King William Range

[Reubs]

Hi guys,
A friend has been discussing a trip into the King William Range (hoping to visit King William II and Slaters Peak). What is the best approach to getting up onto the range. I have heard of groups going up and over Slaters Peak, and others climbing from Divide Creek.

Thanks

[Lostsoul]

[quote="Reubs"]Hi guys,
A friend has been discussing a trip into the King William Range (hoping to visit King William II and Slaters Peak). What is the best approach to getting up onto the range. I have heard of groups going up and over Slaters Peak, and others climbing from Divide Creek.

Have kayaked in to the base of Slatters then hoofed it up through the scrub.Lake is very low atm though,cant kayak in as far.

[Reubs]

Thank you for the information

[north-north-west]

Divide Creek gets scrubby as you go in. The easiest climb is a fair way upstream, through the forest on the north western side of the lump above Lake Anne, but it takes some getting to. The boggy bits don't help. I went up beside Saxon Ck about ten years ago; it wasn't bad then but it's a lot scrubbier now, as is most of the divide. The direct climb up Slatters from the lakeshore isn't the clearest route but it is the shortest.
Are they hoping to do both Abels as a daytrip or camping up top?

[Reubs]

Thank you very much for the information. I thought heading up from Divide Creek would be okay; I did notice TASVEG showed a Myrtle rainforest lead up the hill. Plenty of options
We were hoping to visit both summits as an overnight trip

[north-north-west]

They'll need to be prepped for a packhaul if they go up directly to Slatters; there's that interesting little mini-Notch west of the summit. Camping at Lake Anne is really good and if the weather's decent there are also good spots on the southern side of KWII (the big round hump, not the Abel, which is Richmond Crag).

[Reubs]

Thank you for the heads up
Lake Anne looks absolutely beautiful, I'm excited to check it out. The Abel high point is confusing; I've often wondered if the Abel should be called the 'King William Range Highpoint'. It works and makes sense for Black Bluff and the Du Cane Range.

[north-north-west]

It would be simpler if they either moved the KWII name to the Abel, or formalised the Richmond Crag name. I doubt either will happen, though - and it would also mean losing the points for one of those two summits.

The packhaul is not that high, but it is an awkward spot. I have a photo somewhere ...
... hmmmm, yeah, I should have taken one from the summit side. These were done on the way back last time, from the top of the scramble so it doesn't really show it properly. You can go straight up this bit or there's another route around the side (to the right heading west from the summit).

Attachments

wider shot looking down

tighter shot, same angle

[Reubs]

Thank you
That definitely makes sense, we will visit both highpoints.
The mini notch looks fun! We will bring a length of rope.

[ILUVSWTAS]

About 20 years ago I was part of a ridiculously large group that climbed the range by stealth over the dam wall at butlers gorge and along the old road to the Gordon river. We then climbed directly up to the range, bagged KWIII then went north.
I don't remember anything at all that requires a rope. Just good old fashioned boulder mazing. We went to and over KWII then down to the hut at lake Rufus.

Years later I did a day walk to slatters peak from the lake KW road. It was a fairly easy day trip with nothing sketchy encountered at all.

[north-north-west]

Careful reading will reveal that I specifically said said west of Slatters summit; ie, when travelling from the summit to Lake Anne. Perhaps neither of your two routes utilised that section.

[Last]

Keep well away from Saxon creek. I got into a real mess there. I went up and over the top of Slatters Peak with a full pack (idiot) and then down to Lake Anne. I don't recall the notch. On the way down I traversed the scree fields below Slatters, following a vague cairned route and then went towards where the Divide Valley meets the lake KW shore, hitting the valley a couple of hundred metres from the lake shore. It wasn't too bad.

[Reubs]

Thanks everyone who shared information and tips with me
The King William Range was absolutely gorgeous! The Fagus was on fire, the views stunning, and the weather was beautiful

Last edited by Reubs on Tue 22 Apr, 2025 12:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Reubs]

Here are a few images

Attachments

Slatters Peak

KWII

Fagus

Slatters and Fagus

[Reubs]

It would be simpler if they either moved the KWII name to the Abel, or formalised the Richmond Crag name. I doubt either will happen, though - and it would also mean losing the points for one of those two summits.

The packhaul is not that high, but it is an awkward spot. I have a photo somewhere ...
... hmmmm, yeah, I should have taken one from the summit side. These were done on the way back last time, from the top of the scramble so it doesn't really show it properly. You can go straight up this bit or there's another route around the side (to the right heading west from the summit).

We found the mini notch you described. You can get around it on the northern side

[bluewombat]

Lovely shots Reubs, which route options did you eventually take
BW

[Reubs]

Lovely shots Reubs, which route options did you eventually take
BW

Thank you very much
We ended up following Saxon Creek up to the plateau. We walked up the creek on the way up, then down through the bush beside it on the way down. There were many waterfalls to climb