The Tower

The Word: Smallish but packed with beauties
The Crag Classic(s): Popeye (23), Super Mario Bros (25)
Best Season(s): Spring, Summer, Autumn. Only the warmest of days will be manageable in winter, while airtemps above the mid 30s will be pretty unpleasant too.
Sun/shade: Shade all day, until a brief splash of sunlight for an hour or two before sunset.
Wet weather options: Definitely worth a look, as the whole wall is 10 degrees overhung. Reputedly very slow to dry in winter.
Style & Length of Climbs: 20-30m mixed - plenty of bolts but every route needs some trad too.
Rock type: Excellent orange sandstone, very solid rock.
Guidebook(s): None yet - refer to the online guide (link below)
Available Grades; Best Grades: 19-26; 22-26

The Details: An excellent crag which could have easily been developed 15 years earlier. Although at the same elevation as the Gallery, and only a few hundred metres away from it, the walk is much easier, the routes are less thuggish, and there are some decent warm ups. The cool breeze coming out of the cave at the base keeps you from overheating - in fact on a 28C day between routes we needed our fleeces!

Access: 4 hrs drive from Melbourne, 5 mins drive from Buandik campground, 25 minute walk. From the junction of Harrop Track and Red Rock Rd, drive N along Red Rock Rd for 900m, and turn R (E) into a small track. After 100m, turn R at a fork in the track. Continue 700m from the fork then turn L off the through track to a side track. This ends after 50m, park here. The walk-in is marked with tags on trees but is not particularly easy to follow yet (Jan 05). Generally speaking, it heads East up the gully for 25mins to the crag. Within about 50m of the carpark is a jump across a deep little creek bed, then soon after the track heads R (SE) into the swampish sword grass area in the base of the gully (occasionally damp underfoot). The track stays amongst the sword grass for a surprisingly long way, to where small (15m) rock buttresses start to appear on either side (Peasant Wall is on the left here). Here the track starts to trend up the L side of the gully but still heads generally E, and is cairned to lead through to the base of the crag which is slightly to the L and faces S.

Descent(s): Nearly all routes have rap anchors, the longer raps require a 60m rope or even 2 ropes.

Described L to R.

** Iron Arms 15m 24 (TR)
Superb initial 8m then nice enough easier finish.

*** Popeye 25m 23 (YP)
Excellent route, the first here.

** See the Light 22m 22 (OS)
A collection of fantastic moves on immaculate rock, too bad about the big rests without which it would be a super 3 star pumper 23.

More Internet Sites on The Tower Climbing

Bureau of Meteorology Navigate to "Western" - Hamilton's weather is the closest.

Australian Maps Enter Red Rock Road with "Glenisla" as the suburb (and Victoria as the state). The map will be centred near the junction of Red Rock Rd and Harrop Track. Don't trust the maze of small roads shown.

Chockstone The best site on Victorian climbing has the online guide to The Tower

Neil's Haulbag has these photo pages of the Tower: Photos1, Trip report and photos2, Photos3

Parks Victoria Park information, downloadable maps, etc.

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