Routes as sport in Katoomba Cliffs

One of the best mini-multis for a quick, exposed and scenic adventure in the Blue Mountains. This route is highly visible to the tourist hoards passing overhead on the Scenic Skyway cablecar and nearby lookouts. On a busy weekend expect to be hassled and photographed relentlessly. There have been reported incidents of police meeting climbers on the top-out after tourists thought the climbers were stuck and rang 000.

This route can be done as a run-out sport route (bring 15+ draws) or a saner mixed route with the addition of a single set of cams from #0.75 to #3 Camalot. Long runners are useful to reduce rope-drag and for a thread on pitch 1. This route no longer requires bolt plates.

Start: Make your way to the lookout on the Prince Henry Cliff Walk directly below the Katoomba side of the Scenic Skyway. From the lookout the rap point is on the small but obvious rock platform 30m down and to the left. There is a well beaten dirt track leading to this spot (it's a popular Instagram selfie area)

There are 2 ringbolts to rap off hidden back from the edge obscured by some bushes. Do NOT rap off the 2 carrot bolts a few metres further left. Fix a 70m rope to these anchors and rap down to the major vegetated starting ledge. It is possible to rap and pull ropes if you build an anchor that gets over the top edge. 30m to the mid height rap chain followed by a 40m rap to the bottom of the route. Facing the cliff, the route starts on a ledge a few metres up and to the left of where you touch down with a single bolt belay.

1. 45m (22) A long pitch. After a very hard start move trend right up the ramp. Now climb up and up and up, mainly on jugs, but even so there is one unnerving run out section. A 60cm sling for an obvious thread can mitigate the runout. Eventually you come to the belay chain.

2. 30m (22) An excellent pitch with a couple of tricky sections to keep things interesting. Cams help alleviate runouts. Don't forget to smile for the cameras.

A spectacularly positioned climb up the wall just left of an undercut arete. Has not had a lot of repeats so expect a few spider webs and lichen spots. The 2nd pitch in particular is very sustained and cryptic. Crux on pitch1 can be done direct at 25+ or with a minor variation at 23/24. All bolts on this route are rusted bash-in carrots and should be treated with caution. Most do not have fixed bolt plates - bring at least 10 of your own. Don't forget to wave the tourists below! This is not quite a sport route - bring a single set of cams from 0.25 to #2 to supplement the aging bolts on P2 - and one vital #1 camalot for pitch 1 traverse section.

1. 25m (25) First 3 ringbolts of Hurl then exposed traverse right and up steep juggy wall onto thinner grey rock. Go direct at the hard section with two closely spaced bolts for the (25) version - or traverse right 2m, up, and then back left for the grade 23/24 version. Belay on small ledge at two rusty carrots.

2. 30m (23) Sustained grey wall above with lots of cryptic moves on hard to read rock. Placing the bolt plates is at least half the battle and makes this feel solid 24! Cams certainly help alleviate the stress. Belay on ledge on right side of huge roof at top of arete.

3. 15m (18) Up the dirty ironstone crusted face past 3 hard to see carrot bolts to double ring anchor on ledge (shared with Hurl).

Rap in and climb out on worrisome metal in worrisome rock with worrisome air. Absolutely awesome - come on, step up . .

'Excellent' engaging rope solo . .

Start: Head south fro, lookout down track in gully to chain on block several metres from cliff edge. Rap in past lots of fixed stuff to belay in middle of wall.

Frothy Thomson attempting to Onsight Change Planets

Approached along the main tourist clifftop track from Wally World direction.

From Allambie Lookout, the route is visible as the arete down and 40m to the left (looking out).

Continue walking towards the Three Sisters to next promontory and 2m before wooden drain crosses track (small cliff line to your left); head down right through bush for 6m (down 1m rock step) and around left to 2 ring rap station.

Abseil 6m diagonally left to single ringbolt on clifftop (the route anchors are 3m further down on grey slab).

Re-belay abseil rope and abseil 35m+ down overhanging arete and onto wall and left (looking in) to 3RBB on small foot ledge.

Make sure to bounce off the wall and clip into draws on the way down.

Fix a 60m abseil rope from the top station all the way down; and climb on another rope.

Good climbing, great exposure.

Fantastic steep wall of waterwashed rock on ringbolts. Some of the best rock in Toon Town. This was an old Steve "Moss" Moon project from 1993 that was rebolted and tried, and then finally freed in 2023 accidentally by climbers believing they were on a rebolted Merl! It's easy to combine the first two pitches into one mega pitch which is the recommend way of doing the route.

1. 25m (25) Straight up middle of steep orange wall (shared first 3 bolts with Merl). Pump builds until final battle with a balancy crux flake near the end. Belay on tiny ledge at double ringbolts. 13 bolts.

2. 20m (21) Continue up grey wall above on excellent featured rock. Semi-hanging belay on double rings about 6m below the huge roof.

3. 17m (20) Hard move straight above belay to jugs below massive roof, ignore bolts going up and through the roof (an incomplete project - there are no bolts above the roof!), instead traverse right along jug rail and mantle onto small ledge. Finish up black mossy wall above past 3 ringbolts to ledge and double ringbolts & walk off.