Tradventure on Mt Maroon

Ever since I heard there was rock climbing on Mount Maroon I wanted to tackle a route. I have done the hike to the 966m summit before, but very few multi-pitch bolted routes exist on the rock so going trad was my only option.

Only one problem, I don't have the experience or skills to properly lead a trad climb. But I know someone who does!

Chris, Evangeline and I set off to Mt Maroon before dawn on a gorgeous Saturday morning, driving through farm lands shrouded in mist, until we arrived at the start of the hike.

Gearing up for the climb, we set off around 7:30 AM on the trail which would lead us to the east face, and the route we had selected to climb.

An hour later we arrived at the gully, we left the track at this point and scrambled around rocks and boulders until we found the start of the Ruby of India route.

 

I must admit my resolve was briefly tested when I saw the east face wall loom high above the ground, knowing that in an hour or so I would be placing my life in the hands of small cams and nuts placed in the many cracks on the wall. But fear is the mind killer, and I was with experienced trad climbers so rationality quickly overcame any doubts I had.

The described route had five pitches at grade 16, but with no bolts or anchors to follow we were able to choose our own adventure. Chris was leading all the pitches, and using his judgement he set the first belay station with only a few metres of rope left on belay. We climbed the harder variant pitch, roughly a grade 18, but nothing out of our range.

After Evangeline and I had joined Chris at the top of the first pitch, he set off again, setting another belay station over 60m above our ledge. The climb of the second pitch was even better, with lots of exposure and different types of climbing, and the higher we got, the more amazing the view became. It was such a thrill to look far below and see the ground through the haze.

One more pitch of about 30m took us to the summit, we climbed up and over the edge feeling exhilarated, it was a tremendous thrill to finally tick Ruby of India off my list!

After a brief rest we decided to abseil instead of making the hike down in climbing shoes. We searched for a set of ring bolts set into the rock and set about abseiling down. We tied our two 70m ropes together, and I set off over the edge, down the vertical, featureless cliff face. After untangling the ropes I scrambled along the cliff face until I found the next set of anchors, attached my safety cord and settled in for Chis and Evangeline to come down.

Once they joined me on the ledge we started pulling one end of the rope through the rings above. The aim was to pull both ropes down, feed a length through the second set of anchors, retie the ropes and abseil the last 60m to the ground. Halfway through pulling the ropes through we realised we had forgotten to until the safety knot (so we couldn't abseil off the end of the rope), which then proceeded to get stuck in the anchor rings above. We were unable to climb up the cliff (using the second rope for safety) as the cliff face was featureless.

We decided to abandon the stuck rope, fix the remaining rope to the current anchor and abseil down using a single rope. It was getting late in the day, too far gone to hike back to the top to recover both ropes, so we headed back to the car for an ice cold beer and returned to Brisbane, planning to return the next day.

Another early start on Sunday took us back to Mt Maroon where we set off at a fast pace to hike to the summit. I carried another 70m rope, we reached the top, freed the stuck rope and abseiled back down to the next fixed rope. Checking for any knots we pulled the ropes through, retied and abseiled back to the ground with all three ropes. Back to the car for another beer, then home.

After a weekend full of adventure I returned home on Sunday sweaty, sore and exhausted. I'll be back to lead and find my own way up Mount Maroon, but for now I'm content.

More photos here