Bald Head, Grose Valley

Access: (From the Grose Valley Guide) From Blackheath, heading west, turn right into Hat Hill road, follow this to Hat Hill. Continue for another 400m to a small clearing on the left. Park and walk west up on to the obvious ridge. After about 25 min a small ridge heads off to the left. This ridge leads to Bald Head (shown on some maps as Bennett Lookout).

Serendipitous Crack (18) 205m

Start: At a wide crack with 2 roofs 30 metres left of the crack that leads directly to the left chimney in the upper cliff line (viewed facing the cliff). A small tree is directly in front of the start of the crack. Best access is from the saddle between Bald Head and Ridge, descend the Eastern gully, 25 metre abseil at bottom. Contour round base of cliff. The route is the first crack seen once entire wall comes in to view. A very pleasant climb.

(P1) (35m 18) Pleasant climbing up the wide crack, sling the occasional chockstone. Pull through roof on huge holds hand size crack to next roof, step left and up to comfy belay in sentry box.

(P2) (45m 18) Steeply out of sentry box on to wall, continue up wall via crack/flake to stance. Short crack then corner to large sloping ledge, belay at large gum tree.

(P3) (40m 18) Rightward arching crack for a few metres to join leftward arching corner with large groove in the left wall. Pleasantly up the corner then step left and continue up the groove to loose ledge. Traverse 5m left over big block to small stance directly under flake of pitch 4. Belay #3 and #3.5 friend in wall above ledge.

(P4) (35m 18) Pull on to wall using big ironstones. Vertical wall climbing using flake for gear for a few metres then the angle eases, ramble up to final headwall. A direct finish could be done up the black streak of the final headwall (big holds, wall 15m high & needs 2 bolts?). Traverse right across wall to ledge, belay 10m before the chimney.

(P5 & P6) (50m 16) Traverse into chimney/gully. Climb up until gully steepens then escape right along ledge to arete (belay). A few moves to top.

FA Mark Wilson, Craig Hale 13/9/97

Gear: Usual gear plus double friends #2.5 to #4, hexes #8 to #10 .

Comment (from Peter Monks): The wall the crack starts up is a magnificent sheet of scoopy orange stone - a very obvious feature as you walk around under the cliff. We accessed the bottom of the cliff from the dry creek to the right (facing out) of Bald Head - the "normal" descent route is down Hat Hill creek and requires a wet abseil (the other descent was totally dry when we did it).