by Gary Williams

It was the morning of Tuesday 12th October. The weather seemed quite favourable. Paul and I called around for Darryn Fuller for a walk up to Pigeonhouse Mountain. While Paul had made the trip before, this would be Darryn's and my first visit. I had seen Pigeonhouse from a distance from various parts of the Budawangs so I was excited to be actually going to at last climb it. But along with all the excitement, there was a feeling of apprehension about those steel ladders I had heard and read about.

When we arrived at the carpark we could see the track leading up to this acclaimed peak. The track, leading straight uphill, looked daunting. "This was going to be a tough trek" I thought. The weather was still warm and we all donned sunglasses and hats before we set off. We decided to take our time and have rest breaks when needed. The ascent was energy sapping, this would test our fitness. After all, we Paul & I hadnít walked since the 5-day trip in May, and Darryn hadn't since last year. After a fairly hectic climb that left us breathless numerous times, we came across a rock platform that turned out to be a very good lookout offering magnificent views of the state forests below us. Here we had a good rest and our morning tea.

After recovering from our arduous climb, we set off again. Paul informed us that this next section of the walk would be a lot easier. He was right, this section was relatively flat and an easy pace was kept, also with plenty of trees shading the track and sudden cloud cover appearing, we were able to dispense with the hats and sunglasses. We were going along quite nicely, enjoying the flat terrain, but soon this would come to an end and we would again have a strenuous uphill climb waiting for us. When we reached the point where the track again ascended steeply we took a short rest to prepare ourselves for the climb to the base of the peak.

We kept our eyes on the weather as the cloud was getting thicker, but it really wasn't a concern just yet. This last steep ascent consisted of a number of steps cut into the track which really tested our legs, if they werenít already suffering. Eventually we reached the wooden bench at the base of the peak. We were almost at the top. After a short rest at this bench we continued our ascent. We scaled a short wooden ladder and scrambled up a short rocky section, then followed a narrow track along the edge of a cliff and round a sharp corner to a sight that was quite chilling to say the least.

Here, we could see a number of steel ladders set into the side of the mountain. They actually traversed a rock fracture that goes right to the summit. These ladders looked very threatening and I couldnít get my mind off the very first ladder we had to negotiate. It wasn't the longest of the four, it's just that it appeared to be secured only to the rock face by very thin steel rods. I kept thinking to myself "surely after years of use and thousands of climbers, these rods must be coming loose by now. What if I was halfway up and it gave way?" This was tough, this 'fear of heights' is pretty new to me and it takes a lot of courage, but we came this far and we had to finish what we started, especially after the energy spent getting to this point.

While I was building up my confidence, Darryn wasted little time in going up the first ladder. He then looked back down and remarked how difficult it was going to be coming back down. I really needed to hear that. Paul went up next, then it was my turn. I took my time going up, Paul told me not to look down, I didn't need to, my sight was set on the next section of ladder I had to climb. When I joined the other two on a narrow ledge between ladders I looked back to where I had just climbed and my heart almost stopped, all I could see was open space, with the tops of trees that looked like they were miles away down in the valley below. "How the hell are we going to get back down" I thought.

Worse still was the next two ladders. They seemed to continue right to the sky above, and to top it off they were very narrow. Darryn had already reached the top of these and was chatting to another bushwalker who was making his way down. He seemed to do it so easily, obviously fear of heights was not his problem. Paul and I joined Darryn at the top where we had a very giddy view of the ascent behind us. The last ladder was the easiest, only 6 foot high and we were on the summit. We followed a metal mesh walkway to the far side of the mountain and climbed a number of steps cut into the rock to the viewing platform.

The visitor's book was here and Paul wasted little time in writing a short summary of our walk here before we all signed our names. We had earned that right. From this point we had some excellent views of the valley below and the mountains to the west, these included The Castle, Shrouded Gods, Mount Owen and Byangee Mountain. Unfortunately no sooner had we reached the summit of Pidgeonhouse than a thick bank of cloud appeared and blocked out the views. Paul didn't even have time to take any photographs.

We decided to look for a spot to have lunch before the dreaded descent. The thick mist now swirled around us and we could hear strong winds howling up the valley, it was a big difference in weather to when we started the walk at the car park. We found a sheltered area for lunch. I must admit, I wasn't looking forward to meeting up with those ladders again, just thinking about descending them was spoiling my lunch break. On top of that we felt the first drops of rain. Not only was the bad weather ruining our views and our lunch, it wouldn't make our descent of the ladders any easier, imagine how slippery the ladders would be if they were wet, so before the rain really hit us we decided to pack up and make the descent. We really had no choice, we didn't want to be stuck up here.

Paul took the lead and went first down the ladders, he wasted little time in descending, he was so fast it was like he was born on a ladder. He was at the bottom of the 2nd last ladder before Darryn and I had reached the the top of the 2nd. I took it nice, slow and cautious, just like I climbed up. Darryn was last, he was really nervous. He was so scared his legs were wobbling like jelly. Paul didn't help, suggesting we stop halfway down the ladder so that he could take a photo, luckily his camera was in my rucksack, so no photo's of this section were forthcoming. Paul would have to wait until we descended the last ladder to take our photo's and as a final insult, asked me to climb back to halfway up so he could get a decent shot. We finally all stepped off the last rung, relieved we had made it down safely, and made our way to the wooden bench for a well earned rest break.

Although the mist was getting thicker and the clouds darker, the rain held off. In a slightly chilly breeze we took off down to the car park, resting only at the rock platform where we noticed that the top of Pidgeonhouse was now hidden behind dark swirling clouds, giving it a very eerie look. Our last steep downhill section to the carpark was uneventful. It was a shame about the weather, after the effort of ascending the steep track, then climbing up the ladders only to be met by a thick mist spoiling our views did put a dampener on our day. We plan to return next year, though Darryn is adamant he won't be joining us. I myself though feel I can summon up the courage to once again tackle the 4 steel ladders to the summit of Pigeonhouse Mountain.