<guide version="3">
  <header access="" acknowledgement="By Peter Booth" history="It is not known definitively who first climbed ice here although in 1978 Ross Mansfield and Chris Penner climbed a multi-pitch route on Stacks, probably on The Amphitheatre. In 1984 Tony McKenny and Peter Booth climbed a route on The Amphitheatre, wandered along the edge of the plateau and saw the daunting top pitch of The Trident. In subsequent years regular trips were made to the Amphitheatre, mainly by northern climbers, with sporadic forays to the Trident, invariably foiled by bad weather, poor conditions or the sheer effort of battling snow covered boulders and scrub on the approach. The route became a slow burning obsession. Success finally came, to Peter Booth and Bill Baxter, in 2004.The ice was in perfect condition and the final 45m.crux pitch up the iced flank of a dolerite column provided a fitting climax to a 20-year dream.    &lt;br/&gt;On the Northern Escarpment, Geoff Batten climbed a route in the early 1970s near Jacobs Ladder, while Peter Booth led  a large party in 1983 up the Whymper Couloir.   &lt;br/&gt;In 1994 Peter Booth and Ross Mansfield first visited The Knuckle, finding no traces of previous ascents. Knuckle Butty was the first blow in their campaign, a line up the major icefall and still one of the better routes. For two seasons they had the crag to themselves and climbed most of the main lines. Subsequently, on weekends when conditions were good, there were often several parties climbing. Gary Khuen was an enthusiastic protagonist and left little ice uncramponed. In later years indifferent seasons saw less activity but periodically good climbing still occurs and then a hard core of ice enthusiasts converge on the crag from around the state.    &lt;br/&gt;Are you an obsessive ice fanatic with plenty of imagination, considerable patience, luck, and in possession of a long neck? If so, there are further opportunities for new adventures on the escarpment.    &lt;br/&gt;" intro="Conditions are rarely right for ice climbing in Tasmania due to the influence of the prevailing maritime westerly winds and the relatively low altitude of the mountains. Ascents have been made in winter conditions on a number of peaks including Federation Peak, Cradle Mountain and Frenchman&apos;s Cap but the only area to consistently produce easily accessible and quality ice climbing has been the Ben Lomond escarpment, particularly the south-facing cliffs around Stacks Bluff.     &lt;br/&gt;Although the effects of global warming are evident in the frequency and duration of climbable ice, given the right climatic sequence (see notes on specific locations) good conditions can be found at any time between early June and early September. July and August give the best possibilities.    &lt;br/&gt;The two main areas, Stacks Bluff and The Knuckle, are very different in character. Stacks gives a steep, open face with an alpine atmosphere and, to date, one classic gully climb. The Knuckle is ice cragging with a wide range of short (to 50m.) steep routes on water ice.    &lt;br/&gt;Despite the relative ease of access, the rugged terrain engenders a feeling of remoteness and on a clear winter day the prospect of crags, extensive boulder fields and wild eucalypt forest with the Fingal valley far below and the distant sea to the east, makes climbing ice here a unique experience. Rarely, when at its best, the climbing can match any of its type anywhere.    &lt;br/&gt;The Stacks Bluff area is very exposed to bad weather, particularly so in winter, and in such conditions there is no easy retreat, with difficult terrain compounding any navigational problems. Winter climbing on the Bluff invariably feels like a big day out; days are short - carry torches. If visiting the area for the first time, take careful note of the route back. Any walking tracks on the plateau are nothing more than ill defined and poorly marked routes. Similar comments apply to The Knuckle although the area is less exposed to bad weather and access is much easier.    &lt;br/&gt;As is usual with ice climbing, do not expect to find perfect protection. In general, nuts and cams are ineffective in ice-glazed cracks (when you can find any) and pitons are better. Ice screws are often the best or only option; take tie-offs. Specific comments on conditions and equipment will be found in the respective crag descriptions. Nothing is guaranteed; a high degree of judgement and initiative is required in this type of climbing. Take care." name="Ben Lomond Ice" rock="Alpine dolerite" sun="Mixed sun and shade" walk="30min - 2 hours" id="1"/>
  <text class="heading2" id="2">Northern Escarpment</text>
  <text class="indentedHeader" id="3">Intro: So far, one exception to the rule that all the ice is on the Southern Escarpment has been found, and that is the area around the base of Jacobs Ladder.</text>
  <text class="indentedHeader" id="4">Access: From Launceston, drive through St Leonards and along Blessington Road (C401), following signs to Ben Lomond. Four kilometres before Upper Blessington, turn right to Ben Lomond and continue past the Carr Villa turn off. Leave the car in the park at the foot of Jacobs Ladder, the final, steep winding road up to the plateau. Opposite, across the valley, is Whymper Crags. Walk to the first bend on the Ladder. Descend to cross the creek and climb up through the scrub to the routes. Directly above the car park is the huge cleft of Car Park Gully.National Park entry fees apply.</text>
  <text class="indentedHeader" id="5">History: In the 1970's Geoff Batten and others climbed Car Park Gully, together with a much shorter gully on the right further up the Ladder, and repeat ascents were made of these climbs during the 1980's. The Whymper Couloir, with it's characteristic Ice Candle, was climbed by Peter Booth, Tony McKenny, Dave Gardner, Dave Buckingham and Peter Cover in 1983 and there were subsequent ascents by Jim Duff and others. Some years later the obvious line to the right of the Couloir, The Slot, was climbed by Peter Booth and Mike Ling.</text>
  <text class="indentedHeader" id="6">Conditions: Car Park Gully - a good snowfall down to the foot of the Ladder is needed, lying for a few days with cold conditions. Whymper Crags - snow lying on the crags for thaw/freeze to build the ice. The Couloir does not receive any sun until late in the season. The Slot receives late afternoon sun and would be an early season route. Ice in the lower part of the Couloir, as seen from the car park, indicates that it's worth having a go. In more recent years Whymper Crags has still been climbable, albeit for short periods, in all but the mildest winters. You've just got to be on the spot at the right time. If all else fails, you can always join the skiers, probably in the Creek Inn drowning their snowless sorrows.</text>
  <climb extra="" grade="Scottish Grade 3" length="200m" name="Car Park Gully" number="" stars="" id="7">Snow, ice pitches (WI 2/ 3. m. ixed climbing - a grand adventure, if it ever comes in condition again!</climb>
  <climb extra="" grade="WI 4-" length="60m" name="Whymper Couloir" number="" stars="" id="8" fa=" Peter Booth, Tony McKenny, Dave Gardner, Dave Buckingham, Peter Cover, Jul 1983.">The obvious gully with the characteristic Ice Candle capped by a large chockstone. (pitons, ice screws, 3.5 cam) 1. 35m. Escape the scrub and follow the straightforward ice gully to belay at the foot of the Candle. 2. 25m. WI 4- Climb the Candle direct with an excursion left just below the chockstone to place a 3.5 cam. (this was the line taken on the first ascent - it is also possible to climb the corner on the right). Traverse right beneath the chockstone to exit through the improbable looking icicle-fringed hole.</climb>
  <climb extra="" grade="WI 3+" length="50m" name="The Slot" number="" stars="" id="9" fa="Peter Booth, Mike Ling, Late 1980&apos;s">The ice feature to the right of the Couloir - a narrow streak of ice in a vertical wall above an ice- covered slab. 1. 30m. Mixed climbing to reach the base of the slab. 2. 20m. WI 3+ Up the slab and the slot above. - scary.</climb>
  <text class="heading2" id="10">Southern Escarpment</text>
  <text class="indentedHeader" id="11">Access: For the Stacks climbs, traverse the boulder fields below Denison Crag and continue towards the toe of the Baleen to the west; some tedious scrub on this section. (See Stacks Bluff Guide for more detail on access to the area). Access the Amphitheatre, the steep, open, snow / ice slope to the west of The Baleen, by an easy gully, normally ice glazed, to the left of the buttresses. The Trident lies to the right of western Baleen Buttress. Alternatively follow the walking route to the summit of Stacks Bluff; the top of The Amphitheatre is due S.E. An easy angled snow slope adjacent to the flank of The Baleen leads to the top of the easy gully, abseil the gully. 1:25000 Tasmap Stacks 5439.</text>
  <text class="indentedHeader" id="12">Conditions: A good snowfall on the mountain, cold nights, and The Amphitheatre is soon climbable. It presents as an unbroken snow slope when viewed from the valley. The Trident requires snow lying on the plateau for a couple of weeks or so with cold nights to enable the ice to build. The route is undoubtedly climbable much more often than the 20-year gap between seeing and doing would suggest.</text>
  <text class="indentedHeader" id="13">Climbing Info: The Amphitheatre. From the top of the easy gully (see access) move left and pick your own line. Several pitches on snow and ice (Scottish Grade 2/3 and ice pitches WI 2/3); ice screws, a few slings, pitons and snow anchors could be useful. The Trident. The Trident is the major gully between the western and central Baleen Buttresses; the headwall can be clearly seen from the valley.</text>
  <climb extra="" grade="WI 4/4+ (Scottish Grade 5)" length="170m" name="The Trident" number="" stars="***" id="14" fa="Peter Booth and Bill Baxter, 2004.">The base of the gully is blocked by a large chockstone but above this widens and becomes well defined. Ice screws (45m. ice pitch); slings, pitons; cams. 1. 5m. The chockstone presents some difficulty if not well banked with snow, otherwise easy. 2. 50m. Up the gully, snow with ice bulges. 3. 35m. Continue up the gully to the foot of the two-tier 70m. headwall. Belay in a recess on the left (cams) near the base of a deep-cleft chimney. (From here the line follows a streak of ice up the wall on the right. If this is broken the headwall is inaccessible. The deep-cleft, ice-glazed chimney can be followed to an enormous chockstone, 50m below the plateau rim. Progress from here would be problematical. A rotting abseil sling marks the spot.) 4. 35m. WI 4. Up the streak and the wall above via an airy traverse and steep ice runnels to the steep-banked ledge. On the first ascent a belay crack was excavated, with considerable effort. An elegant pitch. 5. 45m. WI 4+ (85 degrees). The left hand line. Move up left and steeply up the iced column, the angle eases a little towards its top. (On the first ascent the crux move was a mantelshelf onto the sheared-off top of the column, where the ice ran out). Easier to the plateau snowfield.</climb>
  <text id="28" class="heading3">Scimitar Buttress</text>
  <text id="31" class="text">The leftmost buttress of Denison Crag. Possibly the hardest technical ice climbing in Australia but very dependent on the fickle Tasmanian winter weather.</text>
  <image id="32" src="stacks bluff winter routes.jpg" height="750" width="1000"/>
  <climb id="29" stars="***" extra="" number="" name="Martyrdom" length="55m" grade="WI 5+, M6" fa="F.A. Owen Davis and Garry Phillips, Aug 2015.">1. 35m WI5+ M6 Climb up into ice chimney/slot at 5m, up slot and onto ice face. Climb ice face for 5m to roof then climb through bulge and into corner (WI5+). Climb corner to snowy ledge (M6). Belay off large hex and #2 Camalot. &lt;br/&gt;2. 20m WI 3 Traverse up and right following line of the best ice. Get to ledge then traverse back left to belay. &lt;br/&gt;3. 50m Scramble up to the summit plateau. &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Recommended Climbing Rack for Martyrdom&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;• 2 sets Camalots .3 to 3&lt;br/&gt;• 1 Set Hexes (medium to large sizes)&lt;br/&gt;• 1 Set of Wires (small off sets useful)&lt;br/&gt;• A few angles and knife blades (useful but not essential)&lt;br/&gt;• 6 Ice screws (stubbies useful)&lt;br/&gt;• 8 quickdraws&lt;br/&gt;• 8 extender quick draws&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</climb>
  <climb id="30" stars="***" extra="" number="" name="The Fatted Calf" length="55m" grade="WI5, M4/5" fa="F.A. Owen Davis and Garry Phillips, Aug 2015.">1. 20m M3 Start in a groove system slightly right of some prominent wide cracks. Climb this to the top of the pedestal and the wall above to a small ledge. Traverse left and up to a huge bollard (belay) below prominent dihedral system boasting a ribbon of ice. &lt;br/&gt;2. 30m M4/5 Follow ice ramp up and left and into corner. Follow corner straight up until a small alcove below a continuation of the corner system. Belay takes good cams between .3 and .5 Camalots. &lt;br/&gt;3. 25m WI 5 Follow the ribbon of ice up the dihedral to the large ledge at the top of the technical climbing. Lots of rock protection in cracks of varied sizes up to #3 Camalot. A superlative pitch.&lt;br/&gt;4. 60m Scramble up broken ground to the summit plateau.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Recommended Climbing Rack for The Fatted Calf&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;• 2 sets Camalots .3 to 3&lt;br/&gt;• 1 #4 Camalot&lt;br/&gt;• 1 Set Hexes (medium to large sizes)&lt;br/&gt;• 1 Set of Wires (small off sets useful)&lt;br/&gt;• A few angles and knife blades (useful but not essential)&lt;br/&gt;• 6 Ice screws (stubbies useful)&lt;br/&gt;• 8 quickdraws&lt;br/&gt;• 8 extender quick draws&lt;br/&gt;</climb>
  <text class="heading3" id="15">The Knuckle</text>
  <text class="indentedHeader" id="16">Access: The Knuckle crag is clearly marked on the map (1:25000 Tasmap Mangana 5639) on the southern slopes of The Knuckle. Take the Stacks track but turn right at the track junction at 1.5 Km. and park just before the creek (Storys Creek). Cross the creek and continue along the track (Sphinx Bluff track) until at approx. 2 Km. the cairned route leaves the forest and takes the boulder field below the Bluff. From here leave the cairns and head in a northerly direction through scrubby forest and boulder fields until two large rocky pinnacles (ring contours on the map) can be seen up on the left. These form a useful landmark; climb the boulder slope to the right of the pinnacles and you're there. If there is a good snow cover, an alternative route is to ski from the Ben Lomond Ski Village, a long day and a fair old distance.</text>
  <text class="indentedHeader" id="17">Conditions: At 1350m the crag is considerably lower than Stacks but its unique topography makes it the most reliable ice venue. Set back from the main line of the escarpment and facing due south, it takes drainage from the slopes above right across its 500m width. Consequently, when in condition, it is festooned with ice. At leaner times the main lines can still provide good climbing. At the base of the crag a shallow, boulder-strewn bowl, together with the two detached pinnacles immediately to the south (Aiguille de Knuckle!), form a pronounced frost hollow. All this adds up to ice building faster, and lasting longer, than elsewhere. A wet or snowy period followed by a week or so of cold weather should give something to climb. The springs that feed the ice flow strongly, so expect to find water running over the ice on some routes, even on cold days. Water running strongly behind the ice and ice dropping off in chunks gives food for thought; assess conditions carefully and err on the side of caution. As a rule prolonged spells of cold weather without prior precipitation do not build ice here.</text>
  <text class="indentedHeader" id="18">Climbing Info: Ice screws give the best option for protection with rock gear sparse (pitons). Expect to be tying off screws, particularly low down on the climbs. Slings are useful. An abseil chain is located at the top of the 25m wall, a 50m rope just makes it. Overall gradings are around WI 3 although on the steeper routes things may feel a little precarious at times. The longer routes are up to 50m - two pitches - with the second pitch invariably easier unless a sporty finish is taken up the vertical wall above Zigzag. The area to the right of the main crag contains two easy gullies, bulges and slabs of ice that can provide a useful introduction. Up to 20 routes and variations have been made with more possible if we ever have another exceptional season. All routes were first led on-sight. Top roping is discouraged; conserve the ice, retain the adventure! No route descriptions are given; just use the topo and your imagination.</text>
  <image noPrint="false" src="TheKnuckle.jpg" width="" id="19" height="460"/>
  <climb extra="" grade="" length="" name="Knuckle Runnel" number="1." stars="" id="20"/>
  <climb extra="" grade="" length="" name="Knuckle Butty" number="2." stars="" id="21">There is also a RH variant.</climb>
  <climb extra="" grade="" length="" name="Zig Zag" number="3." stars="" id="22">Various direct starts and finishes.</climb>
  <climb extra="" grade="" length="" name="Testing Titanium" number="4." stars="" id="23"/>
  <climb extra="" grade="" length="" name="The Prow" number="5." stars="" id="24"/>
  <climb extra="" grade="" length="" name="APSI" number="6." stars="" id="25"/>
  <climb extra="" grade="" length="" name="Cold Knuckle" number="7,8,9." stars="" id="26">Several variants.</climb>
  <climb extra="" grade="" length="" name="After Thought" number="10." stars="" id="27"/>
</guide>



Gallery