Le Souef Peak

The Word: Esoteric.
The Crag Classic(s): There's nothing that great.
The Hidden Gem: It is worth bringing a beginner.
Best Season(s): Anytime through the warmer months except on the very hottest days.
Sun/shade: Sunny until mid-late afternoon.
Wet weather options: No.
Style & Length of Climbs: The routes are tricky for a few metres then ease off to long rambles. No bolts.
Guidebook(s): Mt Buffalo (Lindorff, Murray) Page 131.
Available Grades; Best Grades: 10 - 21

The Details: Really only worth visiting if you've climbed out a lot of the other crags.

Access: Park at what is obviously the carpark for the Cathedral. Walk away from the Cathedral, up the signposted path, for about 10mins until you reach the ridgeline. A decapitated sign indicates "Quiet Place" to the left and you should just be able to see The Sentinel ahead to your right. From here you have two options, both somewhat bush-bashy and a little scrambly: (1) break L off the track for 20m to reach some major rock formations leading up to the peak itself, then traverse R around the hillside, dense bush at first plus some scrambles, then an open rock platform across to the descent gully; OR (2) follow the main path for about 100m down the other (east) side of the ridge, and for about 50m past the turn off to the right to the Sentinel, then break L off the path and bash through increasingly dense bush for about 100m to the base.

Descent(s): A slightly scrambly gully is just L of Peaches en Regalia.

Described L to R.

The Sentinel is on the left, and that's Le Soeuf Peak slab on the right. The tourist walking track comes up to the saddle between them and keeps coming towards camera down the gully. That's the non-climbing side of The Hump in the background.
Nice alpine glade

Le Soeuf Peak zoomed in. Peaches en Regalia is marked at top and bottom, and the two access options are also marked (green = (1), blue = (2)).
Le Souef Peak

* Peaches en Regalia 25m 10 (OS)
What the hell, I'll give this a star - after all there's nothing wrong with it. Not a bad option for a beginner's romp, although if you want a toprope setup you need a second rope to extend the anchor down to the top of the "real" climbing so that your other rope will reach when doubled and won't have excessive drag. It starts at the base of the descent gully, with some nice, quite technical moves to get started. Then it's up the first crack/seam for a little way with some good holds, then some very good introductory smearing 4m across R to the main obvious crack visible in the photos above. This is easier but still quite pleasant and offers some pro so you can lead it too.

Some bumbly quivering across the smearing traverse on Peaches en Regalia.

� 2007 Will