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Crag & Route Beta

Area	Location	Sub Location	Crag	Links
VIC Buffalo	Gorge	South Side	Burston's Creavasse	[ Gorge Guide ]

Author

Stonking Big Offwidth Finish to Caligula

MattJ

9-Feb-2015
10:54:14 AM

Anyone know if this has been climbed and if so have any route data? Leaves Caligula going straight up where Caligula steps around to the right near the top. Looks like it would clean up nicely and might be a 5.11+ offwidth...


shortman

9-Feb-2015
1:48:52 PM

Singer?


IdratherbeclimbingM9

9-Feb-2015
3:16:22 PM

On 9/02/2015 MattJ wrote:
>Anyone know if this has been climbed and if so have any route data? Leaves
>Caligula going straight up where Caligula steps around to the right near
>the top. Looks like it would clean up nicely and might be a 5.11+ offwidth...

This is Australia mate. What is wrong with calling it 'might be a Grade 22+ offwidth...' ?

Bugga... I have misplaced my Mt Buffalo Guidebooks that I'd like to look at for further reference...

From (old and fading) memory, I think it has been done, though the details are tending to escape me, I think it required some aid to top-out??

As a generalisation, for many years now anything obvious around the Gorge Rim has been looked at, pondered over, tried, &/or put up, already...

MattJ

10-Feb-2015
1:32:33 PM

Ok, the garde 24ish offwidth. And no it wouldn't require aid, though that didn't seem to stop you fellas using it back in the day ;)

It's an amazing looking line and doesn't appear in either of the guidebooks I have, which suggests to me it may be an exception to your otherwise valid generalisation.


nmonteith

10-Feb-2015
2:18:00 PM

On 10/02/2015 MattJ wrote:
>It's an amazing looking line and doesn't appear in either of the guidebooks
>I have, which suggests to me it may be an exception to your otherwise valid
>generalisation.

Just because it's not in the guide doesn't mean it hasn't been done. It just means the person who did it was too lazy/ethical/foreign to write it up!


ajfclark

10-Feb-2015
2:33:13 PM

There's a capping overlap of some kind at the top, isn't there?

Can't find a good image...


Superstu

10-Feb-2015
2:33:37 PM

Just Go climb it and post ya pictures here!

kieranl

10-Feb-2015
2:59:08 PM

It's on the cover of the Watling Buffalo Guide and here's a link to the cover :

http://openspaces.smugmug.com/Rockclimbing/Climbing-Guides-Australia/i-z8cDWtR

edit : That's Keith Bell about to go for the big dive off Caligula


ajfclark

10-Feb-2015
3:07:24 PM

I'm looking for a pic of the top...

kieranl

10-Feb-2015
3:31:55 PM

It stops at a big roof. I think you can squeeze through to the top of the buttress from there. I believe Mikl did the traverse left along the horizontal under the roof from the finish of Caligula back in the mid-70s.

Caligula's in the top right here :

http://www.reocities.com/Yosemite/9987/buffalo_gorge.htm

MattJ

10-Feb-2015
3:56:34 PM

Well I'm satisfied it hasn't been climbed. I'll stick some bolts in it next weekend and let you all know how it goes.


Macciza

10-Feb-2015
4:03:23 PM

Maybe try it on gear first in case the bolts are unnecessary...


The good Dr

10-Feb-2015
4:47:58 PM

This ...

MattJ

10-Feb-2015
4:56:14 PM

Hmm, I remembered it being longer...

kieranl

10-Feb-2015
4:58:42 PM

On 10/02/2015 MattJ wrote:
>Hmm, I remembered it being longer...

It will seem longer :)

Jayford4321

10-Feb-2015
6:47:40 PM

On 10/02/2015 MattJ wrote:
>Hmm, I remembered it being longer..

10 m of offwide?
U will get a better xperience on Monarch.

1ce U do that, M9 might be right about aid rqd 4 tha escape left or right, though it pains me to say it.


Superstu

10-Feb-2015
10:38:11 PM

Looks more like a squeeze than an offwidth.
None-the-less, I have a blue big bro you can borrow.


ajfclark

11-Feb-2015
7:16:32 AM

On 10/02/2015 MattJ wrote:
>Well I'm satisfied it hasn't been climbed. I'll stick some bolts in it
>next weekend and let you all know how it goes.

That would generally be frowned upon by a lot of the climbing community. There's a 14 page thread on here about bolts at the horn for example.

Wendy

11-Feb-2015
8:09:33 AM

On 10/02/2015 MattJ wrote:
>Ok, the garde 24ish offwidth. And no it wouldn't require aid, though that
>didn't seem to stop you fellas using it back in the day ;)
>
>It's an amazing looking line and doesn't appear in either of the guidebooks
>I have, which suggests to me it may be an exception to your otherwise valid
>generalisation.

I struggle to imagine it hasn't been done given the style, what has been done and where it is. But the only thing left of Caligula I can find that might remotely be it is Monarch Variant Start which says the obvious off width left of Caligula to tope of flake and L to Monarch, although there is no way that route would go into Monarch! That doesn't necessarily mean much with the old Buff guide though.

My other thought is that is a long way off 24. Have you done Monarch? I tried to find a picture of the grade 17 second pitch, but to no avail. It makes that route look, well, 17.


ajfclark

11-Feb-2015
8:18:34 AM

Simon Carter recently posted a copy for a black and white thing:

Mark Davies sans pro high on pitch two Monarch (22), 75-metres. The Gorge, Mt Buffalo.

There are 55 messages in this topic.