Climb Mt Beerwah

like the other posts have stated, this is a pretty hard climb. The is a lot of room for error and this can cause injury or possibly death. would highly recommend the climb – great view from the top. i am not the fittest person on the planet but managed to make it to the top in 1h 35m.

Great climb! I was honestly not expecting much of a climb but found out very quickly that if you were not careful you could fall a few hundred metres down the cliff face!!! lol Was great at the top and I am already thinking about doing it again!!!!

How hard this is depends on your fitness. Having said that, I’m not that fit and I did it! Definitely easier to do it with someone who has done it before. Don’t do it when the rocks are the slightest bit wet – you’ll slip and die!

Coming down is a lot easier than it looks.

Took me 2 hours return trip from the capark.

Tip#1: Buy some Dunlop Volleys (shoes) with rubber (not synthetic) soles. They grip like glue on these rocks. About A$40.

Tip#2: Don’t look down (until you get to the top).

Tip#3: Follow the (faded) painted yellow marks on the rocks, even when you think you can see an easier route!

It was supposed to be just another regular outing for our group. We were 9 of us. And only 1 had ever climbed Mt Beerwah earlier. The rest of us didnt have a clue of what was lying ahead. None of us had any mountain climbing experience and we all decided to climb Mt Beerwah – apparently the toughest in Queensland.
By the time we reached our destination it was already 11 am. The sign board there read “For experienced climbers only – 3 hrs”. We assumed we would do it in 3.5 hrs and be back home by 6. Some of us were already tired climbing the steps with the railings to the base of the mountain. Watching me struggle in the very first jump where i wondered whether my shoulders would be able to take my weight, 4 backed out. So only the 5 of us (Anirudha, Meenal, Sandeep, Prakash and myself) ended trying to climb Mt Beerwah.
It took us almost 2.5 hrs to reach halfway, near the limestone caves with Meenal stuck at one point for almost 25 mins and me at another for 15. I was in an embrace position at that point where i got stuck with nowhere to go and finally had to ask help from one of the climbers on his way back down whose way i was blocking.
Believe me there is a beach up there near the caves, ofcourse minus the waves. After catching some breath we continued further. The upper portion of the climb wasnt as intimidating as the lower. And we finally made it up there at 2:45 pm. It was all worth it. The view was just amazing. We could see Goldcoast, Brisbane City and Sunshine coast towards the horizon at different angles. We had run out of water and had to ask our fellow climbers to spare a bottle for us to which they luckily obliged.
Our way down didnt take that long. Having left the top at 3 we reached the base by 4. Had to take help from some professionals towards the bottom.
I had sworn never to climb Beerwah again as i was quite scared at a few points where i got stuck. But i guess i might end up doing it again due to the sheer adrenalin rush it gives you. Its a real test of endurance and determination. Not advisable to people suffering from vertigo.
Loved it …. definitely recommended.

A fantastic climb, weather perfect, visibility outstanding today. I could easily see the skyscrapers on the Gold Coast two hours drive away. It is a different world up on top, the flora seen only grows on the mountain. The shrubs look like bonsai specimens, tiny flowers all over the place. Believe it or not, there is a long white beach half way up! Not kidding!

Required:

-enthusiasm
-0700h start
-good level of fitness and strength
-proper climbing boots
-tough pants for sliding
-broad-brimmed hat
-2 litres of water per person
-fresh fruit

The picture demonstrates the grade of this climb, nearly 60% in places, so zig zagging is a must. Crab walk down where possible, save your legs for the descent, use handholds always!

A group of us headed at 8:00am this morning to tackle the looming glass house mountain ‘Mt Beerwah’. From a distance the mountain looked subtly small in the vast landscape however as we neared closer, it became all the more pronounced and daunting.

I had always envisioned a bushwalk and never took into account the possibility that it was in fact ‘mountain climbing’. The mountain was preceeded by a 400m stair-clad walk which managed to tire us completely before we even began. Then, as we emerged from around a rocky corner we came face to face with the huge mountain looming over us.

The first short burst uphill was a sheer rock face and several other people were attempting to climb with limited success. I started climbing one of the harder passages of rock and find myself to be quite fast and lightfooted. I think one of the biggst challenges about rockclimbing is your mental condition, it’s not so much about your physical fittness as it is about courage and total disregard of fear.

I was the first to ascend the initial climb and within 15 minutes, was joined by the rest of the group with the exception of two members of our party who had decided to go back. Most of the mountain was in fact ‘mountain climbing’ without a short burst at the midway point of the mountain where we traversed across the range.

The peak of Mt Beerwah presented us with magnificent views of the surrounding glasshouse mountains and sunshine coast district… it was beautiful! We took the opportunity after our two hour climb to rehydrate ourselves and bring out the chocolate for a revived energy boost.

The climb down the mountain was equally as challenging for it presented our legs with a new challenge of utilising unused muscles. Much of the way we lowered ourselves down with our hands putting much emphasis on the placing of our feet on the sheer rock face. There were parts of the terrain however that allowed us to walk down, though again we had to make sure our feet were firmly secured on the rocks.

I avoided injury of any form until the end descent when I took too eagerly to the bottom 2 metres of the mountain. The rocks were very sheer and there were very few pockets on the steep face where I could secure my feet. Rather than proceeding carefully to ensure my feet were secured, I hastened to lower myself down, missed my footing – my back leg slid out from under me and I started sliding with accumulating speed down the steep rock face.

Fortunately there was not far to fall, however even by that short spurt of sliding, the uderside of my legs were painfully grazed and below my knee caps my skin was torn and bleeding. At least I can say I have battle scars from the experience even if it means I can’t walk properly for the next week! :)

A great climb, would definately do it again!

One of the more prominent peaks of the Glass House mountains, I have been wanting to climb it for ever so long but have never put a plan in place to schedule it in. Standing at over 500m tall, Mt Beerwah is the tallest of the Sunshine Coast mountains and the summit of it reportedly boasts a magnificent view of the Glass House Region.

The climb is only 2.6km and is considered an ‘intermediate’ climb which doesn’t really give a lot of detail, however surely it can’t be that hard!