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Stapylton Long Weekend 6-Nov-2002 At 1:15:14 PM Mike

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Neil, sounds like you got a lot done despite the weather. I was up there too with six others, several of whom didn't climb, so the weekend turned into more of a hiking about trip, with a few short pitches for the climbers.

Saturday was spent at Hollow Mt. I lead Golden Showers clean this time after which we checked out nearby Gun Buttress where we ticked three short lines (2 on top rope), the best of which was labelled "AP" and felt about grade 22.

We stayed at Mt Zero log cabins on the Sat night, only 6 mins drive from Summer Day valley. I'd never paid for accommodation on a climbing trip before, but it proved an nice experience. Not exactly a palace, but very nice none-the-less. We even braved the pool for a few icy minutes, and stayed up late into the night playing cards, talking and drinking while the wind and rain howled outside.

On Sunday morning I took a beginner friend up Flake Of Fear at Summer Day, while the others slept in or went shopping in Horsham. The team then decided to do a hike. Heralded as one of the best walks in Victoria, we choose the Flat Rock, Taipan, Hollow Mt circuit. Worried about reported "ravine jumping" we took a rope and a couple of harnesses for the less experienced members, which proved a good idea. Starting from Flat Rock car park, we walked to the base of Taipan. Here we noticed some dudes on Spurt Wall (I think, never been there before so not sure), just below Taipan. The hike then continued up and behind Taipan through fun grade 2 soloing up onto the summit of Taipan, where we all stopped for lunch and to enjoy the view.

Note to others, following the orange arrows up there takes you the dangerous way, we chose an easier, safer path by ignoring the arrows and continuing up when the caves are reached, and heading left up a thin ramp to circle back onto the summit. This path is not easy to find, but is much less exposed.

From the summit of Taipan, we continued circling around the spectacular ridgeline towards Hollow Mountain. As we neared Hollow Mountain block the hiking became increasingly more exposed and problematic, causing a couple of the girls to feel less than happy with proceeding. We actually spent at least an hour here scouting the way ahead which, while marked with cairns was very difficult to discern.

A decision was made to press ahead when three others approaching in the opposite direction informed us of the best path - a path that involved easy, but exposed scrambling. We rigged the rope for a 50m travseing safety line, tied off to pro at various points, and had those that felt wigged out harness up. With the confidence of the rope, the team was shortly all up on top of Hollow Mountain Block (where "Golden Showers" summits), and enjoying the down climb through the impressive cave system. A short hike down to Hollow Mt Car park, and a quick stroll back to Flat Rock got us to the cars.

Definitely a splendid hike, and easy for any climber looking to fill in say, three hours of a non-climbing day. Gives you impressive views of Taipan from every angle. I'd perhaps suggest the hike is best done in the opposite direction, starting by summitting up Hollow Mt Block through the caves and continuing along the ridge towards Taipan. That way you get all the harder navigating and scrambling done early, and can just cruise down the tourist track to Flat Rock to finish. I'd suggest the Hollow Mt end of the hike is not suitable for little kids, and probably will not appeal to non-climber, non-hiker types that are just tagging along to be sociable.