Vie in Shipley Lower

The line of shiny new rings 15m L of Unforgiven. DRB 10m off the ground above the hanging swamp, it's a rap-in affair. It's directly below the striking huge white gum tree on the top of Lower Shipley (which is easily seen 30m below Weak as I Am on Upper Shipley). Descending the steep scree to the top of the rap no doubt requires care. Closed Project.

28 if you go direct at 5th bolt, 27 if you snake around right the original way (by Mikl). Great rock, especially the lower two-thirds. 70m rope required for lower-off. Careful with drag (e.g. back-clean 3rd), its not enough to bother the leader but stops the belayer from giving a soft catch off the crux. Also best not to leave the gear on, the top of the route has recently been badly scarred by windmilling quickdraws.

Start up the unforgiven till the 4/5 bolt and head right.

Linkup, to avoid the cruxy start of Nikita which makes it even more classic. 1st 4 bolts of Unforgiven, then step R to join Nikita. Soft at the grade for added enjoyment! Has no more drag than Nikita, i.e. its fine if you use a few rollers and extenders before the traverse/ramp.

Pumper, follows obvious right leaning ramp. Now starts on the ground and stops at lower-offs at 35m. Needs 16 draws and 2 more for the anchor, and a 70m rope. The good hold for the hard move down low snapped in June 2013, decide for yourself whether this does anything to the grade.

Up and right along ramp then up.

There's been a line of ringbolts a few metres right of Nikita for several years. Anyone know if this has been sent? Grade?

Starts approximately 50m R of Nikita, 40m left of Sausages and Lightbulbs, on left side of prominent arete (get to the start of SAL then head L, stay high and traverse along narrow shale ledge beneath undercut). Gets early morning sun and goes into the shade after lunch.

Batman to the first jug then tip toe and crimp across the ramp and up thin wall to good holds. The climbing now gets easier up the left side long mega arête on bomber orange rock. Needs 2 cams, or 4 if you double up. BD #0.4 to .75 and some slings.

There can be a seep from the anchor running down 1-2m left of the arete, but don’t let it deter you because it doesn’t affect the climbing at all.

Starts at arête 8m L of SAL. Joins SAL for the last few bolts.

1. 30m Slab with a desperate move, then roof and lovely upper wall. 16 bolts to lower offs.

2. 20m Up easy slab with a couple more bolts to rap anchor.

Obvious thin face and sexy looking blank corner. Stick clip the 1st bolt, then back clean it to avoid bad drag. A bit glued up, but great climbing. Don't cop out to the arete at the top! 70m rope required to lower off.

Start: 50m LEFT of the waterfall.

1. 15m (21) Corner and flake to roof. Out to ledge and belay.

2. 20m (21) 'Flake' to break. Leftwards, then up right to ledge.

3. 15m (-) Left and out.

Long and varied. Not so great as a warm-up! Reduce drag by using 4x 60cm slings on bolts 1,2,5&6, plus a few double draws, and a roller on bolt 1. Beware some portable holds down low.

"Steep off width near fallen tree" - 1990s guidebook [tree may be long gone]. Start 15m right of the waterfall.

1. 20m (16) Climb tree to gain wall above chockstone. Steep crack and wall to top of flake and old bolt belay.

2. 25m (20) Up (carrot) then hard and runout ramp and wall to break (small cam). Easy to carrot and cam pocket. Slab to break under roof. Over and up (carrot).

Start just right of HFF.

1. 35m (21) Up the dead tree (2023 - looks like this is long gone), right to base of scoop, up tp horizontal breaks, L and up (two old carrots) to small ledge and cams. Right to lowest part of slab, up to ledge.

2. 15m Up to top and old belay chains.

With a recent rebolt this is now a good sport pitch - and one of the only "warm-ups" in the area. Starts about 20m left of Clockwork Orange. The original top pitch is trad but unremarkable and not recommended.

1. 18m (20) Thin start then left into great orange scoops and up wall to lower-offs at base of black slab. Make sure you stick clip the first bolt.

2. 30m (15?) Don't bother - but if you do bother go left from anchor onto unprotected low angle black slab. Up this to small ledge with large scary blocks - then easy trad corner to top and chain.

Traverse of the Clockwork Orange buttress starting at the top on creek side.

1. 35m (16) Traverse along horizontal break to a point overlooking a blank looking slab. Down to slab then horizontal for 5 metres. Diagonally right to groove and second belay of CO.

2. 40m (20) Traverse right 8 metres, peg. Move up 3 metres to flake and climb it to roof, peg. Traverse right to the Arete then up wall above to tree as for OM.

3. 15m (17) Climb to top.

Start: As for CO.

1. 30m (18) As for CO to ledge.

2. 25m (18) Slab, diagonally left slab to arete.

3. 35m (18) Up onto the slab, left of bulge and up.

One of the Bluies crack classics. Orange corner 55m right of the waterfall. The first pitch is only adequately protected with small wires and should be treated with caution if this grade is your limit. The 2nd & 3rd pitches have plenty of gear!

1. 20m (18) Up undercut corner to break, left to first ledge, short wall and stance (trad belay). Small wires needed.

2. 25m (20) Slab to crack. Corner, around bulge. Crack to ledge. Left along the ledge to groove. You can skip this belay and link into the next pitch reasonably easily.

3. 16m (15+) Up the groove. 2x FH to belay.

A rarely repeated classic that hopefully sees more action since a full rebolt in 2024. Oodles of great face climbing, and an infamous roof-and-mantle sequence on the second pitch. Can be climbed as a multi-pitch adventure or just climb the bottom pitch, or link into pitch 2 to the first set of anchors for great single pitch sport climbing. Rebolted 2024.

1. 20m (23) A hard start (caution getting to the 3rd bolt) followed by sustained, engaging face climbing to a second crux just below the anchor. 9 bolts.

2. 20m (25) Step right, then up thin, right-facing flake, with a few very insecure moves. After gaining ledge (optional belay - grade 24 to here - you can lower off and clean from here if just doing the lower face pitches), hard-traverse left on gripping slab, then up to funky roof and legendarily hard mantle to gain anchor (chain draw on lip). Be aware, it's not easy to aid the mantle. 9 bolts.

3. 20m (20) Straight up the wall to gain a super-airy technical traverse left (the piton is particularly memorable), before heading more directly up on easier terrain. Belay from tree atop route. 9 bolts.

Start: Corner 8m right of CO.

1. 15m (17) Nice corner crack to ledge on right. Worth doing just this pitch if this is your limit. Belay at old piton (+ medium cams) or the bolt belay on Aquapuppy to the right. You can rap from this bolt belay.

2. 25m (22/23) Wall to bulge, over this onto ledge and crack. Up to roof, BR, wall then steepens, loose looking flake below ledge. Right along ledge to tree.

3. 15m (17) Up wall.

Start: As for OM.

1. 20m (20) OM's corner for 10m to traverse line. Right along this past two old bolts, onto arete and up it (no protection - scary) to ledge and bolt belay.

2. 10m (19) Black wall and slab past at least 1 BR to old bolt belay - rap here or traverse right to gully. Could be linked into pitch 1 easily.

Start: 25m right of CO.

1. 20m (19) Bulge. Left up crack to ledge. Belay in the gully on the right.

2. 20m (19) Right around arete, up and right up ramp to ledge under roof. Take care! Up to ledge.

3. 15m (19) Up.

Up. Careful with flake. Up, then left to break. Right to arete. Up. Finish as for R.

Start: Faint corner with black wall below flake.

Start: 3m LEFT of 'Bowstring'.

1. 20m (21) Faint crack to slab. Belay as for 'Twinkle Toes'.

2. 30m (21) Up and left. Travers right at steepness to ledge. Up.

Start: 20m LEFT of 'Bowstring'.

1. 20m (22) Middle of black wall to ledge, slight left to belay. Take wires!

2. 20m (22) Slab up and right to tree!

Start 100m RIGHT of CO at spectacular right facing flake crack topped by offwidth roof. The hidden second pitch is also great! Keith Bell had led the first pitch free earlier but seconds did not follow. He came down off a #4tube chock which was left in place. This was the only aided pitch on the climb.

1. 15m (23) Jam easily up steep flake crack to roof. Undercling right across offwidth section then around and up easy crack to hanging trad belay wherever you can get in reasonable gear. No need for mega large cams - pitch can be protected well with a 2x #3 camalots and 2x #4 camalots. Be sure to save at least one for the belay.

2. 30m (18) Right into delicious dark orange low angle crack. Follow this up until forced to slab across right to ledge at right end of large roof (trad belay). You can walk off here along large ledge with a bit of a scramble up a short chimney. Also possible to rap from large tree back to the ground (40m?)

3. 10m (18) Bulge and up. [not sure where this bulge is?]

Start: Yellow roofed corner 12m right of B.

1. 20m (23) Corner (2 carrots), traverse right to footledge, right along break, up to ledge.

2. 10m (15) Traverse right.

Sculptured crack 40 metres right of PV just left of initials.

1. 35m Up crack and belay where it runs out.

2. 30m Steep moves through bulge then up wall to top.

Start: Narrow wall 70m right of PV.

1. 15m (16) Up left side of wall, step right. Up bulge and wall to ledge.

2. 25m (17) Wall and arete.

Now, she was a girl...

Start: 10m LEFT of the ESCAPE ROUTE. Corner.

The route to do here if you have to! Take care!

Start: Right of 'Caterpillar Girl'. Below the big red roof. 10m above the track. To freedom.

Start: 2m right of ER corner.

Very hard looking fused corner with a single bolt down low just right of The Little Prince, on the left side of the amazing big blank orange wall. Initialed as THF, but clearly isn't The Human Factor. Where is goes beyond the initial corner is unknown - no more bolts are evident.

Start: 80m right of 'Pancho Villa' at wide crack right of roof capped red wall (although THF is marked at the finger crack/seam)

1. 40m (20) Corner crack 10m, left to centre of wall. Up through breaks to big one below the roof. Left to belay.

2. 35m (19) Up groove and corner.

Start: Finger crack right of THF. Climbed in 2 pitches (both led).

Short orange slab to anchors under roof about 30m left of Maxbond. Looks hard. 2010s?

Mystery ringbolts. Same start as Maxbond then left to the arete and up hidden face. 2010s?

Somewhat of a construction exercise. Ahead of its time!

Mostly carrots (and a couple of fixed brackets) but bring a 0.5 to get to the first bolt.

1. 30m (23 M1) - Up weakness trending right past cam to carrot. Hard moves up steep corner (crux) with hard to clip bolts to ledge. Funky moves up "creative" features to brackets. Aid up (tricky reach) to gain leftmost bracket, then resume freeing to next carrot. From here, hard traverse left to gain 2 x carrot belay on arete.

2. 15m - Up the easing slab above.

Mega in an old school, wandery, adventurous kinda way.

Mostly carrot bolts (and a few fixed brackets) but bring cams 0.3 to 0.75 to keep it sane.

Start 35m RIGHT of THF at short steep corner lurking at right side of major orange wall.

1. 20m (23) Corner to ledge, right and up wall to 3 carrot belay on sloping ledge.

2. 25m (24) Left and up to gain 2nd bracket, then hard and committing traverse to arete. Turn arete, and onwards to slab and carrots on other side. Up this slab and arete to jugs, then rising traverse left to 3 carrot belay.

3. 10m Short slab and corner to top out. Belay from trees.

Start: Right of NW. Offwidth.

Starts 5 metres right of Sidewinder. The 3rd pitch of this climb is the variant finish to StCC which precedes the one recorded as 42. It was climbed without bolts.

1. 30m Up crack to belay on shattered ledge behind tree.

2. 12m Traverse right to DBB as for St Clemens Crack.

3. 30m Move left, up through break in overhang moving right to slab and shallow corner above. Up this then traverse right to arete. Up this and wall above to top and tree belay.

Start: Middle of 3 high corner cracks.

Up TGR. Corner to crack. Right to arete. Up.

Start: As for TGR.

A great long pitch but a botched rebolt has created a bit of a mess. Bring lots of long runners and a couple of bolt plates (to clip the old bolts - which are actually much better positioned than the new bolts!). Most just do the first pitch and lower-off. Start 15m right of 'Sidewinder' at ringbolted arete.

1. 35m (23) Start on right side of arete but quickly swing onto left side (crux - sandbag). Up long wall for several bolts then traverse left under overlap (hard to clip bolt above this) then mantle up left to base of short corner (ignore random ringbolts on the right side of the arete). Up corner to belay ledge. 60m rope will just get you down on rope stretch. Its a bit of a rope killer- maybe best to rap rather than lower/

2. 20m (15) Right from belay and up.

Start: 5m up SCC. Traverse left and up. Finish as for SVDM or rap.

3m left to wall and narrow ledge, crack, up and mantle. Diagonally right and up (poor pro!). Diagonally left up ramp and corner to orange overlap.Traverse around nose, up right side of arete. Take wires!

Start: At SCC anchor 1.

Crack right of SVDM Up obvious crack through minor choss to DBB then right and around roof. Quite good.

Start: 10m right of SSC. Grey Wall

1. 35m (23) Thin crack. Wall to ledge. Traverse left to ledge.

2. 15m (15) Corner. Take Care!

Start: Roof crack 30m right.

1. 20m (20) Up to roof, right 10m, up to break and belay.

2. 20m (20) Up, left to orange corner/flake. Thin break. Left to arete.

3. 20m (18) 'Arete' and wall.

Start: From QE anchor 1.

1. 25m (20) As for QE then right to bolt. To arete and up to ledge.

2. 15m (21) Straight up.

Grey black slab about 200 metres right of St Clemmens Crack immediately right of a spectacular orange/yellow wall. Used to solo out of Lower Shipley.

1. Climb diagonally right across the slab.

Corner crack about 100 metres right of Exit Stage Right.

1. 40m Up crack past tree to top. Varied size crack