Werribee Gorge - The Amphitheatre

The Details: While offering a small number of good routes, this well-known and very popular crag is something of a disappointment to climbers familiar with Araps, the Grampians, or any other half decent crag for that matter. It's ridiculously high profile can only be explained by the proximity to Melbourne, because the climbing itself just doesn't compare to many unheralded crags elsewhere (eg Narrabeen shits all over it!!). Anyway, for Melbourne locals the daytrip options are a bit limited, so the swarming hordes of topropers and bumblies are to be expected, and despite my own best efforts I also seem to end up here every now and then!!!

Access: 1hr20min drive, 30min walk. Take the freeway from Melbourne to Bacchus Marsh (2nd exit is quicker), and from the roundabout in town head south. Just before the railway turn R (W) at another roundabout and follow this road (Griffith St) up out of town. After about 1km there's a golf course straight ahead, and the main road swings L of it, but you need to turn R (into McCormack Rd) to keep the golf course on your L. This road goes up more steeply for about 1km - turn R immediately after it crosses the railway, into Ironbark Rd. This road is bitumen for about 1km then dirt for several kilometres. Once it crosses the railway, the parking spot is about 100m further along on the right. If you go under a high railway bridge you've gone 100m too far. The walking track is well signposted to Falcon's Lookout. Follow this down into a major gully and then all the way back up the far side until after about 20mins you'll reach the original access, just before the open paddocks. Turn R here and follow the rocky trail along the top, then steeply down the ridge to the Park sign (with a photo of a climber - at Black Hill!!). Head R past the sign for 100m to the clifftop. All stars given are relative (you'd deduct about 2 stars if you were at a half decent crag!).

Descent(s): At the far left of the crag are some wooden steps leading down (at far left of this photo). I.e., when you first arrive at the top of the crag, turn R and walk all the way to the far end. Consul 10m 15 (YP) Not much to recommend this one. 2m L of SPQR. SPQR 10m 10 (OS) 3 stars? For this thing? Has nobody noticed that this route is actually crap? If, despite this, you really must do it, I'd let you know that it's no giveaway for 10, and the gear wouldn't be that easy to place for a beginner. Cunicuium 10m 14 (YP) No worse than SPQR. Worth doing if you've bothered to do SPQR! Start about 3m R of SPQR and up pebbly scooped slab to cracked headwall (beware several loose blocks).

Werribee Left End, with routes marked being SPQR (10), French Revolution (21), Slave Girl (22), Conscientious Pontius (17) (with climber), Hadrian (16), Hadrian Direct Finish (20) and Barbra Streisand (23).

* French Revolution 10m 21 (TR & RP) A good problem at the same grade all the way - if you suss out the final move! 3 'draws is all you need. Up the slab then veer L of the weird RB to crimps below the overlap. Gaston just above overlap then to the obvious good pocket above. Up to jugs on arete, then a technical arete "mantel" which varies dramatically in difficulty depending on how you approach it. It's not even the crux if you nail it. It goes up the L side of the photo to the R. * Slave Girl 12m 22 (YP) Marginally better than FR. Same delicate slab start as FR, then veer R past the weird RB to the base of the obvious seam. Use the tenuous fingerpockets in this for your R hand, while your L hand will find better holds on the face. The crux is the top of the seam in the black rock, requiring a hard pull on a slopy crimp/fingerlock in the crack, harder if you get spider web under your fingers! The gear actually looks good, but is sneaky wires which you're unlikely to find on lead, so I'd recommend placing gear (or at least inspecting it) on rap. ** Conscientious Pontius 14m 17 (OS) One of the best here. A good looking splitter hand crack up a slightly over-vertical wall, in great orange rock. It looks quite hard for the grade but fortunately the wall isn't as blank as it looks so your feet are well catered for, and there's several absolutely sinker jams, so it's quite a reasonable 17 (unless you're desperately laybacking!). Visible on the R of the shot to the right. * Hadrian 15m 16 (YP & RP) A pleasant, if brief, fingerlocking problem 2m R of CP, laced with a top-rope most weekends. Laybacking it (the more common approach due to a lack of fingerlocking ability in most climbers!) is difficult, so you might be told it's a sandbag. But if you can fingerlock, it's quite a straightforward 16.

Climber mixing and matching French Revolution and Slave Girl.

* Hadrian Direct Finish 7m 20 (YP)
An excellent conclusion to the route, although a little contrived to avoid using the block to the right. Continue straight up the crack above Hadrian, using, in order: one sinker fingerlock, two poor jams, another fingerlock, a fingerslot, then the juggy break. Another excellent sequence, well worth honing your crack climbing skills on.

Rusty Nail 12m 17 (YP) The overbolted squeeze job between Hadrian and Big Ears. With this many bolts and so little new climbing, it is of course a sandbag. * Big Ears 15m 15 (OS) A pleasant corner up the proudest section of this wall. A little tough at the grade, reportedly due to the loss of a block halfway up the corner. Plenty of wires up corner, heave over block (apparently loose - take care), then up to roof. Up steep groove through roof (big gear) to top. * Snatch and Grab 15m 21 (YP & RP) Another pleasant route, 1m R of BE. Just take draws (though there's an optional cam under the roof). Thin start then awkward to gain 1st flake. Up short flake, then a really tricky insecure move (good hands, bad feet) to 2nd flake, and hard again to gain holds under roof/overlap. Cool cross-through off obvious undercling gains a great pocket, then up to hidden jug on nose (either crank off pocket or use smaller intermediates). Short slab to final bulge. The climber in the background of the shot to the R is at the 2nd FH. Cut Lunch Cowboys15m 22 (YP) Up loose blocky section just R of SG to arete with 2 FHs. The non-obvious moves past the FHs are the only attraction, but the crux is probably restraining yourself from stemming R into the next route!

Climbers on Slave Girl (22) and Snatch and Grab (21)

* Sweet Chariot 15m 11 (OS) A pleasant crack at #2.5-3.5Fr the whole way. Up crack to bulge, slightly tricky step R around it and up into slanting corner. Follow corner to top. The final few metres are visible at top left in the photo to the right. Vulcan 15m 19 (YP) Really crammed in there but at least the climbing is interesting. Pro looks crap. It's the shallow R facing corner 1.5m L of my rope in the shot to the right. ** Tina the Ballerina from Pasadena 15m 22 (OS) A little gem of a wall climb, easily worth stars at this crag! Thin black slab to overlap/flake, then blast up sustained thin wall, no rests until the roof. See photo to the right. ** Barbra Streisand 15m 23 (OS) My 3rd 23 OS in a month! A good project, with 5FH and a chain lower-off. The 3rd FH is best clipped from some sneaky holds round the arete. The crux follows, then thin climbing without any real rest until the top - no reaching out L to the flake on Vulcan! Great stuff. Ben Hur 18m 14 (OS) Forgettable. Stem for about 8m up a corner then easier block-hopping to the top. Duplicate #2Frs are handy. Hannibal 18m 16 (OS) Significantly harder than 14, as per the guide. An easy corner/slab/ramp for 10m, beware loose flakes off the deck. The 8m steep corner finish is quite tricky, not many footholds for stemming. Nice orange rock though, and some lovely microwires! Funny how Werribee has so much booming loose blocky shit but the occasional RP seam which is just bomber!

Me onsighting Tina the Ballerina from Pasadena (22). The arete to the R is Barbra Streisand (23).

Androcles 25m 16 (OS) The nice crack through the small overlap (visible at bottom R in this photo) is fair 16 if you can jam, but unfortunately followed by 20m of rubbish. ** Redex Irlont Sudano 28m 24 (L & RP) One sit on the OS attempt! Dammit. (Don't go to the sucker holds up L of the 6th bolt...) Oh well, a 24 2nd attempt ain't bad in my book. Another really good thin face climb, 2-4m L of the landmark arete (HS) - see photo on R. Easy start, then traverse R below 3rd FH with feet on the lip of the small bulge. Then blast straight up the sustained reachy thin wall, with no decent rest until the 7th FH. Use it well, as the 3m runouts to the top will punish any mistakes! (Unless you take some cams for the crack!). Very soft for 24, but quite sustained. Holiday Sidewinder 28m 23 All I have to say is that this one is hard if you're hungover. It's the arete at the highest part of the crag, at far R of the shot to the R.

Werribee R Side - toprope on Barbra Streisand

* Phaedron 18m 21 (YP)
Quite a nice bottom half. Not a consumer friendly lead though! I think the initial pocket should take an ok cam. From there head up L to the arete, up to the cave and back R to the short crack finish.

** Phaedron Direct 17m 21 (YP)
Better moves and more sustained than the original, probably a tad harder. Stay 2m R of the arete following nice thin moves up the seam. Didn't like the look of the pro. Stays about 2-3m L of VVV in the photos below.

* Pocko Wall 18m 23 (YP)
Best route I've done on this wall. A big span L off the block leads into sustained and non-obvious climbing all the way.

* Veni Vidi Vici 19m 17 (OS)
Barely gets a star, even at this crag! A striking splitter crack up a lovely orange over-vertical wall, but unfortunately it's mainly off-hands or off-fists, so its absolutely no fun at all to climb. Here's some pics of me, Nic and Chris, respectively.

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