Routes in South-Eastern Grampians

Located on R facing orange wall that is 15m left of 'Prince Albert' pinnacle. Climbs cracks in wall just L of chimney.

1. 30m (20) Crux. Up cracks for 20m then precariously weave around loose blocks (danger!) to ledge.

2. 10m (10) Finish up corner on R to double U bolt anchors in notch. *If you only have a single rope you can rap down the opposite side of the pillar which is only 22m, not 40m

A true one mover. (not a wonder). Start LH on crimp rail, RH on the undercling in seam. Pull up, find some holds on top and mantle over. (Boulder is up the gully behind "Compression Depression")

The warm up route. Start in large pockets, move up through pinches and jugs to a precarious mantle. Watch the tree!

On descent ramp, start on lowest point, and traverse L all the way and up Dirty!

Start 28 metres left of 'Little Big Man', 15 metres right of 'The Renegade'.

A major line which might be a good climb. Towards the RH end of the cliff is a prominent line with a roof on the L at 23m

1. 32m (-) Climb vegetated crack to narrow ledge below overhang. Go R on this to corner.

2. 18m (19) L up ramp, then thin crack to ledge.

3. 30m (15) Up line to small ledge in chimney.

4. 42m (-) Chimney then corner to below steep wall.

5. 22m (-) Up obvious weakness in wall.

Climb the juggy crack to ledge, continue straight up past small cam slot and through tricky gritty sloping mantle. Continue up to ledge for belay. Stepping left and climbing the middle of the slab is about grade 15, but run out.

The right facing corner/crack. Straight up to ledge.

Steep and brittle. Second pitch was originally climbed as second pitch of Sugar Boy. Left of Sugar Boy are two short, orange corners facing each other. Start just left of left corner.

1.20m Pull through overhang on jugs and continue up cracks to belay as for Sugar Boy.

1. 30m Up crack, veering left to climb wall just right of chimney. Move right near top to belay.

Good climbing on generally excellent rock. Trad protection for the crux section (the first half of the first pitch) is adequate rather than abundant.

Vincent Lingiari, AM (1908 – 21 January 1988), was an Aboriginal rights activist who was appointed as a Member of the Order of 'Australia' for his services to the Aboriginal people. Lingiari was a member of the Gurindji people.

Vincent Lingiari confronted the vast economic and political forces that were arrayed against him and his people. In doing so, he won a victory that is one of the most outstanding achievements in the history of the struggle for the recognition of Indigenous people, their rights and responsibilities in the land, and their ability to practice their law, language and culture.

Start: About 50m up left of 'Tjuringa' Buttress is a low series of small roofs forming an 'inverted staircase' (starting about 2m above the ground and rising from right to left). Start immediately right of this at a small rock cairn.

1. 35m (19) Up for about 7m, then move left a little, up another few moves, then traverse left a couple of metres. Continue up leftward aiming for the base of a reasonably prominent line up the face. Gain this, then savour the delightful climbing up it to a good ledge beneath a short thin face crack.

2. 15m (17) Straight up. Descend from the top by scrambling about 50m to the right and locating the top of the 'Tjuringa' Buttress –there is a rap station here and another half way down (two 35m raps to the ground).

1. 15m (15) Climb First Pitch of 'Kunapipi' to belay on ledge before chimney.

2. 20m (19) Traverse wall to right on trad gear to join 'Pot of Gold' below roof. Follow PoG to anchor

The crux (P1) has serious ground fall potential.

Start: Start in a short groove.

1. 30m (19) Up groove then wall up and left into prominent corner left of 'Goorialla'.

2. 30m (19) Continue up corner and up right hand line. Step left at top.

3. 30m (19) Beautiful grey wall right of corner.

Engaging . Sports climbing for multi-pitch trad climbers. Starts as songline for the first 3 fixed hangers. Unclip the first bolt after for less drag.Then traverses right across face on ubolts till you reach the vertical crack 2m up vertical crack reach across left on good holds to clip 2nd u bolt. Then heads straight up following u bolts up to first set of lower offs 1- u bolt 1-fixed hanger with twisted shakle .Grade 18 to this point 8 bolts +2 for lower offs. Note extentsion which is 1 u bolt till the next set of lower offs is 19 l will be removing the first set of lower offs soon. l would recommend a 70m rope so you can get back to the ground instead of the ledge.

Means “Lightning Man” in the local tounge/folklore. A good sustained face climb with some lovely thin moves. Starts up a face 4m left of Back in Black 1) 30m Up face ducking and weaving around some small holds and slinky moves, follow the bolts and enjoy the ride! Rap off at bolt station on ledge at base of crack.

Starts at black crack / water streak about 10m uphill from The Apology. Tricky moves (about 17-) up corner to belay on slab. Second pitch traverses left then up blunt arete through steepening (some good fun laybacks) to belay on ledge above. Take two ropes to get off. Be careful with loose rock on 2nd pitch. Great exposure.

Starts 5m right of back in black. Look for curving line of bolts. 2nd pitch is technical and excellent.

Named after seeing Josef’s giant zucchinis at camp. Starts beneath the arête to the right of Short Memory. Tricky slab moves then step right to the steep arête. Sustained climbing up the arête brings you to an overlap and thereafter the fun crux moves.

Set off up the black blank wall, climbing past 4 bolts to a good rest. Delicately right to the arette past another couple of bolts to arrive at the crux (bolt). Up, and pleasent airy moves to the top. Possible to climb past DBB and top out on the awesome platform above (if so, rap from DBB in notch).

Start: 5m right of Bella's Crack

Do you remember these guys eh?

Great variety of moves and user friendly.

Start: Start at undercut just right of mookie cracks, and begin climbing out to the right before swinging back.

Line 3m right of Suffer.

Up to overhand 7m right of 'Beware of Falling Sheep', left, up.

From major crack 10m right of Icy Red (on Feather Wedge Wall), climb wall to overlap. Into crack. Finish right

Last main crack, 20m right of Beady Yellow Eyes. Up (BR) to crack. Crack. Finish left.

Start up Proboscis Prevails. Left and climb thin line (BR).

Crack 8m left of Cerveza And Snaggel and just right of little gully. Crack thins and veers right.

Bold. Wall 3m right of Depression Session.

Unlikely climbing through steep terrain. Much easier than it looks.

Start: About 60m left of the descent gully at a lovely orange Arapelean like wall. It's about 10m left of Ingvar's bolted route.

Damien / Kevin to provide rotue description

Start: Complete P1 of 'Caveat Emptor'

Groove in middle of bulging, orange wall 65m right of waterfall. Belay under overhang. Traverse left to abseil tree.

Start 3m R of William Who? Wide crack to ledge below overhang. Follow good crack around overhang and Rward up steep wall then back Lward to finish as for WW?

Excellent, sustained climbing. Start 4m R and 8m below MMFC. Easy square cut chimney to ledge on L [possibly better to start from here]. The surprisingly frantic groove and seam exiting Rward to finish up short cracks and steep head wall.

Good

Start: The buttress directly below where you reach the cliff. There is a distinctive boulder/pinnacle at the L edge of the face.

1. 25m (19) Up line behind pinnacle, trend R through small overlap into R hand seam. Up this to sentry box, exit R and up through bulge to ledge.

2. 8m (16) Step out R from ledge to finish up steep crack. [Can be avoided but is a lot of fun]

Start: Approx 50m R of OWE locate a short steep buttress with an initialled thin crack leading to a bulge. [This is about 70m L of the major Mitchell Buttress]

1. 20m (19) Crack then up and R through bulge.

2. 20m (17) Up to and up obvious crack which is a good deal more awkward than expected.

Start: As for Tweedledum.

1. 14m (14) Up short corner to ledge. Rising traverse L ward for 3m then up short wall to ledge [This pitch is as for 'Tweedle Dum' which then continues up the wide crack above]

2. 12m (19) R to corner, up this to roof. R around roof and up to ledge.

3. 19m (18) Up crack and steep seam in wall behind, then another short wall and a corner on the L to the top.

Altho' it initially struggles to stay out of 'Snake' P1 gives good climbing on good rock, P2 isn't bad despite some loose stuff.

Start: 7m R of 'Nails'

1. 25m (19) Climb groove to overhang, L under this [crux] then up next groove stepping R to ledge below roof.

2. 25m (18) R along ledge, climb corner to ledge on R. Up thin crack above to exit onto unstable ledge. L on this then up crack, veer up L to arete and follow it to an unexpectedly difficult conclusion.

The excellent crack [which the abseil route goes pretty much straight over] on the 2nd pitch links together sections of existing climbs to give an exciting route finishing at the abseil bolts.

P1 (18m, 15) As for P1 Fedallah

P2 (32m, 19) Up the corner to the bulge, step out R and up to the ledge above the bulge. Traverse boldly out R to the thin crack, up this exiting L at the top. Step back R and up to join the top corner of Marie.

Another nice looking crack line.

Start: 30m L of APVS at the top of the step. Thin crack up L side of attractive wall.

1. 25m (19) Up thin crack exiting L

2. 20m (-) Up and R to follow line. Descend as for APVS.

Good exciting climbing. Unfortunately the first bulge [originally aided] is grades harder than any thing else on the route. The grade drops to 16 if you chin on a nut.

Start: 30m L of LB. On the L side of the distinctive overhanging red buttress is a crack with a chockstone at 10m. The line leads to a recessed, overhanging red wall.

1. 27m (19) Over overhang and into groove. Up to ledge on L. Up a few moves then traverse R to foot of corner. Up.

2. 12m (15) L on ledge to corner, up

3. 12m (14) R and up sloping line to bulge. R across slab [descending slightly] and up break above.

4. 9m (12) R and up wall 3m, back L to ledge, up.

Supposedly pleasant but not sustained. If I could ever find it I would like to find out for myself.

Start: Scramble up from L to ledge 20m L of JJ. Cairned. I think the cairn was placed by the editor of the SE 'Grampians' guide who thought that he had found the right line and decided to mark it. I have had a lot of trouble over the years trying to find this route. Three times over the past 30+ years I have been to the cliff and failed to locate it. The cairned line vaguely matches the first pitch description but it lands you on a ledge below a large very rotten buttress wide roof with no breaks in it. It was not possible to pass R of it [as the description says] either. I don't believe this is where the route goes.

1. 39m (-) Climb L facing corner, pass R of the bulge. Belay on second ledge above capping overhang.

2. 19m (19) Line and corner.

The first 2 pitches are very good, the 3rd is just a way off.

Start: 50m L of where the track reaches the cliff is a major L facing corner.

1. 20m (17) Up the corner to belay below roofs

2. 12m (19) L around stepped roofs. A couple of final wild moves get you around an arete from where you can move up to a ledge below the final roof.

3. 15m (15) L under roof and up mossy rock in the corner.

Good looking crack. Again it might be harder and better than indicated but no one seems to have repeated it. Initialled. Up crack 2m R of Moo to ledge. Up L hand diagonal crack then jugs.

Another short one. Initialled. Swing up R from 1m R of SMS, then up veering L to thin crack below roof. Up to juggy break then hand traverse R to ledge. Abseil from tree.

Looks very good and bloody hard for the grade. Could be worth more stars [and a higher grade] if anyone ever repeats it and comments on the quality and difficulty. Up wall 3m R of 'Ponderosa' to diagonal crack. Up crack to ledge. Step R and up wall over loose blocks. Up crack in summit block.

Left-leaning corner 30m left of 'Flaming Arrow'.

"Obvious" jam-crack in descent gully.

Thought to be somewhere right of 'Ten Years After' or near 'Pocahontas'

Start at black groove 8 metres right of 'Before Columbus'.

1. 30m (19) Black groove to shallow, rightfacing corner. Up to ledge on right. Short, yellow corner to ledge. Go 15m right to corner.

2. 20m Corner (probably 'Midori').

Start 15 metres right of where the track meets the cliff.

Supposedly excellent climbing on good rock. Climb up to and up yellow, left-facing flake. Finish up right on slab. Belay at big block on right (on 'Space Cowboys'). Abseil from twin trees on right.

a varied climb with some fantastic jaming and a balancy, exciting crux.

Start: 2m right of 'Plummet', below a prominent hand crack runs up the middle third of the cliff.

Up line from pillar in front of cave between Empty Dreams and Bambino. Join Bambino at mantel and follow it to final overhang. Exit L.

The first Aussie female ascent at this grade, and an FA no less.

Pull powerfully through the roof (watch the hollow flake!) and then up direct line.

Quite good climbing, especially the first pitch. It is possible to abseil off after the first pitch.

Start: On the R side of the first solid buttress R of 'Starboard Bow'. 15m R of what I assume is Lost in the Wild, Wild Seas

1. 28m (18) Up shallow corner heading towards a small overhang at 6m. Exit L from the corner at the good holds. Nice climbing up the seams to stance below short corner, tricky moves up this to ledge.

2. 20m (19) 5m up chimney, R onto ledges, up R leading flake line to horizontal break, step out R and up onto narrow ledge on front of buttress. Up face to good ledge.

3. 10m (18) R hand crack in short wall then easily. Continue up easy ground to top or scramble down L to trees and abseil.

Corner and seam. Finish up wall above.

Start: First proper buttress R of 'Sloop' [perhaps 70m R] as next section of cliff starts. I'm not certain about this route. But there is a fairly closed and dirty looking corner and seam that I assume is the route.

Combines the best bits of 'La Mer' and 'The Last Grain Race' in a direct line. Intimidating climbing in exhilarating positions.

Start: As for TLGR. Up the crack as for TLGR to the narrow ledge [possible belay]. A rotten crack leads to a sentry box directly above. Gulp a couple of times then climb out onto the wall above, scurry quickly L to a crack, up this to a ledge [original belay spot]. Continue up cracks and corners to terrace.

Another old classic, overshadowed by the variants which use bits of it to make better climbs.

Start: Crack 4m R of TLS.

1. 32m (19) Up the crack L of the pillar to a narrow ledge at 23m [possible belay], move L a few moves and up crack to sentry box. Steeply up thin crack past old peg. Step R to small stance (abseil from here 30m).

2. 18m (15) 'Steep' crack then easier walls and cracks to terrace.

A combination of routes which has become very popular. A good option for those who would rather climb an overhanging wall than an overhanging crack.

1. 18m (18) As for 'The Lonely Sea'

2. 27m (19) Up 'The Lonely Sea' to the horizontal ledge. Up under overhangs tending R to the sentry box on 'The Last Grain Race'. Up thin crack airily past an old peg on a steep wall. Step R (abseil possible here) or go and up past a couple of steps to the terrace.

After the first nice corner the climb deteriorates badly.

Start: As for LPS

1. 62m (19) Up corner as for LPS then up and R to line of blocks, up these. [I am sure it must be possible to split this pitch]

2. 25m (-) From top block climb choss to join 'The Plank' at its final chimney.

3. 18m (14) Chimney.

Not so much an independent route as an attempt to do something useful with the neat little corner which 'Landlubber' starts up before it spends the next 80+m in dirty gullies. Whilst not great this variant does stay on real rock the whole way.

Start: 10m R of 'Jolly Roger' is a R facing corner.

1. 45m (19) Up corner with a couple of intense moves near the top. At top of corner head up L to shallow groove, up this to smooth slab, move L below slab into 'Jolly Roger'.

2. 15m (12) Up crack as for 'Jolly Roger' to large terrace [you arrive directly under the obvious vertical crack line of 'Jolly Roger Direct Finish' 18]

3. 30m (16) Follow R leaning line R of JRDF finishing up headwall. [Jolly Roger P4 starts up this line but traverses off R about level with the old rusty peg below the overhangs]

Enjoyable wall climbing which moves between the 2 seams to find the easiest way up.

Start: 2m R of 'Bowrail', 2 thin lines. Start from large slanting block on ground.

From V corner move R to nose, L around roof and up to second tree. Abseil from this.

Start: V corner leading to roof down R of 'Blackbeard'.

Good climbing with some sections of fragile rock and fiddly gear.

Start: Starts at the very left of the cliff, part way up the descent gully, on a short nice west facing wall.

Looks good, and rather unlikely for the grade. As it is a Peter Martin route it is possibly under graded.

Start: As for Yardarm

An exciting battle up a steep line with a lot of suspect rock. Quality of protection is limited by the quality of rock it is in. A good route if you are prepared and capable for old school 19 on questionable rock.

Start: A large steep yellow wall up and R of the ramp leading to 'Mermen'. It has a couple of obvious cracks up it and MoW takes the LH one. Scramble up to its base, careful as the ground is a bit unstable around here.

1. 35m (19) Up wall to ledge then steep crack.

2. 15m (8) Wander up to top.

A combination of 'Stormbringer' LHV and 'The Pirate Variant' to give a good sustained grade 19 route.

Start: As for 'Stormbringer'

1. 25m (19) Up 'Stormbringer' to overhang, move 2m L to arete. Up to overlap then veer R up wall to recessed triangular ledge. Up to stance on arete.

2. 20m (19) Up to overlap, hand traverse L to rest under prominent pulpit feature. Steeply up L to dimply ledge under roof. Step L and finish up 'The Pirate Variant'.

Good climbing, technical and sustained. Protection is mostly small stuff [RPs useful] and is fiddly to place.

Start: As for P2 of 'The Pirate'. Head up and R to flake above overlap. R to thin crack and up steeply.

A good first pitch which is a bit fierce near the top where the aid was originally used - it was originally graded 18 with the aid. Roland rarely bothered to upgrade things when he freed them. So this has been undergraded at 18 for decades. The upper pitches wander to get to the top. It is possible to find abseil trees but many of these are a bit suspect after the fires.

Start: Takes a thin seam/crack line R of Morgan [altho' it is possible to start Morgan at the same point]. Faint initial.

1. 18m (19) Up over blocks moving R at 7m to fine groove [PR] up this to ledge.

2. 18m (11) Up a couple of meters then traverse L to arete. Up wall passing loose flake and thin crack to ledge.

3. 12m (10) 'Arete' to ledge

4. 15m (12) 5m R and up corner.

The front face of the StheS block has a central seam starting above a horizontal break at half height. Cairned.

Easily up onto the large boulder on the R then up the diagonal crack at the RH edge of the face to the horizontal break. Step out L to the seam and up with some steep and energetic moves. The seam could be approached more directly from the L but the rock is a bit suspect.

Scary. Not called 'Death Threat' for no reason!

Start: Climbs the orange arete that catches your eye as you first hit the cliff line.

Cracks on right arête of grey buttress at right end of dig (10m right of Dreams Of Ordinary Men). Left below final overhang to big crack. Up.

Dirty, loose and poorly protected

Start: 8m R of 'Conqueror'.

1. 26m (19) Corner to overhang [very loose flake], R to nose then up to and up groove.

2. 30m (-) 'Flake' and corner, L under overhang and up groove easing.

The first pitch is loose and unprotected making it hard to recommend the route in this form despite the good climbing higher up. Do the Combo instead.

Start: 2m R of TLGR.

1. 23m (19) Up R side of shattered pillar then the flake above to a ledge. Step L and follow thin crack to cramped stance.

2. 18m (19) Rotten crack to sentry box. Exposed moves up onto wall above. Step L to thin crack and up to ledge.

3. 10m (15) Step R to short crack, up this and steps above.

Initialled, 35m left of 'The Head Shrinker'

Starts as for A Bit o' the Other.

1. 25m Up to belay in scrub where it becomes possible to traverse right.

2. 15m Traverse right to front of buttress. Up to ledge.

3. 15m Crack and line to stance 3m below roof.

4. 30m Roof and crack to ledge.

5. 40m Right and up to tree. Scramble off.

Goes up middle of wall between Humble Pie and Flower Power. Start by cave right of Gormenghast.

1. 30m Right leading line to ledge on left edge of giant cave, roofs.

2. 40m Move off cliff after reaching it to arrive at blocky terrace under overhangs. Belay 7m left. Wall tending right until above roofs, then mantel to cave. Up from right of cave to stance.

3. 40m Wall tending left to short, overhanging weakness in cliff-girdling band. Wall to stance.

4. 30m Veer left up wall to small, vertical wall with horizontal cracks. Up to overlap, then left and up to terrace.

5. 10m Through summit roof.

Excellent outing, steep, sustained and varied. This description includes the direct variants added on the first free ascent. Start: R of Duchess.

1. 32m (17) From below 2 overhangs 22m up Traverse L to avoid the first overhang then R just below the 2nd. Go through it and climb the corner above.

2. 15m (13) Go a little R and up grey crack.

3. 30m (18) Up corner for 3m. Traverse L and go up to stance. Exciting moves around overhang then crack to ceiling. Traverse R to exposed ledge.

4. 18m (12) Traverse R to ledge which is a little lower than the one you leave.

5. 35m (13) Up wall above. Diagonally up L to ceilings. Crawl L, up.

Good crack on 3rd P. Starts as for Duchess leaving it on P2 to go diagonally R to the crack.

Starts about 10m left of the right-hand end of Solent Cliff that has Whiplash on it. If you get to a recessed short orange wall, back up 10m. Starts in roofed V-corner. Step left and up first seam.

Wall and arête left of Rock Melon. Sustained.

1. 42m Up Rock Melon to first section of orange corner. Move left onto wall and follow steep cracks and flakes that lead up, then back right almost into Rock Melon. Step back left and up to bollard. Up wall left of arête to overhang, short corner, then Rock Melon’s ledge.

2. 8m As for Rock Melon.

(On FFA, belay taken on bollard.)

Interesting and varied climbing on Bundaleer-type rock.

1. 25m Climbcorner at left end of grey and orange wall, moving right round first overhang. Continue up corner, and left under roof (loose rock) to good ledge.

2. 25m Traverse right under overhang (PR), to major line. Follow this, which is surprisingly sustained, to top.

Michael Hamp-ton, Geoff Butcher. (alt) 30.12.96 (pitch1), completed 16.3.97