Federation Peak - Direct Ascent Queries

[bushtucker]

Dear all,

The Federation Peak bushwalk is well-renowned and labelled as one of this country's premier and one of the most challenging bushwalks available. I've done a lot of online research but am still at a loss on the Direct Ascent ... I am trying to understand more about the cliff exposure along the route. So, my question is simple and is targeted at those people who have recently done this walk:

-- The vertical ascent appears to be 600m to the top from the base - how much of the route has cliff exposure / edge walking / climbing? Is it just a few small sections or is it most of the Direct Ascent? I have been struggling to ascertain this.
-- If you've done the Direct Ascent, did you use ropes on any sections? If you didn't would you prefer to have used ropes?
-- What are your thoughts on the risk that bushwalkers take in climbing the Direct Ascent without ropes, yet rock-climbers use ropes the whole way and actually, while their sport is more challenging, take less risk?

Cheers,

Daniel

[devoswitch]

Hi Daniel. I have not been up fedders but from what I gather there's only a few sections where you are faced with a sheer drop off however I'm sure most of the way up is going to be extremely exposed. I think it all depends with how you handle exposure and whether or not vertigo is a factor in your life.
I don't believe there's any real technical sections.
I'm sure confident rock climbers would not use ropes at all as most walkers don't.

[beardless]

Chapman says the assent is only 200 metres elevation from the Southern Traverse. The 600 is the exposure in parts from what I have read, not having climbed it yet.

[JohnR]

There is a 8 to 10 metre ledge you need to traverse with limited handholds. Fall from that and it's all over.

There is a potential anchor point at the start of the traverse of that ledge.

Other than that there are a few more spots with significant exposure but the foot and handholds are good.

Rock climbers do use ropes on Fedder but that is on the numerous other more difficult routes. Most confident / experienced rock climbers would probably not use a rope on the direct ascent.

You should search 'Federation Peak' and 'Direct Ascent' on this website as there are a lot of great photos and detailed explanations of the climb. That will give you some idea of what it is like.

The decision of whether to use a rope or not is a personal one that really can only be made on the climb. If you have the gear and know how to use it then I would take it so that you have the option.

Best of luck if you do decide to attempt it.

Cheers,

[CasualNerd]

I went with people who were much more experienced with rock climbing than me, which made it easier. There's a lot of different situations like pulling yourself over a ledge with no footholds, traversing sideways on a narrow ledge with few handholds etc. The general feeling seems to be that ropes take a lot of setting up and there's not great places to anchor anyway. A lot of ledges are gravelly. The route isn't always obvious but there's arrows on the rock in a few places.

It can take a few hours to make the final ascent, for what might look like 500m on the map. I've added some pictures which might illustrate the route better than I can describe !

Heading downwards from the first big chute

Going up under the chockstone - three people in this pic

I think this is a bit after the chockstone

Higher up

Typical conditions between the difficult bits - can still be loose underfoot and with a big drop.

Obviously it's a magical trip if you're confident under the conditions.

[Osik]

Hi Daniel
I'll add my support to what's said above. If you don't know how to use ropes properly (ie. place protection, build anchor's, belay people up and down) then you're likely to either seriously injure or kill yourself or others if you rely on ropes in steep terrain. Given the ascent is about a grade 4-5 in australia's ewbank rock climbing difficulty (basically a steep scramble - though very exposed) I don't know any climbers who would rope up for the standard route up fedders. Climber's do rope up for the much more technical routes on the mountain, but many of these are run-out and can be very serious even with ropes. In trad climbing roped climbing is only as safe as the quality of the protection available and the nature of the rock. People often find it suprising that in many situations it's actually safer climbing without a rope, especially if it's more of a scramble. That said, I know that many groups do use a rope on fedders, hopefully, they're people who know what they are doing.

If you're considering having a crack at fedders, have a read of this thread: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21135&start=60
Eggs has put together a great diagram and many people talk about the nature of the scramble, which together with Chapman's notes, should place you in good stead so long as you have a head for nights and take your time. Remember, it's always scarier (and often more difficult) coming down!

good luck!

[DaveNoble]

I think my video shows some of the technical difficulties. See -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IhmHUzeWAQ

Most of the Direct Ascent is an easy scramble. There is one section that is a little steeper and very exposed - but it quite short and the holds are very good - both the rock and the holds themselves. This is about 7 minutes through the video. But I think that the major difficulties are probably psychological - as there is a rather large void below. Climbing Luckmans Lead or Moss Ridge or the scrambles through the Four Peaks are probably technically a lot more difficult.

When I have been there, none of the parties I have been in have had any problems getting up the Direct Ascent (and getting down is no harder) - but the people in these parties have been experienced walkers in the Blue Mountains - and that means experienced scramblers. But I would not like to see anyone forced to climb it or laughed at if they turned back.

On the Direct Ascent - you do have to be watchful - looking for the ducks that mark the correct route - its easy to miss the small piles of stones.

Dave

[durks]

The general feeling seems to be that ropes take a lot of setting up and there's not great places to anchor anyway.

For what it's worth: on my only visit to the place (a trip where there were just two of us: me and my wife) I took - and used - a short rope (and a couple of slings and nuts) to safeguard the tricky sections. I had no trouble finding belays where I wanted them.

As Dave Noble has suggested, the difficulties are largely psychological, so what's necessary (or advisable) really depends on the experience of the party. However, it is definitely not a place where you would want to contemplate either a slip, or somebody having a panic attack.

I'm an experienced climber and alpinist, by the way.

[bushtucker]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for the responses - all invaluable.

We've done several bushwalks in NSW, mostly in the Blue Mountains and Budawangs. In the Blue Mountains, the most scrambling I've done is up to Mt Solitary (not hard at all) and in the Budawangs up to The Castle and up to Mt Owen. Federation Peak looks much harder (in terms of scrambling).

Do you have any suggested NSW-based routes (e.g. in Blue Mountains), which are good practice?

Also, I've heard that the Climbing Gully (Original Route) can also be done as an alternative to the Direct Ascent.

Best regards,

Daniel

[bushtucker]

Hi CasualNerd,

Thanks for the resposne and photos. Why are all the photos showing what looks to be big and heavy packs on the way up to Federation Peak? Why not travel lighter given you'd be coming back down on the same day?

Cheers,

Daniel

[Thylaseen]

Hi, Andrew & I used Chapman's notes for the trip. We didn't have any problems on the route, although as per the above lots of exposure, and depends how you cope with that.

I was thinking the same thing about the size of packs - from memory we just took a jumper, water, camera & some snacks.

One other thing I'd add - keep an eye on your entry point to the top and make sure you start the route down the right way. I've seen a few situations where not enough notice was taken and then not being sure which way to start back - this could be a problem somewhere as steep as Federation.

Trip report here:

http://www.andrewgaskell.com.au/bushwalking/november-2011-federation-peak

Photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/118621459@N03/sets/72157641540616124

[CasualNerd]

Hi CasualNerd,
Thanks for the resposne and photos. Why are all the photos showing what looks to be big and heavy packs on the way up to Federation Peak? Why not travel lighter given you'd be coming back down on the same day?
Cheers,
Daniel

A couple of the guys were abseiling / climbing other routes and took rope and gear, mostly it was just cameras and jackets in bags.