Mt Barney West Peak

Mt Barney National Park

Straight up the west peak. The track is a goat track at best. There is the occasional piece of tape in a tree. You probably will get lost. But its not that hard to find your way. One tip is at the big rock face, aim towards the left end (south but not to south as there is a very big cliff). Also a good idea to take a compass bearing on the way up, as white outs are common up here.
The summit is scrubby, with a pile of rocks to mark the highest spot on Mt Barney (its higher than east peak). Head to the the northern end of the peak for amazing views to the north and west.
Even if you dont intend on climbing the whole way up. Do yourself a favour and go a little way, as the veiw up East peak is amazing. Totally different aspect of this incredible mountain.

Getting there

How do you get to the start of the walk?

Start up the slippery rock, directly behind the rum jungle camp site. Then follow your nose

Maps

Which maps cover the area?

Route/Trail notes

A detailed description of the walk!

Permits/Costs

Do you need any permits? What's the cost?

Other References

How can I find more info? Any guide books?

Comments

What a fantastic walk, I did it via South Ridge up and down, I will add a GPS track. If you can stay on the track from Rum Jungle campsite it's pretty straightforward.

samkramer on 22 Jul, 2023

Climbed the East Peak first via the South-East Ridge. Then descended into the Rum Jungle and ascended the West Peak from there. Descended the West Peak and got back to the car park via the South Ridge.

FB on 9 Apr, 2023

Slow introductory hike up Barney through the South Ridge summit route. First 3.5 - 4 km run thru very easy trails through management tracks and it gets progressively harder and steeper from there. I would like to think I'm pretty fit and can easily do long, flat 20~ km walks but the ascent well n truly kicked me butt! Took us 11 hours as a group with many many breaks along the way.

Spring wildflower season highlights: Pink rock orchids were in full bloom. Heaps of bulbophyllum colonies but not flowering atm. An unrealllll amount of sundews in little patches of red on the rocky ascent near the peak. Pink and purple masses of misc wildflowers that I can't identify brightening up the scramble 🌼🌼🌼

rb on 27 Sep, 2020

Climbed west peek via Peasants ridge. It is steeper and harder to climb than the East peak, but definitely worth the effort.
The walk is about 17km and took us about 10 hours with breaks

Olly on 24 May, 2020

Savages Ridge to West Peak, return via South Ridge

I did this walk via Savages Ridge, direct to West Peak. Savages Ridge is an unmarked route, with a softly visible trail through the brush occasionally. Often there is no trail at all. I mostly used GPS to ensure I was on the right track.

The incline is actually gentle (relative to other routes) for the first half of the way up. Then there is a lot of steep scrambling to get to the Savages Knoll. The Savages Knoll is a truly unique spot - a razorback ridge from which you get amazing perspectives on both West and East Peak and views out to the West across the McPherson range. The Knoll joins with the summit cliffs of West Peak. After pushing up through thick vegetation you come to the Savages Chimney just below the summit. This is not as steep or precarious as I had thought it might be (relative to other routes on Mt Barney) but a misstep could be very serious so great care is required. I was there in dry weather and I'm not sure I would have continued in wet weather without a rope. The summit is just above the Chimney.

Returned down to the saddle Rum Jungle and via South Ridge back out the ordinary way.

Dan456 on 28 Jan, 2019

Always felt cheated that I missed climbing it back when I did the East peak so came back to set things right. South Ridge was very easy to follow with frequent arrows (still recommend GPS to be safe). May as well pocket said GPS when you head up the West Peak because it's a maze of tracks that all lead to the summit. The top is a lot less open than the east peak, but has plenty of little outlooks to check out the view. No harder or easier than the eastern peak in my opinion. I believe it's only 3 meters taller! Took me 6.5hrs from carpark to carpark with some time at the summit. Saw a lot of skink like creatures, most likely skinks. And saw a snake as well (slipped underneath a log and I wasn't game to pull it out to identify it). Very quiet today, didn't see a single person.

Vonsnrub on 10 Jan, 2019

South ridge to west peak and return via south ridge

Peregrine on 12 Aug, 2016

Done

Remy Run on 3 Feb, 2016

Awsome views. Well worth it

Pardo on 10 May, 2015

Nice hike. Went down the peasants track on the way back.

SabrinaBlaas on 2015

This is my favourite mountain/peak in Australia.

The steeper and harder of the two peaks - there is a rough and intermittent path leading from the saddle to the summit. It is very easy to lose however, and you should expect a fair level of bush bashing and short segments of rock climbing if you do not manage to stay on it. I do the two peaks at least once a year and almost every time I go up I end up climbing a different way. The view is not as grand as from the east peak, but fewer people attempt it and it feels much more secluded. Most people should allow at least an hour for ascent from the saddle.

General access info:

There are different ways to get to the west peak but I will give the most straight-forward:
Follow Upper Logan Road until it becomes a dirt road and, turning right at a fork just after a cattle grid and near Mount Barney Lodge camp ground, you cross a creek and arrive at Yellow Pinch Picnic Area carpark. From here follow gated 4WD road uphill until there is a gate and fork with the route to Yellow Pinch going uphill on your right (which is worth doing as a quick detour). Continue left and then downhill and follow track for approximately three to four kilometres through pastures, over a ford, and into forest. There is a well-signed and obvious turn-off to the right to ascend via Peasant's Ridge to Mt Barney's saddle. The route to the saddle is obvious and linear, however there are a few small sections requiring rock scrabbling on the way up and so caution should be taken in the wet.

MDWL on 14 Oct, 2014

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