Routes as trad in Mt Dowgo

Stellar handjams mixed with with great face holds and an interesting cave after the initial crux.

A great line that uses a corridor of good rock to weave its way through a wall of choss. Interesting and varied climbing on all pitches. Enjoy the quest.

Pitch 1 - 16 - 25m - Start up grey slabs. Pull through a steeper few metres and continue up slabs until orange rock and undercut crack is found. Follow this right to belay under roof.

Pitch 2 - 20 - 20m - An absolutely brilliant piece of trad climbing! Step up off belay and traverse under blank roof using finger crack and bomber pro. Pull out of the roof and up into/onto the slabby corner with more awesome pro and flowing moves. Belay on the left-hand side of massive cave/roof.

Pitch 3 - 18 - 15m - Step straight up off belay, protect your belay, before a powerful move or two through the overhang and out to the right. Up easily to belay at a tree.

Pitch 4 - 18 - 20m - Straight up from tree into finger crack that turns into offwidth in the corner. Surmount this with some difficulty. Ramble up to the final few steep moves. Top out and belay off tree 3m back from edge. Extend tree anchor back to the edge to keep rubble from falling on your 2nd.

Walk 10m lookers left to steep vegetated gully. Tatt is/was placed here. 60m rope on stretch would get you to the ledge where you will find another anchor hidden in an alcove. Rap off the pinch here. 20m rap to the ground. Lots of loose rock in the descent gully. Rap with care.

This is the big corner with the overhanging chimney start. Solo up an easy sloping corner to the start. Climb up and out the chimney until it narrows to a steep crack corner. Either continue straight up the line (desperate) or traverse delicately right (20) to easy ground. Climb up boldly to the straight-forward corner and follow it to the big belay tree. Rap off.

Starts under the roof left of Joe's Wall at a short wide slot. Hop up onto the ledge and traverse right past two bolts to a trad belay below the centre of Joe's wall. The sandy rock is easily avoided.

Just another brilliant Cania face climb. Starts left of the belay below a bolt. Very steep and sustained. The hardest moves are low down. Contains 4 bolts but take a trad rack and a good hand full of slings.

More steep sustained climbing on excellent rock. Contains 4 bolts but take a trad rack (wires and cams up to BD #2). Two bolt belay on a ledge 7 metres from the top.

A fantastic route on mostly excellent rock. Take trad gear. Avoid it in Spring if peregrine falcons are nesting on it. Pitch 1 (20). Bolt off ground to start. Follow line up wall past 4 more bolts. Trend diagonally left around a bulge and head up to belay below the big roof slot. Pitch 2 (20). Up through the slot then make an awkward move to gain the wall above. Place gear whenever you can because it might just be your last piece. The final tenuous moves onto the slab are a little run out.

Retrobolted before the first ascent was even finished. A good climb with a hard start and a sustained, technical finish. Starts about 20 metres right of Legends out of Time and about 10 metres left of Alpha Wars at a discontinuous crack. Up the sustained line until it joins Alpha Wars at the first bolt. Continue as for Alpha Wars.

It starts about 30 meters right of Legends out of Time at a long leftwards leading ramp. Scoot up the ramp past a bolt to a thread runner. From here traverse right past some big blocks and two trees to a steep corner and a second bolt. Finish up the technical corner to a dodgy tree belay that is now backed up by a bolt. Rap off. The bolts were placed by Zac on lead after Hamish had already climbed past without bolts.

Hard start then cruise up line past a tree to the belay tree on ledge. The rock is mostly excellent but the line is dirty and run out.

A classic. The major vertical line up the big black quartzite wall left of the big cave.

1. 50m Varied climbing and a long pitch to obvious ledge and trad/block belay.

2. 15m Trend left and up from the belay to a ledge, then head right and up to reach the cliff top. Tree belay.

Start right of big cave.

1. M20 Up and left pulling on bolts as much as possible to semi hanging double bolt belay on arete.

2. Follow flake on left moving left at top of flake onto face. Left and up face passing two bolts until able to move back right to arete easily. double bolt belay.

3. Up corner then face to a continuation corner. Average gear. Some good gear in corner to lichen covered ladges then final corner to top. Belay off tree back from edge 3 meters.

An exploratory trip into the upper realms of Big Scary. It would be greatly improved by a more direct first pitch.

1. 16, 15m. Climb the left facing corner. The first 5 metres are fine but it then degenerates into a filthy hillside, best avoided.

2. 13, 15m. Walk left along the ledge until it ends. Climb up to the next ledge on nice orange rock.

3. 16, 25m. Walk left again to belay at the base of the huge sloping corner that heads up towards the enormous triangular white roof. Up the corner to belay at the big tree at the base of the cave.

4. 13, 15m. Trend up rightwards to finish. Awful rock. But good practice for the top-out pitches at Ben Lomond.

The first 10 meters is a beautiful slightly overhanging handjamming dream (crux). After pulling through the overhang a traverse to the left takes you to an offwidth which is less pleasant. Keep going until you reach a small corner where you can set up a belay. The second pitch follows the offwidth crack to the top.

Pitch 1- as for Jony Bynch.

Pitch 2- Walk left on ledge past small-scooped 4m face that could be added into the climb, we walked unroped up to huge tree on top of the scoop.

Pitch 3- Right facing corner up fun slab that goes diagonally right. Set belay on top of slab.

Pitch 4- Head diagonally left on crack with awkward but decent gear at the start. Once you arrive at the top of the diagonal crack there is a nice vertical crack section for 5m. Set belay in solid rock at top of this crack, not heaps to choose from but it is there.

Pitch 5- Head right into funky super exposed territory up thin vertical crack (careful placements in here with extenders) traverse right past bomber horn into some solid cam placements. Saddle up for the last move out.

Free hanging rap off tree above exposed section.

A reference to two great Aussie climbers. Keep walking right from Second Glance wall until you meet 8m-high twin corner cracks.

1. A subtle start up nice twin corner cracks turns into bushbash-scrambling after 8m. Up this to a natural belay beneath the nice wide crack above.

2. Step left around corner and up short wall with a thin corner crack in the right. Above this is what you came here for ... great clean corner offwidth climbing with good rock, views, and pro the whole way! Bring a #4 and #5 BD cam and take care with runners as to avoid drag in the top-out. Tree belay.

The current descent is to walk north along the cliff-top to reach the tape rap station above Second Glance wall. A single rap on double 60m ropes will just get you to the ground.

If you like offwidths (and let's face it - who doesn't?) you'll love this climb. The first pitch is maybe not that great - Work your way up the corner and up to the ledge where you can set up a body belay - but the second pitch is beautiful. There is a big loose block a couple of moves up where the crux is, but attempts to trundle it failed. Be careful.

Start base of zig zag crack. Up moving left at top to beneath cap stone. Rap off tree.

Up the hand crack that overhangs gently all the way. Into chimney near top to belay on tree.