★★ Sideshow Bob 20

This is a modern incarnation of the historic North-East Buttress route. It does cross the original line in several places, although the original route remains largely undisturbed.

Access: From the old climber's carpark, take the right fork of the Tibrogargan track, heading north. Follow the track until you reach some chairs and a picnic table, after which you'll ascend some steps to find a small trail leaving the main track on the left. Follow this to the base of Candy Mountain. Around 15m past the right hand side of Candy Mountain is a vegetated weakness faintly marked NEB.

Start up easy buttress about 10m left of vegetated weakness. "Sbo" marking has disappeared, but the route can be identified by a fixed hanger just left of a small tree at around 6m in height.

Gear: Fully bolted route with some runouts, except for 20m on pitch 6. Single rack to #2 Camalot, focus on small wires and cams. All DBB for belays, some rust on mallions but still functional (as at Aug 2018).

1. 28m (10) Easy climbing up buttress (Grade 4) to FH at 6m (left of small tree), continue up into gully passing another FH to awkward DBB on R face.

2. 30m (13) Go left off belay to FH, follow line of FH and a wire just before DBB.

3. 30m (15) Straight up following the FH's to DBB.

4. 45m (16) Nice long pitch with FH and gear, with a tricky move around a smooth mottled rock section to DBB on ledge.

5. 20m (13) Easy climbing right off belay, following FH's into vegetated gully with a DBB or optional tree belay.

6. 30m (20 crux) Hard stemming moves with protection improving as you progress up the crack. When crack veers right 30 degrees, escape the nastiness by boldly stepping right onto the face, enjoying the abundant fresh air and with relief clip the FH, then past another to DBB (admire old belay hardware to the right from a bygone era).

7. 32m (16) Step left off belay under manky block to FH, then straight up following more FH's (passing rusted relics of the past) with a cruxy move near the top, DBB.

8. 32m (10) Scramble up to NE shoulder and belay on tree or walk right 10m to 5th DBB of Sunburnt Buttress and climb unprotected final pitch to DBB.

Descent: Tourist Track or Caves Route (4x raps), or as for Blabbermouth/Sunburnt Buttress. Do not use Caves route raps if you left shoes at the base of the climb as this variant requires a lot walking between rap points.

Modern climbers establishing new routes have taken great pains to ensure any new routes do not interfere with the historic routes established many decades ago.

Retro-bolting of existing routes is unacceptable!

New routes shall make use of traditional protection where available.