Shipley Lower Photos

Shipley Lower - Blue Mountains

*** Clockwork Orange 61m 20 (OS)
An absolutely fantastic route. One of the Blueys' all-time must-do classics. Here's Andrew onsighting pitch 1.
Andrew finally deigns to pose for my incredibly novel 'arse-shot' approach to photography, on Clockwork Orange (*** 61m 20), Shipley Lower

Andrew finally deigns to pose for my incredibly novel 'arse-shot' approach to photography, on Clockwork Orange (*** 61m 20), Shipley Lower

A quick snap back down the 2nd pitch after I onsighted it, which I actually reckon is rather a good photo...
The rock: Orange; the fingerlocks: Clockwork.

And a side-on view of pitch 2, showing the awesomely steep nature of the roof and the ridiculously sustained corner above.
Ok, I confess, we dropped the guidebook and had to rap back down to the 1st belay to retrieve it!

And finally, here's a landscape shot showing the escarpment from Porter's Pass to Shipley Lower and beyond. These cliffs are W-SW of Blackheath, and face west.

Shipley Lower: One of the earlier crags to see development, but sees very little traffic, probably due to the rap access. However the mega classic Clockwork Orange (65m 20) is well worth the visit. (It follows a striking corner/crack in excellent orange rock (just above the "l" in "Shipley")).
Shipley Upper: Sport crag, although cams are needed on one or two routes. The 5 minute access, combined with a recent torrent of new bolts, has seen it become one of the most popular crags in the Blueys. The grey slabs at the right end offer pleasant 20m routes from grade 13 to 20, while the orange rock in the left half has routes from 19 and up. Click here for photos of Shipley Upper.
Centennial Glen/Wave Wall: Hidden behind the ridge at top left, these crags are in the same band of rock as Shipley Upper, and about 300m up the gully to the left. They are shaded year round, and offer a lot of sport climbing from grade 22 up (though there is one 19 and two 21s). Click here for photos of Centennial Glen and Wave Wall.
Porter's Pass: Another lower cliffline crag, although more easily accessed, by stairs down the gully below Centennial Glen. The far right end of the crag is below the very left end of Shipley Upper, and it comes all the way around to the big black slab visible closest to camera. Another crag starting to gain popularity with recent bolting.
Celebrity Crag:A small unimportant upper cliffline crag, starting about 150m out of shot to the left. The above photo was taken from the NW end of this crag. Click here for photos of Celebrity Crag.

Click here to see a description of these areas.

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