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Crag & Route Beta

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

Topic Date User

Dreamtime Wall rock quality 31-Mar-2018 At 7:14:37 PM diddy

Message

Went to Dreamtime wall for the first time and I would like to comment on the rock quality.

I only climbed at the Moon Safari area, and did Totemic Arete and The Stolen Generation, so what I say may only apply to that buttress.

When on The Stolen Generation I pulled a good part of a ledge off soon after the crux. I pulled onto a jug, shook out a bit, then went to move up and clip the next bolt when the wall gave way and I went with it. Three large blocks and lots of small rocks rained down toward my belayer, who just managed to leap sideways and, assisted by me taking a large whipper, swung with the rope out of the way. We were fine. But it could have been a very bad accident. Had my belayer been hit by one of those blocks he would have been seriously injured or killed, which would then have likely resulted in him not holding my fall and me hitting the deck from a long way up the wall. And had anyone else been below at the time they also would have been badly injured. Helmets (which we were wearing) would not have helped against those blocks.

The reason for my post is to comment on the general guide description and some route descriptions that there is some loose rock which will likely clean up with more ascents to reveal quality rock and better climbing. I disagree. From what I saw the whole of this Moon Safari buttress has a large band of rotten rock at about 15-25m height that is shearing off and will keep shearing off. It appeared to me that the reason the rock consists of flat sharp side pulls and flakes is because of how the rock is fracturing.

My concern is that this crag contains a high concentration of easy/moderate sport climbing - unusual in the Grampians - which is attractive to beginners who may have a false sense of security clipping bolts. And sure the guide and some descriptions warn of loose rock. But I don't think it properly warns of areas of very rotten rock and the potential risk of a serious accident.

I know loose rock. I've climbed my share of alpine rock in New Zealand. But climbing a route on a mountain is different to sport cragging. One of the greatest features of Grampians climbing is the bulletproof orange and red rock. Unfortunately this wall doesn't have it (at least this Moonshine Buttress - maybe the rest is different).