Mount Keira, Escalade

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Carte

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1 North Face 2 West Face 3 West Face Boulders 4 South Face 5 East Face 6 Pox Crag 7 Lower Boulders 8 The Lonely Boulder 9 Pucko's Boulder 10 Northwest Face 11 Upper Boulders

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Résumé

The popular Illawarra climbing destination for beginners and intermediates, featuring a large mix of trad, boulder and recently re-bolted sport routes.

Description

The Mount Keira Summit Park is a popular recreation and climbing destination within 90 minutes drive south of Sydney.

The mountain plateau features a well developed car park, picnic area, lookout with stunning views of the Illawarra coastline and a newly opened pop-up kiosk cafe. The plateau is ringed in by cliffs which are accessed by a mix of established foot tracks and bush scrambling.

Of the four key cliff faces the West Face is the most popular and accessible, featuring many easier and shorter routes. The three other faces (South Face, North Face and East Face) are more exposed and progressively more difficult to reach, though do offer some excellent routes for those who pursue them.

"The Big K" is worthwhile for a day trip from Sydney and a very good local cliff for those that live around the Illawarra - R.Young 1994

.. and if all else fails, remember ... The Law of Gravity is STRICTLY Enforced

Limit. de l'accès hérité de Wollongong

Many of the Wollongong crags are located in the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area (IESCA). This region has had a chequered history in recent times, with large swathes of popular crags having to be closed after it was missed that a new NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Plan of Management (PoM - 2018) had incidentally banned climbing along most of the escarpment. After a lobbying effort and a stroke of coincidental good luck an amended plan of management has been published (2023), modifying the plan to allow rock-climbing “… on the west- and south-facing cliffs of Mount Keira and on cliffs north of Bulli Pass."

Access comes with caveats and all climbers should be aware that that “… new bolts or anchors may only be installed with NPWS consent, and park infrastructure such as safety railing may not be used as anchor points as they have not been designed for this purpose. NPWS will not install, assess or guarantee bolts or other fixed protection points. Participants in these activities are solely responsible for their own safety.”

Given the pressures many rock-climbing areas have been under around Australia and the plethora of access issues that have followed it is imperative that climbers respect and heed the access requirements. Access granted can easily be access taken, noting from the PoM: “Locations where rock climbing and abseiling are allowed may be reviewed and altered to address safety issues, risks to visitors or impacts on cultural values or environmental values. Temporary closures of rock climbing and abseiling locations may be applied to limit impacts. Permanent closure of sites may also be necessary. NPWS will consult with representatives of the local climbing community before implementing any permanent closures.”

Please refer to the ‘Ethic” section for more notes on how to be a good steward for the climbing community.

Approche

10-20 minutes

The main climbing areas are accessed from the Mount Keira Summit Park by driving in from either up Mount Keira Road from Wollongong or via Picton Road and Mount Keira Road coming from Sydney.

The West Face and South Face are accessed by a short walk along the Dave Walsh Track. Refer to sub-areas for further area approach details.

Où dormir

Camping is not permitted in the park, there is plenty of accommodation to be found in the Wollongong region.

Éthique hérité de Wollongong

The modern climbing scene and all the access issues that go with it requires modern ethic and all climbers should familiarise themselves with general good crag etiquette to ensure access is maintained into the future.

The following is a short summary for the area:

The Wollongong area has a historical mix of sport, trad, and bouldering, with fully bolted sport routes emerging as the dominant form in the last decade
Do not bolt or rebolt existing trad or bouldering routes
No chipping of the rock to alter the difficulty of a route or create new routes. Loose or dangerous rock may be removed with careful discretion
Top rope and lower-off through your own gear. Fixed anchor protection to be used for final lower off only to minimise wear
Minimise excessive chalk usage and make brushing of holds a regular routine. Consider using alternative chalk colours to minimise visual impact
Do not bush-bash new access trails, stick to existing marked trails where possible
Do not remove vegetation, both from around cliff bases and on the cliff. Brushing down built-up lichen, dirt and chalk off existing routes is acceptable maintenance
Do not leave rubbish or gear at the crag. Gear left may be confiscated by NPWS
Respect any announced closures of tracks, cliffs and areas in the region
Don’t play loud music at the crag, consider the amenity of nearby climbs and non-climbers alike
Speak up against anti-social behaviour, unsafe behaviour, or other activities that threaten access – contact your local advocacy association - ACANSW
Rebolting shall only be carried out by suitably competent and trained persons. The minimum standard is 316 stainless U-bolt or ring eye-bolts with pure epoxy glue. Refer to http://www.safercliffs.org
Remember you are responsible for your own safety, and the safety of your friends!

Learn more at https://www.cliffcare.org.au/education

Historique

Graphique de l'historique des voies

William (Bill) James in the mid-60's followed by the prolific Graeme Hill mid-70's and his side kick Chunder (Russell Chudleigh). Contributions from Jon Muir (from 1977) , Ian Anger(ferret) , Dave Thomas, Ant Prehn (from 1978) , Rod Young(from 1981) Original descriptions by Ant. Prenh/Tucker/ViBeS/Rod Young/TJ