UKC

Hi All

What rack is needed for mid-grade routes in the Arapiles? 

A single 50m or 60m rope sufficient?

Cheers!

It's been a few years, but a normal trad rack did us fine. As with any reasonable sized crag. Gear and routes vary. Cams and nuts iirc. It's a bit like limestone in attitude. 

Some people do fine with single ropes. Others have half ropes or long ropes. 

I assume your going elsewhere too?

Don't know what the camp site is like these days. But it used to be busy with lots. Of people and some spare kit floating about to be borrowed for a few beers or food. 

Also for me it has been some time but we would have had a set of halves and a standard rack (double set nuts, single set of cams) and climbed plenty of routes up to around ewbank 20.  I remember small nuts being particularly good

You should be able to get by with a single 50m rope since it's trad.  Double ropes are rare, and mainly used by visiting Brits

When I climbed there I had a double set of nuts (dmm peanuts+offets, and a standard set), and also a double set of cams.  You'd likely be fine on a single set of cams, though I'd recommend the nuts since there's a lot of placements. Also take some extra slings to wrap around the 'chicken heads' as the locals call spikes of rock.

There's likely still 'carrot bolts' on routes there, though I believe they're going out of fashion.  It's basically a fixed hanger bolt, but minus the hanger (Australian climbers were poor when these routes were put up).  You can buy hangers to slide over them from the local climbing shop in Natimuk (assuming it's still there), or you can also use a wired nut.  Ask a local for a demo, or a bit of googling should cover you.

Like everyone else, I'd say a standard rack bulked out with some more nuts will put you in good stead. I personally found that brass offsets went in everywhere really well.

My memory of Arapiles was that lots of people climbed with double ropes (including me) and that there were a number of routes where the zigzag was big enough that you're in serious trouble if you decide to start out on a single rope. You can probably spot the latter and avoid them if you really want to but I'd still recommend double ropes as there isn't really a downside for climbing at Arapiles and there is a good amount of upside.

This is good advice, in addition, make sure you get a couple of different types of plate because there is more than one type of carrot and if you have the wrong plate, it can very easily fall off the carrot as the rope moves around. And make sure you have a couple of beefy, old style, solid gate carabiners to use with the plates, the problem with newer skinny and/or wire gate carabiners is that they leave too much space in the plate and again, it can fall off the carrot. You might even find a screwgate is better. I think I was in Araps 15 years ago or so and even then I don't remember climbing anything with more than 1 or 2 carrots on it... they might even have been in the Grampians.

There were a couple around when I went 6 or 7 years ago, but not enough that it felt worth buying carrot plates, plenty of proper bolts around though.

First things, it's just Arapiles, not the Arapiles; the locals will laugh at you if you say the latter! 🙂

I spent 3 months at araps a few years back and am going back next week. Standard rack will do you fine as has been said elsewhere. Totems are particularly excellent there if you have them, but all cams are fine. Double set of wires and some RPs.

A single rope will be fine, ideally a 60. You'll have more options for abseils if it's longer though; I'm taking an 80 this time. You won't need carrot plates, certainly don't go to any effort beforehand as most of the bolts are proper ones now and in the event they aren't you can just use a wire to loop over them.

If you're there in the next few weeks feel free to give me a shout. There from 13th to 30th.

Hey up Will,

Hope you're well - it's been a while since I was bum-shuffling down from the Sanctuary that time.  But by a strange coincidence I just got back from Araps last Friday.  And by and even stranger one, while I was there your name came up in conversation with an expat.  But I'm going to leave that small mystery hanging there and add my two-pennoth on gear.

Most routes are fine with a standard rack with plenty of wires but there's the odd one (Watchtower Crack, for example) that wants something really big (#4 Camalot) - so if your rack covers a wide size range you'll give yourself the most options.  I wouldn't bother with bolt plates for the small number of carrots you'll likely meet.

If you're taking a single rope then I'd definitely go for 60m - some of the abseils are a good 30m and a 50m single would just be a nuisance.

I take it you've checked out the areas that are currently closed - if not it's on here...https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/-/media/project/pv/main/parks/documents/manage...

Have a great trip - drop me an email if you've any other questions and let me know if you're passing by Wanaka on the way...

Timely thread. My wife and I are looking at going next year. However she detests camping...any tips about where to stay for non campers.What about campervans?muust be somewhere for them.

Also when is the best time. Have been told Nov to March. Is that right.

Been on my places to visit for years.

As said before, I found RPs essentail

We've rented a van from Jucy campers for this trip. I'll report back how it is. Wherever you rent one from it's not a problem to park a van in the campsite. You could also stay at an Airbnb in Natimuk, and there's cabins at the caravan site as well. 

Last time I was there in spring, so Oct to Dec. I left as it was getting really hot. Autumn is good as well, so March to may. I personally wouldn't go in high summer. 

November to March is likely to be pretty hot and whereas there are places to climb on hot days, being forced to stay in the shade does limit your options.  Easter gets really busy in the campsite.  I'd go April - May.

This reminded me that when I went I had Aliens and they worked perfectly in loads of the small, narrow pockets. And I had BD Camalots that were often just a bit too wide for those same pockets. So I'd definitely second the recommendation of narrow-headed cams.

Also, when it's a full moon, you have to solo tiptoe ridge naked at midnight.

We went for 2 weeks in November over 20 years ago, and stayed in a hostel in the nearest village. It was all really quiet then. It suited is really well, helped by the owner who was a real character.

Thanks...better time anyway.

thanks...appreciated.

I had my Aussie mate's rack when I went there. I think we had a single rope, 1 and 1/2 sets of nuts, a collection of ancient cams, none very big or small, and his Petzl Spirit set of quickdraws which were all 17 cm ones for Simon's hard sport climbing! This wasn't the ideal rack but I survived. So I reckon a good British trad rack will see you fine. I most missed more slings, alpine draws etc.

We camped at the crag, it was lovely and the kids were captivated by the onsite roos. I remember the stars are amazing at night. 

If you are flying into Melbourne, dropping in at  Camels Hump on the way up towards Arapiles might be worth it. I climbed there back in December and it's a lovely spot with really funky rock.

Thanks.

As it happens a friend of a friend gave me your phone number and told me you'd be there when I visit in a couple of weeks- I'll be in touch!

Cheers Adrian

I'm wondering if you bumped into Aly, a not very Scottish sounding Scot living down there? 

We won't be over to NZ this time but it's definitely on the list...

Thanks all for the info. Better dig out those RPs...

Small wires very useful. I’m jealous.

Ha, thought it might be the same person. No worries

You’ll get by with most any gear on a standard trad rack. On my first trip there though, I was surprised by a relative lack of “ideal” nut and cam placements. There are plenty, but need a bit more thought. There are few classic keyhole placements. But the rock is so strong, that you’ll get away with what would be tenuous on other rock types (like on 90%+ of NZ rock.)

I personally found tricams excellent there, and could have placed each one twice over on most pitches.
I don’t remember ever wishing I had bolt plates for “carrot top” bolts, unlike other Australian locations like the Blue Mountains. 

Just adding my two cents as I visited in December last year, and previously in October 2018. 

More for people planning trips than the OP: be aware of the not-so-recent access issues. Large portions of the crag are closed, and have been for a while. Read up on this before you go and make sure you're not climbing in the wrong spots: there's signage around too. There's still loads to do, but you might be disappointed if you travel across the world and find your dream route on Tiger Wall is banned!

We used 50m doubles both times, and didn't see anyone else using doubles. I always climb trad on them so can't really imagine climbing on a single, and the routes do generally wander a fair amount so they're pretty handy. You'll also feel very smug abseiling down the Watchtower Faces instead of walking around like most other people, but I think the other abs are all 0m. There's a cool looking route on the Watchtower Faces with a 60m pitch, but everything else is climbable on 50s.

RPs essential as everyone else has said! And take the grade conversion tables with a pinch of salt. I found a good tactic if you're unsure about what to expect from a route was to look it up on UKC: you'll likely find spidermonkey09 has already climbed it and given it a reliable review 😉

Do you mean the Grampians, rather than Arapiles? I’d been aware large parts of the Gramps were closed, including Tiger wall, and I’d heard rumblings of a ban at Araps, but not anything more. The only things I can find online referencing it are articles confusing the Gramps with Arapiles. 

Ironically you've confused the Gramps with Araps yourself! Tiger Wall is at Arapiles, not the Grampians. You perhaps mean Taipan Wall, which is half closed, half open. Grampians bans are indeed extensive and too complicated to go into here. I have done boringly extensive research into whats open and what isn't for this trip so if anyone wants to clarify something feel free to ask.

Arapiles closures are there but not as extensive as foobar perhaps implies. The front face of the Bluffs is closed (ie the face with Blockbuster on it), Bard Buttress is closed (inc Bard, The Desired etc), Tiger Wall is closed (which I'm not convinced is that good anyway), and Declaration and Castle Crags are closed. Thats less than it sounds like. Everything else is open as far as I'm aware.

foobar123 - glad my logbook has been useful for something!

Thanks, good to know, I was hoping for first trip back there this year for quite a few years.

Has it settled at the current closures, or are there more to come do you think?

Yeah, perhaps me saying "large portions of the crag" are closed is misleading -- maybe "large numbers of climbs" is more fair? You've mentioned all the areas I remember from December, which is a large area but as it's such a large crag it's not a huge portion! It does include a lot of classics though, which caught us a little off guard.

My main reason for bringing that up is because it doesn't seem as well known as the Grampians closures, as Damo demonstrated! There's still plenty to be getting on with, and even with the current closures it's still the Best Crag in the World™

I think in the near future nothing more will get banned, but nothing will be opened either, and this opinion is shared by lots of climbers I've met. It seems Parks Victoria put the bans in place "temporarily" a few years ago while they work out a more long term solution, and are quite happy with the status quo...

I doubt there are more to come at Araps but never say never with Parks Victoria. I think the results of the heritage surveys conducted on the banned areas are due quite soon. That certainly seems to be the expectation among some climbers, and there is media pressure on PV as a result. I'm quietly hopeful that some bits might get reopened but we will see. As foobar says it shouldn't be a real hardship for most as there is so much to do and there are very few bad routes. I'd imagine guiding has been hit hardest as the Tiger Wall routes were very popular for that. 

I’ve done dozens of routes up to grade 17 at The Mount (ok usage) and never met a carrot. Also, I’ve never needed RPs, so don’t bother buying them if you don’t already have them. Maybe more essential on harder routes than I’ve done.

Double halves are ideal I think. Essential for abbing off the Pharos (though there are easy routes to down climb if necessary).

I'd definitely take a 60m, as plenty of the abseils seemed v close to 30m. I've climbed there on doubles before, fine if you like them and good for some of the raps (Pharos?) but generally a single is fine.

Also recommend more than a basic rack of nuts/stoppers as the rock there just takes them so well, often in pockets and things, rather than cracks, that elsewhere you might not look at as a nut placement.

Something I seemed to be short of (other than finger strength, balance and courage) was long quickdraws. Most of mine are short, and I have long slings, but many easier routes go up through bulges and to reduce drag it's good to have a longer piece up under the bulge, but not necessarily a long sling. Of course you can shorten a long sling, but why faff around when you're already pumping out?

I was climbing there in January, as it was less hot than it would normally be, and it was not crowded at all, The Pines only half full at most. We did a couple of easy old routes way over 'left' around/past the amphitheatre(?) and by the state of the tracks and approaches it doesn't look like many people go over there now. The Organ Pipes was as popular as ever though.