The beginning of winter merged seamlessly with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions and superbly good friction – meaning freezing conditions. Finally the Blue Mountains were climbable again and with half of the Sydney population suddenly let loose again it was necessary to choose your crag carefully. Blackheath was already at fever bitch when we turned up at Big John’s for a bit of gear magic. A­ndrew was busy trying on shoes with Roman and Chris supervising. We walked away with a new harness for Andrew and a full wallet for another day, phew. Meanwhile Jason brought Josh up for a day of climbing but was already running late in the rush our weekend traffic. Even thinking about the car park at Upper Shipley was painful so we headed across to Medlow Bath for a relatively new crag were no bumblies would venture. The Underworld was much rumored about and was hidden away at the very end of a long list of craglets along Medlow Bath, that would suck up all the crowds before a descent into a rainforest gully right beneath the majestic Hydro would lead you to one of the most spectacular amphitheaters in the mountains. It also has the hardest project in Australia waiting for an ascent. Tom is calling it Humb of Trouble after 3 years of effort and it might be Australia’s first 36/7 who knows. Here is the review of Tom’s send of Sack o’Woe: https://www.verticallifemag.com.au/2017/04/news-new-routes-aplenty-and-young-punks-anew/

Needless to say our little posse were the first to arrive and the silence was deafening, only intersperced with bell birds sounds and the screeching of cockatoos. The world was a long way of and the steepness was all encompassing. There is no other place with as many hard lines in the country and the intimidation factor is as huge as the roof looming above everything else. I started to search for the easy stuff and luckily a lower tier provides some easy warmups.

Unknown 19
Hazzard County 21
Marcus Brutus 21
The Untouchables 19

All for routes are great warmup for the harder routes above:
Julius Caesar (24***) the description in the guise reads: Excellent, and unusually steep for the Blueys. In fact the holds through the roof are jugs but require precise footwork. A little deadpoint at the lip manifests the Crux followed by a no hands rest– either ahead jam or double knee bar. A short thin section to the top makes this a classic introduction to the harder stuff here.
The next easy route in the cave is 29 if you ignore the 25 which has a bad reputation so the boys started to warmup on the crag classic:
Mississippi Moonshine (30***) short but made up of a series of hard boulder problems with a rest jug in between. After working out the sequence Roman J. punted off final thank god jug. So close to sending grade 30 on the second try – nice.
After his first lap, Tom turned up with the Healy twins and Hugo arrived with a lot of stoke. Suddenly the cave was alive with testosterone and flying bodies. Nothing was under grade 30 and the moves looked incredible to watch. Was I in a climbing movie?

Just around the corner of the cave the amphitheater opened up into the sunny Megalong valley, with the tea rooms sparkling below us and the multi-pitch Sporting Complex just around the corner. An old lookout whose railing had disintegrated yonks ago provided the perfect viewing platform of the valley below. Since the path down into the Underworld is unmarked there are no hikers despite the exposed cliff edge walking track connecting the Underworld with the Pole 28 crag further along in the sun. Late in the afternoon when the sun touched the horizon I discovered the Flames Wall with several nice routes exposed in the setting sun.

Team Tick (22)
Up in Flames (20/21)

Are both marked as Trad climbs on the crag, but have now been fully bolted. The first three bolts are carrots with the rest ring bolts so bring the right gear for this unusual mix. I also found a fully ringbolted line ten meters further down, which I have not been able to find anywhere. It is a nice long 25 meter line that Chris led in the late afternoon - racing the setting sun. I am guessing it is about 21/22 fully ringbolted with a crux at the start to get established and then a nice variety of moves: face, roof and mantles. Great way to finish the day and when we returned back into the shade of the cave Hugo was doing a final lap on Mississippi Moonshine, while Roman was cleaning Julius Caesar in complete darkness.  On our way out the moon was full and high in the sky lighting our way. The pup in Blackheath – the Gardeners Inn was open for the first time in months and it was our first pub meal with social distancing in full swing.  Will, Cameron, James and Jarrah had spent a day multipitching in the Grose valley and finished late on Bunny Bucket Buttress. Will drove across and had dinner with us with epic stories the chicken parmigiana never tasted better ….

Roman 17 July 2020