Chockstone Forum

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

Chockstone Photography

Australian Landscape Prints

Chockstone Forum - Crag & Route Beta

Crag & Route Beta

Area	Location	Sub Location	Crag	Links
VIC Grampians	Central	(General)	(General)	[ Grampians Guide \| Images ]

Topic Date User

New 3rd pitch to The Last Rites? 1-May-2013 At 11:15:31 AM gfdonc

Message

As I *told* John before he headed up, but I'll include here for the record, the route descriptions in both the Baxter and Select guides are poor.
Here's my notes from when I did it in 2008. *Beta Alert*. Oops sorry John, didn't see this until now. You'll have to go back and do it properly:

P1 18
Up the left-leaning flake/crack, hard start then up the slabby crack to a rest below the roof. At the roof, move left to gain the horizontal break, then right to turn the roof (hard) and make another move up before stepping left to belay on a small stance. Watch out for rope drag.
P2 18
Step left from the belay then up the wonderful clean corner which becomes slabby (and thin). Stay right when the corner 'splits' (the V is visible from the ground) and follow the major corner system. It steepens, make some exciting bridging moves up then move right to belay at a stance. Care: the flake you’d like to put gear behind to belay from is detached (but not loose), look for backup/alternative placements on the right. The horizontal break takes a yellow Alien. (alternative: it has been suggested this can be linked with p3)
P3 19
Ignore the Baxter guide which says “left 9m”, someone needs a new tape-measure. Step down from the belay and hand-traverse left 4m until you can mantel onto a good stance at the bottom of the next corner system left of the belay. One hard move up this (look for a hold on the L wall) then a couple of “thank ..” jugs. Up to a small roof, which is turned on the left, clip a fixed pin (small cam to back it up) and slither upwards (crux). Go up easily through the jagged overhangs (visible from the ground) and up to the good long ledge below the orange rock – this is a few metres below the major roof which is also visible from the ground. Belay from cams in a horizontal (guide says pitons but we didn’t see any).
P4 17
Walk left about 4m (just left of the corner system above formed by the left edge of the roof) where it is possible to pull off the ledge and up the wall. Step right to the base of the corner and up into this for a rest. Breathe, then launch up the spectacular overhung corner system which is sustained and brilliant. This pitch would be a 3-star single pitch if it were at ground level; 100m up must add a fourth star. (Neil: clearly I thought of it first)
At the top of the corner exit onto grey rock (still tricky) then up easily (sparse pro) to the bottom of a final steeper corner (possible belay). Up this to belay from the top.