Home Forums Climbing Talk Route finding on Bluff Knoll

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  • #157534 Reply
    Kym C
    Guest

    Is anyone able to give us some directions for finding your way around on Bluff Knoll? Specifically, we’re looking to do Jetstream, which, according to a photocopied page I’ve got, starts 10m left of Smith’s Last Stand, which itself starts “at base of very obvious large corner capped by a large overhang directly above the tourist track”.

    We know how to get to the bases of Hellfire Gully and Easter Gully in case either of these is a useful reference point.

    #157536 Reply
    Richard
    Guest

    Easiest way to get to Jetstream is first to go to the top and come down the old climber’s path I think. An easy walk. Jet Stream is a short climb between terraces near the top. Nowhere near Hellfire. Right (west) and above the amphitheater containing Easter Gully / Prickle Traverse. The (very) Old CAWA Guide should have an approach topo.

    #157540 Reply
    Kym C
    Guest

    Thanks Richard. So does that mean it starts from Prickle Traverse? Or from a higher terrace?

    Anyway, I’ll ask around. Hopefully someone will have a copy of the old guide book.

    #157543 Reply
    Jonas
    Guest

    The guidebook description is a bit poor. The Bastion Buttress a fairly obvious buttress about 40m high protruding from the right side of the NW Bay just below the Prickle Traverse (maybe 100m right and up the slope from Easter Gully). There are two ways to get there – the direct route – from the summit track up the old tourist track on the spur (as per the standard way to get to the North Face) which will eventually lead you directly to the base of the buttress. Or as explained above, a top down approach – walk the summit track all the way until you are about 3-400m short of the summit lookout at a saddle where the old tourist track joins in. Follow it down into the steep gully and pass the entry to the Prickle Traverse. The track continues down for another 30m then levels out and turns right (north). Follow it and after about 100m it will traverse the base of the buttress. Up the spur is more strenuous but quicker whilst the top down appraoch is longer but easier.

    The old description says the route is about 60m, however its more like about 45-50m. Right of the corner of the buttress is obvious inverted corner. First pitch goes up this for about 25-30m then belay on ledge out right. Second pitch traverse back left into corner then continue across lip of overhang below roof for about 15m and belay on corner. Third pitch is a very short easy escape pitch straight up. Walk off along the Prickle Traverse. I hope this helps!

    #157546 Reply
    Richard
    Guest

    Yes. If you look at the top of this web page there’s a picture of Bluff Knoll behind the CAWA logo. The top point of the Logo is centered on the Amphitheatre . The buttress you want to climb is against the right side of the logo, about 2/3 up the side. I think the big notch in the skyline above the right side of the logo is the top of the old path?

    #157549 Reply
    Kym C
    Guest

    That’s very helpful, thanks. I’m pretty sure I can find the gully that leads down to Prickle Traverse (we escaped out that way first time we tried Hellfire Gully), so that might be the more reliable approach. Cheers.

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