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Moonarie - best time and logistics

telephunk

19-Mar-2010
10:27:29 AM

Some Canberra crew trying to plan a trip to Moonarie this year, wondering what the consensus is on the best time to go. Is it too cold in the middle of winter, better to go late autumn, or early spring? we don't mind the cold, but not really sure how cold it stays through the day in the middle of winter, or if there's other issues to consider (does it rain up there?).

Also wondering on logistics. Thinking we might fly to adelaide then rent a car, or fly again to port augusta and rent a car there, or maybe get dropped off. Are there likely to be any tour guide/operators that would do a drop off and pick up service, any local operators that might do something like that? Doesn't seem like much point renting a car when we only need it to get to the camp site and back to port augusta (assuming we fly up there).

any thoughts appreciated. cheers.

kieranl

19-Mar-2010
10:45:35 AM

I spent a week there in late August one year. We had very good weather until the last day of the trip. Very comfortable climbing in the sun until mid-afternoon. As soon as cliff went into shade it got quite cold. I carried a light fleece jacket and fingerless gloves for belays in the shade.
Friends were there the week previous to us and had terrible weather and got almost no climbing done.
So, a lottery. If it's good it's very good.

ado_m

19-Mar-2010
10:55:49 AM

Autumn or spring would be the best, it's hot as haedes in the summer and would be dark and cold in the winter. I'd just drive there from Canberra if you have a car and a lazy day each way to drive the 1300km, it's a wicked road trip across miles and miles of nothing and pokey little country towns. It'd be about the same as melbourne, we did it in less than 12 hours, and it means you can bring loads of gear and food etc!

It's a great crag if you're climbing in the 23+ trad range. If you are climbing anything less than 18 on trad I def wouldn't bother taking the epic journey from canberra out there ie the sub 20 routes are mostly rubbish apart from a there are a couple of cracking 19s (downwind and pine crack), and a whole lot of starred sub 20 routes which are frankly rubbish for one reason or another. Take eg flying buttress which may get 3 stars for position and history, but I think it was a horrible trench.

I've onyl been there once, but if I went again I think i'd bivvy up at top camp it's a really special place and you save two hours of hard slog walking up and down the crag.

f_abe

19-Mar-2010
12:09:58 PM

Yeah, the sub 20 routes are cr@p, for example, Icarus (18?) was dreadful, outside chance (16) is rubbish too, I mean, climbing on the edge of the great wall with a sh!t view, who'd enjoy that?
Each to their own, but be guaranteed that even if you are climbing below 20 you'll find the odd worthwhile route to do...and the walk up only takes about 40 minutes, it's not that bad and you get cracking views the whole way.

simey

19-Mar-2010
1:12:31 PM

On 19/03/2010 ado_m wrote:
>It's a great crag if you're climbing in the 23+ trad range. If you are
>climbing anything less than 18 on trad I def wouldn't bother taking the
>epic journey from canberra out there ie the sub 20 routes are mostly rubbish
>apart from a there are a couple of cracking 19s (downwind and pine crack),
>and a whole lot of starred sub 20 routes which are frankly rubbish for
>one reason or another.

You obviously haven't climbed many of Moonaries easier and intermediate routes as there are some stonker routes in that grade range. Not much under grade 14 (the brilliant Nervine is a bit undergraded at 12) but I would much rather visit Moonarie as opposed to any crag in NSW or ACT if I wanted to do routes in the grade 14-19 range.

Wendy

19-Mar-2010
1:13:46 PM

There are some great sub 20 routes at Moonarie! I agree Outside chance is pretty ordinary, but Downwind of angels next to it is one of the best pitches in the world. I loved Icarus and Flying Buttress (people are so grouchy about trenches ...), then there's Hangover Layback, Pagoda, Vortex, Tim Tam, Miles from Nowhere, Ultion. I would suggest it helps to have a degree of confidence with a variety of climbing styles, a rack that included some big gear and to be very comfortable on at least 15. Most climbs will feel somewhat desperate for their grade. I'd choose april and October for the ideal months, with a bit of leeway either side. I tried mid winter once, the cliff went into the shade about 11 and was icy. We lasted 3 days and ran away screaming.

Superstu

19-Mar-2010
1:19:55 PM

Well that's good to read, in 2 weeks time we'll be driving the 15-or-so hrs to the Moon for the easter break (10 days wohoo) and I was counting on there being more to Moonarie in the 18-20 range other than Downwind and Pine Crack (done both on a previous visit)

I don't mind trenches either. Wendy, I recommend Mystery Elephant Ride, upside-down trench fun (although its mostly laybacked). I think we used two purple camelots, one for the belay and one to catch the leader as he sailed past the belay into the abyss below.

Superstu

19-Mar-2010
1:20:50 PM

Is everything I need in the 2000 guide? I assume all the classics were done a long time ago.

telephunk

19-Mar-2010
1:38:18 PM

I tried getting the update off the SA climbing website, but the link is broken. there is a pdf update i believe, plus some listed on the website.

we're happy to climb above 20, but looking for quality and classics I guess, is there any sport routes to speak of (23-26)?

wallwombat

19-Mar-2010
1:52:47 PM

I haven't been there but from what I understand, it's not really a sport climbing area, even though there are quite a few bolts here and there.

telephunk

19-Mar-2010
1:55:46 PM

yeah appreciate it is mostly trad, was more wondering what goes on with the harder stuff

Chuck Norris

19-Mar-2010
1:56:13 PM

For a whole bunch of reasons I wouldn't even think about it without a car.

As for outside chance - the first time I did it I took the easiest line which was to sneak around the arete and at the time I thought the route was pretty ordinary.

Later on I did it by forcing myself to stay on the GW side of the arete the whole way - although a wee bit contrived (a number of times it would be easy to step around) it was a huge improvement on the climb. Now with hindsight I think that's the intended way to do the climb as the other way is crap and closer to 12 than 16. I don't think this point is made clear in the guide.

As for quality - above grade 21 its hard to think of a dud route. The guide should tell you which ones have bolts

Chuck Norris

19-Mar-2010
2:07:06 PM

Probably no more than half a dozen routes that are all bolts (even then itd be wise to carry a few nuts). Despite that the gear is pretty straightforward and bomber (big horizontals that eat gear every few metres). So despite being trad I wouldn't call it a chop crag. Anything scary is acknowledged in the guide.

Robb

19-Mar-2010
2:37:22 PM

autumn and spring are probably the best times for the moon. I've spent alot of time there in winter and climbing in the sun is the way to go then. When its really hot, there are plenty of shaded routes.

yep the link to the new route update is currently broken on the website. Ill try to fix it in the next week or so.

Agree with stugang that there arent really many chop routes at moonarie. if a route is really dangerous, it is usually mentioned in the guide. Pretty much all of the carrots have been replaced with decent bolts now so dont need any bolt plates. there are very few fully bolted routes but quite a few routes with a mix of natural gear and bolts.

Having a car is preferred up at the moon. there are no facilities at the campsite so need to bring all water and food in and its a few kms from the road.

If anyone needs a new route update, pm or email me and ill email them a copy until i get around to fixing the website.

bones

19-Mar-2010
4:06:31 PM

To give you some idea of why Ado's not into sub 20 routes at Moonarie here's a extract from an old trip report of our ascent of Miles from Nowhere(18)***

"...Ado losing it while thrutching through a horrible chimney with no pro and coming face to face with a reeking dead goat. Bad omen. Ado squealed and launched out onto the frictionless moss on the face. Three star route my ass...."

Superstu

19-Mar-2010
4:16:18 PM

How long have they been sacrificing goats atop classic 18's at moonarie?

ado_m

19-Mar-2010
5:11:33 PM

Initially I thought the odour was me bad b.o. after 10 days of climbing and no shower...I really wished I had deodorant.

Then I head butted this rotting 2 week old goat, screamed, jumped onto a mossey face and barely missed going arse for tit down the top pitch.

Not a nice way to finish an otherwise good trip.

(Yep, I havn't done that much climbing at the moon, it just seemed to me the stars were pretty haphazard and there were a lot of *** routes which just didn't compare to the *** routes at araps which are generally clean and glorious).

Mike Bee

20-Mar-2010
6:30:31 PM

Some mega classic climbs below 18 at Moonarie, stars are my own thoughts:
Nervine (12 going on 14) ***
GRRC (13 going on 14) **
Ultion (12 going on 13) **
Pagoda (15, about right, though mega exposure. Keep some #3 camalots for 3rd pitch) ***
Hangover Layback (15 going on 16 maybe, nothing wrong with a little hand traverse on a 15 is there?) **
Outside Chance (16, correct at the grade, amazing setting) ***
Corkscrew Retribution (14 going on 16, a few jams never hurt anyone) **
Moondance (15, spot on at the grade, longer than the book says, about 38m) **

Thats about 20 pitche of pure class right there. Thats defintley worth the drive over.
Vortex and Flying Buttress are next on the tick list up there.

Robb

25-Mar-2010
10:49:53 AM

the link to the Moonarie guide update has now been fixed.
the online guide update is available here.

moonarie guide update

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