Mountain Project Logo
To save paper & ink, use the [Hide] controls next to photos and comments so you only print what you need.

Agamemnon

5.5 PG13, Trad, 150 ft (45 m),  Avg: 3.5 from 28 votes
FA: Speedie & Stone - 1964
International > Australia > Victoria > Mt Arapiles > (1) Southern Crags > Atridae

Description

This is the photogenic chimney tucked up in the Atridae and visable from The Pines. Back and foot and full-body stemming will get you to the top in one or two pitches. Wonderful, fun climbing.

Protection

Standard rack. Placements are spaced.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Ryan Kelly on Agamemnon
[Hide Photo] Ryan Kelly on Agamemnon
Stemming the void.
[Hide Photo] Stemming the void.
Looking down from the belay.
[Hide Photo] Looking down from the belay.
Looking up the route.
[Hide Photo] Looking up the route.
Wendy enjoying Agamemnon - a memorable moderate!
[Hide Photo] Wendy enjoying Agamemnon - a memorable moderate!

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Jeremy
Boulder, CO
 
[Hide Comment] This may have been the hardest 5.5 I've ever done. I seem to remember pulling a heel hook over a bulge. Feb 13, 2008
Ryan Kelly
work.
  5.5
[Hide Comment] I don't know about any heal hooks, and I don't really have any idea about the grading either - so different from any type of climbing I've done. Regardless, great fun, great views, and great photo op. A must do if at Araps. May 20, 2009
sibylle Hechtel
Silverthorne, CO
[Hide Comment] A pleasant shady climb for a hot day. It's ridiculously hard for 5.5, but I thought that almost every climb at the Araps was absurdly difficult for its rating. Jun 5, 2009
Nate Ball

  5.6
[Hide Comment] It was getting dark. Got to the ledge on the right side wall in one pitch and tried to step over from there, but didn't want to tear my groin. Instead of continuing up the crack and stepping over higher, I just down-climbed from there, since my belayer didn't want to follow it.

Absurdly difficult for 5.5? Maybe. But the protection is all there when you need it. As with most routes at Arapiles, the pitches are easily combined.

My advice: near the top, do not aim for the chimney/slab exit, but instead for the arete left of it. Apr 11, 2016
Dave Baker
Wiltshire, UK
 
[Hide Comment] Technically easy climbing but insanely committing up high.

Short person beta - bridge across the chasm, face down, and Superman your way up to the hero holds.

Tall person beta - thankfully I could use this one! - keep chimneying on up with your back to the left hand wall, until you can reach behind your hips for the hero hold at the top.

The climbing feels improbable, but it's on grade for an old school 11 (around 5.5 or 5.6). I'd compare it to entrance crack or head jam in North Carolina for somewhat similar difficulties. Nov 10, 2019