How to get up Gentles Pass- Blue Mountains?

[JMB]

Hello, I recently went on a walk in the Blue Mountains: part of it involved climbing the Gangerang Range to Gentle's pass. From what I've read it seems there is some way up Gentles Pass, however, to me it looked like an impenetrable cliff and we had to walk around it till there was an opening, very difficult. Could anyone who knows Gentles Pass describe what is involved getting up it the right way? is there an opening we missed? are any ropes required?

Thank you

[melinda]

Gentles Pass is a scramble thru a pass in the cliffline.
This is a photo of my dad, Wal Turner, scrambling up it in the 1940's.

Wal Turner scrambling up Gentles Pass (273x357).jpg (29.37 KiB) Viewed 21934 times

Not the best of photos but it does show the pass.
We did it a year or two ago.
The tree at the bottom is no longer there.
It is a scramble, no ropes required. We just followed the spur up and the pass presented itself.
The pass is shown on the Dunphy 'Gangerang' map.

[juxtaposer]

Known only to a handful of Coxs River men, this pass was pioneered for bushwalkers by Max Gentle and Gordon Smith in October 1929. Peter Page and Maurie Berry of SBW repeated the ascent a few weeks later, and in December that year, coming out from Kanangra, Max Gentle and Myles Dunphy were the first to go down the pass.

[melinda]

Gee juxtaposer,
Your history is pretty good!
Melinda

[juxtaposer]

It's in one of Jim Barrett's books.

[juxtaposer]

My knowledge of history is so detailed, I can even tell you the name of the first dog ever to have used this pass: it was a little fox terrier named Dex. I'm not joking!

[DaveNoble]

My knowledge of history is so detailed, I can even tell you the name of the first dog ever to have used this pass: it was a little fox terrier named Dex. I'm not joking!

Or to use its full name - "Dexter Symbol". Myles Dunphy's dog. Myles named the creek near Cloudmaker after the dog (DexCreek) and his second son - Dexter Colboyd Dunphy.

Dave

[juxtaposer]

Spot on, Dave. Incidentally, this is the earliest photograph of the pass I have seen. Do you know the year, Melinda?

[Greenie]

Only moments ago I came across Dex's boots http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/bush_pram_and_dog_boots/

[melinda]

Hi Juxtaposer,
Don't know the exact year.
Most of his photo albums didn't have dates.
Just know he did a lot of walking in the early 40's.
Have seen the Kanangra Express and Dex's boots in the National Museum.
There is also one of Dunphy's knapsacks there that had been beautifully embroidered with his initials.
Well worth having a look at.

[kanangra]

Gee I climbed what I thought was Gentle's Pass on Saturday and it didn't look anything like the exposed climb shown in the photo? It was much more like an enclosed chimney? I remember thinking it was odd there wasn't any artificial aid and not even much evidence of other parties having been through before? Have I pioneered a new route? I tend to think not because at the top was a small cairn with a faded coke can in the centre of it. OK So I wasn't the first but can anybody shed any light on this?

When I hit the rock outcrop at the centre of the top of the ridge I went around to the left (as you face the rock). Not sure how far? Perhaps 100m? Past a smallish camp cave. The pass I took was up a breach in the cliff in the form of a slot.

Anybody else been out that way? I don't think the whole route up from the Coxs receives much traffic as there was no track at all. Shame because it is quite a pleasant route with a few nice features.

K.

[Allchin09]

Any photos from your trip?

[juxtaposer]

Never heard of there being any more than one way up that cliff. Your description of it Kanangra tallies with my memory. You have to turn left at the base of the cliff and it is quite awkward at the top being set in a narrow recess, so I'd say not much doubt you went up Gentle's Pass. There is a swamp with a good outflow of water on the north side of Bolworra, but this runs into Ti Willa, not Mokolong. Much of upper Mokolong is an extensive swamp also.

[kanangra]

Then the swamp I found must be the one that feeds Moko because it definitely flowed west not east into Ti- willa.

K.