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Crag & Route Beta

Area	Location	Sub Location	Crag	Links
All NSW	(General)	(General)	(General)

Author

New anchors and re-bolting at Lower Baldy

mabsydney

20-Mar-2011
8:46:07 PM

New anchors installed on Lysander and Top of the Pops/Smash hits at Lower Baldy.

I have also re-bolted Top of the Pops and Smash Hits replacing the old carrots and pegs with SS rings. Both routes still require natural gear.

The anchors on Inversion and new anchors on Woden will be installed in due course.


Superstu

20-Mar-2011
9:19:38 PM

Awesome work, thanks.
Could you keep me in the loop with what you do there and I'll keep the Rockies register up-to-date. Just send stuff to info@sydneyrockies.org.au

mabsydney

20-Mar-2011
9:26:17 PM

Will do, thanks

widewetandslippery

21-Mar-2011
9:23:49 AM

Are the bolts in good spots on those routes. I remember a picture in the Penny guide of Giles locking to his nuts trying to make a clip (he may of been actually doing a move, haven't looked at that guide in years). No matter what good work.

mabsydney

21-Mar-2011
10:23:12 AM

The new ones are located close to the old ones. The main crack is protected by nuts and the odd cam.

Wendy

21-Mar-2011
11:08:40 AM

OMG, carrots replaced by rings ... the wolgan will be grid bolted and full of gym bunnies before we know it ...

citationx

21-Mar-2011
1:56:57 PM

On 21/03/2011 Wendy wrote:
>OMG, carrots replaced by rings ... the wolgan will be grid bolted and full
>of gym bunnies before we know it ...
>
With any luck...

ErikaH

21-Mar-2011
2:08:03 PM

I think you'll find a lot of thought went into choosing those rings over new carrots, plus in-depth discussions with a number of people including the first ascensionist. Don't jump to conclusions of the Wolgan being grid bolted. The routes that required gear still require gear, and very dodgy anchors are being replaced. At least someone is trying to fix up the really dodgy routes/anchors. Feel free to do the same.

Wendy

21-Mar-2011
2:31:16 PM

I'm going to have to start putting a facetiousness warning on my posts at this rate ... if you haven't been around Chocky for the last few months, you may have missed the latest great debate on carrots. I happen to be one of the people on the "let carrots fade into their rightful place in history" brigade, but somehow people seemed to think that replacing them with modern equipment might somehow make them breed and totally ruin the atmosphere of climbing forever. I may also be exaggerating their point of view here.


nmonteith

21-Mar-2011
2:56:48 PM

Bolt war!

I can't believe you replaced pitons with a bolt. That's not like for like. A piton uses the natural features of the rock whilst a bolt requires drilling a hole.


Macciza

22-Mar-2011
1:53:46 AM

Rings in the Wolgan - Whats the world coming to - Farking ridiculous imho
Bloody Pusillanimous Sportclimbers . . . Wussy Pussies . . .
Don't anyone even think of putting rings in Big Glassy or else!!!

grangrump

22-Mar-2011
7:43:27 AM

On 22/03/2011 Macciza wrote:
>Don't anyone even think of putting rings in Big Glassy or else!!!
No! (U bolts are where it's at. Try and keep up.)


Superstu

22-Mar-2011
8:00:15 AM

Warning to all sport climbers! You don't want to go to the Wolgan! The walkins to the crags are epics, hours and hours of scrub bashing up hill. The rock is shit, just chalky sandy crumbly weetbix. The only climbs are offwidths and chimneys. There is no protection except for hexes jammed behind loose flakes and the odd shrub. Descents are raps from anaemic bushes. The guidebook is always wrong. And everything is covered in lichen. Stay away! Stay away!


The Good Dr

22-Mar-2011
8:18:22 AM

On 22/03/2011 Macciza wrote:
>Rings in the Wolgan - Whats the world coming to - Farking ridiculous imho
>Bloody Pusillanimous Sportclimbers . . . Wussy Pussies . . .
>Don't anyone even think of putting rings in Big Glassy or else!!!
>
Lots of people have thought about it. So you had better make good on your threats.

It is too chossy even by Bluies standards for real climbers to even bother with. You can be rest assured that it will be left for aid officianados to bash the crap out of for years to come and brag to everyone about how hardcore they are (yawn)

mabsydney

22-Mar-2011
9:50:22 AM

Microcosm has rings on it and Continuum has some fixed hangers, what's the difference?

I re-bolted Righteous Brothers last year and used carrots. I've since decided carrots have had their day so I used rings. I spoke to Giles and he was happy with the decision.

The fact is if you place a bolt, you drill a hole in the rock regardless. I will concede, there is an argument that it makes the route easier as you don't have to fiddle a hanger on - but it's still a bolt and it (should be) bomber. If your ethics are so pure - you should do the route with no bolts and give it E10.

There are lots of classic routes in the Wolgan and many of them have old, decaying unsafe gear on them. I would actually like to see a few more people up at Lower Baldy, it's a great place and routes like Slider and Woden are classic trad lines that really need some traffic as they are getting dirty. It isn't going to turn into Centenial glen, most people still can't be bothered to go out there - the Wolgan will remain a quiet beautiful place to climb for many years.

If you don't like it, tough sh*t - go and climb some choss pile further down the valley.


wallwombat

22-Mar-2011
10:18:38 AM

The Wolgan is never going to become a grid bolted sport climbing mecca. It's too far from the cafe and you have to walk up hills to get to the cliffs.

Duncan

22-Mar-2011
10:25:41 AM

It's a slippery slope. You place one ringbolt and next thing you know, you can't hear the dirtbikes and chainsaws for sportclimbers yelling "Take!"


wallwombat

22-Mar-2011
10:39:52 AM

The way I see it is, the aren't that many people in NSW who bolt new routes.

Those people would have already started bolting in the Wolgan, if that was their plan.


nmonteith

22-Mar-2011
10:44:49 AM

Lots of bolts have been on Wolgan climbs since the early days. Its not exactly a Ben Lommond bolt-free zone! There are even quite a few wall routes which could be classed as sport routes - in the old school sense (ie you don't need any trad protection but you still need to top out and belay off a tree). I've climbed a few routes at the Coal Mines cliff which have lines of old rusty homemade FHs and finish at rap anchors. These routes were at least 15 or 20 years old...

Most of the recent sport climbing development has been up above the Wolgan in the Gardens of Stone NP.


Superstu

22-Mar-2011
11:02:00 AM

My understanding is that the sport climbing development in the Gardens of Stone NP you refer to, really pissed off NPWS and probably went some way to contribute to the anti-climbing stance by NPWS at the time.

The low key status of climbing in the Wolgan areas will ensure continued access. If wide spread sport climbing development were to occur there, expect access problems, which may have implications for other areas too.

There are 44 messages in this topic.