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Norton's Basin
Located about 1 1/2 hours drive west of Sydney is Norton's Basin, a large and excellent waterhole on the Nepean River (which is great for swimming on a hot summer's day!). The river has carved quite a gorge out of the sandstone, leaving lots of rock (much of which is just boulders and blocks) with a few good faces.
The rock in the area is the same sandstone as that found in Sydney, so expect to see lots of choss intermingled with patches of better rock.
The guidebook lists three crags in the area, and there may be some potential for more, albeit with longer access. The three crags are called the East Side, the West Side and Riverside, and they face West, East and West-South-West respectively. Because of the directions the cliffs face, you can be pretty much assured of shady climbing almost all day (midday might be a good time to go for a swim, though!). As luck would have it, we went on a day when it was stinking hot so we ended up spending more time in the water than on the cliffs!
As well as the climbing, there is also some good bouldering to be done beside the large waterhole upstream from Norton's Basin itself. The overhanging orange section on the right (facing upstream) is great, with a long, strenuous traverse at its right hand end, and some other problems scattered along its length. The rock here is gorgeous (although a little bit slimy from water running downhill), and the protection from both sun and rain, combined with the location make it a really great spot to boulder.
Unless you're really desperate, forget trying to get to the crag by public transport. The nearest railway station is Penrith, which is about 15km away. To get there by car, find Nortons Basin Road in the Sydney street directory (near Wallacia). Drive to the end of this road, and park in the big trashy car park. The crags can all be reached by walking down the fire trail that heads straight off from the carpark.
The guide for the area is the "Rockclimbs in the Lower Blue Mountains" guide book.
West Side
The West Side is the cliff to the right of the fire trail (leave it at the first hairpin left turn). This crag is a lot more broken than the east side, but has some nice slabs up to about 15m in height. Not recommended after rain, since the slabs don't dry out very quickly (probably due to all the lichen and moss). For some reason, the guidebook lists climbs starting at the opposite end of the crag, which caused us some confusion!
Marchfly Madness 8m 14
Marked. The second climb after you leave the fire trail. A hard move onto the first ledge (crux), then easy, pleasant moves to the top. One bolt down low (hard to clip; take a #5 camalot for the break lower down if you're feeling nervous!), then easily past another cam break to a fixed hanger and a tree belay (well back; take some slings). Could probably be sport climbed.
Red Hot 15m 18
Marked (although the paint is fading). Climbs the obvious, bulging orange streak on the main slab. Nice slab moves from the ledge to the bulge (BR), then jugs below the bulge to a tricky mantel (BR) over the top of the bulge. Easily up past numerous cam pockets to another bolt and an absolutely awful top out. Tree belay (make sure you sling a couple, since some of the trees here have pulled out).
East Side
The East Side is the cliff visible across the river as you walk down the fire trail. To get to it, follow the fire trail to the second hairpin left turn, then veer off right and follow the single track down to the waterhole. Cross the river then bushbash up the spur at the northern end of the crag. The obvious crack at the left hand end of the cliff is "Basin Crack" (grade 12) while the left leaning crack at the right hand end is "Nathaniel Norton" (also grade 12).
River Bend (with a variant start) 20m 17 (original is 15)
Ascends the line of decent black rock between the two big chossy caves. The original starts up the clean, wide crack to the right, while our variant heads up the thin seam about 1m to the left. Note that I only seconded it this way (my climbing partner headed up the crack, thinking he was cheating in doing so!), and pro is nonexistent up the seam, so I wouldn't recommend leading the variant. Start up the line of jugs to the left of the seam, then step right across the face to the seam (wires in crack on right). Nice moves up the seam/crack to reach out left for a jug in the horizontal break. Balancy moves on poor feet to reach up right for a juggy sidepull, then more easily to a good stance. From here head up and slightly left (large wires) to a large corner/crack (#3.5, #4 camalots) which leads pleasantly to the top. The belay is pretty poor, off a small tree and a small wire or two in cracks in the ground. A good climb on some nice rock.
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