Crag Review: Paradiso

Down on the Tasman Peninsula, nestled away underneath Mt Brown, is one of my personal favourite sport climbing crags of all time: Paradiso. It is very aptly named, because for any sport climber this crag is in fact, Paradise. Fantastic holds, textured and grippy wave textured dolerite, brilliant lines, plus a mind blowing setting adds up to one of the best sport climbing experiences you'll ever have. It is absolutely unforgettable.

The first thing that hits you when you step out of the car at the Remarkables car park is the atmosphere of the place. Straight away you can see and hear the waves, feel the cool sea breeze on your face, and look out over the bay, and see Cape Raoul staring back at you. A relaxing 40 minute saunter down the Mt Brown hiking trail leads you to the top of a little escarpment with a pair of bolts used to rap in to the crag.

One of the things that is so brilliant about Paradiso is its layout. The left side of the crag below the rap in has a cute little collection of short easy to moderate routes that you can warm up on, which are all great routes in their own right. Shock Wave (21) ★★ is a brilliant overhanging and technical arete climb that packs an unexpected punch, Aftershock (19) ★★ is a great little pumper that keeps you engaged and Spongebob (22) ★★ is a lovely delicate sequence of underclings and smears unlike anything else I'd tried in Tassie.

After finishing up there, you can then move on over to the main climbing area, a jaw dropping amphitheatre of granite with gently overhanging routes of up to 50m in height! And it is amazing the amount of 3 and 2 star climbs packed in to such a small area.

Tim surveying the main amphitheatre.

Watching the crashing waves between climbs. Mesmerizing.

The view of Cape Raoul from Paradiso. The Royal Navy used to use it for target practice in the late 1800's. They stopped due to the outcry by fishermen, locals and early conservationists.

Once you get into the main amphitheatre the classic keep coming and they don't stop!

Too Tall Oxen (22) ★★★, Offender of the Faith (24) ★★★, Sultan of Sweat (25) ★★★, Total Recall (27) ★★★, it keeps going on and on.

Ten 3 star classics packed in to one little crag (Not mentioning all the other two star climbs). It is incredible, and they all deserve it. Beautiful long technical sequences of underclings, ear lobe jugs, pinches and layaways.

Personally I didn't get to experience most of these, as they're a little out of my grade range, but from what I did try I had a hell of a time. Too Tall Oxen was the perfect sustained 22, like the yellow 22 you'd find going up the Thunderdome at Urban Climb Blackburn. Perfect jugs all the way up a gently overhanging wall. Thunderbirds Are Go (my very first 24 redpoint!) started off with a great spanning sequence of sharks tooth underclings and knee bars, which went in to a great delicate face. Offender of the Faith was a super sustained layback sequence that deserves the Tassie tiger in the guide. I can only imagine how much fun the harder climbs would be.

Eddie gazes out to the Azure while belaying Nico on Amnesia (22) ★★

Tim having a rest on the punchy undercling sequence of Spongebob (22) ★★

Nico on Amnesia (22) ★★

It's me! Pulling the crux on Supercharger (23) ★★.

The crag is very close to perfection. However, perfection is easily spoiled. The best time of year for this crag is around summer, as the weather down on the peninsula can be quite volatile at times. Even in the middle of January, we had times where we would try to climb on the ninch and it would be hailing and storming, we'd have to divert to sand river for the day.

The waves cause another issue. Being right by the waterside, if the tide is too high the waves can easily come all the way up to the wall and sweep you away. You have to be sure to check the height of the tide before you go. It can come all the way up in to the top of the amphitheatre sometimes. You also have to wait until the tide is very low before you can access some of the climbs on the right side of the amphitheatre, such as Too Tall Oxen and Ready Steady Go. It can be a bit frustrating at time.

Then there is the dreaded SPOOGE. Sometimes after a frosty wet morning the holds can sort of get this weird slippery spoogy slime on them, that makes them totally unusable. Usually it clears up pretty quickly after the face gets a bit of sun, but sometimes it takes until the afternoon to be useable! Not ideal.

Although these are factors to consider, generally if you just check the tides and the weather before you go you're guaranteed to have a smacking time in the summer. It honestly doesn't get any better than this for sport climbing in Australia.

Micko taking in Tasmania's great natural beauty.

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Pros:

• Relatively easy access on built hiking trail.

• Fantastic quality of routes, packed in a small area.

• Incredible atmosphere and beauty.

Cons:

• Most of the great classics start at about grade 24. If you aren't climbing at that grade there is still plenty of great climbs to do, but you won't have as much to do.

• The climbing conditions are a bit fragile. Check weather and tides before you go.

Routes to try:

• Shockwave (21) ★★

• Too Tall Oxen (22) ★★★ (Must Do!!)

• Supercharger (23) ★★

• Offender of the Faith (24) ★★★

• Sultan of Sweat (25) ★★★

• Thunderbirds Are Go (24) ★★★

• Retrograde Amnesia (25) ★★★

• Total Recall (27) ★★★

• Deja Vu (28) ★★★

• Captain Jack (30) ★★★

Final Consensus:

Paradiso is the ultimate sea cliff sport climbing crag, there is no better place to go in Australia for this experience in Australia. You'd be able to take full advantage of the crag if you were climbing around 27/28, however there is still a couple of days worth of climbing even if you're only climbing up to 22! The surroundings are so beautiful it is worth it just to take in the atmosphere alone.

Just be cautious about the weather however, and check the tides before you go. Rogue waves can come every now and again even if it looks totally fine, so keep your things up against the wall and away from the water (I've learned that the hard way!). The big ledge just below Spongebob is perfect for keeping your belongings up and out of harm and provides a bit of shelter from the sun when you're having your lunch.

Take in the sun, smell the sea breeze and enjoy watching the crashing waves exploding up into the air in the amphitheatre and getting the cool sea spray. I cannot stress enough how much fun this crag is.

Riles - 05/09/24.