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Rap anchors replaced at Fourth Dial

gfdonc

18-Oct-2015
9:55:21 PM

Hi,
The two bits of webbing and two biners used to rap off at the top of Groucho have been replaced with a ring and chain.
A cairn marks the top of the rap. It's a short easy scramble down (and you can clip the chain for security).
48m to the ground.

The tat and two biners didn't look to be in bad shape, and the chalk on some of the routes we did makes me believe someone was there recently. If you want your two biners back, describe them and they're yours.

regards
Steve

JimmyS

19-Oct-2015
7:27:42 AM

White webbing (bd sling) and an old screw gate? We rapped off further to the right of an old tree two weekends ago. Thanks for the anchor update

Superstu

21-Apr-2016
10:03:12 AM

Ah, thank you Fourth Dial Bolting Fairy. A nice surprise to find these anchors as the walk off the 4th is still a bit scratchy. Groucho is a great climb, hey.

Do you know who is behind the pink tape markers all over the place? The track up to the cliff is well marked, fair enough, but the tape trail along the top of the cliff is a bit baffling. There was some tape at the top belay of Gomper. We thought it might lead to the rap anchors on Groucho, but it goes all the way over the summit and down the left end of the crag, and then on up to the 5th Dial !? Bushwalker's trail perhaps? What happened to eco-cairns?

kieranl

21-Apr-2016
10:20:06 AM

On 21/04/2016 Superstu wrote:
>
>Do you know who is behind the pink tape markers all over the place? The
>track up to the cliff is well marked, fair enough, but the tape trail along
>the top of the cliff is a bit baffling. There was some tape at the top
>belay of Gomper. We thought it might lead to the rap anchors on Groucho,
>but it goes all the way over the summit and down the left end of the crag,
>and then on up to the 5th Dial !? Bushwalker's trail perhaps? What happened
>to eco-cairns?
>
>
>
? Markers for the proposed Grampians Peak Trail. It's a bit hard to tell from the map in the master plan but it's supposed to go somewhere around there.

Superstu

21-Apr-2016
10:47:07 AM

I think you're on the money Kieran! In the Master Plan on page 55 the map has a dotted line from the proposed "Barbican Rocks campsite" up the back of the Fourth Dials ridge and along the top, before dropping down the other side of the Fifth Dials, and crossing over to Redman's Bluff.

The view from the top of the Fourth Dials is pretty good, I must say. However, that's some serious track building. Apart from the tape markers there is no real path, it's all your typical scrubby rock-hop and bush-bash along the top, with a little help from the old climber's descent trail, which is no longer obvious in the post-fires post-trad-climbing post-comprehensive-guidebook era.

kieranl

21-Apr-2016
11:01:42 AM

On 21/04/2016 Superstu wrote:

>The view from the top of the Fourth Dials is pretty good, I must say.
>However, that's some serious track building. Apart from the tape markers
>there is no real path, it's all your typical scrubby rock-hop and bush-bash
>along the top, with a little help from the old climber's descent trail,
>which is no longer obvious in the post-fires post-trad-climbing post-comprehensive-guidebo
>k era.
>

If you build it they will come ?

gfdonc

21-Apr-2016
12:10:57 PM

I did some work on the trail up to the crag, but nothing on top.

It may be worth pointing this out to Tracey in case any crag access issues arise as a result of building walking tracks. I shudder to imagine guard railing along the top.

While I'm at it there are also now rap anchors at the top of Gomper, but they've been placed at the very top of that route hence hard (but not impossible) to access from above. No, not my work.

Groucho is great, and Fourth Dial is another mostly forgotten crag that deserves more traffic.

Goshen

21-Apr-2016
2:38:28 PM

Yeah - we accidentally went into the wrong crag looking for Barbican Wall - and walked into the first cliff as you drive up the road, which was complete choss... but there was pink tape leading straight through some very prickly scrub, we were like WTF!! We could tell it wasn't climbers!

I'm guessing they'll send a team with a decent load of gear and fuel to clear the track.

Superstu

21-Apr-2016
3:25:40 PM

Ah ha! There must be pink tape spread across the whole park now, leading confused climbers into all sorts of debacles....!

Superstu

21-Apr-2016
3:38:54 PM

On 21/04/2016 gfdonc wrote:
>I did some work on the trail up to the crag, but nothing on top.

Did you use the same coloured pinko flouro tape, or have they marked the Fourth Dial access track as part of the Greater Cross Grampians Eco-Adventure Scenic Walking Trail?

>While I'm at it there are also now rap anchors at the top of Gomper, but
>they've been placed at the very top of that route hence hard (but not impossible)
>to access from above. No, not my work.

After a bit of head scratching, I've figured out I didn't actually climb Gomper, but the route Afterthought. (Got the marked "A" of Alfresco confused with the marked "A" of Afterthought.) Which is why I didn't see any rap anchors and walked off instead. Gomper any good?

JamesMc

21-Apr-2016
5:02:11 PM

The Grampians Peaks Trail in this area is taped but not yet constructed.

gfdonc

22-Apr-2016
9:48:34 AM

On 21/04/2016 Superstu wrote:
>After a bit of head scratching, I've figured out I didn't actually climb
>Gomper, but the route Afterthought. (Got the marked "A" of Alfresco confused
>with the marked "A" of Afterthought.) Which is why I didn't see any rap
>anchors and walked off instead. Gomper any good?

Best single pitch 15 in the Grampians? (That I can recall, IMHO).

jdb

28-Apr-2016
12:02:40 PM

While I'm at it there are also now rap anchors at the top of Gomper, but
they've been placed at the very top of that route hence hard (but not impossible)
to access from above. No, not my work.

O.K, I'll hold your hand next time, GFDonc

I guess if is was 'your work' then ropes would run through a V-notch and get impossibly stuck........

gfdonc

28-Apr-2016
12:08:54 PM

Only if the last man down moved it there!

jdb

28-Apr-2016
2:18:08 PM

On 28/04/2016 gfdonc wrote:
>Only if the last man down moved it there!
>

First the carrot, then the stick!

As the person who suggested you(we) replace the tat rap stations I can't be too critical

So, the first rap point is good- well placed and in good rock.

The second rap point is placed in the best rock near the cliff edge, however because of the positioning the rope was always going to be difficult to pull down.

Now, as the 'man left holding the baby' so to speak i.e The last person of a party of 8 to descend, I witnessed first hand that the rope would not budge when pulling directly from below, that's why I angled the rope (about 30o) away from the edge, to improve the angle of dangle. But alas the V-notch was not apparent at the time.

Anywho, never let the facts get in the way of a good story......

btw ahem, no such issues with the rings on Gomper

There are 15 messages in this topic.