Routes as sport in North West

Bouldery start into monkey puzzle.

Extension of 'Tunnel to Caracas' .

Climb all of 'Tunnel to Caracas' then continue up the seam above to join into 'Fat and Sassy' just before it takes the left fork in the seam. Finish up the runout top section of 'Fat and Sassy' to the top of the cave.

Rebolted / made sane in 2017. This is a great line & deserves repeats!

Watch the top out! A super route on gritty edges. To start, scramble up to the double fixed hangers, right of 'Curse of the Bilby'.

Your rope might get chewed to shreds when you lower off if you don't extend the anchor.

New wave testpiece. Excellent sustained face climbing. 7 bolts to fixed biner lower off. The resident lunch-stealing critter is actually a bandicoot, not a bilby!

A subtle jigsaw of movement.

Eat your spinach for the top!

Originally climbed by Claw with a rest and named "Wild Drugs and Crazy Sex".

As for 'Look Sharp' to first bolt, then move left and up the wall past more bolts.

Sustained crimpiness up microscopic edges. Fixed hangers up beautiful wall 3m R of Little Thor.

Tara Sutherland's Jan '98 ascent was the first Aussie female ascent of a grade 29, followed shortly after by Megan Osborne.

Recently re-bolted.

Excellent long-overlooked addition that incorporates a direct finish to Strolling RHV. Direct line up the centre right of the buttress that would have been completely uncontroversial had it pre-dated Strolling RHV.

Sustained climbing leads up and slightly left through a bulge to a technical crux. After the 4th bolt, continue straight up on blowable slopey pockets. Do not traverse off R here if you want to bathe in the social recognition of a legitimate ascent.

Start: 3m R of Strolling.

Up the orange wall past 5 inconspicuous carrots. Apparently, finishing directly past the last one is the most 'enjoyable' way to do the route.

Start: At the R edge of the grotto, 2m R of Catch 22/This.

A popular sport route (but you may wish to take some gear for the finish). Stepping left into Boomer for the first half is quite unavoidable.

Start below the orange wall near the highest point of the arch, and follow the line of fixed hangers.

Two carrot bolts protect the face. Would be an amazing boulder/solo, but has not been done yet.

Roof above 'Togrul Khan' past two BR. Inadvertently retrobolted after the FA. It's a bit necky getting to the first bolt. The direct start from the bottom of the wall has been done (Smith Hoskins, 4/5/96), as has the sit start (!!) (Hoskins, 14/5/96).

Start: Start above 'Togrul Khan'.

Start: Start left of the big corner of "Orestes", about 4m Left of It'll Never Fly.

Thin steep face then traverse left to arete. Up arete (#2 BD cam) to lower-off.

Start: Just left of 'Orestes'.

Climb It'll Never Fly almost to arete, then cut back diagonally right and up to another bolt (exciting) then up to anchor.

Start: As for It'll Never Fly.

Short, soft and bolted - needless to say this one is popular. Start on the uphill side of the Iron Void pinnacle.

At the top of the crux of Exodus II, break right to a 2nd bolt, then up and right to a 3rd bolt (past undercling pocket). Upon reaching the edge of the crack weakness (Copyright), cut back left via yet another boulder problem up the unlikely headwall. Sustained power.

Start as for StS. As for StS to the break then up the arete, making sure your photographer is ready for when you whip.

Start just R of Unrequited. A more fingery version of Slopin' Sleazin' perhaps?

Climb the thin wall between CP and T. Bring medium cams to make an anchor for belaying. Re-Bolted 2024

Joins the hardest bits of both routes and is supposedly a grade harder than each of them. At least two repeats, Chris Lindner in 2009 and Byam Keil in 2023.

Start as for Pretty in Punk, finish as for Punks in the Gym.

Right-hand line on little wall with a rusty carrot. Used to have a fixed pin and two bolts but has now been rebolted. Steep thuggery to awkward topout. Now has 4RBs and a DRB lower off.

Pure face climbing funkness. Originally graded 25 and worked on via some very dubious gear. Climbs the crazy groove 10m R of Lamplighter past 4 ringbolts to a DRB anchor. Super technical and sustained, with a variety of options available for undertaking the crux, none of them particularly a giveaway! Unconventional and classic moves make this one of the best routes at Arapiles.

An outstanding climb taking the major line on the South Face. Quite finger intensive and very exposed. Originally climbed with a piton as the last gear - though this has now somewhat controversially been replaced with a bolt. A small cam can be placed in the top runout.

A righthand finish to Slinkin'.

Start: Start as for Slinkin'.

Remarkably sustained face on thinner and thinner holds. If you fall off the slab you'll be in good company.

Start as for "Wackford Squeers".

A bolted boulder problem. The holds are generally good, but seeing as they are all vertical - guess what that means for the feet? 'Dynamic' and very powerful.

A direct start to 'Anus Horribilus'. Start as for that route but go straight up through a small undercling to the 2nd bolt. Cruxy moves lead into the finish of the original route.

A classic at the grade. Bouldery start leads to quite continuous climbing on good slopey holds. Steeper than it looks!

Ultra technical face climbing.

Start: Attractive orange streak at the very base of 'Mysteries' 'Gully' (downhill from Goats Song).

Originally called 'Nativity' Direct Start and poorly protected. Now retro-bolted and popular.

Starting just right of arete, climb pretty orange wall through small overlap. Continue steeply up wall to small stance and rap anchor.

A very steep link-up of 'Bees Knees' and 'Spunky Monkey'. Up 'Bees Knees' to the diving board, place some optional medium cams then traverse right into the super exposed finish of 'Spunky Monkey'. Route needs to be back-cleaned or 2nded.

Small roof route through cave just left of the Northern Cave with 5 rings.

Up rounded arête keeping the bolts to your left. Belay bolts service this climb, which are around 5 metres back from the top of First Offence.

Re-bolted by Glenn June 2014. Now 5 RB's to DUB lower off. Follow featured wall up to high cave. Clipped bolt from safety of cave, take a deep breath, step left and delicately launch up black wall through crux.

Stick-clip first bolt. In its upper half this route follows the left side of a large pod/cave feature, and the crux is pulling out of the top cave.

Start a few metres right of Legal Aid and chin out to the bolt. Around and up easily to a ledge and another bolt. Up into the scoop, then move back right to clip a new ringbolt, then onto the slab passing another bolt. (Simon Mentz, Glenn Tempest, Grampians Selected Climbs 2009).

An easier finish is to mantle out of the upper cave early, to clip the bolt on "The Hanging Slab" (about grade 23).

There is another route that goes up the right side of the large pod, passing a historical mish-mash of fixed gear. It seems that little is known about this route.

Wall right of Subpeona. Re-bolted by Glenn Aug 2014. Now 4 RB's & DUB lower off. Lower off is easily accessible from the top.

Start under the rock leaning against the slab at the very left end of Suicide Rock. Up the slab/chimney to place a cam in the top of the alcove, step right and around to follow the arete up past four carrots to belay from three carrots.

The obvious shallow corner. Starts from the ramp which is accessed from the right hand end of the cliff.

The arete with the bolts to the right of the cave. Step up onto the large flake to clip first bolt then up. Chains to belay.

Route starts with a good boulder problem (crux). Key hold at the crux was recently broken off. New grade might be 24 or 25.

Start 3 m left of Sleigh Ride, up the middle of the slab past three bolts. Put a boulder pad down to protect the moves to the first bolt.

The slab and arête at the right-hand end of the Side Outcrop. Starting around the corner 4 m right of Rambunctious and doing a high step onto the slab makes it 16. Starting at Rambunctious and moving up and right to the bolt is probably a grade harder. A boulder pad will protect the way to the first bolt, which needs a wire as a bolt plate won't fit.

The definitive word on ethics? Wall 4m R of Zola. Originally done in 2 pitches but pitch 2 is worthless and it is now a 1 pitch sport route.

Start: Start 4m down L of 'Starstruck'.

HB had previously dabbled in this vicinity while searching for a second pitch for Mirage, but after he declared the second pitch groove "impossible" nobody bothered with it for years. Luckily no one told Stuart, who sauntered in and snared one of Taipan's very best. Unfortunately the first pitch is ridiculously cruxy, so most people rap in to do pitch 2 only. Start as for Sirocco.

1. 35m (31) Follow Mirage for 18m to gain the hanging slab atop the steep white corner. Now doddle up L (ha ha) past bolts to the start of the groove, and more easily to hanging belay at chain (30m rap).

2. 25m (28) Amazing climbing up the line of shallow water scoops in incredible red stone, 7FHs to chain (25m to 1st belay, 55m to ground).

Another excellent 15m variant to Serpentine. Follow Serpentine pitch 2 for 12m until halfway up the fridge hugging. Trend R and up past bolts to loweroffs (30m to 1st belay, 52m to ground). The loweroff is somewhat diagonal - be careful not to end up hanging in space.

Almost completely superseded by Sneaky Snake, especially until the start bulge gets freed. But still worth recording, for those who can't climb 33! Start 8m R of Naja. Stick clip and batman 10m to third bolt to bypass the blank bulge, then follow the awe-inspiring water grooves in the incredible steep sheer wall. Finish at the half-height DRB. 70m rope recommended. The low bulge has reportedly almost been freed, but will be MUCH harder - open project. Initially done with a batman start from the break above the 1st bolt (grade 30)

Takes one of Taipan's best scoop lines and is ultra classic in it's own right. Start 10m up L from the base of Invisible Fist. This scramble/traverse is 10m off the ground and trickier than it looks.

1. 25m (28) Groovy. Follow the disconcertingly holdless groove, deviating left around a blank bit at 15m via some crux cranks. Exciting finish well above bolt to rap anchor (30m to ground). Can feel very hard for 28 until you work it out.

A few pieces of gear down low on the easier sections. Probably the most popular route on Taipan - not least because of it's spoodgy grade and the quantity of shiny stainless steel! Start on the elevated ledge, just L of the top of the boulder you scrambled up, below a well-chalked slabby thin flake. Clip some cams as the start is easy but delicate and unprotected.

1. Carefully up slab to rooflet then mantle onto slab. Delicately up this to horizontal, slap the slopers, ride the horsey, monkey up the flake and dyno like a madman to lower-off (30m). Take two #5 Rocks if you can afford them.

2. (15m, 34, 8 bolts) The extension through the bulge (bolted by Ben Cossey/Al Pryce) and up the black streak on the headwall to the top (bolted by Garry Phillips) was sent by Kilian Fischhuber on 3/8/12. As usual in this guide, this is written up as a "second pitch" so that the easier first pitch is also recorded, however the hard version is best climbed in a single 45m pitch to the top. Kilian calls this version "Southern Delight".

The trad placement has now been retroed - silly poms can keep using the #2.5 Fr if they wish. Another new bolt has thankfully straightened the half height deviation to the right, eliminating the ridiculous tough cross-through clip of the 'Academia' bolt.

Start: Start from near the R-hand end of the bouldering traverse, about 5m R of Kaa.

Two cruxy bouldery moves to start then eases considerably. Stuart Wyithe originally bolted this thinking it was only going to be grade 26!

Start: Starts 2m right of 'Naughty Tickle Town'.

Gordy's finest hour! He never made it to the top - he lowered from the fourth bolt and recorded it anyway, and now it's one of the most popular routes around at this grade.

The scene of one of the biggest dummy spits in Australian climbing history. Cruelly stolen from Gordy by a roving Garth in his youthful prime. In a fit of vengeance Gordy promptly chipped off the vital holds, removed the bolts and covered the rest of the holds with sunscreen! Nathan Hoette managed to repeat it anyway. This is the extension of 'Tyranny' past a further two FHs to rap chain.

Sustained slopy masterpiece that some reckon is the best thing on Spurt. It climbs a blazingly direct line of pockets and crimps. Typical Julian bullshit runouts to sketchy clips with the technical crux several metres above a bolt. 6 bolts.

Underrated and sustained. Graded 27 for many years although Simon originally thought it was 28. Some people love it and some people hate it. Six u-bolts and an exciting runout at the finish. The last bolt was added ten years after the first ascent to stop a potential 14m fall!

V4 boulder problem start (stickclip) which adds an extra star to Menstrual and, since the demise of Menstrual's tree, is easily the best way to do Menstrual. Re-bolted 2013.

Up Menstrual then head right past a few more bolts, should be more popular but run out at the crux.

Pretty snappy.

Start: It used to bridge up a pathetic tree ... which is now gone. A big stick clip is probably the best way to sample this original version of the route (but the newer direct start described above makes it a lot better so why not just do that). Apparently the bridging section can be climbed at very bouldery 27 or so. Yet another alternative is to boulder in from the right on pockets (grade 25 and easier if you are tall and don\'t mind broken ankles).

Starts 2m left of Dial-A-Lama. Stickclip first ringbolt. Bouldery start then a few good bulges, pockets and slopes before being confronted with a confounding sequence to reverse into the upper crux of Dial-A-Lama. Finish right as for that route past its last bolt to rap chain. Seven bolts.

Fantastic thought provoking sloper climbing with an exciting finish. Very popular, despite being very solid for the grade. Once had a reputation for silly bolting - but has since been fixed by SCV.

Short + soft + bolts = popular. Climbs better than it looks. Rebolted 2013.

Start: Start 4m R of Dial-a-Lama.

An old Martin Lama project that was cruelly stolen by a visiting Brit (and then named after Martin's flowing locks!).

Very hard single crux move. 'Campus' slopy rails. One of the best 'lines' at Spurt. Four FH's. Nick Sellars tried to rename this route after some obscure Baghdad Cafe cake. The name didn't stick.

Soft tick if you can crimp. Bouldery climbing from start to finish. Three FH's.

Warmup route of the crag. Fun scoopy moves and a nice pump. Three RB's.

Easy tick - more like a bolted boulder problem.

Allegedly has some good moves.

Hard start then reachy moves on pockets. The bolts are all in the wrong places. 3 FHs.

Sandy rubbish at the far right end of the crag. It has a few ok moves but the aesthetic value is very low.

Steep start up wall with big moves leads to thin face. 4 ringbolts and double RB anchor.

Huge jugs. Now fully bolted!

Sustained techy thin climbing up orange wall on perfect rock. Five RB's. Rap off ring and chain.

Super techy grit slopes, mid height rest and cool finish. Optional #3 Camalot on long sling above crux.

The original route here - and used to be protected by only one bolt! Start at the first `weakness' right of the overhanging section. Hard move over overhang to shallow left facing corner, follow this with increasing difficulty to where it ends. Traverse hard left to a tricky mantle and good face climbing up wall above - some wires or slings help with extreme run-out to anchor.

First 3 bolts of Nuclear Wasteland then take the right line of bolts. This was once a trad route but was retro bolted with permission from the FA.

Delicately up orange wall to first overhang. Bouldery moves over overhang, up and R to second overhang. Brushed wall to top. Retro bolted with permission from the FA.

Start: Start 7m R of 'Yellow Cake'.

Beautiful thin face two metres right of 'The Visiting Bloke'. 4 FHs - the addition of a recent retrobolt has tamed the once dubiously protected start. Rap chain for descent.

Lots of interest in this climb. A long bouldering traverse just off the ground leads to a cruxy move guarding great climbing up an orange streak. It is possible to place small cams on the traversing start but they're more trouble than they're worth as you're so close to the ground - just stick clip the first bolt if you're concerned.

Start: Start about 8 metres right of the Let X=X corner and just left of the boulder on the right side of the wall.

It's unfortunate that this crack was bolted, but it's a bit late to do anything about it now. It almost deserves two stars to con sport-climbers into jamming.

Start: On the lowest and east-most crag, there is an overhang with a bolted crack through the ceiling.

Great climbing up the obvious bolted layback line on N facing prow at the far RH end, and above the Eastern Walls. DBB on the wall at the top is NOT the top of the climb (23 to this point). Clip anchor, then make committing moves R to hanging rib, and another bolt to the top. Backclimb to anchor. NB: Bolts are likely a retrobolt of the original, which was grade 25 on trad gear, finishing up flake at the top.

Starts across from WR. 3 Rings are a retrobolt.

This climb is to the R of the previous climb and around the arete. Ascend via the diagonal seam. Rings are almost certainly retrobolts, and climb a more direct and slightly harder line (original trad line moves R at 2/3rds height) No anchor (walk off R).

Climb the right side of the slab to the ramp, then up the face past 3 bolts.

Start: Start a few metres left of 'Snow White'.

Hard thin face moves past BRs onto sloping bulge

10m left of 'Murder Psalm' is a flake crack which leads to a beautiful slab. Originally bolted by Roland Foster.

Strangely this was one of the first routes bolted here. Why they walked all this way for one climb is pretty strange. Overhung blocky corner with two FH's on the blank slab above.

Start: Starts 10m left of 'Physical Graffiti'.

Controversial bolted corner crack, with plenty of suss rock. Not a bad warm-up but far from a classic.

Start: Rusty-coloured corner 20m left of base of Pocketed Wall and 10m right of 'Murder Psalm'. Scramble up to a DBB at base of corner.

One of the best sport route of this grade in the Grampians. Brilliant, but unfortunately it seeps very heavily after rain.

Starts just left of black streak on far left end of the Pocketed Wall. Scramble up and place a sling thread for safety before the first bolt and belay from there or else directly from the bottom. Rebolted 2023 (with a couple of retrobolts added in the final section).

Fantastic 'limestone style' pocket climbing up central black streak on the left side of orange wall. It's just beside a heavy seepage line, but only one hold seems to get wet. Watch out for the potential fall on top of the belayer at the fourth bolt. Belay as for Terminal Insomnia. Rebolted 2022.

Excellent long moves through great pockets with an exciting finish.

There's a single ring for your belayer to tie into (plus a carrot if you brought a bolt plate).

A worthwhile link-up with a few metres of new climbing. Start as for Cosmic Psycho.

Fantastic sustained climbing up the centre of the Pocketed Wall. The finish seeps after a good rainfall, but not as badly as Motley Crue or Terminal Insomnia. Start 3m left of Sisters Of Mercy. There's a single ring for your belayer to tie into (plus a carrot if you brought a bolt plate). Rebolted 2023

Brilliant with a pumpy and demoralising finish.

Start: The right most route on the ledge. Start 5m right of Blonde Ambition at a DBB.

Not very inviting and has a reputation for a blisteringly hard crux. Seeps after rain.

Start: Start as for Billy Ray Syrus.