The Trouble with Sisters – Climbing in the Blue Mountains

Up until a few years ago, most enthusiastic rock climbers could spend a leisurely day ascending up the west face of the Three Sisters at Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains. But with the ban put in place in 2000 by National Parks and Wildlife Services, to reduce the impact on this national icon, only a few climbers have had the privilege of climbing this piece of Australian history. Ironically most climbers deplore any unnatural damage to rock faces and abide by an unwritten code of conduct with respect to their environment.

The Three Sisters is a tourist hotspot and thousands of people visit this area of the Blue Mountains every year. But with the amount of scalable rock faces in the Jamieson Valley, the tourists often get a little more than they bargained for. During spring and summer a number of climbing groups flock to the Three Sisters for a day long expedition. The climb itself is not technically difficult, ascending about 280 metres from the base of the third Sister. For the novice rock climber looking for their first real adventure it is a good introduction to multi-pitch climbing.

The air is always crisp first thing in the morning in the Blue Mountains. But to get a head start on this popular climbing spot we decided to brave the morning dew and set out down the “Giant Staircase” from the top of the Three Sisters. As with most climbs, finding the starting point is usually the most frustrating part. Down a thousand stairs, up a landslide, scramble across some rocks, look for two “W’s” painted on a rock, and there you have it, or so the guide book says.

From the base of the third sister, we started up the first pitch which was more of a scramble over scrub and dirt up a chimney but not too exposed, for the inexperienced climbers among us. Although the climb itself is considered a grade 12 (5.6 US rating), you still need some degree of experience to place protection along the route for the rest of the group, and a reliable climbing partner bringing up the rear is the most valuable asset on any climb.

Climbing up the Three Sisters is always exhilarating for new climbers. Not only are you exposed to a number of diverse rock features that require a degree of technique, you are also being watched by hundreds of onlookers from the lookouts above. The morning sun is non existent on the west wall and it is usually not until about midday that things start to warm up. The second pitch consisted of a hollow corner that warmed those cold unused arm muscles.

Most of the climb is fairly straight forward until you get to pitch number six. A 35 metre slab, up a chimney, to a roof. The crux of the climb is revealed when you reach the top of the slab and it divides into a chimney with about a metre and half gap. A leap of faith from one side of the chimney to the other is what stands between you and a nice spacious ledge a few metres above. From the top of the sixth pitch you get a spectacular view of the Jamieson Valley. So getting to this point is definitely a highlight of the climb and a milestone for many new participants.

By the time we reach the seventh pitch the sun was already starting to go down, but we had no choice but to keep moving forward. A rule of thumb is that for every extra person in your climbing group you need to add about 45 minutes to the expected time it will take to complete the climb. However, we failed to adhere to this point on this occasion. There were seven people in our climbing party and it had slowed us down considerably. We were almost to the end of our journey but we were still one pitch, one abseil and one traverse away from safety.

Totally dark, on the east face we stumbled over lose rocks beneath our feet, ascending the final pitch completely free. The key to any crisis is to stay confident in your actions and capabilities. We managed to get through our first obstacle and the next bit was easy in comparison. We abseiled down the final ledge, the lights from the lookout and a few stars in the sky our only source of light. We weren’t prepared for the night, this was supposed to be a day climb. And then suddenly as the last of our group abseiled down between the second and first sister, a blue glowing light was heading towards us. One of the climbers from the group that bypassed us earlier in the day thought we may need some light to make our final traverse. Thank god for good climbing ethics.

The motivation behind getting through most situations or crisis is usually fear of embarrassment in the event we would need rescuing. Luckily we had experience and a helping hand on our side. With my newly acquired glowing blue light in one hand, I set a traverse rope for the rest of the group and as we came around the edge of the first sister near “Honeymoon Bridge”, we knew our adventure was over. Time to reflect on what we had done and how it could have ended up if we had to spend the night huddled together on top of the Three Sisters. Suffice to say there are only two of us from the original seven that are still getting up to misadventure in the Blue Mountains.