Routes in Warrumbungles for selected grade

Obvious corner to right and behind the usual crux pitch of Rib and Gully. Strenuous, good protection.

?. 24m. Right, up overhangs, directly to tree.

Start at a little corner about 60m left of the start of Cornerstone Rib

1. 12m Easily up corner.

2. 36m Easily to peg, then slight overhang on left and scramble up.

3. 135m Back right then up onto the ledge. Scramble along the ramp, via scrub and little chimneys, until it finally flattens off and stops.

4. 9m Up little wall, traverse left at the top to a small 'crevasse'.

5. 11m (crux) Up block on the right, then traverse left to bush.

6. 33m Easily up.

Start at crack-groove on NW side, just off track to West Ridge.

1-5) Crack, past bushy ledge to corner and overhang.

Tackles semi-detached pinnacle called 'North Face Spire'. Start 10m R of A Little Rainbow.

1. 20 m Chimney formed by large and small spire.

2. 20 m Chimney formed by large spire and main face. Piton Belay.

Abseil off.

Wide crack L of The Kiruna Crooner with large chockstone at one-third height.

Start at old bolt at base of roof-capped corner a few m round L of Ramshead South.

1-2) The line.

Start 10 m R of April Fool, in middle of S Face.

1. 40 m Short gully and wall to fig, then small crevice to sloping rock and short corner. Up 15 m.

2. 40 m Juggy wall, then over grassy waterway to crevice/wall. Up to join final chimney of April Fool.

Start 20 m W of pine on buttress.

1. 40 m Narrow gully to large shelf, then avoid mossy crack by climbing slabs to R. Chimney to fig.

2. 40 m Juggy section to ledge, then sloping crack and chimney.

Start E of main buttress in middle of cliff.

1. 40 m Sloping gully, then wall and gully with fig.

2. 40 m (crux) Big chimney

Start 4m E of Dark Side of the Moon.

1. 30m Black, indented watercourse, then L over grass at 25 m.

2. 30m R on to wall at prominent fig in gully, then slabs to large ledge. Walk W and up deep, ferny gully.

3. 40m As for Dark Side of the Moon pitch two.

Crack up middle of big detached pillar L of the Devils Chair. Abseil down back. A slightly easier route has been done up back of this pillar - no further details.

Start at chimney roughly behind the Devils Chair.

1-2) Chimney with roof at 10 m.

Crack on NE Face, then round bulge at three quarters height.

Start 30 m R of Sunnyside.

1-2) Up.

Start at crack in bulge atop big scoop in middle of face.

1. 35 m Over bulge, then slightly L to ledge with small bush.

2. 53 m (crux) Up wall on edges (no pro; extra-long pitch). On FA the belay had to be undone to allow leader to reach the top.

Up to shelf, then through blocky, overhanging weakness (poor rock).

Start: Start 10m round R of Siege.

Start at base of slabs.

1. 35m Up large slabs, then round R.

2. 20 m Wall.

Corner 4 m R of fence, past blocky roof at three­ quarters height.

Wandering crack R of Boomerang.

Start 10m R of The Cross in an alcove with a crack. Crack to stance, then flared roof-crack to hand crack.

Mostly pleasant climbing on good rock with a delicate crux. Takes the obvious line of grooves left of Cornerstone Rib, but fails to gain the obvious summit gullies. Left of Cornerstone Rib is a gully. Between this and the corner where Diagonal Route starts is a big groove that leans leftwards.

1. 45m Up the groove and gully. Belay where the gully opens out.

2. 25m (crux) Left and climb the corner, then a delicate 5m traverse left into the next corner.

3. 45m Up, right behind a big loose block, right again and climb left-slanting grooves to below a slab.

4. 35m Ascend the beaut slab to a bushy ledge beside Cornerstone Rib (possibly the ‘green pocket’ on Cornerstone Variant) - old bent bolt above here, below hard climbing into summit gullies.

5. 10m Move right onto Cornerstone Rib and up to platform.

6. 45m Continue up the Rib.

The topo is a guess. Please update.

Some contrived scrambling to an amazing chimney pitch with simple quality climbing to the top. Slight amounts of bushbashing. DO NOT DO WHEN WET, the chimney is dark and mossy and is probably unclimbable within a few days of serious rain, Otherwise good when dry.

1. 40m (6) starts at the lowest most northern part of the cliff. Easy scramble up white chossy rock to the left. Head towards the detached pinnacle. Belay at a small ledge with a large cave to the right.

2. 25m (10) Pull over the easy mantle off the ledge and follow wandering line of least resistance south towards the visible peak detached from the main wall. past tree and bushes. Belay on top of pillar with shattered large blocks.

3. 20m (5) Go left along the natural bridge between pillar and wall up to corner on the right at base of crack.

4. 20m (14) Up wide slightly overhanging crack top out on left and push back to main wall. Belay in a grassy 3m gap between the orange main wall and the darker detached pillar.

5. 20m walk left through the bush following the main wall till tree with old sling and carabiner. Belay off the tree.

6. 25m (14) Go left till the ledge drops away, up left over somewhat tricky moves with good gear. Continue up good rock trending slightly right towards obvious dark chimney. Smash through grass and bush for last 5m. Belay in the chimney.

7. 30m (12) smash up an awesome chimney, with good gear in the back. Pull over the top and head directly back following the wall through grass. belay off large loose block on ledge. careful to not drop any rocks onto belayer stuck in chimney

8. 20m (10) couple of hard moves straight left off the belay over small wall onto grassy ledge. Walk back to the next wall and then 5m left to the obvious crack system.

9. 25m (14) straight up following crack. Past old piton towards bush on ledge below next crack.

10. 30m (17) continue up the obvious crack feature, gets steep towards the top. Be careful what you stand on as there are a couple of loose blocks. pull over the slight overhang and then straight up trending right to belay on the small ledge right before the wall gets vertical.

11. 60m (12) A rope stretcher, may be better done in two pitches if there is time. Head horizontally right for 30m with good gear until darker and more bushy rock. Then smash up through an easy but unprotected bush to top out.

Shares start of If the Spirit Moveth (same first two pitches), continues to Doctor Dark's Chimney belay ledge, then goes L of Doctor Dark's Chimney and up wall.

Follow track to W Face. Continue along track behind detached pinnacle and scramble up first narrow gully to narrow ledge.

1. 35 m Up small ramp, then up over small overhang. Meander up to tree belay. Scramble to ledge and follow track L along cliff line. Track dips to a narrow belay stance about 5 m past bottom of dip (near finish of Doctor Dark's Chimney pitch two. Vertigo is round comer to L.)

2. 40 m Steep slab (adequate pro), tending slightly R, to small overhang. Poor rock. Overhang (crux), then easier climbing for about 20 m to small, vertical crack.

3. 15 m Scramble to top, with belay tree for Doctor Dark's Chimney visible on R, at end of chimney.

Excellent climbing. Start as for West Face Direct Start.

Steeply L up line of steps to old bolt, then R to stance. Wall above to tree belay.

The topo line is a guess. Please update this if you confirm it.

Goes up the north west buttress for about 150m to the terrace, then takes a line between the upper part of Scunge Gully and Vertigo.

Start: The first obvious entry to the cliff on the way down from the pinnacle to the start of Scunge Gully i.e. roughly 30 metres right of Scunge Gully.

1. 21m Steeply leftwards up ramp below a red wall crowned by overhangs.

2. 27m To top of ramp, then step left from the corner to outflank overhangs. 2 old pitons at belay.

3. 33m Look out for the fixed bearing race! Up right hand wall of corner. Step right at about 9m to avoid overhangs. Up into groove which trends rightwards. Chockstone.

4. 30m Good chockstone at the head of the groove, up right and over bulges. Then right to a detached block.

5. 27m Left to shallow groove, thence easy ground to tree.

6. 21m Avoid vegetated gully by steep slabs behind tree. Cross the terrace.

7. 34m The fault line which starts midway between Vertigo and the upper half of Scunge Gully is followed steeply up right. Some loose rock before stepping left and up on good rock. To avoid the horror rock on this pitch, it is possible to traverse off right into Vertigo at about half height.

8. 60m Another 12m leads to Tourist Traverse.

One of the longest climbs in the 'Bungles. A good deal harder if the final chimney can't be squeezed! Start: Above the scunge (in the centre) of the north face, up scrubby gully, to chimney leading right.

1. 12m Up to large Moreton Bay figs.

2. 33m Delicate, then up through scrub.

3. 15m Right towards rib, can stop in corner.

4. 24m To large platform. Belay on rib.

5. 9m Up left to peg.

6. 24m Continue up to tree.

7. 18m Long stretch to the gully and up (?).

8. 24m Up, some rotten rock.

9. 27m One comes to a bush!!

10. 24m To the conspicuous chimney.

11. 24m To a good chockstone.

12. 15m Up chimney (13) or outside it (15), more exposed over rotten rock to stance.

13. 27m Up, then easily to right.

14. 24m Pleasant little walls.

15. 21m Pleasant Sunday strolling!!

Magnificent. Start at the lowest point of the face, under prominent pinnacle. Easy slabs lead up 60m to a prominent pinnacle.

1. 24m Climb onto the "bridge" between the pinnacle and the face via a short wall R.H. corner south of the pinnacle - vicious fight with scrub at top. N.B. This pitch may be avoided by a long traverse along a scrubby ledge, higher up from the left.

2. 36m Most novel! From top of pinnacle, carefully bridge the 2m gap to face short wall, then a long delicate, exposed traverse to the right to a large broken boulder.

3. 30m Upwards.

4. 30m Right, then up through scrub.

5. 30m General scrub-bash, or else rock to the left.

6. 30m Magnificent rock wall to right of L.H. corner system. (See direct finish)

7. 9m Traverse right and up delicately, to stance.

8. 30m Traverse right, back up left to airy belay beneath overhang.

9. 30m Cunningly avoid overhang by rightward traverse above corner. Easier to top.

[The topo line may be incorrect. Please update it].

The striking arete to the right of Cornerstone Rib.

There has been some debate about this line (and Reluctance Rib). Most Old Timers agree that the line is the arete but the description from the 1994 Rock Guide seems to be for a very different line. A very bold undertaking for 1954 (8 years before an ascent of Cornerstone Rib) that was not repeated until 1964!

1-3) 90 m Cornerstone Rib to large ledge.

'4) 20 m Scramble down and right out to the base of the arete

'5-6) 70 m Climb the arete. Sparse pro on pitch 6.

'7) 30 m Continue with difficulty up the broken arete on worsening rock to the top or climb up and left across the gully and join up with the top of Cornerstone Rib.

The 1994 Rock guide described the upper pitches as:

'4) 21m Traverse right 6m to a ramp type ledge which goes up to the right for 9m into a corner, piton runner. Up corner then traverse left to a gully.

'5) 12m Up gully to old piton. Right slightly to a home made piton at base of some rotten rock.

'6) 21m Left up wall (good rock) which continues to the rib. Up rib to a piton belay on loose rock.

'7) 15m Continue up rib to gully on the left which leads to top of Rib and Gully.

Find your way up the slightly chossy vert wall

Fun slab using sharp arete and pockets on face