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Point Perpendicular

Note: Access to Point Perpendicular is currently in dispute. See the climbing news page for details.

Point Perpendicular is the southern-most tip of the Beecroft Peninsula, and guards the northern side of the entrance to Jervis Bay. At its highest point, the cliff is over 100 metres high, and most of it is extremely sheer (hence the name!). If you've ever been to North Head in Sydney, this place will feel familiar, although on a much larger scale!

Most of the cliffline is split horizontally by a shale band, which forms a half way ledge along much of the cliff. The upper cliffs are around 30m in height, while the bottom section is up to 80m in height.

The upper cliffs are generally steel grey sandstone that is both incredibly solid and amazingly frictional; a real joy to climb on. This rock is similar to a lot of the very best sea cliffs rock in Sydney, but of a much more consistently good quality. The lower cliffs are quite different, being made up of these striking horizontal bands that are visible from hundreds of metres away. These obvious strata are actually projecting plates of harder rock that can be as much as 3 feet thick. In between the plates is softer, chossier rock that has been eaten away. Take lots of big cams if you plan on climbing down there!

There are four major crags at the Point: the bayside and seaside crags, with upper and lower sections to each. Climbs are almost never continuous from the lower cliff to the upper cliff, so ensure you allow time to escape up the upper cliff if you attempt a climb on the lower cliffs!

The (out of date) guidebook for the area is the "Beecroft Peninsula: A Climbing Guide to Point Perpendicular" guide. A new guide is currently being prepared and should be available pretty soon.

Note: virtually all routes here have abseil access only, off natural anchors. Therefore I'd recommended that you bring at least a double rack of everything (including 2 ropes). There are also very few easy escape routes, so make sure you leave your abseil rope in place, and take down prussiks or jumars.

Bayside Upper

This crag starts around about the eastern end of the lighthouse enclosue, and continues to the west for 500m or so. If you're looking for some easier, shorter routes to get your head in gear, this is the place to go.

Climbs are described from east to west.

When the Levee Breaks 18m 19
A nice pumpy route with some good moves and without the usual gripping exposure. Rap into a large ledge below the largest corner within the lighthouse enclosure (a wide corner crack extends back almost all the way to the lighthouse fence). The route starts about 4m left of the corner below a line of 5 fixed hangers (a #0.5 friend might be useful at the ledge at half height). Natural belay.

Little Red Riding Hood 25m 17
An excellent, exposed route starting from the same ledge as the previous climb. From the ledge, step up and left to an obvious flake down low, then continue traversing left to a small ledge (be careful of some of the blocks here). From the ledge, blast straight up the wickedly exposed arete, past a single fixed hanger. Take an assortment of wires and small to medium cams. Natural belay.

Steel City Blues 12m 9
The corner crack right of Elspeth. Good wires for the bottom belay (the belay ledge is pretty small, so strap yourself in well!), but surprisingly tricky gear up the corner (the crack is small and flared, making both wires and cams difficult to seat properly). Belay off the rap rope (assorted gear in the large crack on top).

Elspeth 13m 14
Would you believe a climb this short and easy can be this good? Do it and find out for yourself!! :-)
An absolutely fantastic little route up one of the most exposed aretes in the place. Starts from the same belay ledge as the previous climb. Traverse out left to the massively undercut arete, place a couple of bomber bits of gear, move up until the gear is at your feet then pull the crux, 80m above the pounding surf!! A couple more moves (and maybe a bit of gear to steady the nerves) and you're up, with your heart doing a million beats a minute!! Good belay off a crack in the buttress about 5m back from the edge (I used gear here as a directional and used the rap rope as the main anchor).
A big thank you to the couple who took the photos!

Over the Yardarm 30m 14
An excellent excursion up a long and generally easy wall, with plenty of gear if you look for it (take a full rack of wires and small to medium cams). The crux is up the massively exposed arete at the top, with tricky but good gear a metre or two below (wire and #1 camalot). Natural belay off the large crack bisecting the buttress (#4 and #5 camalots, #9, #10 and #11 hexes).

Room With a View 9m 12
Another wildly exposed but easy route to scare yourself silly on (in fact just rapping into the belay is scary enough!). Take a second set of wires for the belay ledge. Well protected and pleasant climbing up the textbook corner crack. Belay off the rap rope.

Self Raising Flower 6m 15
The really clean overhanging corner crack at the far eastern end of the "Bob's Cliff" ledge. Up the crack (need I say more?). Natural belay in cracks on top.

Dogfish 5m 6
The blunt nose just left of the corner crack in the middle of the "Bob's Cliff" ledge (2 corners left of the previous route). Take some big gear (a #4 or #5 camalot) for the pockets.

Seaside Upper

This crag extends to the north from the eastern side of the lighthouse enclosure. The crag is naturally divided into a number of major walls, most of which are obvious when viewed from the top.

Windjammer Wall
Walk due east from the carpark for about 75m until you reach the edge of the cliff. The impressive, dead vertical wall extending to the south is the Windjammer Wall. Below you should be a 26m corner crack ("Man Overboard", grade 16), and just to the left (facing out) on a smaller, south facing wall an obvious line of thin cracks ("Grey Mist", grade 17).

There are 2 BBs above the corner crack that can be used to rap into "Ocean Boulevard" (the bushy ledge below these climbs). It's recommended that you leave the rope in place if you entertain any thoughts of failure!

Grey Mist 27m 17
An excellent, exposed climb up an amazing line of sinuousy, thin cracks. Although none of the moves are technically harder than about grade 16, there are very few rests, making this one of the most strenuous trad climbs I've led. There are bomber wire placements the whole way up (take two sets of wires), but take some small to mid size cams to supplement the wires. The belay is off slings around two large blocks at the top of the climb.

Seaside Lower

The cliff line located below the Seaside Upper crag. To gain access to the following climb, walk downhill from the start of "Grey Mist" to a large block. Either set up an abseil anchor off this block, or use the cracks on the face just uphill and around the arete from the block (lots of hexes, cams and wires).

A full 50m abseil (use at least a 60m rope!), leads to the belay ledge for "Itchycoo Park" (grade 15), the line the abseil follows. To get down far enough to scramble around to the starts of other climbs requires a further 5m abseil off this belay ledge and a scramble down to the littoral zone (be careful of big waves!). A 70m static rope is recommended for this abseil, and make sure you leave it in place since there's absolutely no other way out but back up the cliff!

Dreams and Visions 62m 15
A rather ordinary first pitch followed by an excellent and exposed second pitch. When we did it most of the first pitch was running with water and coated in muddy sand, making it a lot more strenuous then expected! I wouldn't recommend attempting this climb if you're just leading 15.

From the bottom of the abseil, carefully scramble right (facing the cliff), to the end of the wall. Walk around the arete and two deep, obvious corners will appear. This climb begins about 2m to the right of the second corner.

Pitch 1 25m 15
Would probably be nice when dry! Motor straight up the 15m, slightly overhanging wall on jugs, with medium to large cams for protection. From a good rest stance at the base of the slab head diagonally up and right to the chossy scoop. Belay here off medium to large cams (#0.75 to #3 camalots in a break above the scoop).

Pitch 2 37m 15
A fantastic, exposed pitch on generally excellent rock. From the belay continue up and right (cams) to the blunt arete (sparse pro after the plates give out). Follow the arete straight up to a small, chossy roof (excellent wire in a crack just over the roof to the left) and pass it on the left. Follow the crack past a small bush then head back right to the arete and up to the "Grey Ledge" (the halfway ledge at this point on the cliff). Belay off a large boulder.

From here you can carefully walk left to get back to "Ocean Boulevard" (the ledge below the Windjammer Wall), and do one of the routes there to get back to the top of the cliff.

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