Ascents in The Fortress

An adventure...

Good on a stinking hot day!

Tricky finish! Set up a fixed line on the project to get some awesome photos of Bryn and Laura

Amazing, super thin climbing in an awesome position. Only got to have the one crack due to weather but will be back for sure.

Very noice

Figured out to the big roof, the moves in the roof are a bit beefy but not too bad then the lip is proper fightin territory to go free. Very keen to make this go.

All figured out, time to turn the burners on

Very close to pulling through the lip

Very cool, done in one pitch

Man I tried so hard but fell at the same spot. Decided to Work on the beta because kept fallin there and found a better way so we'll see

Really hard to protect. I bitched out on the first go because I tried to place the crucial nut before the crux and fucked it completely and below me was like a 0.2 in a detached flake as the entire flake section is all detached so I was like FUCKEN TAAAAAKE. Second go because this was after the like fucken 6 burns on kiss me deadly literally every time I’d clip my biceps would cramp stuck so fell on the crux. Great climbing though!

Holy shit I had to fucken try so god damn hard on the end of this thing so pumpy, felt like I was gonna vomit. So damn good.

cleanin up the doggies

One attempt, fell turning the lip. Managed to figure that out quite quick and it's not too bad but the offwidth at the top is some proper type 2 fun that took a bit of working. Should go in another attempt or 2

Dragged myself up, pulling on draws, with rain moving in. Excellent climbing in a stunning location - one to come back for, one day.

amazing!

leg grazer

Excellent roof awaiting a free ascent

Many many many attempts on this. I found the mantle frustratingly heinous, with my body going into full tension in all directions. An absolutely amazing experience,my first time taking a proper fall on trad gear! I'll be back!

Certified mega classic. Outrageous moves in a spectacular position. Well worth the effort

Outrageous route, highly challenging

Excellent route, with relatively easy access

Cleaning, belaying, faffing around with a belay chair

Bolted arete and worked it

First go on top rope, fell on the stretchy sideways move to the arete and rest on the crux of the arete at the top

First lead attempt, got to arete and 4th bolt and greased off but was pretty happy with that. Found the juicy arete jug hold which I completely missed the first time. I really should have done it again clean...

This thing is great. It looks offwidthy but has surprising side pulls and holds all over the place.

Wow! The chossy start is a little off-putting but this thing is great quality after that. The traverse is good, the roof crack is great, pulling the lip is an utterly sick move getting almost inverted, and the sustained offwidth after that is just plain sickening I laybacked most of the offwidth cause that's how I roll, but it burnt me out, when I finally dragged my arse over top I wanted to chuck. Rope drag was bad, needs lots of long slings.

Utterly stoked to second this clean, one of the hardest brawls I've had with a route. The first layback gets you warm quickly. Was able to rest properly this time in the first roof, busted across and then managed to find an almost comfortable full lie down rest with a knee bar holding me in. Pulled the lip expecting to pop and just held on breathing hard and trying to slow down for the rest. Just lay down for 5 mins at the top trying to breath and not dry retch

We both rapped of in different directions seeing what else was around. Couldn't leave this nice little hand and fist crack undone. We hadn't planned on climbing anything so the only pro we had was a single blue cam - a second cam would have been great. Clipped the jumar on the rap line as a workaround

Rapped off and jugged up taking pics of Sasha, who all-but sent this

Arvo mission mostly doing support. Bloody hot so mostly hunkered in the shade until dusk when I wasn't belaying. Yoyo lead the first section ok but a bit flash pumped. Traverse wore me down, and the roof just felt totally impossible. Jumared out and then ruined myself hauling gear and belaying Ben up on horrendous drag

Benji and Ben went earlier and I knocked off mid arvo and trundled up stylishly late. They'd had a solid session and Ben had already cracked the crux which is just sick. Benji had a go at leading up the first slab and roof crack pitch. Apparently they'd had an epic cleaning session and it showed. After Benji retreated I had a go and "flashed" it. The caveat is I had been on this on our very first session here but I had retreated from the sea of choss, loose dinner plates, and since trundled death boulders.

Benji reckons its a legit flash because it's genuinely so different. It actually climbs well with a fun left hip stretching move through the bulge. Apparently there is a cave I need to explore in there which I completely missed.

Whoa! Epic, daunting, steep, tantalizing, humbling

Lead to first roof and then shut down

Was totally ruined after attempting kiss me deadly. Had a few comical prawn cramps. Got all the moves except the crux at the second bolt. Recommend morning shade and not sweltering arvo direct sun. Maybe 23

Had one flash pumpy burn, figured out the start which ended up being the quite straight forward and exactly how I originally thought it would go. Had a second hang at the 3rd bolt which is probably the true crux. Clean second go. The end feels spicy but you just keep moving and its totally fine.

Didn't pull on, just cleaning and belaying. Found a perfect photo ledge level with the main roof with the water fall in the background

Two goes on top rope and made a lot of progress. This feels very doable now compared to last time. The first roof is not too bad after all, pinch abd layback instead of jam. Second roof is perfect hands for me, the lip is just a constant grunt fest and is more of a stamina thing than pure technical difficulty. Head wall is just more constant fight and thins out and I think you’d want to just punch through it quickly up to the rest before the third little roof. Final section was surprisingly easy and flows nicely. Strained my shoulder / bicep somewhere on the first go and should have taken it easy and cooked it a bit on the second go

This one has been on the list for ages and I should have done it years ago, its one of the best routes in the gorge! It climbs well and it's in a top spot

Top rope burn, shoulder felt great after I tweaked it a couple weeks ago here. Got to the crux clean feeling fairly solid, had a tussle with the rope stuck in the crack where I needed to be. Worked it all and did get the crux moves, but it feels like the crux isn't actually the crux and it's the thinner hands on the headwall which are doable when fresh but brutally sustained after the lip which is the extended crux. The top boulder problem I got first go last time and made a mess of it this time cause I was super cooked.

The first third is horribly hollow and loose for gear but otherwise climbs well. Topped out on the ledge. Didn’t do the crack which needs a good clean. Not inspired to lead it