Mount Barney routes

[jetjackson]

A friend and I are looking to take a group of about 8 up to Mount Barney. I have the topo map and trying to plan our route. Looking for some advice from anyone who has done the climb on the route that I am looking at. Everyone in the group is fit enough to do the climb. Out of 8, 5 have done the Mount Norman climb with us in Girraween. Whilst not as steep as Barney it was a good stepping stone I think.

At the moment while planning route what I want to know is if it is possible to do the South ridge up to the East peak then track that back to rum jungle and the follow Barney gorge down to Barney gorge junction. Then camp at the junction and the next day walk down to through the lower portals and back around on the road to yellow pinch.

The reason we want to do this is to get the peak in on the first day and swimming on the Sunday. I was told that you could do the peak and then basically hop down through the portals to the bottom by a guy from Mountain Designs who has done the climb many times. So my main question is can you do the decent through Barney Gorge and what is it like? Has anyone done this one before?

[cams]

Can't help you with your plans for the second day but I went up to the east peak and back via the South Ridge 3 or 4 weeks ago. There is a report and some pictures on my blog. The track was easy to follow up to the saddle and not as exposed as I was expecting from reading quite a few reports. Alot of people seem to exaggerate a bit when describing this route. Don't get me wrong, it is definitely tough. But not what I was expecting. I imagine you'll need to get going reasonably early and keep up a good pace if your route down isn't going to be as well marked and you haven't done it before. You can always camp at Rum Jungle if you think you're running out of time. It is quite spacious but with 8 people you might be pushing it if there are others camped there already.

[isoma]

Hi jj,
The route you describe is certainly possible, but to be honest, I think for a first trip to Barney you should keep it pretty simple. With a group of 8 carrying camping packs you will find that the first day you describe will probably take around 10 hours. Its a 1000m ascent from where you leave the cars, and it will be about an hours walking from the car before you begin the route up South Ridge/Peasants Ridge. Without packs most groups will take around 3 hours to get to East Pk from here. To start the descent of Barney Gorge from East Pk will also take about an hour. Going down Barney Gorge with packs will be a pain in the bum with rock hopping and scrambling around waterfalls (mostly dry). It is, however, a nice camp spot at Barney Gorge junction with Barney Ck. To get to the Lower Portals from Barney Ck campsite most people would ascend the ridge to bypass the actual Portals which you would need to swim and scramble through otherwise. The plan to walk from Lower Portals back around to the cars doesnt sound like much fun at all and if its a hot day you will really be feeling it by then.
An alternative for a first trip might be to basecamp and do separate day walks to East Pk via South Ridge on one day and walk into the Lower Portals for a good, relaxing swim on the second day.

[Rod]

Agree that this would seem a very ambitious day !
Most parties are happy to get back to the rum jungle and rest for the night-it is a fantastic campsite as well.
If you scramble a little of the way up the west peak at sunset the views are fantastic.
Enjoy.
Rod

[jetjackson]

Thanks Isoma, Cams and Rod. I think that could be the go. Originally we wanted to camp in the saddle but both those spots are booked out. However I had heard that my plan above was possible from a guy at MD's and he made it sound easy. So I wanted to get some opinions on it. I would be confidant in doing it if it was just myself and my best mate as we are experienced and fit. However as the leader of a group of 8 fear/negativity spreads quickly and I need to have the confidence in what we are doing to keep the group confidence and spirits up.

I think Isomas suggestion could be the go. Setting up camp at the base of the south ridge and then doing the summit on the Saturday to camp at the base overnight. Then walk out and drive around to do the lower portals walk for a swim on the second day. That means that we could take basic provisions for the climb and reduce our packs to 5-6kg weight for that part of the climb.

What are your thoughts on taking a group of 8 up and down in 1 day?

[isoma]

Yeah, no problems jj - I've seen groups twice that size going up (not ideal though). But it will still be a long day, with more time to linger on the summit and think about your "next Barney".
Even though South Ridge is the "easy" way up it is still a rough track with some minor scrambling here and there, and whilst pretty easy to follow I have come across groups that have got separated or disoriented in the saddle on the way up to East Pk. Map and compass should be taken.
Have fun

Now you've got me daydreaming about my "next Barney"

[jetjackson]

Hah hah, thanks Isoma. Yeah I will get the crew up early 5am start from my house to arrive at Yellow Pinch around 7am to try and get to the peak early. I will keep discipline in the crew to make sure nobody is left behind. Will add pictures and notes when we have finished up.

I have a spot locator/garmin/compass and map just in case.

[Widgee]

I would only do South Ridge as a descent. As an ascent route the walk in time is both long and tedious with the views unrewarding compared to SE, Logan's or Eagles. If you haven't already done the walk as described I would recommend an ascent via SE with a descent via Rocky Creek or if Barney Gorge is a must, use it as the ascent with a descent via South or better, Rocky. However, SE, while faster, has several scramble sections and more airiness than South. That said, if you are proposing to descend the Gorge in a season that has had good rainfall, take care. SE probably is the least of your worries. Come to think of it, Rocky Creek would also be problematic after some good rain. Anyway, let us know how you went.

[Phil Box]

I wouldn't be going anywhere near any of the gorges/gullies on or near Barney until the weather turns drier. Stick to the ridges.

[jetjackson]

Thanks for the advice Phil an Widgee. We have opted to leave out the Gorge and just ascend and descend peasants ridge on the Saturday and make camp at the base. Will also call it off if the weather is what it is like today. However forecast at the moment has the weather clearing on Friday so we will see. Playing it by ear and playing it safe. Will report back with pics on Monday.

[Widgee]

Hopefully going up SE Ridge tomorrow with a South Ridge descent if the rain holds off. I'll let you know how the South Ridge descent goes.

[farkewie]

Hi There,

I LOVE Mt Barney. I first did Logans Ridge with overnight packs (by mistake), then northern pinnacle lastly I did SE ridge. Every time i went i descended via peasants ridge.

SE is a really nice walk, not too exposed but still fun.

Have also been to Lower Portals HEAPS!!

Enjoy your walk!

[Widgee]

jetjackson...just arrived home from Barney. Very long day with commute from Gympie, starting 4am. It was a difficult day. Weather was not good. Very wet, cold and windy on the upper parts of SE Ridge. East Peak and West Peak and just about everything 50 metres in front of us was clouded in. Still a great day. I'll try to post a couple of photos if I can figure it out. In regards to your Saturday planned ascent with o/n packs. South Ridge was surprisingly dry on our descent. I was a little concerned after the ascent of SE being so wet. We had no problems coming down. The small chimney was dry and the slabs also quite dry. The saddle had lots of water running. Rum Jungle was very wet. At about 3pm the summit cleared for about 20 minutes and then clouded in. If conditions continue your views may be restricted. You will have to assess on the day I suppose. BUT, seriously, creeks descents are out.

[jetjackson]

Thanks Widgee! Yeah we are going to drop overnight packs near site 10 where we plan to camp and then head up with day packs to do the full return in one day. So for the hard part of the ascent we will only have 5-6kg packs. Forecast is for weather to clear on Saturday with an afternoon storm. This time of year tends to produce those repetitive perfect mornings with late tropical thunderstorms. Let's hope we do not get one of those.

[Widgee]

jetjackson

Forgot to mention before that we had a bit of trouble descending from East Peak to the saddle. Because we had limited visibility we couldn't make out West Peak, North Peak or any of the details of the saddle from a distance. We strayed off course on the saddle descent. Thankfully we picked up the running water and headed for that. Also of note is that the vegetation has really gone ahead. I haven't been up for a couple of years and really noticed the difference. Tracks are less distinct coming off East Peak which is a good thing unless you can't see the saddle or any other landmarks. SE Ridge looks like it isn't getting much traffic. The South Ridge track is still distinct. We had to fix about three of those orange markers coming down South Ridge. Someone appears to have deliberately pointed them in the wrong direction. We took a 20 meter length of rope going up SE today because of the wet and didn't regret it. Lastly, we also came across two snakes. One near the top on SE and one coming down South. Apparently they were pythons. Still, scared me half to death. Especially the one on SE. I nearly stepped on it during one of the tricky sections. Never seen two snakes on one day walk.

Anyway a few photos attached.

[Widgee]

Hi There,

I LOVE Mt Barney. I first did Logans Ridge with overnight packs (by mistake), then northern pinnacle lastly I did SE ridge. Every time i went i descended via peasants ridge.

SE is a really nice walk, not too exposed but still fun.

Have also been to Lower Portals HEAPS!!

Enjoy your walk!

farkewie,

I like the Logan's Ridge o/n packs by mistake. That must have been interesting. Even with a day pack that has some hairy bits. No turning back after a couple of bits on that ridge. I haven't been up Logan's for many many years, maybe 15. Can anyone tell me if that tree is still there that you have to scramble up?. Anyone done Logan's in recent times?

[cams]

We took a 20 meter length of rope going up SE today because of the wet and didn't regret it.

Just wondering what you did with the rope? This is probably a stupid question but I read in track notes everywhere that you should take and use rope when ascending tricky bits but I don't understand how you can use it to help you ascend? Or does one person simply have to get up first without it? ta

[isoma]

Widgee,
the tree is still there - though starting to show a bit of strain. Logans Ridge is also not that much harder coming down than going up. Its a pretty quick, direct way to get back to the cars ( if you're confident with scrambles).

[Widgee]

Or does one person simply have to get up first without it?

cams

We used the rope for pack hauling and safety in a couple of spots. He had a couple of young fellows that we didn't want to lose. And yes, one of us did scramble up with the rope. Not really an issue on SE. At the end of they day it was for piece of mind for a couple of nearly 40 year old guys.

[Widgee]

the tree is still there - though starting to show a bit of strain. Logans Ridge is also not that much harder coming down than going up. Its a pretty quick, direct way to get back to the cars ( if you're confident with scrambles).

Thanks isoma...good to hear that gnarly tree is still alive. It is etched in my memory for some reason.

[Phil Box]

Just one thing that is extremely worthwhile doing when doing any route on Barney and that is to check in with Innis Larkin at Barney Lodge. Tell them what route you'll be taking and expected time of arrival back at base. Give them some contact details as well and a plan in case you have to do an emergency bivvy.

[jetjackson]

Thanks for the photos Widgee.

So all went well with our trip up Barney. Apart from the weather which was very poor. We drove down and arrived about 7:30 am to reach campsite 10 and set up camp. Left off from there at about 9 am and started the climb. It had not been raining so by the time we got to the cracked slab and the chimey it was still dry. Some in the group found the ascent to about 600m quite hard. I think maybe this is because it is not so much stop/start climbing which happens at a slower pace but a steady incline. I made the rule of no complaining until 800m altitude and everyone sucked it up and by the time we got to 800m there was no complaining anyway... in fact everyone found it easier after that. I found it was easier to reference everything by altitude on this hike/climb and the chimney/slab parts on the south ridge are between 700 and 800m. The rest, while straining on the thighs, is not all that difficult.

We reached Rum Jungle about 12:30 and sat around for 15 and then went for the summit. There is no one trail to the summit it seems, more a twisting of 3 or 4 rat trails as you make your way to the top. It had started raining about 1100m. It got quite cold on the walk to the summit with the wind coming up the ridge with the wind whipping rain against us. It took us over an hour to reach the summit. We stayed for about 10 minutes before deciding it was too cold and turned back for Rum Jungle. I can now understand what some people say when they talk about getting disoriented when descending the summit into rum jungle. We had about 15m visibility due to the cloud cover and could not see where we were headed. You could follow signs of disturbance in the grass but with all of the exposed rock it was easy to lose trails. I was relying on the GPS and checked back to it about half way back down the summit to find we had drifted about 50m to the right of our original track to the summit. I was glad to have this and we tracked back to our original track. This was the only point of the day when I was concerned about our direction. We got back to Rum Jungle at 2pm where a couple of groups had set up camp. We spoke to them and they had ascended through Barney Gorge. They said it was quite hairy at times and they were lucky to get most of the way up before it rained. We moved on after 5 mins chatting as we did not want to waste time. It was now raining quite hard and I was getting worried about the chimney/slab. We reached the chimney at about 3:45ish. There was another group that we had been averaging the same pace as descending. In that group we met a chap, 65 and told us this was around his 60th time climbing the mountain. He also had his wife with him, 71 years old, plus daughter, son-in law, grandaughters etc. His wife of 71 was having a bit of trouble descending so we ended up tackling all these parts together. I had a 10 metre rope which we tied to a tree at the top of the chimney. This only went about 3/4 of the way down and to reach the bottom of the chimney you would have needed about another 6m of rope. They had some more rope and we used combinations to get down. It was not impossible without the rope but for some of the shorter, less coordinated people in the group it made it easier. It took us an hour to get everyone from 800m to 700m altitude through these two parts safely. Particularly the 71 year old who had was at the end of her tether with exhaustion.

We got back to camp site 10 about quarter to 6. We all ditched our wet clothes and got dry, cooked up some freeze dried meals and got stuck into a few bottles of wine. Sunday morning we ditched the idea of swimming at lower portals on account of the poor weather deciding that it could always be done on our next Barney trip. We jumped in the cars and stopped at Rathdowney pub for some lunch before heading back to Brisbane. Over lunch we started planning our next trip. We are looking at a more extensive trip into Girraween and Sundown National Park in a few weeks.

All in all a good weekend. We are very glad that we did not take our o/n packs up the mountain and just camped at the base instead. Photos to come. I will also post up the elevation and other data points that I gathered along the way.

[maxicoley]

G'day,
We are planning an ascent of Barney on Logan's East ridge after climbing the South Ridge a couple of weeks ago.

I've done quite a bit of scrambling in Scotland (Cuillan and Aonach Eagach) and so from various trip reports of the east ridge I think we should be technically ok.

I was just wondering if anyone knows where I can find a decent route map and in particularly waypoints in getting to the climb from the carpark. (is yellowpinch the right place to start?)

Any advice would be great.

Cheers
Dave

[jetjackson]

From my research Dave I read that you are best to ascend the South East ridge and descend South due to difficulty descending South East... someone else who has done South East such as Widgee above would be better placed to comment.

[Widgee]

jetjackson,

Never a dull moment on Mt Barney. Glad it was a good weekend and you got back safe. I was visiting relatives in the Tamrookum area yesterday and couldn't see the top half of Barney and was wondering how you faired. Looked like similar conditions to those we had on the Thursday. I'm starting to get the itch already for another walk. I'll have to stop reading this thread. Logan's Ridge is starting to gather some momentum. But I want to knock over Fountain Fails from Binna Burra before my holidays are over.

[Widgee]

G'day,
We are planning an ascent of Barney on Logan's East ridge after climbing the South Ridge a couple of weeks ago.

I've done quite a bit of scrambling in Scotland (Cuillan and Aonach Eagach) and so from various trip reports of the east ridge I think we should be technically ok.

I was just wondering if anyone knows where I can find a decent route map and in particularly waypoints in getting to the climb from the carpark. (is yellowpinch the right place to start?)

Any advice would be great.

Cheers
Dave

maxicoley

Sounds like isoma has done the route more recently than me. It's been about 15 years. My memory of the ridge (besides the tree, the exposure, and the upper scramble) is pretty vague. It is a fantastic route. Direct, steep, amazing views and relatively fast. I wish I was 20 again. I haven't done the route as a descent. I remember thinking each time I did Logan's that I never wanted to use it as a descent on each occasion. I can't obviously help with GPS coordinates. In regards to the start off point I think access has probably changed. About 3 years ago, a mate and I walked up the gorge and descended rocky creek. We traversed south to the lower section of Logan's and headed in an easterly direction until we hit private property. We didn't want to across private property so headed SE to the Logan River and made our way out to Yellowpinch. Someone may be able to advise the current situation with access to Logan's Ridge which used to start from one of the crossings several hundred meters back from Yellowpinch.

[isoma]

I'm starting to get the itch already for another walk. I'll have to stop reading this thread.

I hear you there Widgee - a Barney adventure is never too far away from my mind. Still a couple of routes left to complete the set
As for access to Logans I'm almost certain you have to cross private property, and whilst it never used to be a problem, I believe things have changed. National Parks or the people at Barney Lodge may have more info here. As such, I wont post any access info.If you have the map though its pretty obvious where to go, its a very prominent ridge. One of the best routes on Barney.

[farkewie]

G'day,
We are planning an ascent of Barney on Logan's East ridge after climbing the South Ridge a couple of weeks ago.

I've done quite a bit of scrambling in Scotland (Cuillan and Aonach Eagach) and so from various trip reports of the east ridge I think we should be technically ok.

I was just wondering if anyone knows where I can find a decent route map and in particularly waypoints in getting to the climb from the carpark. (is yellowpinch the right place to start?)

Any advice would be great.

Cheers
Dave

Hi,

I did Logan's early this year and northern pinnacle later. Access is pretty easy I park about 100 meters past the cattle grid before yellowpinch, from here I jump the fence using a tree or sliding under being careful not to do any damage. you will see a fire trail head straight up, follow this and you will eventually come too a wire gate, go through this making sure it is closed properly, then a metal gate - from here you are in the NP, keep going and you will see another gate when you see it spin around and you will see the path leading off fire trail. follow the about 10 minutes you will see a cairn, this marks the turn off to Rocky Creek (norther pinnacle) if you need water take a run down here, I would just start with enough for the day.

now just of memory you just need to head start up the path, you will notice as you get hight you will get funneled in to the right spot, just stay high on the ridge.

A few points..

1.When you starting, if you come to a sign says #$%^$$ off private property you are in the paddock to the right, we just went to the next one over.
2.Take a rope, 10-15 meters. we had 7 meters of 7ml with overnight packs, it was pretty scary try to get the packs to a haulage position.
3. If it looks like rain ABORT, we didn't and some area are extremely exposed and slippery, When i say exposed I mean if you slipped the ONLY things to stop you is a lucky grab at a crack in rock or the slab 100-200 meters below, this is not an exaggeration.
4. enjoy - best walk/scramble iv'e ever done!! cant wait to do it again.

cheers

[Widgee]

I did Logan's early this year and northern pinnacle later.

farkewie,

what route did you use to North Pinnacle?

Widgee

[sef]

North Ridge is pretty straightforward - Rocky Ck has one steep slab that can be a bit messy.

You can also get up to the Isolated/North saddle very easily from the Rocky Ck side (5 years ago it was easier to come in from Lower Portals) and then head up Eagles to North Peak. Or walk the full ridge detouring around the few abseil points, or alternatively (again) an easy way up onto the ridge from Isolated/Toms Tum. If you can get up Logan's, you won't have problems on Eagles although there's a lot more navigation.

I miss Mt Barney... best mountain in Australia.