Routes in Sydney Metropolitan for selected grade

A boulder problem starting on small block and traversing right to finish in flake in roof. Located below start of PWW.

Campus up to break,then move L to gain jugs (cutting loose). Mantle L to Bolt belay. Step R then up.

10m right of Haircut.

Up the wall and seam.

Crank up on small rounded holds and the rounded edge of the arete past 2 BRs to DBB.

Start: The very attractive orange arete right of "Eulogy".

"Excellent". 2017 inspection reveals huge block fallen off base so getting started may be harder than it once was.

Pull strenuously onto wall and up to BR. Delicately up to another BR then thin climbing to DBB. Start: Wall 2m right of "Same As It Ever Was".

4m right of L. Hard start, then eases off after the 2nd bolt. 2 rusty BRs to vegetated corner. Take natural gear.

"Extreme, yet worthwhile". Crank strenuously onto wall, clip BR in extremis and stand up. Thin moves left to rest and BR. Technical-cum-desperate moves past BR then just hard climbing past 2 BRs. Cam anchor. Start: 10m right of " Systems of Romance"

Pocketed wall 5m left of Black Ripple with good cams and an optional sideways 6 rock on the crux.

rap in as for Hey, sucker, then right

Start: marked, blunt arete 3m right of Spider Monkey and 2m Left of Ms Meggsey. Jug up past bolt to ledge, 1.5 Friend , then clip bolt, scurry off left easily or up arete (20) harder.

The steep overhanging crack on the left side of the cave.

Start: left hand line in the big cave 30m right of 'The Mantle Machine'.

15m left of CoB.

1. 15m (22) Up flake and wall then head left, up and back right to the belay.

2. 30m (23) Head right to roof then up to flake. Follow flake left to a stance, then move right and up a variety of cracks to the top. Take a large cam.

Start in middle of wall (white square) below thin seam. Up, small wires protect a hard move then easy to top. Good gear.

3m left of JC, at the base of the abseil. Up (BR) to corner. Traverse left around arete (BR) then up the wall above (BR).

Start 10m R of Boffin in a Coffin. Up to roof and up. Wide.

Roof crack

Up wall about 3m R of the arete (Ariel Grime) past 2 good breaks to a good jug to sling at the top.

Start below a thin crack 2m left of the right arete of the cove. Up (manky BR) to gain the crack. Follow this for 2m then move right to the arete and up.

The splitter roof crack 1.5m right of Burning Shells.

Finish at Burning Shells anchors.

Bouldery!

Up through seam to top. Difficult pro

The following climbs all start either above or below the walk around ledge (which is accessed by the ladder that is located just here). Take care on the ladder...

Climbs the rightmost of the 3 cracks through the roof. Doddle up ladder, then continue slightly left and up to roof. Jam through this up the thin crack then continue up to cave (manky BB), or traverse left to loweroff on Tourist Route.

Short enjoyable climbing, start as for QB and climb direct through blonde rock and top out. Good protection in the break.

The obvious smooth flake, 2m right of Obscurity trad pitch (down at sea level)

1. Climb the flake to the walk around ledge. May be a lot easier with modern small cams

Jacob's Ladder to Rosa Gully (Diamond Bay) The most difficult and sustained section of the traverse. This bit alone involves roughly 150m of height gain and abseils, most of it on fairly bad rock. It is highly committing with multiple diagonal abseils, that once your rope is pulled, you have no option but to continue forwards. Bailing down or up is not an option for a large amount. Some of the roped up pitches can get up to grade 22 or a couple grades easier with a couple of aid moves. Truly an incredible adventure and if you want to really experience all the moods of the cliffs in one big day out (good rock and hard moves mixed with bad rock and easy moves, wave timing rock hoping sprints mixed with high exposure on thin ledges) this is the section for you.

Sea Level Traverse - Trendies Corner (2.1km, grade 23 or 19 M1)

This has probably got to be one of the longest and consistently cruxy sections of the seacliffs. It passes under some of the biggest and most impressive sections of cliffline. Unlike the South Head section, conditions have to be good but don’t have to be once-a-season perfect. It’s also much less red-hot, this stretch of coastline is about as serious as you can get for a day out in Australian climbing.

From the North: Starts at the slot canyon Jacob’s Ladder just north of The Gap. Some slippery chimney moves on bad rock get you down into an easy scree slope. Before gaining water level, take the ledge system to the north about 10m off the water. This is fairly easy going for about 100m before quickly ending and requiring the rope and rack to be whipped out. The best option here is to head up the cliff to the next band of choss before continuing north again, turning the nose of orange rock at the super exposed vegetated layer on the very lip of the roof, about 30-40m above the ocean. Once around this corner rap down off the single screw doing a diagonal traverse. The seconder will need to remove the leaders gear and be pulled in underneath to the big sandy ledge just under the roof (15m down). This ledge system can be traversed north a while longer with a couple of roped up bouldery moves (some screws should protect these moves). Eventually this ledge system turns into a huge cave with a steep sandy floor with a slight track stamped into it. Scrambling around this feels a little like traversing a snow slope and avoiding setting off an avalanche. If this sand decides to “go”, you’ll be going with it, so careful. At its end is a rap station off some Gal screws. A 20-30m diagonal abseil and top rope traverse will get you to the next major ledge system about 15m above the ocean. From this ledge system rap off a single screw and rock hop the boulders for the next 100m. An awkward 5m boulder problem gets you back to higher ground. The next corner is best tackled by going up the thin sandy cracks for 15m. A a lower traverse about 5-7m off the ocean is definetly possible, but far more sustained and tricky climbing. From the upper ledge rap off the single bolt to the boulders below, time the waves and get out of the mouth of the chasm before a monster hits. A couple hundred meters of easy ground gets you to a belly crawl and then you want to start heading up. Decent gear and some hard ish climbing on the second pitch will get you to just under the nuclear bunker. Travserse this major ledge system for 150m passing a bouldery crux (a couple of screws protect this) before rapping down 25m off another single screw to the seal hangout.

A tide timing wade is now needed or some ballsy lip traversing to stay on the rock, somewhere in the high teens to low 20”S grade and only 10m off the deck. The final bit of this section is defined by a sandy buttresses that isnt too bad to negotiate. Once past this final buttress you’ll end up in the housemaid’s knee section of cliffline, roughly 500m away from Rosa Gully (and swell permitting) an easy walk.

Variant second pitch to B. Follow the lower traverse line (BR then cams) to belay as for B P2. Much safer than any of the pitches on B.

Hard death route unless it gets rebolted. About 3m right of KC.

1. 40m (21) Climb up, veering left to bulge (crux). After this, continue up and right past assorted fixed protection (all badly weathered) to belay in a corner that breaks through the rooves (manky BB).

2. 30m Head up corner, then traverse left around the arete and on for about 8m. Wander up to top.

Mikl Law 1980's

Start 2m R of the arete. Crux by gear then runout finish up seam. .

"A 1970s-style five metre hand-crack ceiling about 50-80m north of 'Solidarity'. BB and Friend on small ledge. Out across roof, problematic exit, then more easily to top." [Sydney and the Sea Cliffs, 1991]

Shire trad classic. About 45m L of the Main Wall in a R-facing corner starting on a ledge 3m up (there are rungs 15m left below Funk Little Corner). Up past break to balance slab into corner and good gear, one hard move. Take some finger sized nuts and shallow cams, and a Green camalot for the final move.

Follow black seam 3m L of Yellow Edge. Good wires at half height which protects the hard move to jugs.

Start: Corner 5m right of Gayline.

Up main corner then sloping corner above. Upper bolts unlikely.

Could be a trad lead there although top is filled with veg.

Start: Thin left-sloping orange-streaked corner.

Up corner for 5m, left to large block, then pocketed wall with rusted carrots, finish up corner through a withered multi-stemmed Banksia. Solid hardcore tips layaway could await the intrepid directionista.

Start up Aretica climbing breaks till #5 in rooflet. Move slightly right to crack. (tree belay)

Start: Just left of steep corner under roof crack 8m left of Gayline.

Hard move past corroded shaft of old carrot (or potential cam?), up corner then jam thru horizontal roof into dirt. "That's the way, u-huh u-huh, I liike it ..."

Only possibly belay appears to be massive splined shaft of WWII gun mount 10m back.

Start on right of roof crack, left into roof and layback out.

two big undercling moves and good pro. Start 2m R of arete, up to break, step R to hidden underclings and up leftwards

Start: In corner right of Japanese Route. Up then traverse along lip.

Start: 25m right of Mail Sorter and 3m left of arete. Up and slightly right to roofs and up.

Easy up the cracks then a huge reach to horizontal break. Take care up the final corner - it's quite hard and runout.

Start: Below obvious orange corner.

Up undercut arete past rusted bolt.

2 M L of Nothing new under the sun (right arete) and the gully. Good gear out left at half height, the right and up. originally traversed left at top .Go straight up over final wall to poor laybacks. Good gear. Pumpy. Best with double ropes as gear is out right and left

Start as for 'Kiosks' but head right. Past single RB and 2 cam breaks up to lower off

Start below seam in middle of wall 2m R of Zilla. Great hidden wires in seam, out left a move and up.

A left hand variant finish for Plumber's Mate. Needs a rebolt for the upper half. From flake after traverse head left and follow line of rusty BRs to rap point.

2m left of H.

Desperate start to lip (manky BR), delicate wall past 2 BRs to ledge. Bulges, right to overhang and up.

Boldly boulder out of the cave and up into horizontal seam to good gear. Continue along and up the 2 horizontal runnels to the next break and onwards to anchors of Death of a Xanthorrhoea.

Climb the fantastic overhung arc up the slab. Just enough holds to be climbable. Serious unprotected climbing at an unreasonable height. One of the best lines in Sydney.

An epic traverse, and possibly the longest trad route in the Shire. Up Yo! Don Bosco to the third bolt, then traverse right along the horizontal break under the big roof for 30m to bolt rap anchor. The crack is mostly hand size, but some finger and fist sized cams are also needed.

Please do not climb this route as it is above a sensitive aboriginal midden.

Marked. 2m left of CEVS at seam.

Looks harder than 22! Desperate start, then tend right (BR) and continue up wall (small cams) to belay as for LMPT.

1st route on right wall after entering courtyard. Single ring protects the thin start. Move up to jugs and horizontals. Up to rounded top out. Small medium cams.

Start in left side of LLoL cave.

Stick clip first RB on LLoL, long reach to jug on lip, then up staying a bit left of LLoL joining it on half way ledge.

Check your rope length - might require a 70m.

Mixed climb linkup. Joins the start of Pornflakes into Hourglass using the succulent horizontal hand crack. Climb up Pornflakes for 2 bolts and head left along crack which takes small to medium cams. Make sure to place enough gear to keep you off the deck as you are not high up! Strenously join Hourglass at the third bolt and rejoice as you clip bolts to the top.

FA was done as a pinkpoint.

Climb true direct to the anchors of pyromaniac, through centre of bolts on each side via gaston pocket and flaring vertical seam.

4m left of LtKC.

Up arete to lip of cave (BR). Crank straight up over lip and continue up blank slab (2 BRs). Double BB belay.

Well-respected problem with some thin moves near the top. Craig D. Martin took a 10m ground-fall attempting the first ascent (without BRs). Silly man! Up finger crack to small recess (1.5 cam) then up wall past (now horribly rusty) 2 BRs.

Start: On prominent arete near large boulders.

Direct finish for SOTLV.

Up SOTLV to traverse line and blast straight up past 2 manky BRs to large break. Head diagonally right to ledge then downclimb arete for 8m to manky BBs. Rap off.

rap 35m off the fence (+ backup) sth of Macquarie light and north of Christensen park. rusted bolts and cams

Two meters left of Conan. Rebolted 2021

as for La Technique then R

Up slab 1m left of SS. Looks like a reasonable line if it was cleaned and bolted. Any takers out there?

Face climb left of Veronica. Looks to be in the high 20's

Start: 2m L Unnamable Arete.

This route as 2 BRs which are well past their best before date.

Start 3m Right of 'DTD'. Straight up the arete from the block, and continue onto the slab.

Start 1m right of 'Peter'. The chipped boulder problem is under this route. Start with your hands in the break. Punk up and pull on blood-blister crimps up to sloped hold and top through the honeycomb roof. Balancy. Easier on the tall, rude to the short. You can do a fun boulder / toprope combo too by staying on lax rope and pads as you boulder from under the chipped cave then out and up the wall as your belayer kicks in. Three carrot anchors shared with 'DTD'.

Good fun, Very Gritstone like, with a few bouldery moves at the finish. Approx 50m R of TB at the seam and face.

Up VFTE to ledge then move down to reach holds on the wall below a horizontal break. Climb this wall to the top. BB. Direct start is worth 19.

Two toprope carrots are located above the middle of the wall facing the water, above a giant hanging flake. A desperate toprope problem.

worthless

Prow with twin SS glue-in carrot top anchors. Hard mantle to breaks, then headwall.

Climb the short crack to the ledge and follow Cruel Fate to the top.

Marked. About 15m right of C, below rounded arete with a chipped hold on its left hand side.

Swing up to the jug on the nose, then continue up the arete (crux) and easier ground to the chossy yellow crack. Up this (with care!) then good moves up and out the steep headwall (take care - there's some biggish loose pieces up here). Top rope only, with a double bolt belay. The left leading corner directly above the mark is about grade 12 up to the headwall (the headwall is about grade 19 or 20). The corner right of the arete is about grade 18 to the headwall.

Short R to L steep mini roof boulder route. Start at the RB in the roof 2m R of SC Boulder up and L to big jug in SC. Cross this and keep going L to join Campbelltown Cookup and finish at its loweroff.

Start: marked, 1m right of arete, on short east facing wall.

Tasty. Slightly overhanging start, to rounded edge and up. 4BR and lower off on right above Tangerine Canard.

Start 1m R of Bunsen Honeydew. Up nice arête. A little contrived, so try and avoid BH and the tree, otherwise take off 4 grades

A pumpy number that climbs like one long boulder problem. Thought provoking moves up the face followed by generous holds through the roof. RBs the whole way.

A few long draws required, backjump or second to clean.

Some pumpy moves straight up to anchors in roof.

Start: 5m right of SWMBO. Hard start up through shallow cave to head wall.

Start 4m right of offwidth. Up to pocket then nice moves to break and slopers and hidden holds to top out. Anchors up slab. Take two 4m slings to top rope or rap off

Thin and tenuous climbing past 3 RB to a triple bolt belay.

Just to the right of COtC. A ripper of all wall climb with a stingy tail. 3 Us to DBB lower off shared with BB or finish direct. Rebolted 2021

Reachy crux. The line of Ubolts 2m left of Bushy Corner. Up wall past blocks then right to faint corner and up over roof to finish at lower off just below ledge.