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10 mins |
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Crag faces south |
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IntroductionA popular and pleasant little south facing crag with the look and feel of English Gritstone. Excellent rock quality. Located above Wolli Creek in Earlwood. In addition to the following climbs, there is also an excellent bouldering traverse located at the far left end of the crag. |
HistoryMost routes have been rebolted since 2006. In 2010 someone placed at least 10 dodgy anchor bolts along the top of this cliff of dubious quality. These were subsequently removed. There are already plenty of good anchor bolts for toproping (most require bolt plates). |
AccessCatch a train to Bardwell Park station or drive to Fauna St or Sutton Ave, Earlwood. Walk into Girrahween Park, and where the sealed paths converge, take the obvious bush track. After 10 minutes of scenic bush walking the track passes directly underneath the crag. Alternative access is from the east end of this same track located downhill from the end of Finlays Avenue, Earlwood (the bush track is marked by a small post labeled TVT). Climbs described left to right (west to east), facing the cliff. |
Left of the first route is an excellent bouldering traverse.
| * | Who Dunnit? | 17 | 9m | ||
| Fun bouldery start, then up slab and up through rooflet to loweroffs. A variant heads out left but its best forgotten as lowering off will trash the bushes below. | |||||
| * | The God Delusion | 15 | 8m | ||
| The middle route up the slab with a juggy finish to loweroffs. | |||||
| * | Why Am I Here? | 17 | 10m | ||
| Up right side of slab past a carrot bolt, then up shallow groove to loweroffs. When climbed directly (for your 17 tick) you may reflect on the route name! | |||||
| Mystery Slab Route | 12 | 12m | |||
| The narrow bolted slab with an eroding dirt base. Not a great lead for the grade as the bolts aren't in the best positions. On the half way ledge are two double ring bolts, clip the left ones and keep motoring up via a tricky mantle to the top. You'll need to bring your seconder up and possibly walk off, as the top ring bolts are too far back from the edge to allow the rope to be pulled. | |||||
| A | 25? | 10m | |||
| Start 5 m left of main buttress, in ferns. Follow the ring-bolts out left along lip and flake in roof. | |||||
| Peter Martin 1999 | |||||
| Mystery Climb | 23 | 8m | |||
| Start 2m R of A, in corner with ferns. From base of vegetated corner, step onto wall and straight up past 4 ring bolts to lower off. | |||||
| Unknown 2009 | |||||
| * | Transfixed | 25 | 12m | ||
| Start at L end of cave under the main wall. Climb lip of cave past 3 rings, and around R of arete on main wall and up to chains. You can do the first half as a classic V4 boulder problem with a good spotter. | |||||
| Saxon Johns 1992 | |||||
| * | Science of Imaginary Solutions | 21 | 8m | ||
| The grey streak about 4 m right of left arete. Stick-clip and batman start, or traverse in with style from the Main Wall Traverse at about grade 20, or claw up the direct start (V10+?). 3 FHs to chains. | |||||
| Peter Martin 1992 | |||||
| * | Main Wall Traverse | 21 | 8m | ||
| Start as for Kaos, but traverse L along base of main wall, moving up to clip fixed hanger mid-way along, then back along base to join transfixed. | |||||
| * | Kaboodle | 23 | 12m | ||
| Up Kaos, left and up and left and up to chains at top of Transfixed (dotted line in topo). Trad at one point. | |||||
| Mikl Law 1980s | |||||
| * * | Kaos | 23 | 9m | ||
| Excellent middle line on main face. Step onto right end of small ledge and balance left. Reachy then weird horizontal dyno right and up flake to top. 5 RBs. Strongman Zac V once had to be rescued by passing tourists when he attempted to solo this! | |||||
| Mikl Law 1970s solo (after many topropes) | |||||
| * | Fascination Street | 25 | 9m | ||
| Start below Kaos, but go straight up from right of ledge, then finish up Kaos. | |||||
| A. Walters 1992 | |||||
| * | Cornered | 14 | 9m | ||
| Jam crack corner on the right of the main face with a wide finish. Hands to offwidth but you won't need offwidth skills. A big cam or fat hex to protect the final bridging finish. Belay off cams in the horizontal break. | |||||
| B | 24 | 10m | |||
| Straight up the bolted slab right of Cornered. | |||||
| Peter Martin 1999 | |||||
| * * | Hopit | 23 | 8m | ||
| One of the best lines here. Square cut arete with thin technical climbing. FHs. | |||||
| Mikl Law solo 1970's (after many topropes) | |||||
| * | C | 23 | 10m | ||
| Contrived squeeze job. Head up H, then veer right to finish up CA. | |||||
| Peter Martin 1999 | |||||
| Claw Away | 23 | 9m | |||
| Contrived wall left of Cornered Again. Unprotected before the RBs of C appeared. | |||||
| Mike Law (solo) 1987 | |||||
| * * | Cornered Again | 15 | 8m | ||
| A good route up the corner. Ring locks and bridging to a final heave-ho to finish. Belay off an assortment of carrot bolts needing large hangers. | |||||
| * * | Whistling in the Dark | 21 | 9m | ||
| Face just right of corner with ringbolts. Stepping into corner is cheating! Steep finish with tricky mantle. | |||||
| ? old route | |||||
| * * | Meat Puppets | 22 | 9m | ||
| Left facing thin flake then straight through the steep wall above to rap chain (which may or may not be hanging over edge). Pumpy for a mini-route! | |||||
| ? old route | |||||
| * * | Warm It Up | 16 | 9m | ||
| Another good easy route. Cam in reachy break then mantle on up, then up the flake (good wires) past a bolt on the right. A direct finish is possible (grade 20) but most people escape right. Lower-off using The Count's bolts or top out for the full tick. Belay of assorted largish carrot bolts. | |||||
| Mikl Law solo 1970s | |||||
| Payback | 22 | 9m | |||
| Thin face squeezed between flake and arete, clipping bolts on The Count. | |||||
| Neil Monteith & Kent Paterson 2008 | |||||
| * * | The Count | 18 | 9m | ||
| Classy gritstone arete which is strenuous and technical. Finish up slab above, taking care. | |||||
| Mikl Law solo 1970s | |||||
| * | Mystery Face | 18 | 9m | ||
| Face right of arete with a tricky mantle. A popular little solo that was recently retrobolted by persons unknown. | |||||
| Unknown 2009 | |||||
| D | 18 | 5m | |||
| A good highball boulder problem on solid polished orange rock. The steep seam with one manky piton up high. The usual descent if you solo Slab Master. | |||||
| * | Slabmaster | 22 | 6m | ||
| This wildly overhanging arete is a great pumpy highball boulder problem. Once had retro-bolts, but these have been chopped. | |||||
| Mikl Law solo 1970s | |||||
| Wuss in Boots | 14 | 8m | |||
| Start at the left arete of the fin. Up the face just right of the arete to the top. No pro. | |||||
| Will Monks (solo in hiking boots) 1997 | |||||
| E | 15 | 8m | |||
| 3m right of WiB. Hard start then up the slab, passing two rusted carrot bolts to a double bolt belay. Take wires for the bolts, since they're too big for normal bolt brackets. | |||||