Butterbox Canyon
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| | Raps:6-11, max ↨66ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger Rock type:Sandstone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Best season: | Nov - Mar
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-33.6304, 150.3981
-33.6301, 150.4020
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Introduction[edit]
Butterbox (a.k.a. Mt Hay) canyon is a very popular Blue Mountains classic canyon and is a great short day out. Its highlight is the "chockstone" abseil where you land on a large chockstone wedged between the canyon walls. The common exit features a ~15m Ewbank grade 16 rock climb requiring lead climbing skills and 5 quickdraws.
Butterbox is regularly run by commercial groups, and is a very good option if you have some canyon experience.
The climb out can get very "busy". The cliff is hot, some participants are stressed by the exposure and the climb, while others are frustrated by the pace of those ahead of them. Please maintain considerate and safe behaviour.
Quality[edit]
- The canyon is rated 6 out of 10 on the Brennan Quality Scale.
- David Noble rates the canyon 4 out of 5 for quality and Medium-Hard for difficulty.
- 2 stars (regionally significant) in the French Federation of Mountain Climbing (FFME) grading system
Water levels[edit]
- In typical conditions Butterbox is a2 to a3
- The catchment for Butterbox is approximately 5 km²
- The canyon features a narrow shoot (P8 in the canyon topo) where all water is funnelled through. This concentrates the water and in higher flow into a powerful jet. In higher flow conditions (after significant rain) this feature may require implementing more advanced SRT canyoning techniques to safely navigate e.g. a guided rappel
- A very inaccurate but sometimes relevant reference can be taken at the Grose river gauge a long way downstream with a ~668 km² catchment. >400 ml/d (4.63 m³/s) usually means some heavier rain somewhere in the valley. It can take >12 hours for the gauge to reflect events in Grose's headwaters
Approach[edit]
By car[edit]
- Park at Mt Hay carpark as per above
- The dirt road to the carpark is easily damaged by rain and use-related wear, and may require an AWD/4WD
- Check Mount Hay Road for closures/current road conditions
By foot[edit]
- Refer to the GPX via Gaia GPS (Gaia app not required - allows you to download the GPX file from browser)
- Route and waypoints in the GPX file are approximates only! GPS tracking in canyons is notoriously unreliable.
- The entry is a short well worn path
- In the attached canyon topo the canyon starts with the technical down climbs straight after the "trip intentions log"
- The entry down climbs may require "spotting" of your team members and passing packs
Descent[edit]
Proceed down canyon referring to the Butterbox Canyon v4a2III canyon topo for details on problems you will encounter along the canyon
- P8: some parties report difficult pull-downs if you allow the rope to work itself into the V-groove between the wall and chockstone. Test your pull-down prior to the last person on P8.
Exit[edit]
- River right, about 20m downstream of the last abseil (P13)
- Start going up the obvious small gully for a few meters, then turn left. As of 2025 there's a slightly-overgrown but visible track that follows the cliffs NW, NE through a steep gully, then eventually turns SW (up at arrow) towards the climb. About 45 min at a slow pace
- Following a small cave, the exit route includes a rock climbing section that requires lead climbing skills and has 5 fixed hangers and double ring bolt belay at the top
- The ~15m climb is approximately Ewbank grade 16. It is split by a large ledge, needs lead climbing skills
- After the climb, turn right then up the short steep gully, which can be quite loose
- The non-climbing exit involves following the creek down to the Grose River, walking upstream on the Grose to the Blue Gum Forest, and then up the Lockley Pylon Track back to the Pinnacles. Rarely done nowadays.
Red tape[edit]
- Butterbox/Mt Hay canyon is commercially run
- Due to it's popularity the canyon will often have multiple parties in it on the weekend. Be respectful of other parties and if possible let faster parties pass
Beta sites[edit]
- Mt Hay Canyon - OZultimate.com
- Mount Hay canyon exit - The Crag
- Butterbox Canyon - NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
- Butterbox - Descente Canyon
Trip reports and media[edit]
YouTube.com : Richard Pattison, Mount Hay Canyon movie
Background[edit]
David Noble says: First descent probably by an Institute of Technology Bushwalking Club Party in the mid fifties (Bob Holmes et al). This was prior to a descent by the Catholic Bushwalking Club in 1958. The CBC had tried to go up the creek in 1952 and explored the area from below. On one trip, they forced a pass up Butterbox Point - this may have been the same pass found by Tom Williams on a trip with Bob Sault and Dave Noble and others in Dec 77.
A trip report of the first confirmed ascent of the now standard exit can be viewed here (led by Tom Williams on Christmas Eve 1977): https://www.subw.org.au/archives/press-on-regardless/mt-hay-canyon/
