Routes in North West for selected grade

Crikey it's good. Which is better Path Of Yin or Eye Of The Tiger? Truly superb rock architecture, with fair dinkum good moves. Was a lot harder but then some creative thinking enabled the roof passage to be climbed with out too much strength, which produced an enormous increase in it's popularity! Incredibly steep, at least 15m overhung.

Start: Start at the back of the cave beneath the huge "eye" in the roof.

Sit start on the juggy holds under the roof. Move back to a bad undercling and make a hard move to the pocket on the arete. Finish up Golden Oldie.

The burly twin of "Ministry of Love". Sit start on the off angle slopey rail and head left to the slot and jug.Traverse the overhang right on pockets to a sloper and edges and a tricky top out.

The left arete starting with a RH pinch and low LH on the arete. Top out. Compression problem.

Riley Kenna's channel!

The original problem from a standing start - to mantle the finish.

1. [24] 32m

   Crank off cairn to the break, then traverse left for 6-8m. Up over bulges past FHs, to a slopey ledge (#3 cam). (Don't go diagonally up left from 2nd FH, there's no gear). Traverse left to short arête and up this (FH) to belay (25m rap).

2. [29] 40m

   This is why they rave about Taipan. Roof, trend right across scoop, hug up turret to horizontal break. Move left then weave up wall to the top. 8 FHs. Trad anchor, or lower 30m off the last bolt.

This famous line was the first route on the wall which cried out for the mythical fourth star. Now re-bolted by HB with 75mm ball head expansions (the original laser-cut fixed hangers remain), HB also put in an anchor 1.5m to the right (you still have to top out). PLEASE DON'T PISS ON THE BELAY LEDGE (bring a pee bottle for long belay sessions). Aiming left or outwards is NOT Ok, you WILL be pissing on other pitches and yes they do get climbed. Start on the cairn on the raised ledge, directly below the obvious huge arete of 'Naja'.

Low sit-start on the bottom-most jug, then head out past the 'handlebar' and onto the big sloper. Now cut out left via a big move to the slopey pinch, up to the pocket - then back right to the break. Match.

One of the easier problems, but quite good.

Start: Start on the top right hand side of the cave where the lip almost touches the ground. Bum drag to start.

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 City of Peace - aka Nagasaki. 7 years in the making, fires, surgeries, viruses, broken bones, Covid and now it’s free. The spectacular route up the main turret in the middle of the big Orange cave.

Start as for Ethanol and up to flakes in the roof. Follow the line of holds right, moving through the roof to the other side and mantle over the nose of the boulder.

Stand start under roof. Using underling pockets to start, move through lip and up the face.

A gourmet for sure, starts on an obvious rail, finishes on top. two small crimps lead up the center of the face, and a big move to the jug/lip. simple and sweet

Takes the seam from a sit-start right of 'Sick Nutter' and just left of 'The V2 Sit' problem.

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

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

Short and punchy. From a sit start on slopey edge and side pull, follow the prominent seam to a slabby exit.

One of Weill's faves. Sit start on underclings 2m left of the arete. Bust left to side pull, right to undercling pocket, then two very slopey pinches. Exit for Anonymous Arete

Once considered the hardest route in the country when introduced by Carrigan as Australia's first grade 30. Now considered a tad easier by modern standards. Start as for 'Trojan' and at its crux move left across the corner and onto the exposed arete. Take some deep breaths then get fired up for an intensely fingery experience above the flared layback, not to mention some acute footwork. At the top of the corner, make a move left to a jug and gain the finishing crack. A final tricky exit leads to the belay.

Roof climbers rave about this one. Steep jugging to a few hard moves at the end. Unfortunately once again the bolt spacing warrants caution.

Start down the very back of the left end of the main cave.

7 bolts to rap anchor. There's almost groundfall potential at the 5th and 6th bolts, and also beware the block behind you at the last bolt.

Rock isn't as good as the other routes here, but it has a couple interesting moves.

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.

Pulling off the ground and doing the first move seems the crux. Starting from a sharp L hand pinch, moving the right hand from the start to a shallow undercling, then L up to a slopeing pocket. intermediates exist before the huge ledge finish. 3ish moves?

Climbs the direct start to Pooh Sticks and links that route into Anus Horribilus. Despite being slightly contrived, a brilliant conception. Two distinct halves offering Blue Mountains like crimping to start, followed by gritty slopers.

The original start steps off the pillar at the 2nd bolt (left hand in pocket), and is a couple of grades easier.

Toby Pola - pulling on above the direct start... but below the original start!

Starts around 4m left of GHMT. Was climbed as a huge dyno. Has also been climbed via some pretty poor intermediate slopers, which most consider to be v6.

Very Steep Arete at far L

Sit start matched on right-facing edges. Move to a gaston then up right to gain a jug and top out.

Ugur's channel

Cesar

Climbs the low barrel roof 20m before the line of Old Henry's. Sit-start and using painful pockets, head leftwards diagonally up the wall with ever-stretched out feet. Aim for the slopey gaston and topout shortly thereafter. Rumored to be soft at the grade.

Sit start just left of arete then traverse R) across face via some shouldery moves.

The direct finish to the previous problem up a bit of blankness just right of the pocket.

A 15m variant to the first part of the second pitch of Serpentine. Significantly harder than Serpentine. Pull through initial roof on Serpentine p2 then L via very thin moves to red jug on beautiful sheer hanging red face. Trend back R past 3rd bolt and up subtle arete. When the arete finishes trend L via more hard moves past 5th bolt, to rejoin Serpentine at the horizontal break.

Start as for the original problem, then when you get to the big sloper, make a huge dyno for the break. A variety of methods exist.

Just right of 'Crankshaft' crack without using that line at any stage. Same first couple of moves as Crankpression to obvious RH sloper but then stay in the line of the corner to finish. Devious and sharp.

Climb "High Dive" until its crux and continue up underside of arete past 2 bolts to join "Power Corruption and Lies"

Roof left of "Sport Crack".

From the start of The Walker, head right on crimps to finish on Evac.

Start as for Running Man and traverse the horizontal weakness 6m right via hard crimpy moves to big pockets and top out to the right on good holds.

The right arete doesn't look hard at first blush, but closer inspection reveals few holds. From a stand start balance up to a relenting finish.

Beta dependant. Standing start. Up to poor pocket, then big move up to large pocket. Re-arrange the hands, then out right to the intermediate edge, then big span (or trickery) out to the jug on the arete. Match this and motor up on more jugs to top-out.

Hiroshi

Stand start from jug then climb up and top out.

Roman

There's 1 or 2 old bolt holes 1 to 2m to the right dating from an unknown attempt on this great nose of rock. Start 4m L of 'Mantis'. It's almost a sport route but you need a few med. cams before the bolts.

Up The Great Escape to half height, then R and up to lower offs.

Middle Cave.

Traverse from the LH corner (sit-start using underclings). Hard move into the traverse, across and into 'Lonely Heart Club' via a classic drop-down move, finishing as for that problem.

Trackside Traverse to finish up ‘10’s Dyno (right arete out).

Quite close to Nomads but it still looks great. The usual warning applies about having only a single bolt between you and the ground at times.

Start as for Nomads.

Break R from Nomads after the 1st bolt, then follow the line of holds 1.5m R of Nomads. It's a shame it finishes in the middle of nowhere at the last bolt a few metres before the lip. There's no anchor - either trust the ring or back-clean it.

Designed to be climbed as a quite scary sport route, but rumour has it there is the odd trad piece to sanitise it a little. No anchor...clean it how you wish! There is a piker's variant which goes at 27 by traversing a little higher than shown when you're about 15m into the traverse. Line 18a in the topo shows a grade 25 trad variant done by Matt Adams.

Start: Start on the boulder on the R edge of the huge cave, on the R side of the 2nd tier.

Left hand start to minimal tech.

Sit-start right underneath the roof on the big block (handjam). Head directly out to the big edge near the lip, then left across a sloper and good edge to a lefthand sidepull. Dyno up and right for a sloper sidepull in the groove, then slap (or lock) lefthand to the finish jug.

Climb Rodeo Girl and head left to the arete and up. Bad landing.

Steep wall hidden away from the prying eyes of the public.

Start: Starts on hidden ledge up right of Journey. You access this from above, by scrambling down juggy grey wall 20m R from the top of Journey.

Straightens out Slinkin'.

Start: Start as for Slinkin' but go direct and up to the end of the L-wards traverse

A ridiculously thin looking black streak.

Start: Start beneath the widest black streak on the wall, about 20m L of the arch, and a few metres R of where the raised ledge peters out.

Start just left of SC. Amazing wall climb.

Lip traverse from a jump start into the roof left of Wimmel Friedhoff, and finish up the groove just before the start of this problem.

Easy Does It into 'Aphrodite'

6m vertical arete up the hill from Sydney Highrise

As for 'The Beginnings...' then break right and up via extreme undercling move to the slopey break.

Makes Rage an independent line to the top, providing another awesome pitch up the most majestic part of Taipan. Start as for Serpentine pitch 2. Follow Rage for 5 bolts then head left to wide runnel, follow right side of runnel to just below roof, span left across runnel, then up to roof. Follow right side of next runnel to top. Another variant has been bolted (see 41b in topo) which moves left after only 1 or 2 bolts of Rage and up the faint arete to join into Angst.

Middle Cave

Climbs the blunt prow of the spaceship boulder from a sit start.

After a few metres, break diagonally R and then power up past bolts to the lower-off L of Procol.

Start: As for 'Warmonger'.

Located on the face other side of the flake.

This and the next 4 problems are located on the raised ledge of the 'Butthole Surfer' Cave, within view of 'Gay Hip Flexor' down and to the left.

A bum-dragging traverse that looks great but is obviously spoilt by the proximity of the ground (at least you won't hurt yourself!) Traverse from the start of 'Bitch Slap' rightwards all the way to the arete, and topout via a sloper and better lip holds.

Starts as CTS finishes up MP. Classic pumping.

Starts as 'S.O.S.' but climbs straight up.

The line a few people have claimed as Vague Corner, though almost completely independent and also very good. Start low on the prow right of Crankshaft crack and compress straight up using slopers either side. No use of the crack itself.

Sit start from an undercling and a slopey lip. Pull straight up.

Grampians wall climbing at it's best with distinct sections of increasingly sustained and technical climbing. Start at the corner 3m L of Forty is the new 23. Small gear required for the initial corner, and beware the top FH is very difficult to clip, add a long draw.

Bolted seam to anchor between Narcotic and Morepox

Sit start on small edges.

Great sit start half way across Finalgon and direct through underclings and small crimp to top out in same line.

Linkup el supremo. First 3 bolts on TT, move R acros CTS and LPM, join MP at fifth bolt. Finish up MP.

A good one to do when the crag is realy busy!

Start just right of 'Abandon Ship' and head directly up the line of bolts. Some bouldery cruxes down low with an easy top out. Grade is a suggestion and may go up or down. Rebolted 2017

Large roof doesn't even come close to describing this. Flake (peg) on right side of cave (facing in) to its end. Bulge, then line across ceiling to exit through left-most hole in roof.

Hard sit start on edges to difficult mantle just after start of TTT

Up EotE to bolt then up bulging line between EotE and GT to join Intergalactic Space Control near the top. Watch your back.

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.

Sit Start under the arete and punch straight up the nose on hard moves.

The magical long sustained main pitch uninterrupted by rests is something special, even by Taipan's lofty standards. After some high profile spankings it seems to be settling in as being about a grade harder (not a grade easier!) than Serpentine, so Dave's original grade of 28 has been bumped up to a solid 29...and may not stop there!

Start in Lawrence of Arabia, about 6-8m R of Quetzalcoatl and 5-6m L of Scud Buster. It's best to fix a rope 8m to the ground so you can belay from the ground and jug/batman to start.

1. 47m (29) The gear (mostly FHs but some med. cams down low and a small wire up high) is a bit spaced but right where you need it. 'Steep' slab climbing (crux) up to the main roof. Bust out the roof, trend R a bit then up the sustained wall to the 3rd belay of The Seventh Pillar (45m rap).

2. 14m (28) Cute. Straight up the steep headwall above the belay.

Start on good holds, climb right into hueco and continue up to round pocket. Top out over lip