Mersey Bluff
5-10 min
Most of the day
Vertical dolerite
Acknowledgement
By Ben Thorp
Introduction
The Mersey Bluff offers a nice selection of easy to moderate problems in pleasant surroundings. It’s never going to be a destination area but it is worth a visit if you’re in the area. The dolerite is quite featured with edges, under-clings and side-pulls and the terrain is mostly vertical. The following is just a small selection of the climbing here – the stuff that fits easily into the genre of bouldering. There are a lot more very easy problems that can be done as well as some top-rope routes (look out for the bolts). Some of the problems on the lower levels are affected by tide and swell so a low-tide visit is best to get the most out of the area.
Access
Park in the lighthouse carpark. The lookout is easy to locate. For the other areas, head down to the west of the lighthouse past the memorial to Luke Jacobs (a local killed in a diving accident), a track leads down through the bush to the cliffs. Jarv’s Table is the first boulder you will come to. Keep on walking round to the west to access the other areas. The Lift Shaft area is a little obscure, keep on going till almost round to the beach on the west side.
GPS
East of the Lighthouse
The next few boulders are to the east of the lighthouse. Most are accessed by following the trail down to the lookout.
Below the Lookout – Upper Tier
The first problems described are on two tiers directly below the lookout. To the east of the light house there is also a good traversing wall on the other side of the blowhole (pretty obvious when you’re there).
Straight up the right arête to the lookout. Careful on the top.
Sit start under the boulder and then lurch up under the arête.
Below the Lookout – Lower Tier
Straight up the face.
Easily up the corner.
Power up off the big undercling heading for the flat topped hold in the black rock.
Climb straight up the arête to a balancy and high top-out
Look At Me Boulder
This is the small outcrop east of the lookout. Easily visible from the lookout. There are a few other boulders worth scrabbling around on behind these ones.
Easily up the broken arete.
Easy corner with the deep slot. Ten points if you fist jam in there.
Easy corner
Easy face
Easy corner.
Fun seam up the middle of the face.
Jam crack
Surprisingly challenging arete.
All the faces and crack has been climbed. All easy mileage.
Traverse the whole wall. From the Southern section near the tussock to the first boulder. Both directions have been done with similar challenge.
The Island
The island just west of the lookout has one really good problem on the north side. Access by hopping across the gap on the south side. Low-tide and low-swell required
Step onto the face and slap up the right and left lines of side-pulls. Get the highest left side-pull and lunge for the top. Just high enough to be interesting. Probably the best problem here.
West of the Lighthouse
The next few boulders are accessed by following the coastline down around from the lookout (East of lighthouse). Please don't trample paths down directly and destroy the vegetation.
Jarv’s Table Boulder
Visually quite a nice little boulder – the orange looks great in late afternoon light. There are top-rope anchors on this boulder. These problems were probably first ascended as top-ropes. A butt-dragging traverse can be undertaken round the table feature itself (for those so inclined).
Not pictured. The groove round the left arête.
Up the left arete.
Straight up the face, a better problem is an eliminate avoiding the big hold. Quite balancy – V4.
Up the corner easily.
One of the best problems here, up the face using both arêtes. Eliminate is possible using just one arête, about V3. Got a vague recollection of Neil Smith telling me that this was first ascended as a 21 back in the day.
On the Way Wall
There are a whole bunch of easy walls around here. This is just one of many faces with a couple of good problems.
Straight up the face.
Up the crack then traverse the break and go up the right arete.
Finger Lock Wall
A bit of jamming practice can be found here. A bit hard to find, it’s pretty close to the water at the far west of the crag.
Finger lock required.
Hand-jam crack.
Fridge hugging face. Start in the hole with one hand on each arête, use the arêtes to gain the diagonal crack near the top.
Lift Shaft Area
Some good problems here. Watch out for loose holds on the high top-outs.
Climb the crack in the corner.
Overhanging face, very good.
Layback up the left hand crack in the shaft itself. Alternatively bridge up the whole thing (V0).
Start on the left arête of the face. Make a dynamic move to the horizontal break then easily to the top.