Ascents in Upper Gara Gorge by Ben Vincent

What a beauty. Skippy has outdone himself here. A fine line with plenty of interest. Plenty of prawning action and forgot to unclip my first draw. But the psych was high. Another Fortress classic!

After a few failed starts I tried something new and got going. A really surprising route that has a bit of everything. Classic find Skippy!

Wow, what a route. Three distinct sections of different styles. I was trying pretty hard for the onsight and went home with a dog. Spent an age chalking up a spoogey key hold and gave it my best. Great job Skippy, an instant Gara Classic

Fun climbing with a punchy start. The challenge set is to establish a direct start and eliminate the current 2m rest from the ground.

A little more prepped than it’s neighbour. Classic Gara crimps with a fun finish!

A punchy, short and sharp number. Was please when enough stayed on to get the send. Really needs some key holds glued if it is to last.

Love the start sequence

A funky number!

A real gem. Gets going from the get-go.

Sick. Can’t believe it took me so long to get on this!

Got this clean on TR but was initially reluctant to unclip my only directional draw to top out. Did so anyway after a wee pause. Gonna be another quality route at the Runway

A short but really good unsuspecting independent climb with three distinct sections in the coolest of places.

Believe the hype. A stellar line in an unsuspecting but stunning location. A gara classic. Nice job fellas.

This thing is gold! I remeber looking up at it 5 or 6 years ago thinking I should get on it one day....that day finally arrived. Sorted the crux on my first shot and had enough juice to get through it on my second. Great route Michael!

Had one go at this as it started spitting and slowly fell away in no-mans land. Good to see Benji get oh so close.

A nice link in route.

Spicy and very high quality.

Very high quality. Very pleased I was peer presured into getting on this. Got wet on the first attempt. Save it for the last problem of the day. Undoubtedly a full traverse also awaits.

Hardest 21 at Gara. Did Carol grade this? I reckon its a 23 at least and possibly 24. 21 pffft! A scenic and exposed very cool climb on small crimpers. Classic Gara at it's best. Will have to come back and work it for a clean send.

For a wee little innocent looking gem this thing packs all the punches....like Skip I must've thrown myself about on this thing a dozen times with the dyno tantalisingly close. So much psych, such a good find Skippy!

An absolute grovel-fest! Great fun though. The jams are solid, getting out from under the roof proved to be the crux. Gear in the wrong place here will result in a deck bro! Bring gloves or tape, and don't pre-place your gear unless you're happy to be bagged out by Carol

A very cool and equally techy route. All the moves are there with some delicate feet placements to move through the two crux sections. And if none of it's working you can always cool off in the creek!

Always fun!

Awesome pumpy route. Great picnic spot and swimming hole, combined with a southerly facing aspect makes this sector a no-brainer in warm weather.

Chains are up and 3metres right of shrub.

Awesome angles and laybacks, powerful moves through the crux.

Thought we'd boulder this one. We set up a landing zone over the gap, which we constructed out of nearby driftwood and then covered it in pads. Was sick! Our platform was then washed away during the next flood. Cool moves through the roof!

A good addition to a fun problem. Good belaying required for the first and second clips.

Nice. First clip is a bit long for short people. A cool cruxy move onto the arete halfway up the climb is the highlight.

Need some more Weet-Bix for this one. Sea Cliff delivers again - Fantastic climbing

Even sweeeeter. Great moves, bit of everything and then it gets better. The extended top-out is icing on the cake.

Sweeeeeet climb. Juggy, powerful right was the crux for me. A little overgrown, but Alan soon located all the holds.

Great start, dyno with the right hand if your under 6"6'.