Goto Chockstone Home

  Guide
  Gallery
  Tech Tips
  Articles
  Reviews
  Dictionary
  Links
  Forum
  Search
  About

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

  Shop
Chockstone Photography
Australian Landscape Photography by Michael Boniwell
Australian Landscape Prints





Chockstone Forum - Crag & Route Beta

Crag & Route Beta

Area Location Sub Location Crag Links
VIC Eastern (General) (General) (General)  

Topic Date User
Conglomerate: how does it usually break? 30-Mar-2016 At 1:45:25 AM pmonks
Message
Generally it'll be the cobbles that pull out, and depending on their size and the height of the cliff, that could be anywhere from an annoyance to a major danger to the belayer. I'd suggest abseiling over (with a helmet and eye protection, and ideally with your rope tucked up in a bag) and kicking (or better yet whacking with a hammer) any protruding cobbles as you go down, to try to get a sense of how solidly they're embedded. Or, if there are smaller boulders near the base of the cliff, test those before you get out the rope.

Whether cobbles ripping out is likely or not depends almost entirely on the strength of the cement that holds the cobbles together. I've seen everything from a bomber matrix (Montserrat, Catalonia) to barely compressed dirt (The Pinnacles in California, as well as some cliffs I checked out near Murrurundi one time). With enough traffic the softer areas can become quite good for climbing (The Pinnacles is pretty popular, despite being freakishly chossy) - it's partly a question of whether what's left after all the prominent cobbles rip off is climbable.

There are 6 replies to this topic.

 

Home | Guide | Gallery | Tech Tips | Articles | Reviews | Dictionary | Forum | Links | About | Search
Chockstone Photography | Landscape Photography Australia | Australian Landscape Photography | Landscape Photos Australia

Please read the full disclaimer before using any information contained on these pages.



Australian Panoramic | Australian Coast | Australian Mountains | Australian Countryside | Australian Waterfalls | Australian Lakes | Australian Cities | Australian Macro | Australian Wildlife
Landscape Photo | Landscape Photography | Landscape Photography Australia | Fine Art Photography | Wilderness Photography | Nature Photo | Australian Landscape Photo | Stock Photography Australia | Landscape Photos | Panoramic Photos | Panoramic Photography Australia | Australian Landscape Photography | High Country Mountain Huts | Mothers Day Gifts | Gifts for Mothers Day | Mothers Day Gift Ideas | Ideas for Mothers Day | Wedding Gift Ideas | Christmas Gift Ideas | Fathers Day Gifts | Gifts for Fathers Day | Fathers Day Gift Ideas | Ideas for Fathers Day | Landscape Prints | Landscape Poster | Limited Edition Prints | Panoramic Photo | Buy Posters | Poster Prints