Southeast Queensland is no stranger to the subtropical Alpinist. If you have read some of the accounts of the first ascents of different mountains ridges and cliff faces, they influenced and inspired us – dating all the way back to 1828 when Captain Logan climbed Logans Ridge (crazy story), and more recently to the post-war stories from The Living Rock when exploring and adventuring really became popular. We have some special mountains here, but non compare to the mountain at the heart of them all, the 23 million year old focal peak of the 2nd largest shield volcano in the world – Mt Barney!
This mountain is WILD! The east face is something that I have been inspired by since I first saw it in 2006 climbing with Peter and my family, (Peter being a family friend and my climbing mentor at the time). Since then, Mt Barney it has been the home of more adventures than I can count.
In 2012, Trent Williams and I spent the better part of a week rigging the Clound Line highline (and associated adventures). We spoke in detail of his early climbing career aspirations to climb the East Face of East Peak. Once hearing rumours of a climb that was put up through the longest steepest part of the cliff he and a few climbing partners were one of the first people to repeat the climb. Their harrowing trip report tells of flying debris and exploding holds and pitch after pitch of hard grade climbing with continuously increasing exposure up to the 1000ft+ vertical expanse under the “boulder problem in the sky” climbing through the crux on one of the top pitches. …you mean we have this, in Queensland!? Um, yes please!!! It is this sense of discovery that inspires me – the grandeur of big air and challenging terrain. I have grown to love the style of climbing in the park – delicate and gentle, reading the rock and knowing that you can’t just crank on any piece of rock you feel.
(Below, you can see the East Face dissapear for 1000ft below Trent Williams as he walks the Cloud Line on Mt Barney.)
After a few fun trips to different parts of the park, Alex Mougenot took me out to put up a route that would be the first free ascent either of us had but up in the park before, The North Pinnacle. I have vivid memories of this experience – looking at the daunting cliff looming above – visible from the car park. It looked big! the unknown above, feeling just so thrilled to be out on this wide face of rock armed with your skills and gear and no rules. I felt a little spark ignite on that climb and I think it has kept me motivated and kept me in pursuit of that unknown all the more. (behind the parachute you can see the North Pinnacle.) The photo below is from 2012 during some different kinds of adventures, but I thought it was interesting that the North Pinnacle route has the last 2 pitches perfectly framed up the steep section. Kinda cool. Perhaps a story on that adventure someday in the future 😉
But back to the modern-day and the quest for a new route up the East Face…the daunting and treacherous face that embodies Mt Barney!
…story to be continued
