Mt Barney - West peak

An unusual approach to West peak. Winter 2021 #3 - A trip to West Peak, a lower variation of the usual route. Access via South ridge. Walking conditions : Tracks, footpads and interpretative navigation. Walk length : About 18 km. 1000m height gain. Weather : Mostly overcast and cool. Notes : West peak is the higher of the two main peaks. The fires of 2019 have cleared out a lot of the scrub for the moment, giving good access and excellent views. The peak is usually approached from the rainforest saddle. The usual approach has a pad along much of the way, but this disappears when large expanses of open rock must be crossed. It is easy to climb into dead ends in these places, so it is best keep a line of retreat available. The upper rocks allow access mainly in two places, and in this trip the summit is approached through a gully on the right. Previously having noticed a line of yellow tape traversing beneath the set of rocks which are normally climbed, I was curious to see whether this was a viable route. The route did get through eventually, and was quite fun, but was trackless and less direct than the usual route. Again, take care on the mountain, the routes are long and arduous, the elevations huge, and hurrying never seems to help. 0:00 Beginning 0:25 2 minute ascent of South ridge 2:51 Rainforest saddle and the Hut site 3:52 Ascent to an open shelf 4:42 Shelf to yellow tape 5:18 Yellow tape route 6:20 Highest tape to the footpad 7:38 Pad route to access gully 8:12 Access gully 9:17 Summit rocks 9:34 Summit 10:30 descent to gully 11:10 Gully 11:37 Descent to outcrop 13:27 Outcrop to rainforest saddle 14:25 Rainforest saddle 15:56 Descent to South ridge obstacles 17:50 Left route in lower bluff 20:50 Descent to track head 21:19 end