Geryon South?

[alex]

Hi all,
Im interested in climbing the south peak of Geryon ( as a bushwalk, not a climb), and just after a bit of info from anyone who has done it/knows a bit about it.
Probably wont happen (unfortunately) until next summer, but still keen for some info.
Climbing guides (although im not a climber) say that the 'south Spur Route' is grade 4, while the direct ascent on Federation (which i have done) is grade 5.
South Spur Normal Route 4 (from thesarvo)
From the Acropolis-Geryon saddle, follow the skyline ridge moving out over the exposed East face where necessary. Mostly scrambling.
is this right? as in it is easier? Cant expect it would be much easier from looking from afar, but i might be wrong.
If anyone has done it and knows the standard of it, I am comfortable around heights, could do some basic abseiling, and am not a total beginner in terms of climbing. Any pics of the route ( such as Tasadam's a while ago on the north peak) would be great.
A confirmation of how to get to the route up the Cephissus valley would also be great, as i have never looked for it, but know roughly where it starts/goes.
thanks in advance
Alex

[wello]

Hi Alex,

Can't help too much as I've not been up either. I have been to the climbers campsite, in about 2003 I think. I reached it from the Labyrinth, following a route from the Pool of Memories. The campsite itself is a dark and wet place, not very inviting. From there the route basically follows the creek back down the valley, meeting the Acropolis track quite close to the Pine Valley hut. The route is hard to follow, and poorly marked, but that doesn't really matter as its open walking in rainforest with very little growth at ground level.

As far as the peak goes, I found the same info you did. Trouble with rock climbers is they often don't rate the exposure as a factor in determining the difficulty of a climb. That said, Geryon South rates only 5 points on the peak bagging list, while the North Peak gets 8. On that basis, you'd expect the North to be harder, as there really isn't three extra points in the extra walk you need to do to get to the start of the climb.

Cheers

Wello

[alex]

thanks for the info
now, i may be completely wrong, but i'm fairly sure that in the latest Peakbaggers guide (from the 2000 issue of the tramp, most on the net aren't the latest) the scores were revised so the south gets 8 while the north gets 5. Cant find the book to confirm but i am fairly sure this is the case. This would make sense as from what i can find it receives a lot less traffic and sounds a bit harder
alex

[PeterJ]

[quote="alex"] From the Acropolis-Geryon saddle, follow the skyline ridge moving out over the exposed East face where necessary. Mostly scrambling.[/i]


The way up is reasonably obvious once your up there and a pad exists. The sloping face is OK if you go carefully and conditions are dry; sometimes people use a rope as a safeguard but not really needed. closer to the top of the ascent you go though a chute and it has a chock stone (or did when I was there last) and this takes huffing and puffing get to get over.

The route up the valley is becoming harder to follow nowadays and you need to keep eyes peeled for the pad. At the end the climbers old camp is noticeable because it is a bit more open and the ground looks used. The pad up Geryon leaves from here.

I'll pop a few photos on a few days time.

[stu]

I did Geryon South this past weekend, first ferry to Narcissus Saturday morning, last one out on Sunday.
Saturday was from Narcissus / Pine Valley / Geryon camp site / summit, / back to camp site - about 10 hours at a casual pace.
Sunday a casual walk back to Narcissus.
The pad to Geryon camp site (also known as climbers camp) starts about 15-20 mins. along the Acropolis track from Pine Valley.
Look out after about this time period for a log on the left side of the track which has a notch cut out of it & an arrowed timber sign with 'THE ACROPOLIS' on it.
Step over (left) this log where you will see a small rock cairn & the pad leading up the valley.
It is certainly hard to follow in sections & poorly tagged, but with time & care should only take about 1 hour to camp from the junction.
I found the camp site o.k, warranted we had bluebird conditions & it was pretty dry.
The pad to the south summit leads from the camp site & is marked with red tags, only about 10mins from here to the main access rock scree.
I found the top section ok, the slab was pretty easy, tho care still needs to be taken. The gulley up the final summit block had a little snow on it so was a little dicey in sections, a few climbing moves are needed here & there. I found it technically harder than say Fedders or Hyperion, tho not too bad on the exposure, tho the snow on the bottom of my boot probably increased the 'brown' factor, particularly at one point where looking down the gulley you could see you're fall-line shooting you out & over the edge of the east face . Certainly harder than the North summit & worth the extra 3 points (yes, it is worth 8, not 5 these days).
A few pics below, terrible weather as you can see

p.m. me if anyone wants more specific directions.

Cheers.

Stuart.

[PeterJ]

Looks like you had a good walk and lovely weather, Stuart. I was at Mt Field on Saturday and it took a while for the cloud to lift and the temperature at Lake Dobson of 5 degrees when we started walking.

[dee_legg]

Such a great place.
Alex and I were there nearly two weeks ago now, had some great weather and camped at Lake Elysia after walking from Narcissis then Geryon North and down to Pine Valley the next day and then a cruisy day back to Narcissis the day after. Was a great trip.
Can't be bother putting photos up but this is a link to a Facebook album of them:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2 ... =563380169

[mjdalessa]

The geryon south climb must be awfully hard to find because I know of a lot of parties that have attempted it and say its not possible without ropes and being a rock climber.
Is it that hard?

[stu]

If you find the pad / follow the cairns as described & stay on the correct route it is not too bad.
You definitely don't need ropes if confident on rock, tho as mentioned it is one of the harder summits to gain in my experience.
The exposure is not too bad & the climbing moves fairly basic & short (maybe a couple of about grade 16-18?).
Again, it's a no fall kind of area, the consequences of an unchecked fall would be deadly.
If you have done say Hyperion you would probably be o.k.
Harder moves than the Northern summit or Federation.
As usual, the descent is a little dicier than the ascent.
You could potentially take a rope & be o.k if someone were confident to go ahead & set up a top rope as there are climbing slings from the traverse route.
I guess it's all relative to experience / head space & knowing when you are out of your comfort zone, stay safe!

Stuart.

[MJD]

In my younger days I've been up the Southern Spur (with a rope) and climbed the Acropolis from the saddle with Geryon. I agree that it all depends on your comfort zone but there won't be many out there willing to climb at 15+ when the consequences of falling will be fatal. Would you reach terminal velocity if you went over the eastern cliffs? Where's that maths teacher?

PS nice pictures Stu

And isn't it an amazing boulder field that you wander up. Here's a picture looking down the longer one.

[ollster]

I dunno how long it would take to reach terminal velocity, but it would be the longest "x" seconds of your life...

[Steve]

I dunno how long it would take to reach terminal velocity, but it would be the longest "x" seconds of your life...

Well fastest actually.

[Bodysurfer]

The drop earned Keith Lancaster's respect:

"Impatient at inaction, we decided to push southward towards the first gap in the Sight as the southern peak of the Sight loomed out of the mist. We had to descend a little as we pushed along the narrow ridge and, as the ascent commenced beyond the depression, we encountered an awkward slab right on the knife-edge and the rope had to be brought into play again, although a longer descent may have avoided it. Then all was easy to the edge of the sheer precipice (4750’) which dropped down into the northern gap in the Sight and still 1000’ below - a most awe-inspiring scene and one of, if not the deepest, of Tasmania's sheer drops. "

[bauera]

Like several others that have posted to this topic I had thought/read that Geryon South was a "no-go" for us non-climbers. Having read stubowling's posts this topic and been up Hyperion and (rather easier) Geryon North by myself with little more than a few heart flutters I start to feel rather heartened that I might be able to get there after all. However, I have failed on Feder at my only attempt so far. So how hard is Geryon South?

[MJD]

I'm sure that you could get up there but it should be on the end of a rope with someone who knows what they are doing. That's my plan. .

[stu]

If time permitted the luxury of a reconnaissance mission then those capable (obviosly including some of those already in this topic, Martin especially) should see how far they could get, it really is easier than you'd expect and than Geoff Chapman writes it up to be. The slabs I have mentioned leading up to the base of the final tower are easy & with caution no rope is needed (best if it is dry tho). The final ascent up the gulley system is steep, but not very exposed at all really. My main concern was the snow on the bottom of my boot causing slippage as there had been a summer dusting the night before. As mentioned, there are a couple of climbey type sections in this gulley, again the hardest being a couple of grade 15 or so moves, but not with severe fall potential; unless you started to cart wheel I guess. Higher up the gulley there is a chock stone which takes some muscling to get over (similar to the one just below the summit of Hyperion), and after this the final moves requires reaching left to the lip of a slab out of a steep corner & hauling your *&%$#! over it, trickier to get down this section. Again as mentioned, low down in the gulley if you fell & tumbled too far, yes you would fly off the east face. Yes it is a little harder than Hyperion, & certainly harder than North Geryon, but not dramatically so. There are a couple of fixed anchors (slings) from those doing the traverse that could be used as top rope / abseil anchors, just be sure to back up your system as fixed slings deteriorate quickly in exposed conditions. Again, I can give further track notes if you pm me; have a crack, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised

[Son of a Beach]

Which is higher in altitude? North or South?

[MJD]

That's true Stu. I used to climb/scramble around quite a bit in my younger days but seem to have become a bit of a softie these days - must be those years I spent living in Melbourne - and I'm not quite so keen about lots of exposure. Have you been up Weindorfers Tower and, if so, how does it compare to that?

The list of High Places has Geryon South as higher but I'm not sure as I noticed the other day when I was wandering about up there that Geryon North is in the wrong spot (I'll fix this). It's currently marked as the high ground before you cross over to the final tower. Information on "Thesarvo" shows that Geryon North is the higher and this did look higher the other day.

Hmm sounds like this should be an upcoming mission . Anyone interested?

[stu]

I haven't been up Weindorfers tower yet Martin, I will probably get around to it next time I am up that way; so sorry, can't really compare the two.

I'd probably rank the corner section (climb) high on Hyperion (just below where you cross the bridge section approaching the chock stone for those that have been up there) a fraction easier, about the closest I can think of in comparison off the top of my head. Definitely if in doubt, with someone competant with ropes would be a very easy ascent on top rope. The summit views, as would be expected, are spectacular. As mentioned tho, the descent is always the scariest section & care needs to be taken in a couple of spots as an unchecked fall would have dire consequences. (including the 'easy' slab section).

PeterJ's comments are pretty spot on, maybe he could make further comment?

I'm afraid it's just one of those ones you'd have to go & check out & see how it suits you individually.

Having recently done Federation over Xmas I found it alot easier technically / less exposed than I was expecting, everyone has their own perspective on these sort of mountains obviously.

Having said that I did used to do quite a bit of sport climbing / bouldering so feel ok moving on rock; tho the exposure sometimes still terrifies me

Cheers.

Stu.

[mjdalessa]

Is that diamond peak on your profile pic MJD?

[vagrom]

Or Bond's Craig?

[MJD]

Bonds Craig. Another one you wouldn't want to fall off!