The Northern Group
The Word: Funky steepness plus ok vertical routes.
The Crag Classic: Kachoong
The Hidden Gem: Honeycomb - it looks bloody awesome!! Oh, plus the crux sequence of Taste of Honey.... :)
Sun/shade: The Touchstone area gets sun until 3-4pm. For the pro photos on Kachoong you need the dawn light. Honey Gully is pretty much shady all day.
Wet weather options: Yeah Honey Gully routes would be worth a look - though you'd need to be super careful on the slick rock, given the big gully fall potential down below.
Style & Length of Climbs: 15-50m, vertical to roofing.
Available Grades; Best Grades: 10-29, 14-23
Described L to R.
Echo Crag
The Details: The nice buttresses high on the hillside, extending L from Honey Gully.
Access/Descent: The walk up the hillside is one of the longest at Araps, and involves a tricky 8m scramble to negotiate the far right end of the Wastelands (the scrappy lower cliffline). The scramble can be done in a number of spots, but they're all a little necky in boots. Hence, I would recommend parking at the top, and descending as for Kachoong. Once below Kachoong continue 50m down the rocky scree to a 6m downclimb (easier than the scramble coming up from the bottom, and either way, you have to do it when descending!). From here, Touchstone is 40m over to the left (facing the cliff).
** Touchstone 60m 14 (OS)
1) (** 30m 14) Follow diagonal slash across blank vertical wall for 10m (tricky and initially with only borderline wires), then up nice crack to overhung corner. Great steep stem and layback moves for 10m lead to perfect belay ledge. 2) (** 30m 13) Straight up lovely slab on small holds and spaced gear to obvious break, then traverse L to arete (great positions). Runout easy arete leads to well protected steep finish, with great positions. Descend as for Kachoong.
Honey Gully
Do not use this as a descent - its bloody scary! Has double rings near the top (about 20m L (SE) of the gully proper). These can be used for some different photo angles, or for setting up a fixed rope down to the base of Kachoong etc.
Kachoong Area
The Details: Usually visited so people can fail and flail on Kachoong and get a few pics along the way. However there are a lot of excellent routes up here, so have a good look in the guide and work out your game plan.
Access: Drive up the summit road as far as possible, then walk up to the microwave tower. Walk around the R (SE) side of this, and follow a track over to the clifftop. This track can be a little hard to follow, but Honey Gully is directly in line with this SE fence of the enclosure, and only about 80m past it.
Descent(s): For routes which start from the "photographers ledge": it can be accessed from below Kachoong, by heading L up steep (scary) gully. Taste of Honey Direct Start (20) allows you to get here too. However the best solution, particularly if you're doing several climbs in the area, is to set up a rap rope which lands you on this ledge. This can be used as your anchor too, and/or used to get you down further to the base of Kachoong or Taste of Honey Direct Start. Otherwise, walk about 100m NW along the clifftop until possible to scramble down and head back SE under the cliff.
*** Taste of Honey 27m 21 (flash)
An outstanding route! Though I'd bet not many 21 leaders would get up it in any style. On a route with tonnes of natural pro I also find the fixed gear a bit disappointing (but who am I to talk - I lead it on preplaced gear!). Up the short slab above the photographers ledge, then an awkward (but not that hard) swing around L under the large hanging nose/roof, into Honey Gully proper. Up the corner on enormous holds, which steepens enough (past a fixed piton thread on the right) to get you pumping by the time you gain the fixed thread at the top of the corner. The crux traverse is non-obvious and quite physical to gain the arete (nope - no blow-by-blow beta for this one!), then it's all over - only about 14 up the diagonal crack above.
Taste of Honey - Nic getting pumped at the thread, just before the crux
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Taste of Honey - Nic starts up it, watched by Giles
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Taste of Honey - Giles effortlessly floats into the crux
* Golden Echo Original 25m 18 (OS)
Surprisingly tricky! Not quite as good as the newer standard way, but more different than you'd expect so its well worth doing. From the photographers ledge head straight up through the guano for a few metres until you can move right into the corner which connects the top and middle roofs on the Kachoong wall. Place good gear low in the corner as the top has none and is really insecure! A delicate step out R gains better hold son the arete and nice climbing with a touch of exposure up the headwall. The original finished L although its possible to go direct through the small top roof, or diagonally R around it to the Kachoong belay.
** The Golden Echo 25m 18 (OS)
Excellent! This one takes the next corner to the R, which connects the middle and lower roofs. From the photographers ledge pull up onto R wall, then follow obvious traverse line over towards Kachoong. Sustained climbing up into corner leads into the airy crux traverse, to a great position out on the very lip. Nice climbing up crack in headwall, and a great final move finishes off a really good climb.
The Golden Echo - Pulling the final moves a few metres above some bomber pro - no better way to finish a route!
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The Golden Echo - stemming up the sustained corner, before the crux traverse out to the lip of the roof for a rest. Note the obvious initial seam and chalked roof flakes of Kachoong on the right. To get a feel how airy these routes are, compare this pic and the next...
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*** Kachoong 30m 21 (L)
Even without the awesome situation and the mega-convenient photographers ledge which have seen this climb rocket to superstardom, this is also a really nice climb! Excellent rock up the wall below the roof, with small pro past the piton, and nice moves which get you just nicely pumped before the roof. Great cams out the roof in the flakes (#1/2 - #1 camalots), and then a #2 in the jug on the lip. All are strenuous to place though! Pull the lip up to a good stance, then about 16 to the top.
Kachoong - Giles cuts loose
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Kachoong - midway thru the roof, I decide some more gear would be nice! The Golden Echo traverse finishes on this end of the lip of the roof. Mitre Rock is obvious down in the background - it has routes up to 60m!
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© 1998-2004 Will
