North Wall - Buffalo Gorge

The Word: Stunning climbing and atmosphere.
Sun/shade: Shady apart from early sun.
Wet weather options: No. Beer at the chalet.
Style & Length of Climbs: 15-300m. Big aid routes, plus some free climbs.
Grades: 19-29

The Details: The Gorge is the most famous climbing destination of Mt Buffalo, and probably in the top 3 Victorian climbing destinations. The North Wall in particular is probably Australia's premier aid wall, but also offers a range of free climbing opportunities.

Access: 4hrs from Melbourne, 10mins from the campground. Rather simple to find, just follow all the roadsigns and tourists. Most North Wall routes are best accessed by abseil.

The view from the drive up, near Eurobin slabs. The features marked from R to L are the Queen Victoria Buttress (facing camera); Wilkinson's Lookout above the mighty North Wall (facing left); Pulpit Rock offering great views of the North Wall and the waterfall; the Oval Area just left of the waterfall; the right facing Sewer Wall; the small Beowulf Area; the top of Burston's Crevasse; Angel's Buttress; the Climber's Lookout atop the obvious splitter line of Monarch; Bent's Lookout perched above classics such as Hard Rain; Glass Gully; Isotope Wall; and the Hang Glider Ramp.
Buffalo Gorge

A view of the North Wall from the South Rim, with Bent's Lookout close on the left, and the full height of the North Wall visible at back right.

A shot of the upper half of the North Wall, with a party on the right on Ozymandias (*** 270m 22M4), and a climber soloing Defender of the Faith (** 185m 23, or 14M5 on hammerless aid) on the left. Defender of the Faith Variant Finish (*** 45m 19) takes the face at the very top left.
The North Wall

A shot showing the full 270m height of Ozymandias. Fuhrer Ledge is on the left, about two-thirds of the way down this photo.

Another view of the North Wall, from Pulpit Rock. Pretty steep huh!
The North Wall

Fuhrer Ledge Area

Walk out towards Wilkinson's Lookout, continue past Pulpit Rock to where a park bench and Parks information sign are beside the path, about 50m before the junction in the track at the very obvious 15m high Young Galaxians Boulder. At the park bench, an open slab of rock allows an easy walk R (S), directly towards Mushroom Rock, to a large tree above the North Wall. Rap 50m off this for Defender Variant Finish. The Defender abseil which takes you in 3 raps down to the Fuhrer Ledge, starts 10m L (E) of the tree at some chains and tat.

** Defender of the Faith Variant Finish 30m 20 (flash)
A rap-in classic! A really highly recommended jaunt above the sucking void of the Gorge. From the gum tree mentioned above, rap 35m to a ledge. See photos below to get your bearings on your way down. Anchor is off the rap rope and/or off a lasso around a large boulder on the ledge. Stem a metre or two up the corner then swing L around the arete and pull a couple of crux moves past 2 FHs. Then slightly easier but superb climbing leads up the snaking intermittent crack system with great pro. A hand traverse leads left past a piton then follow the small corner, which is right facing at first, then left facing at the top. The rack is plenty of cams and a few large-ish wires from memory.

Kevin on the crux start to Defender of the Faith Variant Finish
The North Wall

Kevin desperately searches for a facehold to avoid handjamming.
The North Wall

Kevin resigns himself to the handjams - but keeps looking for a facehold

Kevin on the tricky conclusion to the glorious crack
The North Wall

Kevin neglects further pro so the next leader (me) has to run it out.

Ozymandias Wall
Used here to refer to everything on the main wall right of Fuhrer Ledge (so when I do She-Ozy eliminate it'll be put here!). Until then here's a photo of Ozy.

A heavily cropped view of the first three pitches of Ozymandias with Big Grassy at the top of the photo. That's Lee Cossey in the centre, on the first day he worked the route, a day or two prior to successfully completing the first continuous free ascent of Ozy Direct.
King of Kings

Wilkinson's Lookout Area
There are a few single pitch routes around Wilkinson's which are very wellworth sniffing out. Primary and Primary Variant are 2 others I'd love to do.
*** Silk and Satin 25m 21 (OS)
An absolute cracker of a route, classic at any time but mega classic if you can get it after a good samaritan gives the bottom section a good scrub (the main difference being how good the gear can be made for the first 5m). The way in is clearly marked with cairns: from the T-junction in the track 100m past Young Galaxians Boulder and 50m before Wilkinson's Lookout, break off the track and go straight ahead into the bush and the cairns will lead you straight there. After about 80m you need to dogleg to your right down a short gully, then return to your original straight line and it's about 50m further down. Find a big tree to rap off 5m up a side gully to the left then rap 40m to a big bushy sloping area (no belay required). Should you choose to accept it, your mission is the incredible cleancut corner crack which is awesomely steep and in your face for a granite route (i.e. just over vertical). The climbing is incredible, sustained bridging and crack work the entire way and best of all nothing wider than handjams, getting marginally more difficult for the final fingerlocking crux up high. Really brilliant climbing and probably the best single pitch route I've done at Buffalo.

A very foreshortened view of the elegant corner of Silk and Satin. Note the ropes hanging free - it ain't a slab!
What a ripper

Me working hard after a bunch of incredible sustained climbing like this, but still not at the crux (!), on Silk and Satin.