Home > The Guide > Mt Tibrogargan > 7. Caves Route Sector, Mt Tibrogargan

Access as for Carborundum Wall sector. Opposite the carpark is a signposted walking track. Walk up the track towards the mountain for 200m until it forks. Take the R branch (signposted East Face rock climbers access 600m) and follow this for 400m where it's possible to break L on a smaller track past a Warning sign. Take this, which angles up toward the middle of the east face (200m uphill). The track meets the rock between Carborundum Chimney and Patience Crack. Walk down R to find The Caves Route.

The Caves Route 300m 4 Start: 30m R of where the E face walking track meets the rock. Marked 'CR'. Queensland's own mountaineering-style classic that has introduced the climbing experience to many a gibbering bumbly. This has always been the traditional easy route up to The Scrub (below the summit overhangs). With the recent addition of two rap stations, it provides an easy, safer E-face descent than scrambling. Most of the rock on the route is quite worn making route-finding easy. Many parties rope up for three pitches, interspersed with unroped scrambling. To start, scramble up vegetated ledges following the wear marks on the rock to below wall with gully on L side. Up the gully to top and TB. 1) 20m Traverse out R and up rock 'steps' with surprising exposure to ledge and mouth of Cave 1. Belay off rap station. Scramble into Cave 1 and up into the big Cave 2. Walk to far L side of this. 2) 30m Traverse carefully out L side of cave until possible to move up to ledge. Up steep wall above with little pro to ledge and rap station on R. From the ledge follow the worn track through the scrub for 100m or so until you hit rock again. 3a) Easy option (avoiding chimney). Scamper up L to Trojan, then walk R under Big Empty to scramble (easy but quite exposed) to the summit ridge. Another alternate is to climb the easy sport route Boag's Lite 20m R of the chimney. 3b) This is the true line, but a tree that helped climbers climb the chimney is no longer there. It's now a stern crank (perhaps 15 or so) to get established in the chimney. If you want to do this pitch, walk R along cliff base to below obvious easy chimney on south facing wall. A hard start gets you in the chimney which is easily climbed to top. Follow the ridge W to summit of Tibro. Bert Salmon 06/06/1926

Super Directissima 23m 12 Start: At far R side of Cave 3. Marked ‘SD’. Boldly step R out onto face. Directly up, keeping R of bulge. Minimal protection. Paul Caffyn, Mike & Chris Meadows 06/01/1968

Traverse To Cave 4 40m 2 Start: At R-hand base of Cave 3. Not bad fun across an exposed, unprotected traverse. Climb down and around to a wide dirt ledge. Traverse R, down a big step, then follow this ledge which slopes diagonally upwards and then diagonally downwards and move around into Cave 4. When returning, don’t start too high. Keep low. Bert Salmon, Lyell Vidler 1926

Prometheus II 45m 8 Start: At upper R side of Cave 4. Marked ‘PII’. Note that the topo picture more accurately depicts the grade 18 (DF) version. 1) 20m Straight up for 5m to the top of the buttress (past a tricky wire placement), then traverse R across the easy slab to the broken rock, up this to the vertical crack. Belay. Another variant on this pitch starts lower than the PI mark and traverses out R and then up. Similar grade. 2a) 25m (8-13) Many variants of this pitch have been done. They all involve traversing diagonally L across the slab, and then up. The more you traverse before climbing up, the easier the grade. Tree belay in the scrub beneath Cave 5. Fairly run out and a bit loose, take care. 2b) 20m (18) Climb the crack direct. Bill Peascod, Neill Lamb, Julie Henry 13/05/1956