Southerly Front Slab

This impressive feature of tilted greywacke is separated from the main wall at the top and is free of stone-fall danger except in the white corner and around the scree gully at its base. The climbs can be approached by climbing a two pitch route on the lower Half-Moon Slab or via an easy gully up past the Half-Moon Slab.

Hugh Logan, with Paul Scaife made the first ascent of the buttress in Nov 1976 via a line on L edge of the slab, and then continued to the ridge to Mt. Dark via another buttress 70 metres up for four good climbing pitches (with one severe pitch) and had a slightly epical descent down a snow-ice filled Shindig Gully. ; In December 1977 Hugh climbed another line with John Herbison, at a higher grade, to the top of the Buttress just left of the Logan-Scaife route .

Type:

Wall

Reference

Title

Grade

Length

Quality

Bolts

Gone

Natural pro

Edit link

Gomers Go Round

18 ,17 ,17

TBA

#	Ewbank	Length	Trad
1	18	0m	No
	TBA
2	17	0m	No
	TBA
3	17	0m	No
	TBA

Climbed by Alastair Mark and Murray Judge to gain access. April 1997

Gomers Go To Ground

Three bolts and a little natural pro, some very fine slab climbing.

Alastair Mark, April 1997

Fully Wired

22 ,20

From the first belay of Pulp Friction traverse left 3m and climb to bolt, them through bulge and seam to bolt belay at full rope length. Second pitch straight up past two bolts to grassy cracks then move right to third belay of Pulp Friction.

#	Ewbank	Length	Trad
1	22	0m	No
	TBA
2	20	0m	No
	TBA

Duncan Chessell, Darren Williams, February 1999

Pulp Friction

19 ,20 ,19 ,17 ,13 ,16

Straight up the centre of the Left hand slab. Amazing first pitch on perfect rock. The next two pitches are almost as good. Rap top belay of Southerly Front to ledge then down Rock Vandals bolts. Take your RPs.

#	Ewbank	Length	Trad
1	19	0m	No
	TBA
2	20	0m	No
	TBA
3	19	0m	No
	TBA
4	17	0m	No
	TBA
5	13	0m	No
	TBA
6	16	0m	No
	TBA

Alastair Mark, Murray Judge, April 1997

Ground Hog Day

17 ,19 ,20

Climb pitch one of Southerly Front to the traverse and continue up the shallow pillar to belay on a flake. Climb the pillar to the roof and a quick pull onto the upper slab and up to belay ledge, traverse left across the slab and up the left hand edge.

#	Ewbank	Length	Trad
1	17	0m	No
	TBA
2	19	0m	No
	TBA
3	20	0m	No
	TBA

Tony Pine, Murray Judge, January 1999

Southerly Front

17 ,20 ,23 ,23 ,18 ,15

The frst four pitches of Southerly Front took aweek to put up because of the need to make fequent runs back to Mount Cook to recharge the six volt battery used to drill the ultra hard greywacke. Andy Mafarlane endured a thirteen metre whipper on the fourth crux pitch during the first ascent. Start below the large chockstone, climb the shallow pillar to a horizontal break and traverse left to the belay. Three pitches up the right hand slab to the ledge below the headwall.

#	Ewbank	Length	Trad
1	17	0m	No
	TBA
2	20	0m	No
	TBA
3	23	0m	No
	TBA
4	23	0m	No
	TBA
5	18	0m	No
	TBA
6	15	0m	No
	TBA

Murray Judge, Andrew Macfarlane, Robyn Thompson, February 1996

Sticky Date Pudding

24 ,24

Two long pitches to the right of Southerly Front.

#	Ewbank	Length	Trad
1	24	0m	No
	TBA
2	24	0m	No
	TBA

Alastair Mark, Geoff Ellis, January 1998

Rock Vandals

20 ,22 ,14 ,16

Two pitches on the right of the white corner. Grades 20, 22 to the ledge, climb the upper wall on natural gear. Grade 14, 16 to bolt belays.

#	Ewbank	Length	Trad
1	20	0m	No
	TBA
2	22	0m	No
	TBA
3	14	0m	No
	TBA
4	16	0m	No
	TBA

Tony Pine, Murray Judge Andrew Macfarlane, February 1998

The Western World

21 ,22

TBA

#	Ewbank	Length	Trad
1	21	0m	No
	TBA
2	22	0m	No
	TBA

Andrew Macfarlane, Andrew Taylor, Grant Piper February 1998

March Hare

17 ,18 ,17 ,16

20m

Three excellent pitches up the arête, grades 17, 18, 17. Great position and exposure at the grade – a must.

#	Ewbank	Length	Trad
1	17	0m	No
	TBA
2	18	0m	No
	TBA
3	17	0m	No
	TBA
4	16	20m	Yes
	January Hare. From the top of March Hare, climb the buttress and crack system to the top of the pinnacle. Belay and rap off large bollards on top.

Murray Judge, Tony Pine, Hayden Mackay, January 1998

Forced March

18 ,20

From the belay at the top of the first pitch of March Hare go right to the ledge and climb the slabs 7m right of the arête.

#	Ewbank	Length	Trad
1	18	0m	No
	TBA
2	20	0m	No
	TBA

Sam Brooks, Murray Judge, March 2000

Stealing a March

16 ,17 ,18

The climb that started modern development of the crag. "Andy Macfarlane was on the phone, excited: I’ve just seen the biggest unclimbed slab in Australasia and we’re going to put a route up the middle of it." Dave Brash, New Zealand Alpine Journal, 2001. From the valley scree climb a broken rock pillar (the right hand of the three pillars) to the base of Southerly Front slabs. The broken rib leads to a groove left of the arête, higher up traverse right around the arête to a thin crack on the upper wall.

#	Ewbank	Length	Trad
1	16	0m	No
	TBA
2	17	0m	No
	TBA
3	18	0m	No
	TBA

John McCartney, Andrew Macfarlane, December 1995

Corner Chimney

The wide crack and chimney line on the right of the upper wall.

Murray Judge and Tony Pine in January 1998

Splitting Hares

17 ,18

The right hand of the two cracks in the wall right of the chimney, starting off the ledge level with the first belay of March Hare. Natural gear.

#	Ewbank	Length	Trad
1	17	0m	Yes
	TBA
2	18	0m	Yes
	TBA

Stu Allan, Kynan Bazeley, March 2000

This place appears in

Barron Saddle – Mt Brewster: a guide for climbers

2001

(14 routes)

This place appears in