Cataract Gorge

Only five minutes walk from the centre of Launceston, the Cataract Gorge is one of the city's main tourist attractions. It is also the main climbing area of the city. It consists of short, high quality, dolerite cracks and faces. Recently there have been increasing numbers of bolted climbs appearing, mainly on the arêtes. As well as both sides of the main gorge there is also excellent climbing at Duck Reach, as well as numerous other buttresses on both the North and South Esk rivers, such as Willow Jungle, Riverbend, Grap Fureau and Castille Crag.

Climbing in Launceston used to happen mainly in the Gorge area which is 10 minutes walk from the centre of town however it now also includes the whole of the South Esk. As with most of Tassie, a lot of the climbing is on dolerite crags, in cracks and corners, occasionally branching out on to the faces and aretes. This section of the guide has only been possible thanks to the input of the local climbing community. That being said it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure editors are supplied accurate and up to date information. If you spot inaccuracies, let us know and we’ll fix them, if you’re not prepared to do this don’t complain about the product! As such this is a ragtag collection of gossip and innuendo and should be treated as such. A lot of these routes haven’t been done by yours truly so I can’t vouch for their grades, quality or even give them a character reference. A lot of the routes are not even known by names except as “that 19 left of...”. In these cases I made up names for them because I got sick of writing “left of the 19...”. Such climbs are marked with a #. Climbers have worked closely with the Launceston City Council who are concerned about safety for climbers and walkers. To ensure continued access to the cliffs climbers have negotiated a Code of Conduct with the council. See http://www.launceston.tas.gov.au/upload/3819/conduct.pdf for a copy. A basic summary of this appears below and it will improve our chances of continuing to climb in the Gorge if you can follow them…. Don’t act like a dickhead! Be nice to the trees, animals, tourists and plants. If you have to scrub a new route for hours before it’s climbable then don’t bother as it will probably be covered in lichen again after the winter. Routes directly above the “Tourist Track” must be adequately protected to ensure the safety of the non-climbing public. Let people know what you are doing (nobody wants a climber plummeting onto them out of the blue!). Fixed anchors should be current best practice with the use of corrosive metals and “carrots” considered sub-standard. All routes (including gear routes) above Tourist Tracks must have double lower off bolts (this protects vegetation and eliminates the risk of dislodging stones while scrambling down off climbs). For current information contact Ian Ferrier at Mountain Designs in York St, Launceston. There is no intention to deter bold climbing or tell people when and where to bolt, but all climbers should understand that this is an access issue and that there is much rock away from tourist areas. The Gorge is the most popular climbing area in Launceston, it is broken into two areas. The Shady Side and the Sunny Side. Simple hey! Obviously climb on the Shady Side on hot sunny days and on the Sunny Side any other time. Be Safe. Be Good and ... use ‘adequate protection’.

Guides

Until 2000 there were no guides to these crags - now there are 5.

• Cataract, North Esk and South Esk are excellent comprehensive guides by Bob McMahon and Gerry Narkowicz published by Climb Tasmania.
• Craglets, if you can still get a copy, has good, although not quite comprehensive, guides to several of the areas and is better value.
• Climb Tasmania Selected Best has photo topos and descriptions of the best routes

Season

Climbing is possible all year round, although not every day during the winter. Summer days can quite often be too hot on the sunny side of the Gorge and at Riverbend.

Rest days

Launceston has some nice parks (including the Gorge - which is quite nice at night). There are lots of high quality vineyards in the Tamar Valley that welcome tastings. The nearest beaches are around 30-45 minutes away at Low Head or Bridport. Cradle Mountain National Park, the northern end of Tasmania's World Heritage Area and the starting point for the Overland Track, is about an hour and a half drive west of Launceston.

Classics

Westham (14), Lingham (18), Gabriel (17), Joan of Arc (21), Mac the Finger (22), Ramona (17), Reculer Pour Mieux Sauter (21), Sophies Choice (25)

All the climbs on the (south) Sunny Side of the Gorge can be accessed from the Zig-Zag track, which starts at the soute side of Kings Bridge. Park in the Penny Royal car-park, just before the bridge. See the sketch map for an idea of how to get to the buttresses.

Just walk up the Zig-Zag track from King's Bridge in Launceston and you'll be falling over heaps of little buttresses, and climbers adhered to them, in minutes. Most of the climbing is on the down side of the track, there are eroded foot pads to most of the more popular areas. There are also quite a few routes and boulder problems along the shady side of the Gorge straught off the tourist track.