cliff
- 1.2. The Thimble 8 in Cliff
- 1.3. Colosseum Wall 27 in Cliff
- 2. Index by grade
1. Colosseum Wall Area 49 routes in Crag
- Summary:
-
All Trad climbing
Lat / Long: -36.764754, 141.847881
Stick to the paths.
Don't disturb the wildlife.
Routes near peregrine falcon nesting sites are closed in the spring.
Minimise the impact of your camping (fuel stoves not fires, take your rubbish with you, etc).
description
Colosseum Wall is the last significant outcrop as you head South (L along the cliff line).
Emergency Location : Mount Arapiles, Colosseum Wall Area
access issues
Cultural heritage closures now apply to some parts of Arapiles. This advice continues to evolve and may not be fully reflected in this website; refer to Parks Victoria for details applicable at the time of your visit. https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/-/media/project/pv/main/parks/documents/management-plans/mount-arapiles-tooan-state-park/mount-arapiles-tooan-state-park---aboriginal-cultural-heritage-protections---october-2020.pdf
Bird Nesting September-December Raptors usually nest on the following climbs in Spring : Cassandra, Eurydice, Harlequin Cracks, Revelations. Nesting usually finishes mid-December. There may or may not be signs in place at these times. Please keep 50m clear of these climbs if there appears to be nesting activity.
State Park - no dogs. No fires allowed Oct-Apr (inclusive).
approach
10 minute walk from pines campground. Stay on the low track until you can see the walls then head up.
ethic
Mount Arapiles is first and foremost a trad climbing area. The few sport climbs tend to be in the higher grades where no natural pro is available.
Bolting, particularly retro-bolting, is discouraged and should only be undertaken after extensive consultation with the local climbers, first ascensionists, etc. Inappropriately placed bolts have been chopped.
Do not chip the rock.
Look after the park.
|
1.1. Comic Strip Wall 14 routes in Cliff
- Summary:
-
Lat / Long: -36.765043, 141.848037
description
The wall about 60m south of Colosseum Wall.
Emergency Location : Mount Arapiles, Colosseum Wall Area
approach
10 minutes walk from the camping ground.
descent notes
Rap anchor in the middle of the wall or scramble off L for the routes from Sausage of the Century - Popeye.
Scramble off R for Asteroids and the routes to its right.
|
||||||||
Route | Grade | Style | Selected ascents | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
★ Sausage Of The Century
Bouldery start then move rightwards into the line. Start at the vague line towards the L end of the wall. FA: Jon Muir, Rod Young, Mike Law-Smith & Glenn Tempest, 1981 | 19 | 12m | |||||
2 |
★ Oogie Boogie
A pair of weaknesses lead to a bulge, which succumbs to a layback/mantle. Start just R of Sausage Of The Century. FA: Mark Barnett & Rod Young, 1981 | 21 | 10m | |||||
3 |
Boogie Boogie
A miniscule direct middle to Oogie Boogie. Straight under the DRB anchor. FA: Douglas Hockly & Wendy Eden, 2 Nov 2015 | 22 | 10m | |||||
4 |
★ Limp
In the same vein as Je Suis Un Legend, links all the easiest bits of the existing routes to create a conceptual megaclassic. Unfortunately the climbing is only one star. Start up Oogie Boogie, go diagonally right to join the top of Asteroids and finish up it. Up the slab (a touch runout) and right up the corner to finish. Its possible to keep traversing from the final corner/groove to the chains of Hyperspace Bypass (below top of cliff). FA: Douglas Hockly & Wendy Eden, 7 Oct 2015 | 18 | 20m | |||||
5 |
★ The Wizard of Id
Warning Flora and Fauna: Skeleton Fork Fern Steep jugs, crack, face. Start R of OB, just L of overhangs, beneath small flake on bulge. FA: Rod Young & Mark Barnett, 1981 | 20 | 10m | |||||
|
||||||||
Route | Grade | Style | Selected ascents | |||||
6 |
★ Popeye
Warning Flora and Fauna: Skeleton Fork Fern Start in V corner, soon moving left until under large jammed blocks. Pull through the bulge, then up vertical seam, then step up and left. Soon after, traverse left to the ledge with rap station. FA: Rod Young & Mark Barnett, 1981 | 20 | 20m | |||||
7 |
★ Asteroids
Warning Flora and Fauna: Skeleton Fork Fern Starts at the same corner as for Popeye, then steps up and right to a higher V-corner. Pass the bulge using the big pockets, then higher to where the angle eases. From here you can either traverse far left (to 'The Wizard of Id' abseil station), or veer right up the dirty weakness (to 'Vogon Destructor Fleet' abseil station). FA: Rod Young & Chris Shepherd, 1981 | 22 | 20m | |||||
8 |
★ Vogon Destructor Fleet
Warning Flora and Fauna: Skeleton Fork Fern Start right of Asteroids, head up to small V in overhang below bolts. Follow bolts through bulges, then 2 bolts trending right through head wall to shared anchor with 'Hyperspace Bypass'. FA: Wendy Eden & Douglas Hockly, 17 Oct 2015 | 23 | 20m, 4 | |||||
9 |
★ Hyperspace Bypass
Warning Flora and Fauna: Skeleton Fork Fern Up short corner 2m right of 'Vogon Destructor Fleet' to bolts, then up right line of bolts in head wall, finishing left to shared anchor with VDF. FA: Wendy Eden & Douglas Hockly, 2015 | 22 | 20m, 4 | |||||
10 |
★ Hyperspace
Shallow corner then R through bulges. Start at bushes R of 'Asteroids'. FA: Chris Shepherd & Rod Young, 1981 | 22 | 20m | |||||
|
||||||||
Route | Grade | Style | Selected ascents | |||||
11 |
Letting Go (variant)
The orange flake start, bolted by peter stebbins. Doubtful it's been done. | 20m, 1 | ||||||
12 |
★★ Letting Go
The others noodled around for a few days cleaning up the easy stuff, then Moorhead produced this! Sustained, with a strenuous bouldery crux. In fact, two bouldery strenuous cruxes. Start at short black flake 10m R of 'Hyperspace'. Flake to grey coloured RB, L to pockets (#4 friend), then R up flake to tough finish. FA: Mark Moorhead & Jon Muir, 1981 | 26 | 15m, 1 | |||||
13 |
★ Failing New Romantic
The original start climbed a tree, which has since fallen down. Following this you needed to batman to a the bolt and start at the flake. An independent right hand start which goes free from the ground was later bolted and climbed. Start at the next flake R of 'Letting Go'. Climb the edges up the face to the R, then layback with difficulty up weakness past another bolt. Originally given 24 with a rumour it was hard for the grade. FA: Steve Howden, Chris Shepherd & Kim Carrigan, 1982 FFA: Kevin Lindorff & Hywel Rowlands, 2018 | 25 | 15m, 2 | |||||
14 |
★ Slime Time
Originally 26 in the best of Law sandbagging tradition. Quite good, and not particularly slimy. Reachy though, looks way harder below about 6' reach. Start R of 'Failing New Romantic'. 2 bolts up the seam, step L, then finish past a couple of fixed wires. FA: Mike Law & Paul Hoskins, 1982 | 28 | 15m, 2 |
1.2. The Thimble 8 routes in Cliff
- Summary:
-
Lat / Long: -36.764657, 141.847597
description
15m back up L from Colosseum Wall is this little outcrop. The front face is quite attractive but its a bit short.
|
||||||||
Route | Grade | Style | Selected ascents | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
★★ Yakshini
The line just L of the arete. Start on the black back wall of The 'Thimble' which faces 'Comic Strip Wall', 1m L of the arete. FA: Hanut Singh-Dodd, Kasia Kazimierczak & Martin Lama, 1992 | 16 | 11m | |||||
2 |
The Last In Line
The arete. Start just R of 'Yakshini'. FA: Martin Lama & Hanut Singh-Dodd, 1992 | 19 | 11m | |||||
3 |
Nothing Too Serious
Short corner then R and up. Start 1m R of 'The Last In Line'. FA: Martin Lama & Hanut Singh-Dodd, 1992 | 16 | 10m | |||||
4 |
Stabbur
Beware loose block. Adequacy of pro is unknown. Join 'Nothing Too Serious' at the top. Start 3m R of NTS, just L of tree. FA: Patrik Alsebv, 1995 | 24 R | 12m | |||||
5 |
★ Thimble
The crack. Start beneath the R side of the front face. FA: Kevin Lindorff & Peter Lindorff, 1977 | 18 | 9m | |||||
6 |
★ Pinpricks Of Blood
Long moves between good holds. Start direct. Size 3 Camalot handy. Finish right onto the arete. FA: Douglas Hockly & Paul Deacon, 2009 | 22 | 10m | |||||
7 |
★ Wingspan
Start on arête up and left past bolt up to break 3cam then straight up to top of head wall small wires, then finishing out right on arête and up to high anchor | 23 | 10m, 1 | |||||
8 |
★ Drowsy Drivers Die
The arete. Start 2m R of 'Thimble'. FA: Roland Foster & James Anderson, 1989 | 24 | 9m, 2 |
1.3. Colosseum Wall 27 routes in Cliff
- Summary:
-
Lat / Long: -36.764411, 141.847721
description
Colosseum Wall is the last significant outcrop as you head South (L along the cliff line).
Emergency Location : Mount Arapiles, Colosseum Wall Area
approach
10 minutes walk from the camping ground. Follow the track S (L along the cliff line).
descent notes
Descend via the rap anchor at the top of Spasticus.
|
||||||||
Route | Grade | Style | Selected ascents | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Fitzroy Street
Wall 5 metres left of 'Crucifixion'. Hopelessly contrived. You can sort of make an OK 21 out of it by zigzagging left and right. FA: Martin Grullich, 1986 | 26 | 12m, 4 | |||||
2 |
★ Crucifixion
Grunt your way up the offwidth crack on the wall around left from 'The Rack'. FA: Chris Dewhirst, Alec Campbell & Bruce Osborne, 1966 | 16 | 12m | |||||
3 |
★ Blasphemy
Start at the arete just L of 'Christian Crack'. Up the corner on the arete, trend right past FH, before landing on the ledge. From here you work your way back right, and the theory is that you finish up the arete, but inevitably the holds lead you further right, such that it feels contrived to avoid finishing up 'Christian Crack'. FA: Kim Carrigan & Louise Shepherd, 1979 | 22 | 15m, 1 | |||||
4 |
★★ Christian Crack
Excellent sustained climbing up the line with great pro. A borderline classic. There are two striking cracks on the wall on the left side of Colosseum Wall - this is the left one. Ann Pauligk's 1977 ascent was the first Aussie female ascent at this grade. FA: Chris Baxter & Andrew Smith, 1966 FFA: Joe Friend, 1974 | 20 | 13m | |||||
5 |
★★ The Rack
People rave about this being a brilliant jamming testpiece, when in fact its a one move wonder ... so ticking it doesn't prove you're a jamming maestro. It's a very nice little climb though. The crack 3m R of 'Christian Crack'. FA: John Ewbank, 1968 | 18 | 13m | |||||
6 |
The Bolt
Start just R of 'The Rack' and go up past the BR. FA: Russell Chudleigh, 1984 | 21 | 13m, 1 | |||||
7 |
Spasticus
The scrubby corner. | 5 | 10m | |||||
8 |
★ No Wall At All
A low bolt then try not to die above that. Start: Start between 'Spasticus' & 'Nero'. FA: Mike Law-Smith, 1981 | 22 X | 12m, 1 | |||||
9 |
★ Nero
The crack requires a bit of jamming. Start 3-4m R of the 'Spasticus'. FA: Philip Stranger & Andrew Smith, 1966 | 14 | 13m | |||||
10 |
★ Petronius
Warning Flora and Fauna: Skeleton Fork Fern The steep corner. Start 6m R of Nero. FA: Fred Langenhorst & Bruno Zielke, 1969 FFA: Andrew Thomson, 1977 | 21 | 15m | |||||
11 |
★ Petro-Fy
Arete with poor pro. Start 3m R of 'Petronius' FA: Peter Martin & Mark Savage, 1990 | 24 R | 15m | |||||
12 |
★ Tom Thumb
The layback corner. Start 1m R of 'Petro-Fy'. FA: Bruno Zielke & Fred Langenhorst, 1969 | 14 | 15m | |||||
13 |
Brutus
The corner then finish R. Start 1m R of 'Tom Thumb'. FA: Peter Martin, Rob Tymms & Mark Savage, 1990 | 19 | 20m | |||||
|
||||||||
Route | Grade | Style | Selected ascents | |||||
14 |
★ Castration
LH crack in narrow buttress, then R to a pair of thin cracks. Start beneath the roadside-face of the buttress. FA: Paul Gillis & John Bowen, 1970 | 16 | 15m | |||||
15 |
What Have the Romans Done for Us?
The provided description is as follows: "Offwidth crack on left side of main nose of 'Colosseum Wall'. Not necessarily that new!" This sounds like it should be near 'Castration'. But how an 8m route could be in this vicinity is a bit baffling. Also it sounds like it might be left of 'Castration', but that area is already pretty packed with routes and they're well harder than grade 12. So, an improved description of this would be nice. FA: FRA Biggus Dickus, 1996 | 12 | 8m | |||||
16 |
Toga
The line. Start around R from 'Castration', on the wall facing The Pines, at the initial. FA: Paul Gillis, John Bowen & Peter Lindorff, 1970 | 6 | 12m | |||||
17 |
★ Flavius Maximus
Try to stay out of the chimney, then finish up the crack on the R. The direct finish has also been done by Peter Lindorff. Start just R of the descent chimney. FA: Peter Lindorff, Colin Lindorff & Paul Gillis, 1970 | 15 | 14m | |||||
18 |
Roman Ite Domum
The wall right of 'Flavius Maximus'. This was also written up as 'Tribute To God' in the April 2009 Argus. Over block to undercling, then straight up wall to top. Protection in crack on left of wall. FA: Richard Smith & Greg Pritchard, 1996 | 19 | 10m | |||||
19 |
I've Got A Big Honker
The usual claim of those who don't... Start 8m R of FM. To break (wire on left), then right to bulge. FA: Sam Blainey & Andrew White, 1991 | 20 | 12m | |||||
20 |
The Martyr
The bottomless corner. Start 2m R of 'I've Got A Big Honker'. FA: Julie Tulloch & Bill Andrews, 1975 | 16 | 11m | |||||
21 |
Welease Wodger
I assume its the grey wall between The Martyr wall and the Welease Witchard wall. FA: Graeme "Chapman" Jones & Eric "Idle" Jones, 1996 | 12 | 15m | |||||
22 |
Welease Witchard
5m right of 'Welease Wodger' is a small buttress. This takes scrappy line up left. FA: Smith & Paul Hoskins, 1996 | 12 | 15m | |||||
23 |
Welease Bwian
The right line. FA: Hoskins & Smith, 1996 | 17 | 15m | |||||
24 |
People Called Romans, They Go The 'Ouse
Up the wall 1m right of corner 10m right of 'Welease Bwian'. Continue up crack from ledge at 3/4 height. FA: Hoskins, G. Jones & Smith, 1996 | 21 | 15m | |||||
25 |
Incontinentia Buttocks
The jam crack 10m right of 'People Called Romans, They Go The 'Ouse'. FA: Biggus Dickus, 1996 | 12 | 8m | |||||
26 |
Roaming Knows
The nose on the buttress 8m right of 'Incontinentia Buttocks'. Start on the right side of arete, then up and over nose. FA: Smith, Hoskins, G. Jones & Ed Irvine, 1996 | 14 | 8m | |||||
27 |
Hail Spagnum
The rightward leaning crack around right of 'Roaming Knows'. FA: G. Jones & Irvine, 1996 | 11 | 8m |