Routes as trad in Halls Gap Area

Excellent, technical climbing. From left toe of face, climb ramp up right to left vertical line. Up this.

Much harder than it looks, hard to pro- tect, and in need of a clean. Line on right side of face. From ledge with tree, climb groove to overhang. Step up left, then right above overhang. Up until easier rock is attained.

Scramble up chimney/gully below northwest corner of pinnacle, then over blocks to stance below crack in middle of west face. Crack.

Buttress 80m left of left end of main cliff. Best approached by walking up the gully left of Carry on Regardless then following the cliff line left. Takes the prominent slabby arête of the buttress providing pleasant climbing with a FH at the start. Finish at the ledge and abseil anchor.

The face just right of Upstanding. Up the crack and face past a FH to a ledge. Up the wide crack then step right and climb the thin seam up the middle of the short headwall to finish at the abseil anchor.

The buttress up the gully right of Black Fingernail. Climb the left arete to a narrow ledge above the second FH. Traverse right 2m and finish up the short flake to lower offs.

The next buttress right of the Upstanding pillar. Take the attractive thin seam up the slabby face on the left side of the buttress passing a FH to finish up the seam in the steep headwall. Good climbing all the way. Small wires and cams are needed. Abseil descent.

The thin crack up the steep wall just left of the first pitch of The Scarlet Pumpernickel finishing up that climb.

Four meters right of Robespierre.

1. 12m The crack on the front of the pillar to a ledge.

2. 8m Sidle around the massive detached pinnacle then climb the central seam in the upper face to the Robespierre abseil anchors.

Walk up the gully left of Carry on Regardless about 30m to a short clean face. Up the middle of the face to the abseil anchors. Small cams required [nothing larger than a BD 0.3 was used on the first ascent].

Nice short problem. At the left hand edge of the main cliff are 2 smaller buttresses. The left one. Climb short steep flake on right side of buttress. Pull over bulge above flake then up and left onto front of buttress, up to lower offs.

The short buttress just right of Carry on Regardless. Climb the thin crack to a fixed hanger. Up and left to another fixed hanger then back right to finish up a short groove. DBB/lower off.

1. 20m (17) Up L) arete of Don’t Wet The Car Buttress past 4x FH, into crack system via trad. Continuing up past 2x FH to DBB.

2. 30m (11) from the belay tending up and right through weakness in bulge. From here, tending back left to continue up arete to top of pillar.

Climbs the tallest buttress of the cliff, which is at the left end of the main face.

1. 45m Up bulging crack just right of the foot of the buttress, then easily up the major line until you can move left on to the front of the buttress. Climb middle of buttress to top of pinnacle.

2. 20m Step right across top of chimney, right on ledge to easy line, up this then up left.

Start in gully right of 'Don’t Wet The Car' [this gully is the lefthand of the big chimney lines on the main face].

1. 30m [crux] rightward out of gully onto front of buttress. Up middle of buttress via seams, steep orange wall and short central groove to large ledge below overhangs.

2. 25m Line through overhangs and up.

Revolting first pitch leads to nice exposed chimney through big roof.

1. 30m Major chimney line right of the Codds Flat buttress to ledge below overhangs.

2. 20m Chimney through roof.

3. 10m Easy buttress right of gully.

The distinct buttress between C.O.U.T.C. and T.K.O.K. has a major clean crack line from the ground up the centre. Committing moves for the first few metres (solid pro) which then eases off to about grade 12. Climb the crack to about 1 third height where it becomes a gully. Step right (possible belay here) and follow the line up the rib staying slightly right. Belay on top of the buttress from lower offs in the orange wall under the roof. Could be an alternate first pitch to C.O.U.T.C.

Start at the foot of The Khazi of Kalabar chimney. Head up and left past a fixed hanger to the horizontal crack though the bulge. Swing left on this then up to join Bastide de Domme at the ledge. Continue up the rib on BdD to the abseil bolts.

Chimney line 10m right of 'Carry On Up The Chimney'.

1. 40m Start in the back of the chimney and chimney up and out to front. Up line to big ledge below steep walls.

2. 15m [crux] Steep wide crack in back corner of bay.

1. 20m Crack up buttress right of The Khasi Of Kalabar to ledge.

2. 20m Up on jugs to big ledge. Scramble off down right [possibly roped].

Right of The Barbara Windsor Mammorial Buttress is a corner chimney with a thin seam on its right wall. Approach from the right and follow the seam [micro cams] past a fixed hanger to a ledge where the line becomes a gully. Step out right and climb the arete to finish at the lower offs.

Crack 10m right of 'Barbara Windsor Mammorial Buttress'.

Start at the arete just right of The Rumpo Kid. Up past 2 fixed hangers to finish up a short shallow groove on the right. Pull over the bulge to the lower offs.

Start 2 metres right of Rumpo Kid. Up the right edge of the face, small cams are useful.

The corner just right of Melon Peel

Near the right end of the cliff are two deep chimney-clefts. Scramble up L past large conifer to sloping grassy terrace just left of left cleft. Follow right leading crack up slabby left wall of cleft to ceiling. An exposed pull up right gains the chimney. Up.

Very enjoyable and varied outing. 15m right of Don’t Wet Yourself. Between the 2 major chimneys, on the shorter righthand section of the cliff, there is a buttress with an overhang across its width at 8m. Start at the short crack in the middle of this buttress.

1. 20m [crux] Thin moves up and right past FH to overhang. Up steep crack around right end of overhang exiting left onto right arête of buttress. Up shallow groove to ledge below roof.

2. 20m Up to crack through roof, exciting haul over roof and up.

Start 25 metres right of Krak de Chevaliers around the right arete of the major buttress. Climb the recessed chimney corner. A very old fashioned outing.

Interesting climbing up the thin cracks and seams in the middle of the buttress 5m right of Garderobe. Finish at an abseil anchor.

The buttress right of Carcassonne. Start 6m right of Carcassonne at a short detached flake/pillar. Climb the pillar then continue up the buttress past a FH to a ledge. Head up and left to the arete following this to a large ledge. Climb the short wall to a lower off point.

Two metres right of Alcazar. Climb the short buttress just right of the wide crack to a ledge with a large tree. Up a short crack to get onto the right arete of the buttress. Up the arete and headwall to DBB/lower off. Some small cams and wires are useful.

50m right of Pierrefonds, down overgrown trail. Gain access to the right face of the buttress via diagonal weakness. Up wall past 2x FH, through bulge tending left via small trad gear to lower off.

(Possible repeat?) Located on the next terrace up and L of Hickory's Handle gully. Up crack system in centre of wall L of corner, veering L to arete and up block. Scramble to find belay amongst the scrub. Walk off: up and R to area above Jugular Pulse, then scramble down to start of Jugular Pulse.

1. 25m. Follow easily up until ground steepens. Tending left and upwards until ledge at 25m.

2. 10m. Up wall above the ledge until top.

Added as there was a bush growing in the path of the original Duckmans.

1. 25m. Follow slope upwards but move left to crack that goes to very small overhang. Upwards onto face, (BEWARE rock is very crumbly here) until mossy ledge at 25m with vertical crack for placements.

2. 10m. Up slab face above the ledge until top out.

(Only higher grade than Duckman due to crumbling rock.)

Located on the arete at the bottom of the third terraced area/gully uphill and L of main cliff. Start at arete, up steep juggy section to small ledge. Traverse 2m R, then up to a ledge. Move into the gully/groove on the R and up.

Starts R of HH and 5m down L of Jugular Pulse. Up flakes to rooflet below top. Finish up the L side of the flake that forms the rooflet.

Looks like the linking ring bolt on this has been chopped. See Chockstone for the diatribe.

Up LH crack opposite Jugular onto boulder, then up flakes on face to top

Left veering hand crack up flake 6m R of The Sky Is Crying.

Start at L end of upper tier of main face round right of In Step. R leading flake line.

Start about 10m (?) R of Empty Pockets. Up and slightly R to a small stance at about 4m, up and through bulge 1m L of Negative Gearing.

It's hard (impossible?) to make sense of the above description: would be great if someone could update it or draw it on a topo!

Slabby wall 3m R of Empty Pockets then step L and finish up crack. Probably not a good idea to make this your first Grade 17 trad lead, as there isn't a great amount of pro in the first 8m or so.

Crack system 2m L of Beelzebub.

Up Beelzebub for 8m, L under roof and up wall R of Nerd's Day Out.

Distinctive corner on the second terrace L and uphill from the bottom cliff. DBB above this route - do not use tree as anchor.

Up 'Beelzebub' until holds right past 'Wilbur'. Until bulge, then reach high for hold. Then left at 23 or right at 22. Then past bolt on 'Wilbur'. Then tends right to top.

Start as for Mr Ed but head straight up.

Start just R of Beelzebub, traverse up past BR and follow weakness up through overlaps.

Start 2m R of original start then up.

This mixed route is located on the first terrace/alcove (uphill and L of main cliff). Slabby seam L of chimney.

Mixed route located at the very L arete of the main cliff. Descend from the Purple Haze rap rings.

Originally involved clipping the second bolt of 'Total Recoil (Direct)', stepping right into Purple Haze to the sloping ramp, then back with difficulty to the third bolt of 'Total Recoil (Direct)' to finish as for that route.

These days most people only clip the first bolt of 'Total Recoil (Direct)' and finish up Purple Haze on trad... which still gets 24 for the start.

Seam 5m R of CSTW past 2 bolts. Step L and follow crack L of obvious corner (which has been climbed at grade 17).

Excellent endurance link up of the crux start of purple haze and the pink rabbits head wall. Head right at obvious horizontal and up to hand traverse pillar into PR at second ring on head wall. Requires a bit of trad (.5-2 camelots) but a couple of bolts will make it more popular.

Shallow, bulging groove 5m R of Purple Haze.

Start at seam 3m R of My Friend Flipper (3m L of detached pillar). Up thin crack then directly up to the LH end of small roof. Up to incipient V groove above, climbing it and headwall above.

Obvious R leaning crack with short wide section 5m up. Finish up jugs on R to ledge and Rap station.

By the description in Andrews' Mt Difficult Guide this appears to be Diagonal Crack finishing up Power Broker.

The corner L of Flying Buttress. Up corner, through roof and up crack directly above.

Alternative start to 'Power Broker' up 'Flying Buttress'

First route encountered on the main cliff from carpark. Thin crack on detached pillar, then slightly R and up. Active beehive 2/3 up as at Dec 2018

Located on the small wall on top of the main wall above Flying Buttress. Swing onto LH arete from terrace and continue up line.

Located on the small wall on top of the main wall above Flying Buttress. Could be a repeat of Thumper. Start on arete 2m L of The Colour Of Greed, follow ramp up and around back R, then up.

Located on the small wall on top of the main wall above Flying Buttress. Thin crack a couple of meters R of Thumper and directly behind Flying Buttress.

Start 3m L of Mr Splat. Up slab, through two small overlaps and then up to the R facing corner at the R end of the roof. Step L at the upper overlap, up slab and headwall.

Start 3m R of Mr Splat. Climb past 4 bolts and finish up crack on R. Up this to lower off on the L.

Rebolted Safer Cliffs with FAs consultation.

Located on a small pinnacle 15m R of the main wall. Obvious shallow groove up the middle of the downhill face. Not technically very hard but poor rock and suspect pro make for a trying lead.

Start as for Heart Beat. At the start of the small R-facing corner head up diagonally R across wall to join the arete at the final bulge. Up. Rotten rock and dodgy pro on the traverse.

Climbs the R arete of Heart Beat pinnacle starting just left of it. [Can be started direct with a wild swing]

Good climbing. Start up small corner on left side of face 6m left of All Along the Watchtower, starting from same ledge. Finish by climbing just on left side of arête.

Follow track up between R side of main wall and Heart Beat pinnacle, L up ramp to top of main wall above KY Valley, scramble R along ledge/terrace to start below weakness through small overhang. Up to and around overhang then continue up R-facing flake to ledge (belay possible). Up middle of wall above.

Dedicated to WFG Armit. “Outstanding line; superb rock”. Climb water-polished groove down and just right of All Along the Watchtower to prominent, overhanging V-crack splitting the cliff. Climb this to ledge. Finish up easier crack (it’s not a chimney as described in the guidebook) above (as for pitch two of Voodoo Chile).

“Sensational Arapilesian climbing on beautiful rock”.

1. 20m (crux) Seam from tiny cave 1m above ground and 1.5m right of 'Voodoo Chile'. When this peters out, climb direct up grey face to steep, orange rock. Up this to prominent grey groove, then ledge.

2. 10m Climb headwall midway between crack on left (VC) and small grey flake on Pump Up the Volume.

Although struggling to maintain its independence, involves good, steep climbing.

1. 20m (crux) Start as for PUV. At 5 m veer up left to overhanging head wall 1.5m right of VC (and left of SCFF). Up to ledge.

2. 10m right on ledge and up to pinnacle on The Things I Used to Do. Straight up overhang above.

More good climbing.

1. 17 m (crux) Steep yellow seam 1.5 m left of Welcome to the Machine. Easier groove above to rooflet. Up left side of this to small stance on top, below undercut headwall.

2. 10 m Pull up and right on to headwall. Up

Scramble up steep gully immediately right of Welcome to the Machine to belay on treed terrace. Traverse left to undercut, yellow corner-crack. Up line, which dog-legs right at top. (Last 4 m as for WM.)