Will's Rock Climbing Page > Crags > AU > Vic > The Grampians > Mt Stapylton Amphitheatre > Grey & Green Walls

Last updated: May '07

Mt Stapylton Amphitheatre - Grey & Green Walls

The Word: Heaps of options
The Crag Classic(s): Navigator (21)
The Hidden Gem: Grace Before Meals has an awesome 2nd pitch (though you should then rap off and skip the choss above).
Best Season(s): Year round, although in winter you'll freeze during the mornings when the cliff is shaded, and in summer you'll probably want to clear out after about 1pm when the sun hits. Seepage is slow to dry in the colder months.
Wet weather options: No, and is subject to a fair amount of seepage after rain.
Rock type: Solid grey and orange Grampians sandstone.
Style & Length of Climbs: Slabby trad and mixed routes.
Available Grades: 10-22
Descent(s): For Petite Fleur Face, there are rap chains around a tree in the obvious large clump of trees (15m L (N) of Navigator). There is also a rap descent route down the R side of the Green Wall, near Spillway.

Guidebook(s): You need several - and even then you inevitably won't have all the info!! They are: Northern Grampians (Andrews, 1990?) pages 174-198; Northern Grampians Update (Andrews, 1994?) pages 25-34; Grampians Select (Mentz & Tempest 1998); pages 28-59; Grampians New Routes (VCC/Monteith 2003 - online) page 2-3; Stapylton Amphitheatre (Loughran 1997?).
The Details: The Amphitheatre has a lot of climbing in a small area, of which the Grey and Green Walls offer the main slab climbing options. With lower grades, several 1 pitch routes and fairly convenient descents, they are a cruisy fall back after sessions on Taipan. The multpitch routes look excellent in their own right.
Access: Park at the Flat Rock carpark. 5-8min walk up to the rim of the amphitheatre via Flat Rock. After walking up Flat Rock, continue along the tourist trail down into the amphitheatre until it flattens out in the middle of the amphitheatre. From here a climber's trail breaks off L uphill to Central Buttress, from where you can scramble around R to the Grey & Green Walls. Alternatively, take the easy-to-follow trails up to Taipan Wall, then head 150m L around the base (easiest to stay about 50m below the base to avoid the boulder field). 20-25mins total walk.

Described L to R, facing the cliff.

A view of the Grey & Green Walls from the great rock 'viewing' platform below Epsilon Wall. The scrappy end of Central Buttress is at far left, while Petite Fleur Face is the short 15-18m wall at the base of the much larger Grey & Green Walls. Initialled routes are: Navigator (*** 21), which blasts directly up the slab to the major shaded diagonal, which it follows up rightwards to the summit; Spillway (* 18), practically a sport route which follows a remarkable water groove, visible as a black streak here; and Threadneedle (* 10), which diagonals up R to the juggy slabs and then up them.
Grey & Green Walls

And here's a view of the Amphitheatre from the other direction, from below Lower Taipan Wall.
Mt Stapylton Amphitheatre

Grey Wall

The nice smooth sheer section of this face is really attractive. I'm quite keen to get back for Sabre, it looks great.

* Grace Before Meals 90m 14 (OS)
The second pitch is just fantastic and would make this a 2 star route if you then rapped off. The finish really spoils it. (1) (20m 14) Up anything you like on Petite Fleur Face to the ledge. Unfortunately this is probably going to be the crux. The twin cracks 20m R of PF are not as mossy as they look but are much harder than the given grade of 13 (mainly because of the face climbing leading left into the cracks). Your other option is the rather physical looking corner of Petite Fleur (old school 14). (2) (** 40m 14) An absolute ripper of a pitch which gradually builds up. Start beneath the centre of the beautiful sheer slab, and follow the rightmost crack all the way up and left, getting gradually trickier, until it fizzles out beside the blunt arete. Arrange good pro then pad up the very front of the arete via somewhat runout but simply superb climbing in a great position. Belay at the big ledge. Best to walk 20m R here and rap off old slings. (3) (20m 13) If you really must continue, traverse 20m L into the gully - this gets a little harder than you might suspect, and its quite tricky to adequately protect your second. (4) (35m 14) The steep orange corner looks sensational and appeals to the eye all the way from Flat Rock (see first photo above). Unfortunately it is barely adequately protected and has compulsory full-body-weight cranks on extremely dubious friable holds with fairly serious fall potential if anything snaps. The unbelievably massive jugs up the headwall are a real blast to finish the route off, but the final 2 pitches really aren't worth it. If you do topout, walk about 70m R (south) and rap down the Green Wall rap route (best to get your bearings beforehand from the top of Flat Rock - again, see the first photo above).

Nic pulling through the fantastic crux moves 30m up the second pitch of Grace Before Meals.
Grey awesomeness

Petite Fleur Face

A surprisingly good little wall nestled down at the bace of the monstrous slabby Green Wall. A great option to fill in a few hours after you've frazzled your nerves on Taipan.

* La Balance 20m 20 (YP)
Surprisingly hard!! Sustained delicate climbing up the steep slab, only easing after about 15m. Starts just R of the yucky dark corner at the left end of the wall.
* Baby Doll 18m 19 (OS)
About 10m R of LB, and 3-4m L of some obvious manky cracks. Gets 18 in the Loughran guide, and 20 in the Andrews guide. 19 seems fair to me. Not as sustained as LB but a few puzzling sections between the breaks down low (2 FH), and a desperately thin headwall past 2 more FH (the first of which is right beside a bomber #3 camalot!)
Spillway Direct Start 12m 22 (OS)
A worthwhile little number, with astonishingly bad handholds at the crux. Ie, work out your feet! As the name suggests, its directly below the obvious water groove of Spillway, about 30m R of BD (just R of the seeping bushes in the background of this photo).
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Me on Baby Doll

Green Wall

Not the most inspiring name for a wall eh? And yes it comes from the copious amounts of green moss growing on it! Nevertheless there are some superb (and clean!) routes here and this is justifiably one of the most popular multitpitch crags around.

** Spillway 35m 18 (OS)
Easy to give an extra star to this fantastic smearing exercise. It's the major water runnel towards the R side of the main slab. It starts off the ledge 12m off the deck, and to get there you either have to do Spillway DS (22 - described above) or scramble 25m R up the ramp then an airy traverse back L to the base (most people rope up for the traverse). Bring #3-4Frs for a belay here then blast up the slabby water runnel past 6 or 7 bolts (bring bolt plates!) and not quite so many holds! Awesome slabbing and its no giveaway! Traverse 15m R at the top to chains.

Some random dudes on the 4th pitch of The Navigator, as viewed from the top of the left end of Taipan. The excellent sheer section of Grey Wall is well portrayed on the left.
Green indeed

More Internet Sites on Stapylton Climbing

Victorian Climbing Club (VCC) go here to check for new routes, and/or upcoming trips to this area.

Bureau of Meteorology Navigate to "Wimmera" - Horsham's weather is the closest.

Australian Maps Enter "Reservoir" as the road and "Laharum" as the suburb (and Victoria as the state).

Chockstone has several good pics of Taipan.

Onsight Photography The first 15 or so Grampians shots are from Stapylton.

Parks Victoria Grampians National Park information, downloadable maps, etc.

Parks Victoria Education Resource Kit A fascinating explanation of Grampians climate, geology, wildlife, vegetation, soils, history, park management, and visitor impacts.

TheCrag.com As always. Record your Stapylton ticks here, and see what everyone else is climbing.