<guide guidestars="***" pagesize="500" version="3"> <header access="Ben Lomond is located about 50km south-east of Launceston. It shouldn't take much more than an hour to be at some of the closer crags, though with walks of up to two hours some are more suitable as weekend epics. Watch out for wildlife in the wee-hours, as the National Park is crawling with it. Anyone stupid enough to climb in the Carr Villa area during winter should note that they do not need to pay the entrance fee; this is for access via Jacobs Ladder to the ski resort. During summer there is no entrance station.<br/><br/>To get there from Hobart, head north along the Midlands Highway, turning off R towards Evandale (just past Epping Forest, and 4km before Perth). In Evandale, turn L at the post office (Russell St) and stay on this road as it heads out of town and eventually turns to gravel (C413). Continue along the gravel road (take care - some corners are quite deceptive) until it joins another gravel road (Forest Rd) on a bend. Turn L sharply here and follow road to T intersection. Turn R onto the sealed Blessington Road (C401) and follow this until the Ben Lomond Rd turn off. Note: this is but one way of many, though it is perhaps the quickest.<br/><br/>From Launceston, follow the road out of town to St Leonards then take Blessington Rd (C401) and continue to the Ben Lomond Rd turn off.<br/><br/>Once on Ben Lomond Rd, head up the mountain (taking care for wildlife and the occasional fallen tree). To get to the Carr Villa scout hut car park, take the turn off on the R just after the entrance station. For most crags park at Carr Villa.<br/>The crags are described left to right as you face them - eg East to West across the escarpment." acknowledgement="by Matt Perchard, Roger Parkyn & Andrew Bissett (after previous work by Robert McMahon), originally published in Craglets. Other topos and route descriptions by Dean Rollins and Andrew Geeves." history="" intro="The cliffs of Ben Lomond provide arguably the best climbing in Tasmania. Anyone interested in the finer points of jamming can perfect their skills here, with soaring, unblemished cracks of various widths rising side-by-side. But beware, one of the problems of climbing here is gear related - it is not uncommon that you will require at least four pieces of identical protection, so perfect are the cracks - some are known to require a rack of at least fifteen friends! The other downside is that some climbers also find some of the climbing a little boring, so unchanging is its nature.<br/><br/>Being near one of Tasmania's premier skiing resorts (if there is such a thing), climbing is only possible during the summer months. For those inclined, winter climbing would certainly provide new problems - don't forget the ice screws! At an elevation of at least 1300m, the crags are very high (by Australian standards). Even in summer, weather changes will occur very quickly - so don't forget your warm gear or be prepared to shiver. On warm summers afternoons though, this place is complete bliss.<br/><br/>There are few facilities in the park, so bring everything - lunch, clothes and water (for some crags). Don't forget either some tape for your hands or bandages - the choice is yours! The best map of the area is probably the Ben Lomond National Park Map and Notes, available from most camping stores, though it's hardly necessary. This guide is far from comprehensive, but contains enough of the good routes to get you started. For a comprehensive guide see "Memory of a Journey" by McMahon & Narkowicz.<br/><br/>Note: The cliffs on Ben Lomond are widely considered to be in a no bolt zone. This is not the opinion of a mere individual, but the current consensus of the Tasmanian climbing community. In the future this situation may change so it should be considered an open topic for discussion (consensus climbing ethics aren't, after all, carved in stone). In the meantime please respect their current natural status; you are unlikely to run out of challenging climbs anyway." name="Ben Lomond - Northern Escarpment" rock="Alpine dolerite (varying from precise columns to blocky faces), from 50m to 200m" sun="Afternoon sun" walk="20-60 min" id="1" camping=""/> <text class="heading2" id="2">Strickland Corner</text> <text class="text" id="3">This buttress is above Strickland Corner, the first hairpin bend on Jacobs Ladder.</text> <climb extra="" grade="10" length="65m" name="Strickland's Ladder" number="" stars="" id="4" fa="M. Douglas, I. MacDonald, Apr 1980.">Behind the parking area at this corner is a short gully between the buttress and a tower on it's L. Go up the gully a few metres and climb a 10m corner to gain a platform abutting the face. Get into the alcove above the platform and surmount a bit of an overhang. The remainder of the route is an easy 50m face bearing prolific holds.</climb> <text class="heading2" id="5">Tennant Buttress</text> <text class="heading3" id="6">Upper Tenant Buttress Gully</text> <image noPrint="false" src="upper tenant buttress gully.jpg" width="500" id="7"/> <text class="text" id="8">Approach: Park at the top of Jacobs Ladder. Walk in a westerly direction for approximately 30 minutes to reach a small cairned summit between Tenant Buttress and Snake Buttress. From here the cliff is visible down in the gully. All the routes were cleaned a little on lead but are still a bit lichenous on the bottom half. There are a few more lines to do that would need a good rap clean before climbing.</text> <climb extra="" grade="18" length="22m" name="Whot-eva" number="1." stars="" id="9" fa="Ben Veltkamp, Andrew Geeves, Dec 2008.">Good hand jamming that gets wider and more strenuous at the top.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="18" length="22m" name="Innit" number="2." stars="" id="10" fa="Ben Veltkamp, Andrew Geeves, Dec 2008.">Tricky to start with, then easy jamming across the diagonal crack.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="18" length="22m" name="Geezers Need Excitement" number="3." stars="" id="11" fa="Ben Veltkamp, Andrew Geeves, Dec 2008.">Face climb past the dirty hand crack to a bush, then some off-widthing and jamming.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="16" length="18m" name="De Klermont" number="4." stars="" id="12" fa="Ben Veltkamp, Andrew Geeves, Dec 2008.">Finger and hand crack with some good holds on the face.</climb> <text class="heading2" id="13">Snake Buttress</text> <text class="text" id="14">The next buttress L of the Pavilion. Access as for Pavilion, but keep walking a few hundred metres L towards the next buttress, then up scree to foot of crag. Descend by walking down scree back towards the Pavilion.</text> <climb extra="" grade="15" length="50m" name="Sweet Surrender" number="" stars="" id="15" fa="McMahon, Maddison.">Bridging L-facing corner up the centre of the cliff. Scramble up to grassy ledge at base to begin. Thoughtful bridging up a mossy crack past some tricky bulges to a semi-hanging belay below clean wall on the R. Second pitch is easy, or else climb FKIADD (a much better idea).</climb> <climb extra="" grade="19" length="20m" name="French Kisses in a Darkened Doorway" number="" stars="*" id="16" fa="Maddison, McMahon.">The intermittent crack system up the middle of the clean wall at the upper R of the crag. Climbed as a second pitch to Sweet Surrender. Awkward start and some tricky, technical moves.</climb> <text class="heading2" id="17">The Pavillion</text> <text class="text" id="18">The Pavillion can be seen from the Carr Villa scout hut. It is the large, foreboding looking buttress that sits on the lefthand side (as you look up from below) of the walking track from the summit The best way to get there is to follow this track until you are level with the base of The Pavillion. At this point you should see a faint track that veers off left across a scree slope towards the cliff. Keep skirting the bottom of the cliff until you can see a large ledge that runs along the base. This is best reached by bashing up the line of smashed scrub formed by some rockfall (you can't miss this, it looks like someone's been there with a brush cutter). Once on this terrace head to the left. The next climbs are found there.</text> <climb extra="" grade="20" length=" 95m" name="Brother Jack Straw" number="" stars="" id="19">At the lefthand end of this terrace (to keep going you have to start climbing, although after 5m or so you'd reach the top of a block). The line above you is the one you're after. 1. Bridge up a little way, then follow the line up. Beware of the loose pillar. When the going looks like it is going to get really hard, go left (at the obvious horizontal) and then up to belay on a large ledge. 2. You should start this pitch on the lefthand end of the belay ledge (10m or so left of the chimney the splits the buttress). Follow the cracks up to a rounded roof, pass this on the right, then trend right to a good belay slot. 3. You can finish straight up, or better still is to head left under the roof, passing it on the left, then head back right and on to the top. Descent is usually made by walking down, via the summit/Carr Villa track.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="20" length=" 90m" name="Sirocco" number="" stars="***" id="20" fa="Roxanne Wells, Grant Hyland, Mar 1993.">About 10m R of Brother Jack Straw is a right trending/curving line, that turns into a R-facing corner and then passes to the L of a roof.<br/>1. Follow this up to the top of a pillar.<br/>2. Continue up the line until it is possible to move right into the chimney. Continue up.<br/>3. Up to the top.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="17" length="60m" name="Krokadyl" number="" stars="" id="21" fa="Lyle Closs, Ian Lewis, 1976.">20m R of the big gully up the cliff.<br/>1. 25m 17. A splitter line in the face to belay by a detached, coffin-like, block.<br/>2. 40m 17. Continue up R-facing corner with finger-sized crack.<br/>3. 10m 15. Up chimney.</climb> <image noPrint="false" src="ben lomond sketch map.png" width="" id="22"/> <text class="heading2" id="23">Local Loser</text> <text class="text" id="24">Directly above Carr Villa is a small but steep little cliff known as Local Loser. It is clearly visible above the Scout Hut, at the top of the scree slope, a short twenty-minutes walk away up the steep scree. The cliff is well worth the effort to get there and is also pleasantly sunny.</text> <image noPrint="false" src="ben lomond local loser.png" width="" id="25">null</image> <climb extra="" grade="18" length="30m" name="Black Act" id="26" fa="R.Thomson, R.McMahon, Jan 1978." stars="" number="">Follow the groove on the L of the cliff to the ledge below the 30° roof. Power up the L-leaning crack up through the roof and finish.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="14" length="45m" name="Local Loser" id="27" fa="R.McMahon, D.Burnett, Mar 1973." stars="" number="">The first route done on the cliff. Follow the flakes in the corner L of the overhands. Move out L over dinner-plates under the roof, finishing up the corner leading out R.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="18" length="45m" name="Vitrac" id="28" fa="R.McMahon, 1973.">On first ascent this was a pretty serious lead - new protection makes it better protected these days. Climb the obvious corner, with some difficult thin sections.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="23" name="Maltese Falcons" id="29" fa="J.Smart, Jul 1980.">Climb the overhanging face, mostly on layaways and sloping pockets. Supposedly one of the most technical routes on the mountain.</climb> <text class="text" id="30">The most prominent reference feature is the super-dihedral with a fused crack leading into a large roof. This is not (yet) a climb. Hidden Secrets starts about 5m L of this.</text> <climb extra="" grade="20" length="40m" name="Hidden Secrets" number="" stars="***" id="31" fa="Keith Milne, Colin Rees, 1983.">A great pitch. Start at the RH end of the large boulder standing out from the base of the cliff. Climb up the corner system, over the bulge, then up until the wall blanks out a traverse R seems feasible. Move R to flake then climb upwards when you get to the famous "creaky hold". Continue up groove with good but spaced gear to belay on the large ledge. Walk off L.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="26" length="45m" name="Small Change and the Big Time" number="" stars="" id="32" fa="Adam Donoghue 2000.">Up face R of the big blank corner, climbing seams.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="23" length="40m" name="Born Loser" number="" stars="" id="33" fa="G. Narkowicz, Jul 1984.">Climbs a series of L-facing corners L of Local Winner. The FFA took five 8m screamers from the crux over two attempts before cracking it.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="19" length="35m" name="Local Winner" number="" stars="" id="34" fa="G.Narkowicz, R.McMahon, Jul 1983.">Climb the corner, then break out R onto the face - don't go up the next corner. The face has adequate (although spaced) protection and leads to a prominent undercling. Move slightly R again, then up to finish.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="17" length="45m" name="Lapus Lazuli" id="35" fa="R.McMahon, R.Thomson, Jan 1978." stars="" number="">Begin in the cleft on the R of the cliff and strike out L up the face. Ordinary climbing with a poxy finish; definitely not "the classic of the cliff".</climb> <climb extra="" grade="20" length="35m" name="Spirit of Place" id="36" fa="G.Narkowicz, Feb 1984." stars="" number="">Start behind the pinnacle of rock (which is not shown on the sketch topo). Bridge up until you can gain the thin finger crack, then follow the line to the top.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="14" length="35m" name="Woffal" id="37" fa="R.McMahon, E.Burnett, K.Smith, 1973." stars="" number="">Climb straight up the cleft. Again, one of those climbs more reminiscent of caving than climbing; this is not what you come to the Ben for.</climb> <text class="heading2" id="38">Bullfighter Buttress</text> <text class="text" id="39">Left of Frew's Flutes is a columnar cliff of immaculate precision which is no more than 60m high, called Bullfighter Buttress. The climbs look much harder on sight than they are in fact.</text> <text class="text" id="40">When standing directly in front of Bullfighter Buttress, a short wall is visible down and just right of the main cliff. There are some short lines here. (Note: I'm pretty sure this is where Picador is, the only thing not matching the description is the length, but I can't find any other lines in the area that fit...)</text> <climb extra="" grade="23" length="10m" name="Walk Like An Egyptian" number="" stars="" id="41" fa="Nic Perndt, Dec 2008.">A thin and technical boulder problem start leads to a hand crack at the top (past some greenery).</climb> <climb extra="" grade="18" length="10m" name="Picador" number="" stars="" id="42" fa="John Smart, Shane Carson, Mar 1979.">The short but appealing crack down and just R of the main Bullfighter Buttress cliff.</climb> <text class="text" id="44">The slender buttress towards the bottom of the descent gully that faces the car park and receives early sun. There are two prominent corner crack lines, both of which are a good intro to the area if you want to test your jamming skills and are not yet up for one of the longer routes on the Flutes, or as a gentle finish to cap off the day. Approach from the L at a point in the gully level with the base of the routes. Descend by fixed tape/rope abseil at top of LOTMS.</text> <text class="heading3" id="47">Osiris Buttress</text> <text class="text" id="48">This is the next chuck of rock uphill from Isis Buttress and on the same side of the descent gully (opposite Bullfighter Buttress). Approach by traversing in from high up in the descent gully. Descend by an easy walk off the back.</text> <climb extra="" grade="17" length="18m" name="Matter of Time" number="" stars="" id="50" fa="Nic Perndt, Dean Rollins, Jan 2009.">As for LFRF to the sloping ledge, then take the dark crack in the corner.</climb><climb extra="" grade="20" length="18m" name="Left Foot, Right Foot" number="" stars="" id="49" fa="Dean Rollins, Nic Perndt, Jan 2009.">Up slab made by fallen pillar then take short hand crack on R to reach sloping ledge. Climb the crack splitting the face past a section that is not the most friendly of sizes.</climb><text class="heading3" id="43">Isis Buttress</text> <climb extra="" grade="17" length="25m" name="Land of the Midnight Sun" number="" stars="*" id="45" fa="Shane Carson, John Smart, Mar 1979.">The LH corner. Straight forward jamming up the corner, widening just before the ledge.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="17" length="25m" name="Champagne Jam" number="" stars="*" id="46" fa="John Smart, Shane Carson, Mar 1979.">The RH corner. Clamber R onto block to start. Jam and bridge the corner, moving L at the top to belay on same ledge as LOTMS. Probably the better of the two routes.</climb> <text class="heading2" id="51">Frew's Flutes</text> <text class="text" id="52">The crag of Frew's Flutes, in particular Robin's Buttress, provides the most consistently hard cliff on the mountain and the most regular columnar cliff in the state, perhaps Australia. Varying in height from 30m to 180m, it is close to a 1km long. The distinct face on the L is named Robin's Buttress after English climber Robin Thomson, who, fresh from Yosemite, pioneered many of the exhausting jam cracks in 1978.</text> <text class="text" id="53">The rock is wholly sympathetic in frictional texture but unrelentingly steep. Note that a high degree of fitness is required, even on the easiest routes.</text> <text class="text" id="54">See Robin's Buttress section for detailed access and descent info. The first section described are routes on the far LH end of the cliff in and near the descent gully for the main cliff.</text> <text class="heading3" id="55">Descent Gully Area</text> <text class="text" id="56">The following route is along the track heading back to Robin's Buttress. It is a prominent dihedral about 50m along from where the track branches off the main scree gully.</text> <climb extra="" grade="23" length="25m" name="Turbulence" number="" stars="" id="57" fa="Dean Rollins, Nic Perndt, Jan 2009.">Start up the short hand crack on the L, then move R into the line along rail and climb the thin open-book corner. To descend, traverse R around block (stay roped up) and then downclimb easy gully.</climb> <text class="text" id="58">Further along this descent track to Robin's Buttress, a short and rather unremarkable cliff band is visible on the R just before the saddle.</text> <climb extra="" grade="16" length="10m" name="Arse Floss" number="" stars="" id="59" fa="Been done before? If not then: Tim Stubley, Dean Rollins, Dec 2008.">The crack towards the L end of the wall (with a scoop high on the L). Thin at the start, then widens towards the top.</climb> <text class="text" id="60">Down the final gully to the base of Robin's Buttress, the descent passes a mossy black wall on the R with a few brushed lines. This is shady side of the Descent Gully Pinnacle. There are also some short routes on the Heathcliff facing (west) side of the pinnacle. They are on the L when looking up at Robin's Buttress from the scree, the first route being at the far L of the lower wall. Descend by tape abseil or by scrambling down the NW corner (coming out just along from SSHS). Routes described L to R (counter-clockwise).</text> <climb extra="" grade="25" length="10m" name="Super Snappy's Homemade Salsa" number="" stars="" id="61" fa="Nic Perndt, Dean Rollins, Jan 2008.">Short but surprisingly sustained stemming. Sufficient stonker stopper placements with some supplementary SLCDs constitute protection, placed from solid stances. Surpass slopey sidepulls and slippery smears to send successfully and summit. Stupendous.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="17" length="15m" name="Stuck Cam Crack" number="" stars="" id="62" fa="Unknown.">At the R end of the wall is a little recess with 3 wide lines. Bridge and jam up the centre and RH one. There was a rigid friend stuck 5m up for a while, but it is now gone. Pink sling at top. This could actually be Split Surprises? (p. 62).</climb> <text class="text" id="63">Now on to the black mossy wall that faces the main cliff. Routes are described L to R as you face the wall. Descent via a scramble and downclimb at the NW foot of the buttress.</text> <climb extra="" grade="18" length="18m" name="Sam's Route" number="" stars="" id="64" fa="Pete Steane, Adrian Herington, Nov 1996.">Towards the L end of the wall is a clean, brushed line. The longest crack in the vicinity not broken by a ledge. Starts as thin hands and finishes with fists.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="22" length="20m" name="Back to the Womb" number="" stars="" id="65" fa="Tony Dignan, Mark Moorhead, 1980.">The brushed finger crack towards the R of the wall. Follow the lack of moss.</climb> <text class="heading3" id="66">Robin's Buttress</text> <text class="text" id="67">This buttress has the highest concentration of classics on the plateau; with a selection of long, sustained pitches of a variety of widths and styles.</text> <text class="text" id="68">Access: A cairned route heading west across the scree starts about 100m up the summit track, staying up high to avoid the bands of scrub. A quicker alternative is to first head along through the scrub and head up the scree to join up with the aforementioned cairned route. It is approximately 30 minutes of easy rock-hopping from Carr Villa to the buttress. When in the "scree saddle" under the big cliff, look up and you'll hopefully see the penis of rock (aka "the donga") at the base of the cliff proper. This is where Rajah and the like start and is a good landmark from which to identify the routes.</text> <text class="text" id="69">Follow the cairns up towards Robin's Buttress to a well-worn approach scramble up the scrubby cliffs below the donga. About halfway up to the base, the track forks; the L fork leads to the Rajah area (and routes further L), and the R fork leads to the Barbe di Vendetta area (and routes further R).</text> <text class="text" id="70">Descent: The routes on Robin's Buttress top out at a flat, rocky outcrop. At the carpark end a path is visible a few metres back from the cliff edge. Follow this and keep an eye out for more paths and cairns leading towards the head of the broad gully a few hundred metres away. Don't be tempted into straying L into the gully too early, or you may end up having to do some short (but easy) down climbing. The main descent track to the head of the gully is a very simple walk.</text> <text class="text" id="71">Once at the top of the gully, head down the scree following cairns. The main gully heads all the way down past Bullfighter Buttress, and meets up with the cairned route from the car to the Flutes. However, towards the top, another track branches off and heads L (as you walk down), up over the saddle, and down a rocky gully. The start of this track is cairned well, and it sticks quite close to the cliff line. If walking down, it is the quickest and easiest way back to the base of Robin's Buttress.</text> <text class="text" id="72">Alternatively, it is possible to rap off a number of the routes after the 'main' pitches by slinging chockstones and horns. This is a popular way to get off many route, as it avoid the lower quality rock towards to top of the cliff. However, despite the reputation of the top section of the cliff being a total pile of choss, a number of the more popular routes stay relatively solid to the end; for example, Defender, Rigaudon and Ramadan, and in fact offer quite good climbing in their own right. If you do rap off, don't trust any existing tat blindly, and don't count on your old tat being there next time you do a certain route.</text> <text class="text" id="73">There used to be a bolted rap station just right of Rajah but this was removed in 2007, in the interests of keeping Ben Lomond bolt free.</text> <image noPrint="false" src="ben lomond robins.png" width="" id="74">null</image> <climb extra="" grade="" length="45m" name="Rock-a-Bye Baby" number="" stars="" id="75" fa="R.McMahon, H.Smith, 1977.">A route on the left, diminutive edge of the buttress. Some face climbing and a flaring, thrutching chimney. (Alright, I said they were all classics; this is the exception that proves the rule, so read on. - Ed).</climb> <climb extra="" grade="21" length="65m" name="Captain Planet" number="" stars="" id="76" fa="Andrew Geeves, Ben Veltkamp (alt.) Feb 2010.">Access: Located on the far left of Robin’s Buttress. Walk up the descent gully, near the top of the scree section it is possible to scramble back right to the base of the main cliff. The climb starts up the corner with a finger crack.<br/>1. 20m 21. Climb finger crack to a ledge at 7m. Continue finger locking and laybacking up corner until an exciting exit up the slabby groove.<br/>2. 35m 21. What a splitter! Easier than it looks thanks to numerous face holds. Directly off the belay is committing as it is difficult to place gear from the face holds. Alternatively, it is possible to climb up right and step into the line.<br/>3. 10m. Easy. Solo to top.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="16" name="Farewell the Trumpets" id="77" fa="R.McMahon, J.Smart, Jul 1980." stars="" number="" length="">Located just L of Rissorgimento.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="" length="" name="Rissorgimento" number="" stars="" id="78" fa="R.McMahon, M.Broadbent, J.Fantini, Jul 1980.">Located L of the main difficulties of the cliff.</climb> <text class="text" id="79">For the far L of the buttress (up to and including Die Nadel) climb a short approach pitch (15) to the slopey ledge system.</text> <climb extra="" grade="22" length="25m" name="Necrophiliac" number="" stars="" id="80" fa="Nic Perndt, Dean Rollins, Jan 2009.">The line L of the original first pitch to Necromancer. Step in from hand crack on the L, then climb the sustained hand and finger crack, finishing at the top of the square cut pillar.</climb> <climb extra="" grade="21" length="90m" name="Necromancer" number="" stars="" id="81" fa="G.Narkowicz, G.Hyland, Feb 1984.">The second line L of Defender of the Faith. "A real flirtation with death". Destined to be a classic if someone can be bothered abseiling to clean it.<br/>1. 25m 19. Bridge and jam up the flared corner with the black scoops in it. Layback over a small roof, th |