This is the steep high wall right of The Embayment, sometimes divided into three distinct areas: Possum Wall, Waterfall Wall, and Ice Buttress. Beyond Ice Buttress there is an extensive area of unclimbed rock. The routes are listed left to right.
Routes
Reference | Title | Grade | Length | Pro | Quality | Alert | Operations |
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A Stab In The Dark, 18 | 18 | 28m | |||||
The next five routes are on the prominent buttress known as Possum Wall, with a broadleaf tree at the base. This route is an obvious corner/crack. Climb easily up the start past a bush and into the corner, then bridge past the roof (crux) to a ledge, and on up the corner. Finish up the groove (wires) past a shrub to ring anchors (shared with the next route). A great trad route with perfect gear. |
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SiD | SiDHere Comes Mrs. Hairy Legs, 20 | 20 | 28m | 10 | |||
About 2m right of the previous route, clamber up the boulder left of the broadleaf tree and skirt the small bush to clip the first bolt. Head gradually right to the fifth bolt (with a slight sidestep at the white rock), then move left on to the prow to gain a ledge below a surprisingly tricky V-corner. 10 bolts & ring anchors. |
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14R | 14RThe Wandering Taoist, 17 | 17 | 29m | ||||
Starts on the right side of the broadleaf tree. Over a the block and vegetated ledge, and then follow a line of grooves and cracks all the way to finish in the notch at the top. Good natural protection(v.small wires up to #3 Camalot), plus anchor rings. |
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The Bad Bohemian, 16 | 16 | 28m | |||||
Good natural protection. Scramble over blocks and bushes right of the broadleaf and gain the steep left-facing corner. Up this and across a slab to a prominent corner. Finish up a crack. There are anchor rings about two metres left. |
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Greco Roman Wrestling, 17 | 17 | 28m | |||||
Start as for The Bad Bohemian, move right after a few moves and continue up slabs on the crest (spaced pro) as far right as possible to a sharp arête (gear at start) to a faint ledge, then climb steep cracks as for the Bad Bohemian finish (crux). Belay from chockstones on left. Abseil rings are another 3m left. |
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In Sympathy, 16 | 16 | 30m | |||||
Beyond a scrubby area is a high section of cliff known as Waterfall Wall, strarting with four obvious dihedrals. This one starts up a wide crack and follows a series of corners and cracks over ledges to a steeper crux with care required over the protection. Trend right to anchors (shared with the next three routes) right at the top. |
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Devil's Dihedral, 19 | 19 | 30m | |||||
Up a short corner and scramble to a bushy ledge. Climb the steep white corner(crux) with numerous micro wires (poor placements), to easier ground. Move left to join the finish of In Sympathy. |
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The Darkness and the Light, 19 | 19 | 30m | 4 | ||||
From the same ledge takes steep corners and overhangs. Swing around past the prominent nose with the first bolt to gain the corner, with bridging and good gear to the headwall. Four bolts, ring anchors. |
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The Devil Made Me Do It, 20 | 20 | 30m | |||||
Start in an attractive easy corner with a nice crack and cruise up to the ledge. Then climb the left-leaning shallow groove (crux), using protection in the crack on the right wall to gain the crack at the top of the groove. Pull up and then move carefully left across the slab. Exposed moves above the gear with good holds will gain a vague crack to finish. |
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NBD | NBDThe Dance Of The Demented Flounder, 17 | 17 | 28m | 4 | |||
Attribution of the first ascent has not been confirmed at this stage, but the route is described as it exists at present. Find the 3 bolts up a steep face just left of a narrow black chimney groove. Follow the bolts up and over the lip (crux). Continue up easier ground to a ledge and final headwall. Clip the bolt just off the ledge, and trend right past the bush to the NBTDYH anchor. |
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Never Bet The Devil Your Head, 17 | 17 | 28m | 3 | ||||
Climb the narrow black chimney groove, and exit up and right to the first bolt. Alternating between natural gear (out left above the 1st bolt is a hidden cam slot) and 2 more bolts, continue up over the wide ledge and past the black left leaning corner. Easy to the anchor rings. Pro is good but a little hard to find (micro wires may be helpful). |
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More Bang For Your Buck, 17 | 17 | 30m | 5 | ||||
Starts on the pronounced arête just right of NBTDYH, and climbs cracks and short walls up a less defined arête to the NBTDYH anchors. Five bolts and gear. |
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Devil's Advocate, 20 | 20 | 30m | |||||
Start in the scrub and move up over the ledge to meet the climb proper. Delicately up the thin crack with indifferent pro including lots of micro-cams. Move left for gear (extenders required) just below the bulge, then up through (crux) and balance up the steep wall to anchors directly above. Gear is plentiful but not gold standard – very small or in flares or shallow slots. (Bolts were placed on adjacent routes done later). |
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Joe's Route, 19 | 19 | 28m | 5 | ||||
Start about the same place to gain the overhanging groove with a bush. Swing around the arête to the left (bolt) and climb Devil’s Advocate for three metres. Step right at the next bolt and up the slab. Pull through the first roof to an alcove, then go left at the second, and up to easier ground and the anchors.4-5 bolts. |
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Joe's Other Route, 18 | 18 | 28m | 5 | ||||
Follows a crack initially to a ledge; then bolts guide up a groove with a high cam placement. Move horizontally right from the corner to gain a crack and more bolts. Five bolts and gear. From the top bolt move left about five metres to the anchors. |
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HB | HBHell's Bells, 16 | 16 | 28m | ||||
The first of the four routes on Ice Buttress. A left-facing corner against the WHFO buttress with a couple of bushes. Up the corner (steeper than it looks) and onto easier ground tending right. Move right to the anchors, which are below the top of the cliff and cannot be seen from the left. Protection is wires and smaller cams. |
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When Hell Froze Over, 18 | 18 | 26m | 6 | ||||
Where the access ledge thins to about 1- 1.2m, is a prominent arête. Using the arête and what face holds you find, make bouldery moves past the first 3 bolts then on to easier climbing and adequate natural pro higher up. 6 bolts, wires/cams & anchors. |
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Satan Doesn't Ice Skate, 17 | 17 | 25m | |||||
The open corner, capped by a roof at 10m, just right of When Hell Froze Over. Take a #4 cam or large hex for above the lip of the roof. Meets WHFO about a metre above its last bolt (which can be used to protect some of the moves above the roof, if the flaring cam slot behind the mini-bush is wet). Mint gear! |
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The Devil's Due, 15 | 15 | ||||||
Start just right of SDIS following a line of weakness to the obvious cracked roof. Pull through on huge holds – the jammed block seems to be solid. Climb the crack and move left on to a ledge, then join the top of SDIS. |
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One For The Road, 16 | 16 | ||||||
About 20 metres further right along the bushy ledge is an area with a right-facing corner. Start under the trees and climb the corner over a couple of bulges with generally good gear, staying left all the way. Anchor at a handy embedded rock and/or bush. |
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The Road to Hell, 18 | 18 | 50m | 6 | ||||
The next few routes are gained by going to the right end of the lower wall.
Starting at ground level, climb past 3bolts, then the gradient eases off, until the first ledge, climb around to the left of the 4m arete (cam placement) onto the next ledge, climb the next step past the bolt and up the slab to the DBB.
Climb the pocketed wall past 4 bolts then up the ramp, onto the slab through the overlap, and cruise on slightly rightwards to the rap station. |
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Trundle Street, 17 | 17 | 35m | 4 | ||||
From the belay anchor on the ledge, climb past the bolt in the groove up the crack onto the ramp,that turns into a small right facing corner. Step left onto the next ramp, and climb up the left facing corner at the end of the ramp past the last bolt, then follow the groove out and onto the rap station at the end of the wide ledge. Rap down The Road to Hell, (28m then to ledge). |
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Limbo Rock, 18 | 18 | 30m | 6 | ||||
Starts from ledge to the right of Trundle Street and follows the line of the arete on the left side of the gully. Start as for Trundle Street, clip the first bolt and move up right to the corner and crack left of the arete. Place small to medium gear to protect the crack up to a bolt on the right. Where the corner narrows, step out right to the arete and follow the bolts to the anchor. Direct Start: (harder, but avoids the corner) Climb just left of the overhanging end of the arete to a bolt on its left face. Make a hard move to gain the arete, and move on up |
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Gap Filler, 18 | 18 | 26m | 4 | ||||
On the crag to the right of the gully. Be hind the broadleaf tree, find the belay anchor. Left of belay anchor, go up the right facing with a bolt at the bottom, climb the corner and onto the face, at the 4th bolt veer leftwards onto easier ground, and cruise up to the rap station on the ledge (near the top of the crag and to the right.) |
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Bucking the Trend, 19 | 19 | 26m | 1 | ||||
Start right of the belay anchor as for "Gap filler", The bolt protects a trutchy move, climb up the wall to right facing corner halfway up the crag. climb the corner, then veer left to the GF rap station. The corner eats gear! |
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Hellfire And Brimstone, 16 | 16 | 3 | |||||
This route is much further along the cliff line past Ice Buttress. Follow the fence at the very end of the farm track to the top of the route, and rap down. Climb from the ledge (direct start below possible) past 3 bolts to the wedged flake. Layback off the flake and up the off-hands/fingers crack. Watch out for loose blocks at the top. |
topo of main cliff shows NBD where A River Runs is.
A 60 m single rope is very useful for descents