Routes in East Face for selected grade

Phaedra is an historical and adventurous climb, first envisioned by Rick White in 1969.

To gain access, proceed up the hiker's track, past Egg Rock, to a stand of Shea-oak, just below the Central Knoll:

East Face - Phaedra access topo

Start below the obvious rooflet halfway up the wall. Either belay on the ground or off a single ring on the ledge 10m off the ground.

★★ Phaedra 22 A1 - Phaedra - 1st belay

Cameron Fairbain,Simon Vos on ★★ Phaedra 22 A1 - Phaedra

1)45m 19 - Start up the slab past a peg, angling towards the finger crack, continue up this, heading towards the hanging flake on spaced but good gear. Pull over the flake up to a belay at a sloping ledge below the rooflet.

2)15m 20 - Clip the SS carrot (hard to spot) above the belay left of 3 rusty carrots. From the belay traverse left and up the shallow groove to the left side of the overhang. Traverse right under the roof past gear and 2 pitons. Pull through the roof, to the hanging belay at 2xRBs directly above.

★★ Phaedra 22 A1 - pitons under overlap

3)20m 19 - Proceed up the corner, to a crack and up to the base of the headwall for a hanging trad anchor. Below the bolt ladder.

4)35m 21 M1 - Climb up the old bolt ladder (4x) on the headwall to gain the slab (20/21) above past shallow gear to follow 3 carrot bolts (left trending) on the slab in a breath-taking position to the top & 2xRB belay in alcove on left.

Gear: small to medium cams, lots of wires, plates and a skyhook.

Rick & Paul pegged their way up p1 in 1969.

Rick White, Jeff Morgan & Ron Collett freed p1 (18 by their standards) & aided the whole route in October 1971.

Paul Hoskins & Joe Lynch freed p2 in 1983 (they would have freed p3, but Joe forgot his shoes.)

Fred From & Chris Frost freed p3 in 1983.

Jon Pearson came close to freeing p4 in the late 80s, and Glen Foley almost freed it in 2007.

Has the distinction of being Australia's first 22.

Scramble/climb up the easy start next to ROI & onto the belay ledge. Starting in RH corner, trending left up weakness, then up, slightly right trending, into crack corner & up this to flaring off-width at top. Aid your way out to lip. then up over this to a good belay stance above.

Be wary of the original button bolts put in by Rick 47yrs ago; these are only 1" deep or so & hand-drilled.

Very rarely climbed, the route is rather chossy & vegetated.

(Estimates of freeing the downward flaring crack at the top start at around grade 27-28.)

The inside LH corner of the big cave - opposite Valhalla.

Characterised by poor rock & poor gear = hence the name.

Start: Left of Phaedra on next ledges higher left.

All trad – no bolts placed by first ascentists.

1. 35m gr__

2. 35m gr__

Continue up last half of p2 of OIGWM or escape right into p3 of Phaedra. (The original ascentists abseiled off from this point.)

The full name of the route: Pussy Squat Dribble