Will's Rock Climbing Page > Crags > The Grampians > Summerday Valley
Last updated: Apr '05

Summerday Valley

The Word: Very good, but suffering from its own popularity.
Sun/shade: Either, any time.
Wet weather options: Not really. Maybe the steep routes up near Calcutti Crag, while Wall of Fools probably stays pretty dry during light rain.
Style of Climbs:
Grades: 4-30

The Details: A great little area. Plenty of friendly routes in the teens, with the Wall of Fools providing some extremely intimidating looking harder routes. You can descend off the central block (Back Wall and Main Wall) at either end, and there's a chimney (having a tricky downclimb) next to Waxman which you can go through from one side to the other.

Access: 3min walk. Drive to the Hollow Mountain carpark at the far northern end of the Grampians, next to Mt Zero. 3.5hrs from Melbourne, 30mins from Horsham, 10mins from Stapylton campground. As the most used climbing area in the entire Park, it's hard to miss from here - a signposted 3min walk in. As you enter the cute little valley, Bowler Boulder and then the imposing Wall of Fools are on your right, with Back Wall on your left on the central buttress which divides the valley in two. Head L around the toe of the central buttress to Main Wall on the far side of the central buttress, while Bird Wall is beyond there making up the far side of the valley.

Summerday Valley, showing Main Wall and part of Wall of Fools, with Waxman (** 11), Soweto (** 21), Diazepam (25) and Innocent Fool (29) marked.
Summerday Valley

Wall of Fools

A lovely piece of rock. Once at the top it's worth a walk over the back to nice views of Wudjub Guyan (Hollow Mountain). There's a descent at the far right hand end near Bowler Boulder.

Wall of Fools, viewed from the top of Back Wall. From L to R, marked routes are No Bolts Please (** 23), Soweto (** 21), Diazepam (** 25), Innocent Fool (* 29), Zero Blunder (* 28), Milupa (** 28), which finishes up R over the arch, Idiot Wind (* 24) which takes the R side of the arch, Lofty Odours (* 21) which finishes up a nice sharp grey arete, and Flake of Fear (* 14).
Wall of Fools

* Steph In Soweto Moderately Direct Start 12m 16 (YP)
Climbs the juggy wall 3m L of Soweto. (SiS starts up Soweto then traverses 3m L at half height). The SiS finish was wet so we finished L up Handles instead. Only just worth a star but it's nice steep jughauling at the grade.

** No Bolts Please 25m 23 (YP)
Squeezed in there 1.5m L of Soweto, but it's totally independent and excellent! As good as Soweto, with a good bottom half and an awesome top half with great hard moves right to the finish. The pro looks crap for the final 10m so its a (great) toprope problem for all but the boldest.

Nicola tops out on Handles (7). On her R, the next juggy black groove is Steph in Soweto (* 15), the orange rock with a rope on it is No Bolts Please (** 23), Soweto (** 21) takes the silvery grey streak, Diazepam (** 25) takes the strong black streak, while the black streak of Innocent Fool (* 29) is partially visible at far right.
Wall of Fools

** Soweto 25m 21 (OS)
2 star climbing with a 3 star layout! The leftmost route on the good orange rock of Wall of Fools. Easy lower half to warm up, sinker gear in the major break 10m below the top, then a 5m thin section past a dodgy wire to get your heart racing. A big sidepull here offers some chance to recover and slot a fantastic #5 wire. It's so good I didn't put any more gear in through the 5m crux finish (who'd have the energy to stop mid crux and fiddle in a shitty RP anyway?). So it's not so bad on the gear front.

Soweto the start of the hard bit
Soweto

Soweto: getting to the rest
Soweto

Soweto the crux above the sinker wire
Soweto

* Flake of Fear 25m 14 (OS)
On the black slab down the R end of Wall of Fools. Although the guidebooks quibble over whether it's 14 or 15, the bouldery start makes either grade a joke, it's more like a 16/17 move (if you're over 5'10"), and even harder if you can't reach the thin jug. But since when do bouldery starts affect the grade given to a route!? Therefore I give it 14. The rest of the route is a nice slab at about 10-12 (plenty of pro - search for wires in surface grooves), then a steeper grade 14 sequence over the scary booming flake at the top (run it out, as gear behind the flake would just break it off!).

Back Wall

Confusingly named because it's the first wall you get to! Anyway, it's the wall the faces Wall of Fools. While usually hidden under swarms of bumblies toproping low grade routes, there are some good little numbers here. But if you do climb here, expect admiring audiences, running commentaries and endless amounts of useless unwelcome "beta" of dubious accuracy. Described R to L.

* Overkill 18m 17 (OS)
Almost gets 18 in my book, especially for shorties who can't reach the jug. The first gear looks crap from the ground, but the small wires are ok. Thin-ish moves lead up the initial seam, then slightly run out moves lead L, trickily over blank section then back up and R to sinker cam break. Wires up seam lead to the obvious crux bulge, save small cams for the break here. Undercling to sidepull the chalked pocket, then up left to a poor left hand sidepull/crimp. Shuffle feet to undercut footholds half entangled with your pro, then left hand at *full* stretch to grab huge jug and haul up, by this point with 2m runout. It then turns into an enjoyable jughaul to the top in a nice position.

** An-tics 12m 10 (OS)
I think this is an excellent beginner's route. Probably a bit hard for the grade though.

The 12 corner (OS)

Lost Pleaid 18 (OS)

The 13 corner (OS)

The 9 (OS)

An-tics
An-tics

Main Wall

From the downhill end of the Back Wall, walk around the toe of the buttress to the wall over the back, which confusingly is called the Main Wall! Described R to L (ie in the order you reach them).

* Walking on The Moon 25m 18 (YP)
Walking on The Moon
Walking on The Moon

Walking on The Moon
Walking on The Moon

* Halfway Hotel 25m 18 (YP)
Good again, and loses a star again for the annoying exit! 8m R of TRatBB. Good wire off the deck, then take note: it’s hard to get good gear through the crux section at about 4-5m!! This section spits people off with surprising regularity, with a good chance of decking (having seen people on it twice, I've seen one grounder, and one fall to within 20cm of the deck!) - so ask your belayer to pay attention, and to stand close to avoid unzipping your gear. Up corner to ledge, then up short wall to bigger ledge.

* Texas Radio and the Big Beat 25m 17 (RP)
Really good, but loses a star for the bloody annoying scrambly shit at the top. Up the crack 15m R of W, then step left to layback the great looking corner. Careful with the rock - there’s some hollow flakes, and the surface is a touch gritty/sandy. Here's me placing gear during the cruxy layback section - which I subsequently tested by pinging off the top of the corner, when a foothold disintegrated mid-layback. Got my revenge 6 years later....

Robbie on Texas Radio
The Swiss connection

Me on Texas Radio
Texas Radio and the Big Beat

* Rats Tail 20m 16 (YP)
Sandbag central. Felt about 19 with cold fingers. Seemingly fiddly gear only adds to the pump provided by a lot of crap holds, with the last moves of the steep section being the hardest

** The Changeling 25m 16 (OS)
Unexpected excellence. Start on the L then step up to a great deep #3 wire. Just above is an astounding bucket (which was full of water for me!) with a good #4 RP behind the flake on the L, then steeper up to the obvious large flake which is a bit hollow but there's a good #2cam in a horizontal out L. Swing R over the top of the flake, an ok wire goes in here then an awesome mantle past the blank section to gain the obvious nest of jugs above. Good micro cam goes here, then another semi-mantle to stand up on the jugs (can sling the highest jug). Awesome insecure step L on the lip of the bulge to more pro, then either trend L up the worn juggy slab (looks like a copout) or trend back R up the front of the rounded arete (bomber small wire) to throw in a few more great moves. Easy 10m headwall to the top.

** Waxman 25m 11 (RP)
Excellent! A great warm up with brilliant pro - you have to love those slots which take bomber gear anywhere from a #3 wire to a #11 hex! Step off block and follow juggy right-leading flake, then over slightly blank bulge to regain endless jugs, then steeply up the crack in nice airy positions.

Bird Wall

A path breaks away from the Main Wall just near Texas Radio. Follow it down into the gully, cross the small concrete dam / retaining wall, then head up and right. Fantasm requires a bit of scrambling up and R around the first two walls.

* Fantasm 10m 17 (OS)
The guide says it's a *** 18m 16 and is wrong on all counts! In fact, it's 18 if you go direct up the thin upper crack without using the face holds 2m to the left. It's a very nice little problem but just too short for any more stars. Here's Nic below the first hard move.
Summerday Valley

Fantasm, side-view
Summerday Valley

Flying Blind Area

Not actually in Summerday Valley, but it's over the back of Wall of Fools. Just had this photo to put up....
Your typical little chunk of orange Grampians rock

More Internet Sites on Summerday Valley 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 good info and pictures for Summerday Valley.
Onsight Photography has this one nice photo of the Wall of Fools.
This page of Neil's Haulbag has some photos of him on Soweto - taken by me!
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 Summerday Valley ticks here, and see what everyone else is climbing.

© 1998-2005 Will