Routes in Oceania for selected grade

Start at crack line two metres left of Ckinell, up crack, gradually veering left into second crack, then through large guano filled pocket and jug hall through the easier section of roof above pocket. Easy climbing to top or head right to rap anchors.

Up the pockets through the overhanging wall, about 4m right of 'Tullah's Tease', then continue easily up the line above.

Start 8m left of 'The Ferrets Are Coming', below a rock step. R up vague ramp then up.

The nice face between 'Sickle' and 'Little Thor' gets classed as "serious" as it has seen plenty of groundfalls and a death. However, the pro is fine if you know how to put it in. Treat it as an exercise to see how much you can place.

Start 3m L of 'Little Thor', immediately right of 'Sickle'. The nice glassy face with small cracks for wires and hardest moves at top. Note the arete just to the R has been done at 18.

Sit start

The line just L of the arete.

Start on the black back wall of The 'Thimble' which faces 'Comic Strip Wall', 1m L of the arete.

Short corner then R and up.

Start 1m R of 'The Last In Line'.

Grunt your way up the offwidth crack on the wall around left from 'The Rack'.

LH crack in narrow buttress, then R to a pair of thin cracks.

Start beneath the roadside-face of the buttress.

The bottomless corner.

Start 2m R of 'I've Got A Big Honker'.

first accent

Up L leaning flake, R to orange weakness through bulge, then L to seam.

Start: Start 1m R of GM.

Start 3 metres right High School Antics on left side of chimney. Stay on left side of chimney avoiding the temptation to bridge at any stage. Climb up to horizontal crack and into corner. Up to overhang and obvious thread through. Blast through juggy overhang and spare a size 3 cam for pocket in upper head wall.

The thin corner.

Start: Start just R of arete.

Up then step L and follow the continuation.

Start: Start 2m R of SL.

A little extension to Scylla. Up Scylla until the difficulties ease, then step left to follow the flakes (instead of finishing up Charybdis). More sustained than the original finish.

An obvious, the word is used loosely, corner.

The same party wrote up another climb here : Rat 9m 16 Climb the bulge 4 metres left of the corner, up the wall, and finish up the right-facing black corner. Sounds like it might be the same as 'Ratatouille'.

Start right of Boo. Up wall to jugs. Continue up until wall blanks out, then take line of holds right across orange face to the arete. Up and right to Mesa chains.

Takes nice grey wall left of Boo. Chimney and bridge until jugs appear on the right (north) wall. Swing onto these, and direct up wall above.

A variant finish to 'Hell For Leather' which is more sustained and improves the original.

Start: Start as for Hell for Leather.

Overhang is a bit brutal but arete is nice. OK in one pitch with care with rope mgt on first, easy section. Start as for Clytemnaestra

1. 20m (16) As for Clytemnaestra Buttress until below the overhang. Now pull through the overhang at the deep crack just R of the arete. Belay at ledge just above.

2. 20m (14) Up the L edge of the buttress, with better moves and rock than on CB.

Start as per Agamemnon, finish last 5m up Electra pinnacle staying on the Northern chimney face. Small pro. Descent off the back or Rap down Agamemnon bolts as Electra chain is an awkward downclimb.

Start 15m R of Necrophiliac. The crack R of a bush.

The flakes.

Start: Start directly opposite CRaCM.

Start on top of the Piccolo pipe and climb the middle of the wall on the D Major pipe. The start is a little bold but the rest of the route protects well. Finish at rap bolts.

A few good moves up the front of the D Major buttress. Start at the lowest point of the buttress.

1. 30m (16) Up easily till face steepens, up face to crack in buttress.

2. 20m (16) Start up chimney just left of D Major then step left above roof to front of juggy buttress.

Beautiful, sustained first pitch followed by a short hard section. Start below the well-chalked thin cracks taking the middle of the wall right of D Major.

1. 25m (14) Sustained climbing up the thin cracks to the big cave.

2. 25m (16) Move towards the front of the buttress and climb a short, difficult corner. Continue easily.

The central line up the Conifer Crack buttress is unfortunately not very sustained. Also it has a habit of dealing out broken ankles to leaders falling at the end of the crux. Start just right of Conifer Crack.

Essentially a nice variant finish to Sonatine, sharing that climb's crux. 35m abseil descent.

1. Start as for Yossarian or Sonatine or other approach to the first belay of Sonatine at the huge block.

2. 25m 16 Step off the block into a shallow orange groove (as for Sonatine, crux, RPs essential). Move into the righthand groove and follow it direct. (Sonatine is the corner on the left).

Over the nose

Climb is on the east face, facing the Pines. Starts easily to shallow cave at 6m. Leaving the cave, the gear is rather thin and at the grade.

Start below tooth-flake 3m right of Mark You've Changed.

Up right side of flake.

Pale waterstreak into thrutch crack.

Start on blocky ledge halfway up the left side of Brick Wall - i.e. off the top of the pinnacle just ledt of Squeakeasy.

Start as for Sue's Climb, take the flake into Pedro for a metre, then head L on the next steep blocky flake. Up wall and through bulge to join Pedro's finish. All reasonably well protected except the initial R leaning flake - take small wires.

Surprisingly not as good as the original. Start as for BP and go L 1m as for that route then straight up to join the finish of Jason.

Regularly recommended to those who can't jam. Start 3m right of Pedro. Layback and jam the water-washed corner, with technical moves L around the roof.

There are 3 short chimneys at the righthand end of the wall. This is the left one and is surprisingly awkward.

Strongly suspect that this is a repeat of Gobsmacking Dick which was written up in the Operation Leo Area and described as in a hanging gully above Jason. Despite the inaccuracy, I think they're the same.

This climb is up behind Golden Fleece Wall, starting up a gully of sorts directly behind the top of Dylan.

Chimney until the slab on the left wall is too far away then pull onto the right wall. Hand-crack to start, bulge, finger-crack and on to top.

Originally described as SSO RHV. Start as for The Stoat Steps Out. Up 3m traverse R, crossing Bunyip, for 5m and then up.

The crack then the arete.

Start: Start 2m L of D.

Rambo would've climbed 32 if he'd had HB's mo.

Start 2m L GC.

Crack, seam, ramp, wall.

The short flake with a bouldery start.

Start: Start on a small orange buttress L of TPtG.

A pumpier partner to Sob Story and Tear Jerker.

Start as for SS and TJ.

From ledge where SS steepens (and TJ heads out R), fun and well protected climbing heads up diagonally L to crack on L wall.

The corner then L around the roof.

Start: Start in the alcove R of K.

Cooner Spunnilingus?

Start: In the back of the gully is a crack on the right wall, up higher.

Up this, avoiding temptation to bridge back.

Wedged in the middle of Jeff's Buttocks. The easy looking right-hand crack.

The line up the L side of the buttress.

Start: Start in the gully on the LH side of the buttress.

The first route in the world to have its own web-site!

Start: In the hanging gully at the back of the All 'Alone in the Dead Zone' (Shattered) buttress is an obvious corner. This might be the same gully as 'Dead End', but then again maybe it's not.

Up the corner, finishing slightly left

See arapiles.net for a photo. Start at the front R arete of the block, R of DDT.

Diagonal seam that doesn't quite reach the ground left of FOTR. Bouldery start, diagonal then wall right of the corner of Pure and Simple.

After the bouldery start of Bootleg, continue up wall right of that route. Some poor rock and gear.

Start 2m R of NH. Grotty corner.

Start 1.5m R of WMT. Bouldery start with not much gear then wall to break. Step R then up grey wall to finish up Babylon.

Start 3m L of a gumtree at R end of the wall. Up the intermittent L line of the faint twin lines then featured slab to anchor. Hard and tricky to protect start. 30m abseil.

Start 3m R of the big block. Short thin seam and up to ledge.

Start at the Pillars (i.e. at the top of the previous routes). The overhang above the cave.

Start on the featured arête just right of the overgrown corner crack down and right of the gully, opposite the broken east edge of Minstrel Pinnacle. Easy climbing leads to a distinct crux off a ledge. More easy climbing follows.

A shady outing for a hot day, starting in 'Dreadnought Gully' then taking the rock between the Dreadnought and Starless Buttresses. Nod and Norm did it years ago but detoured around some challenges on the second pitch. Nod and Kieran have now straightened it out with the addition of a comforting bolt.

1. 25m (14) Up grey rib directly opposite Dreadnought, finishing up the roof crack left of the chains. Belay, then walk up the gully 20m to where the Dreadnought Buttress abuts the main cliffline at a corner.

2. 40m (16) Climb the water-polished line 3m left of the corner, trending right after about 10m. Continue trending up the grey wall right of some yellow patches of rock, then straight up centrally via a distinctive line of white spots (no, it’s not chalk) followed by a bulge, where a BR shows the way.

3. 40m The gothic headwall above features an obvious black water streak. Traverse right from the gulch and follow black streak to the top.

Fun climbing. Good for a hot day as its mainly in the shade.

1. 25m (14) Up first pitch of The Catacombs. Belay then walk up 20 meters, under the giant chockstone until you can see a big corner crack.

2. 13m (15) Climb corner crack and belay at top. Watch out for loose block at the top.

3. 30m (16) Climb directly up face for around 5 meters with no holds into crack. Climb crack and traverse right onto slab. Slab starts on a corner ledge and goes up for around 20 meters past bolt. Belay from top of giant round boulder roughly 8 meters above bolt. In the first section it's a bit run out if you're into that sort of thing.

I will go back next trip and install some anchors so lowering off is an option instead of having to climb the headwall (super easy).

The next three routes start in the gully behind Starless Buttress, left and slightly lower than the huge chockstone. The starts are hidden by the top of Starless Buttress in the topo.

Start as for 'The Empty Quarter'.

1. 15m (15) Up to thin crack and up past bolt. Easier face left of bushy groove to big ledge.

2. 35m (16) Pull onto buttress just right of Ngarrinarri and up and right at bolt. Up a few moves just right of centre then step back left and steeply up the centre of the buttress. Easy slabby country leads to the top, taking the last little step to the left or right.

The first and third pitches are good. It's best to run pitches 1 and 2 or 2 and 3 together, then you get two good, long pitches followed by an easy pitch off.

Start below and L of the big overhangs, on the lower section of Dunes Buttress, at a layback crack.

1. 35m (16) Up the corner for 6m, then swing up L past overhang onto slab. Trend L into bushy territory, then R into dirty groove to Arab's 3rd belay.

2. 12m (-) Step L and up to small stance. Best to keep going up the next pitch rather than belay here.

3. 33m (16) Go 2m R then up excellent grey crack. (A grade 8 variant established by the three Gledhills on 14/1/68 goes straight up the deep crack into the chimney on pitch 4).

4. 34m (-) Ramble onwards, veering left at spacious sloping ledge

2m L of Dunes is a R facing corner. Start by scrambling (or roping) up this to the top of the huge flake.

1. 25m (16) Grey slab to strenuous chalked wall, then head L up stepped ramp to a belay ledge on the arete. (The original avoided the overlap by going way off R - this better direct way was done by Keith Lockwood and Geoff Schirmer 4/2/78).

2. 10m (-) Step L then up over worrisome blocks and belay under orange corner. 2b: Variant 15m Straight up arete with reasonable pro and rock.

3. 15m (16) Up orange corner then R under arching roof to arete.

4. 25m (-) Up the line then L onto wall and belay under steep little crack (which is pitch 5 of Dunes).

5. 32m (-) Traverse L, ignore scrubby crack, and take the balancy grey slab then join the final corner of Dunes.

Good climbing some dodgy gear.

Worth doing? Yes. Worth a star? hmm...

Start: Start in the middle of the slim S face of 'Fang Buttress'.

As for 'Mantis' to the recess under the roof, now take the left end of the overhang and up the corner above, rejoining 'Mantis' near the top. There is a piton somewhere on this.

Start: Start as for 'Mantis'.

Layback a pin-scarred flake with poor pro, then directly up wall above.

Start: Start 5m R of PK.

The full description provided is "Right of Mantle". Hmmm. Maybe a repeat of Downward Bound? Maybe somewhere else entirely? Who knows.

Up then traverse L across lip.

Start: Start 4m R of ALM.

The chimney

L leaning line of jugs to topout.

Not worth cluttering up this guide except to note it’s almost entirely borrowed from routes established decades earlier. See the FA notes if you want all the gory details.

Up the shallow L facing corner for 10m and rejoin the original. Slightly fiddly gear.

Start: Start just L of R.

The direct line up P2 of Resignation and into the bulge of P3.

P1: As for Resignation.

P2: Instead of heading left to the weakness, continue straight up on orange rock to reach the bottom of the bulge on P3 of Resignation. Continue to Resignation's belay.

P3: Follow P4 of Resignation.

Great first pitch up face left of Skylark. Second pitch is a bit scrappy until a good finishing headwall.

1. 55m (16) Start just left of Skylark and make your way up and left to left side of bulge. Continue up face more easily but with a couple of runouts to good ledge and ring-bolts..

2. 33m (16) Easy face up left to bolt rap anchors, go left a bit then up and back right under bulge then up right side of bulge and up towards left side of headwall. Committing moves up onto headwall until able to traverse right and eventually to rap anchor at Flinders Lane,

This good climb starting up the left arete of 'Kestrel' is probably best done with a long first pitch. A lot of parties take advantage of the rap anchor and skip the second pitch or do 'Kestrel Direct Finish'. However the second pitch has some good climbing, especially on the crux overhang low down. Noddy graded the top section 12 back in the day but is now unable to identify where it went. They may have gone much further right or maybe just a sandbag. Now has a lower-off on top pitch to avoid bushes and loose rock on exit - 60m rope mandatory.

1. 55m (16) Climb arete left of 'Kestrel' until it is more logical to continue up the seam and face left of the arete to the chain belay of Kestrel.

2. 30m (16) Traverse right from the belay, above Kestrel's corner, and up a little to ledge, up crack in the steep wall. Then take the right-hand option up to the final overhangs. Climb these, moving right and up to anchor. 30m lower off to anchor for Diving Deep / Surfacing. 55m (or 30m + 25m) abseil to ground from there.

The major left-facing corner facing 'Kestrel' is another well-trodden favourite. The second and third pitches can be fairly easily combined, especially if double ropes are used.

1. 25m (13) Climb the corner to a block on the right just below the overlap.

2. 13m (16) Short, technical layback flake then move right into chimney and up to stance. The wide crack leading directly into the chimney goes at the same grade but is not as good.

3. 13m (15) Take the right-hand of the twin grey corners (The corner on left is 18).

4. 40m (13) Go up 7 metres, left to skirt overhang and follow line up slightly right to Flinders Lane.

Nice long pitch with multiple tricky sections

Climb orange crack 4 metres left of 'Syrinx', just right of GWDS. When it stops, step left to the next orange crack. Up easy ground to small orange R facing corner, step left and through overlaps 2 metres left of "interesting move" on 'Syrinx'. Up to 2nd belay on Syninx. Continue up that or roped traverse across to abseil on 'Nakablitz'.

This fine climb varies considerably from the original climb but is much better. Start as for 'The Lute Direct'.

1. 50m (13) As for 'The Lute Direct', bridging the deep line 7 metres right of Syrinx. At 20 metres continue straight up the steep thin line. At 40 metres, traverse 10 metres right on small ledges past a several anchors of old pegs to a larger part of the ledge and chains ( the 'Broken Song' anchor).

2. 35m (16) Up left-facing shallow corners to the smooth wall at 12 metres. Step right then up the delicate, bolt-protected wall. Move back left and climb the steep, juggy weakness to easier ground and a ledge beside The Belvedere. The original start to this pitch was well to the right, followed a ramp then made a long traverse back left to the steep, juggy weakness.

3. 45m (10) Polished juggy wall just left of The Belvedere to join 'Syrinx' at the overhang. Scramble easily off right.

(Somewhat rad?) A long adventure on good rock, straight to the summit of the mount. Individual pitch grades not supplied - the overall grade is 16 but some pitches are easier.

The last pitch is in a similar vein to the forgotten final pitch of Shaggy's Route and could well have been better consigned to the same fate.

Start: Start up easy, vegetated crack about 5 metres right of Shaggy's Route. This is also the start of 'The Wobble'.

1. 30m (13) Climb the easy crack and keep in the line (via hand crack through bulge) all the way to a good ledge on the right.

2. 30m (16) Up wall to corner which leads to right side of prominent roof. Pass roof on right and continue past right edge of next roof. Bridge up line until a ledge appears on the left.

3. 30m (10) Straight up line. Belay below long horizontal line of overhangs.

4. 20m (12) Move left and up past left edge of overhangs to terrace. Up wall immediately left of trees to nice orange alcove.

5. 40m (16) Up wall to long roofline on the left. Traverse 2.5 metres right at the roof and up past its right edge. Up easily, veer right, then up wall direct to summit block. Bridge up undercut corner on the left.

Climb up anywhere along the western face, it's all about the same grade.

Straight up the bulging arete right side of right wall trending left to exit via central groove, stand start from the crimp steps.

Beautiful incident cracks to high finish. Descent same way or over back.

Reachy moves up the R side of the wall facing the campsite, past a piton and not much else for gear.

Start: Traverse in from the start of Procul Harem (easy but exposed - you might want to rope up).

In the shade for most of the day, so a good one to do when's it's hot. Oh, and the good bit may be short but it's feisty. Originally graded 12! Below the L-facing grey corner at the R end of the wall. Wander up to the corner, and jam it until it eases, then continue up to the arete. Rap anchor (30m) on finishing ledge (to the R).

Follow cracks up R-wards to a bold finish up the R arete of the gully face.

Start: Start in the gully around L of 'Argyle Street' at a grassy patch.

Thrash up the chimney to a crack on the R wall.

Start: Wander up the gully to the base of the chimney.

"For historical reasons only..."

Start: Near 'Nymph'.