Mt Roland face track ??

[Smurphette]

Is the face track still doable?
And more importantly, is it a good idea??

[Tortoise]

Yes and absolutely!! Definitely my preferred way up and down.
People with crook knees benefit from using poles and taking it slowly on the descent. People with good knees benefit from using poles (or at least one) to keep them that way, imo.

Steep grunt, then you get to the morning tea rock. Then steep but interesting, then you pop out onto the plateau. Still a way to go, but great walking. Shimmy up the rock at the 'cave', bounce over a few boulders, and continue on your way. Can be a tad muddy after rain, but it was the driest I've ever seen it a few weeks ago.

[Smurphette]

Thanks! How long does it take? Compared to the O'Neills Rd track?

[matagi]

It's quicker to the summit than O'Neill's Rd track. How long it takes depends on how fast you are - probably 2 hours at a gentle pace to the plateau and roughly half and hour (give or take) to the summit.

[Tortoise]

It's quicker to the summit than O'Neill's Rd track. How long it takes depends on how fast you are - probably 2 hours at a gentle pace to the plateau and roughly half and hour (give or take) to the summit.

Tortoises do take longer than that on the way up... +1 for quicker than via O'Neills.