Routes as trad in Free State

A good route not in the usual vain of Swinburne in that this is a Trad route with bolts when and where there is no Trad gear. The abseil and belay stances are also bolted. The line uses natural lines of weakness to get to the very top grasslands of Rensbergs' Kop. The summit beacon is 15 mins hike from the top stance.

It however remains essentially a Trad route and climbers need a good sense of mountain craft and Trad skills. The first and second pitches need 3 or 4 size 5 and 6 cams. For the descent a minimum 2 x 50m ropes and 4 abseils. If using 60m ropes it can probably be done in 3 abseils.

Route

1. 23m (17): Climb up the wide crack to the foot of a narrow chimney. Move up this, passing 2 bolts in a narrow section then exit onto a ledge. Move 1m right, then up a slab to a ledge. This is with a huge crack to the left and an a overhang of rock above. Two bolts on this pitch.

2. 23m (16): The money pitch. Climb the slab with several large cams for protection. Then right over easy slabs to below a bolt. Climb delicately past the bolt to a semi-hanging stance below a bushy recess. One bolt on this pitch.

3. 25m (15): From the stance move right into a V shaped recess, then diagonally right up a slab to a step up in a recess and past a chock-stone. Then up left to a vegetated ledge and chains. (This is the final abseil point on descent if using 50m ropes) Note: the large cams are no longer needed and can be left at this point and fetched on return abseil. Three bolts on this pitch.

4. 23m (12): From the chains, move left 9m to an easy ramp up a small buttress. Then around the left and pull up onto the platform on top of the buttress to chains. Three bolts on this pitch.

5. 48m (14): A long and easy pitch, but requires good rope management, as rope drag can be an issue. From the chains, climb up the easy slab for 5m to a long ledge. Move 18 m left to a scruffy recess and step over this to a bolt, then up easy slabs till it steepens. Climb the juggy face, then right to a bolt and up to chains. Five bolts on this pitch.

6. 35m (18): From the stance move right to a bolt and then up easy stepped slabs with trees on either side. Then right to the edge of a bushy recess. Climb pasts bolts up the steep face to a bolted stance just under the final overhangs. Five bolts on this pitch.

7. 18m (18): Scramble into the deep recess, then back left using a tree to stand on (this becomes much easier if able stand as high as possible on the tree). Pass 2 bolts and pull awkwardly onto an easy slab. Move up and then traverse left. Gain another ledge and then up to another to the final chains. Five bolts on this pitch.

Descent

1. 45m From the top of pitch 7 to the top of pitch. It is best to pull the ropes down from the left (facing the rock) of the trees or they may tangle in them.

2. 48m Top of pitch 5 to the top of pitch 4 on the small buttress. Take the straightest line possible to avoid rope friction. It is best to pass above the trees in the gully - this line will take you past an older set of abseil anchors and this may be a good place to stop as there will be less friction when pulling the ropes.

3. 10m Short abseil to the vegetated ledge. This will be longer if you stopped at the older anchor mentioned above.

4. 45m to the ground.

Note:

From the top of pitch 7, it is possible to hike up to the summit beacon then hike and scramble south to along the mountain until able to descend and back to Appin Farm. This is a fairly long walk and navigation is not entirely straight forward.

Climbs the crack-line starting 4m left of the corner chimney on the right hand side of the inverted V slab above the forest. The route is left of HONEYCOMB.

1. 17/18 35m Follow the crack-line for 35m till the anchors.

Note: A 60m rope just reaches the bottom with a bit of a stretch, take care and put knots in the rope. Possibly safer to use 2 ropes.

This is Alard & Marianne's crazy trad project taking the large left slanting crack that heads all the way up the mountain on an east facing side. The start is in a forest just right of a short bolted line in the honeycomb rock.

Open project starting right of GOLDEN TORC, heading up just right of a small tree following an orange streak to the top.

At the top of the gorge where the path hits the face it turns left to the commercial abseil station, here you should see a short overhanging open book about 4-5m high.

1. 18 (8m) Climb this open book. Friends #0 to #1, or Rocks #2 & #5 in the corner protect a weird step out right to another crack, from which you pull up, then onto the arête. Rocks #7, #8, and #9 provide a bomber top-rope anchor, which is cleaned by down-climbing the arête.

This is an access route to the top of the mountain. Scramble up the water streak or up over the small cave to the right of STONE MONKEY. Traverse to the right ignoring odd bolts placed in odd places. Scramble up to the right at a tree, there will be a small pinnacle to your right, continue a little further around a corner to your left until you see a bolt on a small slab of rock. Climb up here to your left to another bolt. Climb up close to the left arête to a tree. Scramble up slightly left to the slabby rock. Continue past some rap chains (to exit) and into the vegetated gully. Follow this gully higher rather than lower to your left and exit on steepish terrain to the top.

On the western side of the Pacific Ocean boulder there is a perfect hands-to-fists-to-body crack. One piece each from Camalot t#3 to #4. Climb the crack on the west side of the PO boulder - named after the Tonga Trench on the western side of the Pacific Ocean.

apparently also exist in this area, but no other info is available - even the first ascentionist (Alex Steyn) can't remember where it goes !

apparently also exist in this area, but no other info is available - even the first ascentionist (Alex Steyn) can't remember where it goes !

apparently also exist in this area, but no other info is available - even the first ascentionist (Alex Steyn) can't remember where it goes !

A fixed runner was used as aid on the first ascent. The first free ascent awaits! The first ascentionists were UK climbers of the 'Hot Rock Global Challenge Team'.

A 60m ab gets you back down. The first ascentionists were UK climbers of the 'Hot Rock Global Challenge Team'.

Climb the obvious crack right of No Thought. The route starts from the boulder. The potential exists for a much harder extension to the route from the ground up, or perhaps this is best climbed as a distinct boulder problem. The first ascentionist left all his smaller nuts at home, thinking he would need only the larger sizes for the crack. Probably only nuts smaller than a DMM#5 will be needed, or micro cams of the same size.

From the car park, a large face can be seen to the left of the mountain. This is the Lunatic Fringe area, which can be easily identified by the half-circle shaped feature on the face. This half-circle is Lunar Tic.

Climb up the slope until it recurves. From here follow the crack line to the top. The crux is moving from the recurve to the crack line, which is not really protected (first pro on the line coming only when the crack has been reached). Probably the best way to climb this line is for the leader and belayer to solo the few metres up to the recurve, from where the belayer can be protected by a nut placed to the far right (on a good stance). From here there is much less rope drag, and the belayer can spot the leader until pro has been placed.

It can be top roped as there are anchor points at the top for a top belay. Second half follows the arête to the left of vertigo.

Not bolted yet, anchors only. Just right off Slab Route.