Go Climbing In Tasmania
By Jason Selman
When I was awakened at 3am with a few drops of rain gently falling on my
face, I started to roll up my bivvy bag and put all the odds and ends I had left
out overnight into my pack. The gentle drops soon became a solid shower as I shoved my pack under Kevin's car and dived into his tent to remain dry for the
rest of the night. By dawn the weather had not improved, and the light shower had set in to solid rain. Radio news broadcasts were now predicting rain for
next two days so we broke camp, leaving Coles Bay, and headed for Hobart, to dry
out and try our hand at the Organ Pipes on Mt Wellington. We would have both been perfectly happy to climb for another day or two on the beautiful coastal
granite on and around Whitewater Wall.
Last year, my mate Kevin and I decided to take a climbing roadtrip around Tasmania, to see what it had to offer, and to climb on as many different types
of rock and in as many different areas as possible. We departed from Sydney on a wet and windy morning, and the weather had not improved by the time we reached
Melbourne. Taking full advantage of Melbourne's renowned nightlife saw us achieve about four hours sleep before embarking on the Devil Cat for the short
eight hour sail to Tasmania. The weather had other plans (a theme that was to repeat itself for the duration of the trip), and decided to throw up a swell
large enough to force the Devil Cat to turn around and return to Melbourne.
The shipping company were apologetic, but due to the heavy traffic during the holiday season, they could not fit us on to another ship until two days
time. Two days! Trapped in Melbourne, in the rain, on a budget, with nowhere to stay and a car full of climbing gear and mountain bikes. By telephoning
everyone we knew (most of whom were away on Christmas holidays somewhere else) we managed to secure a night's accommodation at Kev's mate's girlfriend's
mother's house. No shit!
The following day we drove back to the departure terminal and managed to scam our way onto the Spirit of Tasmania, a far more salubrious sailing vessel.
We had initial fears that the car would be left behind and would be shipped across the next day, and that we would have to sleep in the bar overnight as
all the cabins were booked. Despite this, we managed to get the car on board, get a
free buffet meal, and sleep in an empty crew cabin. Needless to say the voyage across to Tasmania overnight was gentle and a welcome relief.
Our first climbing destination was Launceston Gorge. The gorge consists of
many sections, the first being the Gorge proper, with a number of buttresses on both the Southern (sunny) and the Northern (shady) sides above and below the
tourist tracks around the gorge. The upper section of the Gorge is a collection
of separated buttresses above the suspension bridge and up to the old power station, a few kilometres further upstream. Further upstream again is the area
of Duck Reach, with more crags and cliffs, all the way to Willow Jungle, which contains climbs of a supposed good quality.
We climbed on the lower section of the Gorge and at Duck Reach only. The lower section receives a lot of traffic, and several buttresses have a few
classic naturally protected routes. None are very high and most are single pitch. Good buttresses and routes include the Trackside Buttress with
Apron Slab 17 and Feltham Buttress with Feltham 16 and Westham
14. All very worthwhile to get your jamming skills starting to happen again. From Duck
Reach, the Gorge sees far less traffic, with the area around Traffic Fine Buttress appearing the best. We believe we may have even done the second ascent
of a few climbs in this area. The potential for new routes exists, but if you just want to climb routes of decent quality, my
recommendation is to stick to the lower Gorge area.
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Next stop was Coles Bay in the Freycinet National Park. The park is about equidistant from both Launceston and Hobart, about a two hour drive from either city. The climbing around the Whitewater Wall area is on coastal granite up to about 60m high. The climbing is fantastic, from quality grade 12 routes such as Apline up to quality naturally protected grade 18 jam cracks such as Harlequin and everything in between. Higher grade bolted routes also exist for the hard man. The camping site is at the end of a four-wheel drive track and is about 200m from the top of the cliff. Ten minute access to the best coastal climbing you will ever get! |
| Above: Whitewater Wall, Coles Bay, Freycinet National Park. |
We climbed on Lassie's Wall and the Whitewater Wall area over a couple of days, ticking off a plethora of beautiful routes such as Ice Nine 15, Cordon Bleu 15, and Rose Ramble 16. If we had more time we would have gone further afield to climb a few of the routes on other nearby cliffs. Also in the area are the Hazards, a group of large (200m +) granite domes with long routes. It is too hot to climb these in the middle of summer, and the climbs are difficult to follow and don't see much traffic, but are reputed to be excellent. You don't have to climb hard routes at Coles Bay to have a great time. Just crank, relax, and enjoy.
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The rain chased us away, so we went down to Hobart for some multi-pitch action on the Organ Pipes on Mt Wellington. Mt Wellington rises above the city and is only a 25 minute drive from the centre of town. The climbing is also at about 1000m above sea level, so the weather is unpredictable and changes quite rapidly. The Organ Pipes are up to 120m high, with long multi-pitch climbs from grade 12 to 25 or so. Generally, from our experience, climbs graded below about 15 are wide and hard to protect, while those from 17 and up are great. The weather was very unsettled during our time in Hobart, with fine mornings before cold afternoon clouds, fog and misty rain. We climbed on the Northern Buttress, a small area compared to the whole of the Pipes, but a little more protected. We climbed a couple of classics including Chasm Wall / Centaur 17 and Pegasus 12 (off-width in places and hard to protect). Check on the location of the rappel rings before you climb, and ask a local if possible, as they can be tricky to find. Another lesson learnt the hard way! Although we didn't explore all that the Organ Pipes had to offer, go and climb there for multi-pitch jamming classics with maximum exposure. And tape up or bleed, your choice. Our final climbing location was back in Launceston again. We contacted a few local climbers, and were taken out to Hillwood Volcano and to Riverbend. Hillwood Volcano is a sportclimbing area on a basalt-type rock up to 20-30m high. All routes are recent and fixed with a variety of bolts, hangers, and ring bolts; with chains and ring bolts for lower-offs. The area has delicate access at the moment, so contact local climbers to gain permission to climb. There is only a single guidebook that is stored under a rock on-site. The best action is between about grade 18 and 24, with some higher end projects and completed climbs on more blank and overhanging faces. We spent a pleasant day at Hillwood falling off a variety of routes until pumped silly. Unless you are keen on redpointing number grades, Hillwood is only worth a day visit just for the experience and the unusual rock. |
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Above: North Buttress of the Organ Pipes, Mt Wellington, Hobart. Kev about halfway up the wall. |
Finally we climbed at Riverbend, about 20 minutes out of town. Again, find
a local to show you around as it is hard to find and very easy to get lost. The
rock is solid with beautiful cracks, and most routes are protected by traditional gear. The place is reminiscent of a 25m high Frog Buttress, and the
rock quality is just as good. Riverbend was excellent and we had a great day there, succeeding on some quite solid climbs such as
Powder Finger 17, Kickstart 19 and Bullfrogs 18, all on-sights. So if you are climbing in Launceston, find
a local and go and climb at Riverbend, as the quality of the routes and the rock
is superior to that of Launceston Gorge.
Riverbend was our last climbing day to be had before sailing back across Bass Strait to the mainland. Overall, we didn't really achieve our goal of a
climbing roadtrip, as we didn't spend enough time in any one place to get really
comfortable with the rock. Instead we had a Tasmanian climbing sampler, seeing what was on offer in the Apple Isle. If you have the chance, go and climb in
Tasmania, and see what the climbing is all about. There are many other areas we
didn't get to, such as Ben Lomond and Adamsfield, but we saw a good sample of different rock. If you climb in Tasmania, make sure you go and climb at Mt
Wellington and Coles Bay, as the two places are outstanding, yet totally different, and make sure you spend enough time to truly appreciate each area.
Information
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Guidebooks • Cataract Gorge / Riverbend - Craglets, edition 6, generally available everywhere in Tasmania. • Organ Pipes, Mt Wellington - A Climbers Guide to the Organ Pipes, 1992, generally available in Tasmania. • Coles Bay - A Climbers Guide to the Freycinet Peninsula, 1996, generally NOT available. (I borrowed a copy of the guidebook from Mountain Designs in Launceston) • Hillwood - not available, contact local climbers for more information. |
| Resources • Launceston Area - Rock # 38 • Organ Pipes, Mt Wellington - Rock # 31 • Coles Bay - Climb # 5 • Tasmania - Craglets internet site (here) • Jonathan Nermut's internet site (here) |
Gear • Paddy Pallin's, Mountain Designs, and the Bush Hut in Launceston. • Paddy Pallin's, Mountain Designs, Kathmandu, Snowgum, and The Climbing Edge in Hobart Indoor Gyms |
This is Jason Selman's first contribution to qurank.
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