Australian Geographic — May-June 2017

100 Australian Geographic

Federation Peak

1225m

Bechervaise

Plateau

Lake

Gasto

n

base camp

access trail from

Farmhouse Creek

Trailhead

Bushwalkers Route

to the summit

(partly obscured

behind Federation Peak)

route taken to bottom of

Blade Ridge

Blade Ridge

420 m, Grade 17

North West Face Direct

220 m, Grade 18

Lak

e

Pay

ens

FEDER ATION PEAK

It’s not the highest mountain in Tasmania, but

Federation Peak’s sharp spire and high cliffs make

it the state’s most desirable summit for serious

climbers looking for a technical challenge.

CARTOGRAPHY BY ROGER SMITH

FARMHOUSE CREEK

TRACK

In good conditions,

this 19.2km access

route to Bechervaise

Plateau is manageable.

But in mid-winter, with

overflowing rivers and

heavy packs, its deep

mud-pits make it

almost impenetrable.

Hikers reach the summit

via Bushwalkers Route,

a severely exposed and

occasionally near-verti-

cal treacherous scram-

ble. In early 2016, only a

few months before the

AGS expedition, an

experienced bushwalker

took a fatal 150m fall

from here.

BUSHWALKERS

ROUTE

TALLEST CLIMB

Two tough Grade 17

vertical ascents – Blade

Ridge and the North

West Face – combine to

create Australia’s tallest

vertical rock climb. The

Winter on the Blade

expedition took the

slightly shorter but

technically tougher

Grade 18 North West

Face Direct route.

Key:

Simon and Olivia

filmed and

photographed

from here.

Dan hung from a

rope here to film

ascending climbers.

Key:

Key:

PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: OLIVIA PAGE; OLIVIA PAGE; ANDY SZOLLOSI; SIMON BISCHOFF