Climbing around Australia
Climbing in Queensland
Glasshouse Mountains
Girrawheen
Frog Buttress: Frog Buttress (on Mt French, hence the name) is great to visit in winter. Virtually all of the climbing here is traditional, with the odd bolt. The rock is a rhyolite which has formed columns, creating a large number of excellent routes in a very compact area. While many say that you should be climbing 18+ to visit Frog, a great time can be had even if you can’t climb at that level. But be aware that if you don’t tick the grade 19 and 21 classics when you first go, you’ll forevermore feel them call you back… Most people use A Cheap and Nasty Guide to Frog Buttress, created by the generous Andrew Martin and available free of charge. Some other pocket-sized guides have been published in Rock, but the Cheap and Nasty will almost certainly have enough in there to keep you busy on your trip!
Climbing in New South Wales
Sydney Crags: Greater Sydney has a lot of reasonable climbing all over the place. From the crags of the Southerland Shire to the Northern Beaches crags of Barrenjoey and Narrabeen, there’s enough to keep you busy for a while. The Sydney Bouldering Guide by Peter Balint is a comprehensive guide to Sydney bouldering, while Sydney Climbing website maintained by the Sydney Rockies is quite good for roped climbing in Sydney. Mike Law’s “Sydney and the Sea Cliffs” might also be helpful, if a bit harder to find these days – it is a pocket-sized booklet that was originally included free with the Australian climbing magazine Rock.
Point Perpendicular: Remember to call the Navy before you head down (sometimes Naval exercises result in closure of climbing areas). Point Perpendicular is nothing if not atmospheric, containing excellent traditional and sport climbing on large sea cliffs. The climbs generally require you to abseil in and then climb back out. Trouser-filling fun! If you want to camp you can go to Honeymoon Bay, although this is apparently quite popular in the school holidays. Like the Wolgan it’s probably worst around Christmas and Easter.
Nowra: Sport climbing. Lots of sport climbing. The most popular crag is probably Thompsons Point, which has a large number of routes covering a wide range of grades. Climbers often camp in the caravan parks on the Shoalhaven; if you are camping at the Ski Park, and climbing at Thompsons Point it is possible to borrow a leaky canoe from the park operators ($50 deposit required), and paddle across to Thompsons Point. There have previously been problems with cars being broken into at climbing area carparks, although this may have settled down. Rod Young’s Rockclimbing at Nowra is an excellent guide to the area.
Bungonia: Limestone climbing in a big gorge. Most routes here are reasonably committing affairs.
Other Southern Highlands crags: include Wingello, Mittagong, etc. There is a guidebook to the climbing around Mittagong.
The Blue Mountains: Renowned for sport-climbing, short walk-ins, great bakeries and good coffee. Popular sport crags include Shipley Upper, Centenniel Glen and Porters Pass. Fun trad climbing is also to be had at places like Mount Piddington and Cosmic County, whilst Ikara, Dogface, Pierces Pass and the Grose Valley crags provide more old-school, scarier, longer, and more committing trad climbing respectively. Cold in winter, hot in summer – the weather is never predictable as one club member found out when he was snowed on in November. Simon Carter’s Blue Mountains Climbing is the most recent guide (published in 2007). Reactions are mixed, but in my opinion the guide is user-friendly for the areas that it focuses on. Many other guides are available, such as Mike Law’s The Blue Mountains: A guide to Selected Rockclimbs, and the Sydney Rockclimbing Club’s Rockclimbs in the Upper Blue Mountains. If the Grose Valley is your destination, Warwick Williams’ Rockclimbs in the Grose Valley might have what you’re after.
Update: Carter’s Blue Mountains Climbing (2007) is now out of print. A new edition will apparently be in shops later in 2010.
The Wolgan Valley: Just past Lithgow, the Wolgan will almost certainly never be climbed out. If you’re willing to walk far enough, you will find acres of virgin or seldom-climbed rock. The Wolgan has everything – steep sport climbing (albeit only in one area), short trad routes, big multipitch trad routes, remote aid routes, bags of history, and walk-ins. The most useful guide for the Wolgan first-timer is almost certainly Wade Stevens’ Wolgan Valley: Selected Climbing Areas. This has excellent descriptions of how to get to various tracks leading to different parts of the cliff, and a great section on the history of the area, plus loads of amusing stories about the climbs there. Pete Taylor & Andrew Penney’s The Wolgan Guide (1984) is still available, and contains more routes than Stevens’ guide, but is less user-friendly. You might have to ask shops to get it in specially for you. Beware the dirt road: it seems to become significantly more corrugated recently over the six months leading up to January 2009. Also beware going there at Christmas or Easter, when Newnes can become crowded with car-camping families; if you go outside school holidays there are reasonable odds of having the place more or less to yourself. The Wolgan is cold in Winter – you want to climb at the Coke Ovens and the Coal Mines in Winter, and on Old Baldy (and other crags) in summer. If you do go in Winter (the Ovens and Coal Mines get lovely sun), if you have a Subaru or other 4WD you can camp on the right hand side of the river (as you drive towards Newnes). This side of the river gets morning sun earlier in the day.
The Hunter Valley: Tim Haasnoot’s Rockclimbing in the Hunter Valley.
The Warrumbungles: Warrumbungles National Park is located near Coonabarabran, and contains the Sliding Springs Observatory. The Warrumbungles are volcanic, and so the rock is of a different character to that found in the Blue Mountains, in the Wolgan and at Nowra – all of these crags are composed of Sydney basin sandstone. There is climbing on several different geological features – the terrifying North face of Bluff Mountain, Crater Bluff (on which Cornerstone Rib is to be found), Belougrey Spire, and Timor Rock, to name but a few. There are many other geological features to see while you’re out there, including the remarkable Breadknife. People often establish a base camp at the Balor Hut, which can be booked in advance. There is a pocket-sized guide to the Warrumbungles which originally came with Rock; this is The Warrumbungles by Mark Colyvan. Finding the start of the route and then ensuring that you don’t get off route may be the greatest challenge on some Warrumbungles routes!
Kaputar
Climbing in Victoria
Mt Arapiles: Go there and climb. Unless it’s summer, in which case you should check the weather. Mt Arapiles is most frequently described as a climber’s Mecca and it’s a justifiable metaphor. Arapiles has upwards of 2000 routes, on bombproof, skin-friendly quartzite. The morphology of the rock tends to create excellen nut (aka wire/stopper) placements, and many a climber has cut their trad teeth here. Arapiles has a large number of low-grade classic outings of various lengths: from the ‘take your granny’ style (Tiptoe Ridge, 120m, 5) to the Watchtower Crack (? m, 16) and with any number of classics in between, there really ought to be something for everyone here. Many people will stay in The Pines campground ($2/person/night), which is no more than 5 minutes from the base of a large number of climbs. If you are going to Arapiles, remember to collect water containers for a few weeks leading up to your trip – the Wimmera region is in the grips of severe drought. You won’t be able to fill your containers in Natimuk unless a local takes pity on you, as all the taps there are bore-water. Fill them up in Horsham or a larger town. Arapiles: Selected Climbs by Simon Mentz and Glenn Tempest is a great guide – there are two editions, both are fantastic. The second edition would be preferable if going in summer, as it gives detailed information on which routes are in the sun at what time of day. Louise Shepherd’s guidebook A Rockclimber’s Guide to Arapiles/Djurite is a little bit dated, and perhaps a bit harder to use for those who do not know Arapiles well – but it is intended to be a complete guide.
Mt Buffalo: When I was at Buffalo I met a Victorian climber who told me he thought “all the scary climbs in the world are at Buffalo.” While there may be a grain of truth in this statement, don’t let that put you off. Buffalo is located near Porepunkah, in the Victorian Alps, not far from the larger township of Bright. Buffalo is really a plateau; as such there are a large number of granite outcrops with excellent climbing. Classic routes like Pintle Left Hand Variant (16), Maharajah (17, The Cathedral), Where Angels Fear to Tread (17, The Gorge), Peroxide Blond (20, The Horn) are all well worth your while. Buffalo boasts a mangificent Gorge, the North Wall of which is home to Australia’s best-known aid-climbing routes. From Führer (M3) to Ozymandias (M4) to Copperhead Road (M9), Buffalo has it all when it comes to aid. In the winter months Buffalo sees a fair bit of snow, and Lake Catani campground is closed. The weather in summer is hot, but almost certainly better than a similar day in the Blueys would be owing to the elevation. Routes often have slightly run-out slab moves near the end. Be careful if you do The Gentle Art of Lyre-Bird Mugging. Park entry is included in campground fees. Firewood may not be collected but can be purchased in Bright or Porepunkah or up at the Mount itself (but the Ranger’s procedure for doing so is inconvenient). There’s a nice shower-block there with unlimited hot water, a laundry, a sink to wash up in. The campground has a number of fire places which have in-situ steel plates which can be used for cooking. During busy times you may want to book a campsite at Lake Catani. (Sites 27 & 28 are a nice pair and can accomodate 3 tents and 2 cars quite easily).
The Grampians: The Grampians are about an hour from Arapiles, and contain enough climbing to last most of us our lifetimes. Lots of climbing to be had, both trad and sport. There is also good bouldering… Apparently there are about 4 guidebooks plus smaller supplementary guides that are used. If you’re just roadtripping there for a week or so no doubt Grampians: Selected Climbs by Simon Mentz and Glenn Tempest will see you through just fine.
Blue Lake: Best known for being the only ice climbing venue in mainland Australia, Blue Lake is actually meant to have some very nice rock routes. As it’s in the Victorian Alps summer would be the time to go.
Climbing in Tasmania
The Organ Pipes (Hobart):
Ben Lomond: The largest continuous tract of land above 1500m in Tasmania, Ben Lomond has several cliffs. The best-known of these is Frews Flutes, a series of columns which “form perfect parallel jam cracks of all widths providing unrelenting strenuous pitches, thankfully broken by the occasional ledge…” (info stolen from Climb Tasmania: A Selected Best Guide by Gerry Narkowicz).
Cataract Gorge (Launceston):
Freycinet:
Frenchman’s Cap:
Climbing in the Australian Capital Territory
Boroombora: Consult the ACT Granite Guide for information. Boorombora is a granite crag in the ACT. While the club has not ventured there for some time, there is brilliant climbing to be had there by all accounts. Integral Crack (19) is meant to be excellent.
Climbing in South Australia
Moonarie: Moonarie is rumoured to have rock which rivals that of Arapiles, which is saying something. The guidebook seems to be more cautious (Moonarie: A Rockclimber’s Guide edited by Tony Barker). It’s about 450 km north of Adelaide and is about a 2 day drive from Sydney, so if anyone goes there they should share their experience so we can put more info here! Climbing at Moonarie involves a bit of effort, as the walk-in is rather substantial. But it’s meant to be awesome.
Climbing in Western Australia
Margaret River
South Coast
