Ascensiones en Mt Hay teniendo Beta

First time doing a proper canyon, amazing and knackering!

First time through Butterbox. Loved it!

Approach is long and particularly strenuous on the loose scree heading off the canyon track to the base of the climb. We didn’t descend far enough and traversed into the top of pitch 2.

Pitches 3 to 7 are quite good. Some run out sections but climbing was quite nice. Rope drag tends to be the main struggle with long pitches even using double ropes.

Quite disappointing that pitches 8 to 10 are much worse for climbing style, rock quality and gear placements. Pitch 8 was terrifying as we ended up putting all our lives in the hands of the thread belay. Rope drag caused a big problem and delayed the process - leading to pitches 9 and 10 being done after sundown. These involved a lot of dirt thrutching.

I led pitches 3a, 5 and 8.

Left carpark at 8:30am, returned at 6:00pm.

It appeared as though there is an escape from the top of pitch 4 back to the scree slope.

Should be graded slightly higher and with an X rating as there were some moments where a fall would have been extremely serious.

Compared to Tom Thumb this has a much harder approach and the climbing is nowhere near as good.

Did something near this but didn’t look at the guide and wandered up the ridge. Mixed rock quality but super cool day out. Some epic pitches and some absolutely terrifying rumours.

Second bolt is over the lip, bit spooky pulling it not knowing where the bolt is!

Speed ascent. Alastair and I ran the approach in 33 minutes, the climb in about 2 hours, then the exit in about 15 minutes. We simulclimbed with microtractions pitches 1-6, then linked 7-8, then pitched 9. Our rack was doubles from 0.3 to 0.75, then singles to 3, but it would have been nice having doubles for those. A 5 didn't feel needed. Total time 2 hr 57 minutes. The start didn't seem damaged at all from the fires a few years ago and it was fun.

Gorgeous spot! Abseiled this to start an adventure and climbed back up in runners for fun.

Pretty adventurous little outing for James and I. I rapped off a tree after pitch one as James had copped a large rock to the face and was bleeding profusely and, not really being a climber, was worried about getting up the route as the storm rolled in and blood obscured his vision. Pretty good climbing on this pitch though. The first 10m or so were running with water which meant I couldn't climb the crack at all or really place gear, I got a piece in at 5m and another at 10m ish above the ledge which was exciting and a bit heads up. Otherwise it is a dirty, damp, vegetated adventure crack that is pretty fun but maybe not classic. I imagine I will probably come back for the upper pitches at some point but I won't be rushing. The top 5-10m up the steep number one crack was farking radical though. We also got to watch PolAir land and take off as they had collected some very silly hikers from the Grose who preferred to be helicoptered out rather than sit out a 20 minute thunderstorm. The paramedics in the carpark sorted James' face for him though which ended up working out nicely

Great day out! We took the recommended rack with a single 4 of which was more than adequate. First 5 metres of the first pitch is very damp along with questionable rock. Following this though it opens up into an amazing corner crack system. The crack is fairly dirty however still climbs really well.

Pitch 2 measured about 20 meters plus another 10 meters scrambling to get adequate protection for the belay (base of pitch 3).

Pitch 3 is about 30 meters when you combine it with the most exposed part of the exit scramble.

Overall three stars. 2 stars for the climb plus a star for the approach.

stiff 8. not much of a climb but logging it anyway!

We got very lost

A bit of an adventure. Started around pitch 3 based on the last logged ascent post fires. Lots of good fun to be had if you can laugh off some interesting situations. Stunning exposure at times

Great day out with some stunning exposure. Be sure to sacrifice something to the scree and choss gods

Attempted from pitch 1, but the rock was cooked from the fires. The first 4 hand holds i attempted broke off. Jumped on at pitch 3. Helmets and a sense of humor are absolutely necessary. We were glad to have tricams and hexes but I'm still not sure why we lugged the #5 all the way up. It probably could have stayed at home.

A 70m rope would have been nice to have.

A great day out on a 13!₩

Generously bolted. On static, did bring climbing shoes.

Not easy to find. Stay close to the cliff line, and look for the ledge above. The 'cave' is more like a narrow (~1m high) horizontal slot you crawl through.

Try lead climbing this exit in the dark in wet canyoning shoes and you'll quickly discover it's more difficult than advertised, especially with one spot where there are no footholds whatsoever. Would have been better if i'd brought climbing shoes with me in the drybag. Make sure to bring 4x quickdraws.

Also good to note that the exit path as drawn on the picture above is at best an artist's impression, there are large scrambles up and down not drawn at all. You're not lost, you're still on the right exit track.

Epic climbing, run out, harder than 13 and great day. 10 Hours car to car, the climb has been severly burnt in the 2019/20 fires and the rock on the first pitch has become brittle - we avoided by walking around the ledge above from the right.

Great day out. Better than I expected given the grade. Printed guide misses part of the instructions for P9, I think we found a new way through...

Done in very saturated approach shoes. And climb was good, as the other option was a 4 hr walk out.

Wished I'd read these notes instead of trusting the canyoning guide (which states "about 8m of climbing") - only took a 10m dynamic rope-end and came up short. Instead we created the mountain's shittiest multi-pitch - two pitches of 6m (FA?). Climb it in sopping wet approach shoes, seeping pack loaded with soaked canyoning gear and light rain for the full tick. Belay your partner up to the interim ledge by rigging up a dodgy anchor. Fist jam start. Definitely not a grade 8. It's a must-climb! (if you want to avoid the 4-6 hour walk out via Lockleys Pylon).

Descended butterbox canyon and climbed out via this route. Great canyon + great climb = awesome day! Approx 11 hrs car to car.

While the climbing is easy, it’s a fun adventure with some fun moves. Do the full chimney. Good day out. Great location.

Pretty stiff at the grade Lovely Piddo-esque rock I used a fist jam at the crux

Canyon Guide

Exit Butterbox: Tafe Assessment.

Butterbox Canyon Reccie for Tafe

Guide: Butterbox

Butterbox: Tafe

George and Co vs. one hot boi

Got absolutely roasted in the 33 degree heat

Serves a purpose

Good day out. Not as scary as the first time 6 years ago. Needs a bolt at the top of the chimney to avoid the traverse and a few bolts in the good looking head wall as a direct finish to round out a good day

Definitely a climb I won't forget in a hurry! The climb had breathtaking views and some sections of really nice climbing with good exposure, intertwined with 'pitches' of bush swimming. At times I felt like I was doing a canyon exit (alternate butterbox exit perhaps??) The topo was hard to follow and I'm not sure if we were on route for the first 4 pitches. But overall a wicked experience.

Great day out in a spectacular and adventurous area. The rock is pretty poor and feels a little porous, so select cautiously.

Amazing passage through 2 overhangs on P4 & P5, very lucky key features just like climbing overhanging greens at St Leonards gym.

Some suspect rock, but well protected, adds 2 extra climbing pitches to Monks Wall route. Getting past the roof was easier than expected with good jugs.

Unfortunately this direct finish still ends with a fair bush bash up steep dirt.

Had to retreat as the 4th pitch was soaking wet