Handsome Crag has quite a decent amount of reasonable sandstone. There is a quite a lot of potential here for bouldering, and there has been a rapid amount of development here since it was kicked off by Dave Humphries, Jon Nermut and Campbell Godfrey in May 2008. The crag faces north and gets a lot of sun, so is a good winter venue, but too hot in summer. It's high enough that it mostly escapes the New Norfolk fog.
It is possible to drive to within fifty metres of the cliff. There used to be a locked gate at the bottom of the road, but this is no longer present. The crag is on Crown Land, administered by Forestry Tasmania. To get there head up to New Norfolk and cross to the northern side of the Derwent River. Head up river and take the first right, followed by a left. Follow this through the outer suburbs of New Norfolk to the T-junction: to get to the cliff turn right along Back River Road. The turn-off to the crag is about 2km along Back River Road from the T-junction. Turn right at the driveway to house numbers 658, 660 & 662 (this is the middle of 3 dirt tracks) and drive for another 1km before reaching where the locked gate used to be on the left. This is Handsome Caves Road. After a few kilometres of zigging and zagging up a steep, rough road, when it flattens out a bit take a track which turns off sharply to the left. The crag will soon be visible on the right.
The road is "good fun" in a 2wd - the extra clearance and traction of a softroader makes the drive a bit more comfortable. But please remember that other people use this road - use your common sense and don't hoon it, and make sure you park well off the road. No one wants the gate back on the road! The drive takes about 45 min or 40km from Hobart.
The road is "good fun" in a 2wd - the extra clearance and traction of a softroader makes the drive a bit more comfortable. But please remember that other people use this road - use your common sense and don't hoon it, and make sure you park well off the road. No one wants the gate back on the road! The drive takes about 45 min or 40km from Hobart.
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There are lots of boulders under the main amphitheatre of cliffs. The potential isn't quite as good as you'd expect, but there are a couple of good looking boulders down the left hand end that are yet to be developed. Follow the road under the cliff, and park at the lowest point where there is a decent sized pull out. Head up left to where you can see a steep prow and wall (that unfortunately has a lack of holds). Behind this are quite a few more steep boulders, but they will need some landing engineering.
The Blockhouse is a fairly small area above the left hand end of Handsome Crag (straight above Hard and Fast), with potential for maybe 15 problems. Park 50m past the crag where there is a pull out on the right. Walk back towards the crag and up the ridge through a gap in the cliffs, to find an area of about 4 free standing boulders back by some cliffy bits.
This is the chossy block closest to the road. There are a couple of easy slabby climbs on one side, and some chossy stuff on the bottom.
This area has about a dozen beautiful free standing boulders with some fantastic lines. Good rock too. Continue on Handsome Caves Rd past the Main Cliff for another couple of hundred metres until you get to an area with a couple of free standing boulders in a flat area on the right, with a small cliff line behind. You should be able to spy some more boulders up above the left side of the cliff line - this is where the good stuff is. Park in a small sandy pull out, and head up the hill for 5 minutes. Once you are above the small cliff line you should be able to see the boulders.
The boulders are described pretty much top-to-bottom and left-to-right as they appear in the plan topo below.
The boulders are described pretty much top-to-bottom and left-to-right as they appear in the plan topo below.
There are plenty of new problems to do here. Bring a brush and spend some effort to contribute to this great area.
1. Smear Test V4/5 (Stand) Up the clean face starting with the opposing side pulls, give yourself a V7 tick if you doit with a sit start.
2. Slope Test V5/6 (Hang) Hang start on the sloper. A couple of tricky move will take you onto the holds on 1, up this to finish.
V? (SDS) On the other side of the boulder from Smear Test. Sit start on the left at the jug, follow the slopers right. Don't know if this has been done.
1. Fight Through the Dirt V2 (SDS) Sit start on left of boulder, follow lip up right to jug then up.
1. V0 (Highball, SDS) Up the arete using pocket, then up jugs to top. Descent is to drop off onto the face to the left and step across to the block.
3. Limpet V6 (Highball, Stand) Up to the right of the arete. Tricky moves at the start lead to exciting moves to get onto the slab
1. Uprising V11 (SDS) Sit start on left arete, head right to sloper on the arete then up Zinc Fingers to finish.
Not So Contrived Now! V4 (Stand) Start at a good sidepull right of "Bug, Powder, Dust", then up to rail and veer right past sidepulls and slaps to finish near "Don't Fight It". Refuse the temptation to use the left crack system.
3. V3/4 (SDS) Start a bit left of Don't Fight It, and traverse right to The Panics. Could start further left but pretty hard.
6. See Ros Run V5 (SDS) Traverse the whole boulder from the start of Setting Sun to the end of The Panics.
These first problems are on the down hill side of the Vitriol Boulder, facing the Don't Fight It Boulder.
5. Straight Lines V2 (Stand) Pull up from very nice rail at head height, at bottom end of the slot between the two boulders. There is a pretty hard sit start using the arete.
7. Mouthful of Love V9 (SDS) Sit start using thin crack and edge. Start hold has been broken since first ascent making it very stiff 9
4a. Sheriff Jeff Acid V1 (SDS) On the right hand side of the block, sit-start of the pinch on the arete and up to flat jug just below top of boulder and top-out as for problem 4.
4b. Pedro V1 (SDS) On boulder between Dave's Arete and Two Face boulder. Sit-start off large rightward sloping ledge via slot to left arete then up to top.
5. Dave's Arete V6 (Highball, Stand) The awesome looking arete. Gets a bit desperate at the top. Can be done with a sit start if the arete isn't inspiring enough for you.
This is the short exciting looking 45 degree wall on top of the cliff which can be seen on the walk up. Careful not to knock your spotter off, if you can get one.
Autobahn V2 (Stand) A marathon cleaning effort by Pete and an excellent warm up. Start up the right hand arete on the North Face of the Inchman Boulder and traverse the lip left to the arete, around the arete then follow the horizontal till you reach Fark knows..., if you're not warmed up then head back again.
The back side of Inchman has an impressive steep face which after many hours of brushing and a bit of landscaping is producing some classic problems.
Greed is Good V10 (SDS) Start around the arete left of no. 1, up to small pocket and then mantle left.
1. V? (SDS) Project - left hand end of face, 4 hours of hard labour and 5 hours of wire brushing will be required as payment from anyone deciding to take this project for themselves :-)
2. Ball and Chain V6 (Hang) Start right hand on the pinch and left on the gaston, up to slope then big pull to the top.
3. The Never Ending Story V10 (Hang) Start as for Ball and Chain and make your way right, topping out on Sledgehammer, pumpy climbing.
4. Hang Me Out To Dry V5 (Stand) Nice face with slopers. Start on the edges below the big sloper. Take a grade or so off if you stack the pads up and start on the sloper.
5. Chain Gang Bang V8 (Stand) Start as for Hang Me Up, traverse right and finish up Chain Gang. Originally grade V7 but after some of Tassies' hottest talent failed to send it V8 seems like a more appropriate grade ;-)
6. Chain Gang V7 (Stand) Start matched on incut diagonal hold a couple of metres left of Sledgehammer, up to top jugs.
8. Sledgehammer V5 (SDS) On R side of face - big pull from horizontal to horizontal then up over top.
Between Inchman and Not My Problem boulders is a bloc with a large detached flake on the W side, and a tree at the right hand end.
