55m

6-7hrs round trip from Forbes Hut

Public access (via Helicopter to Forbes Hut)

Thank you to Alice Payn and Patrick Timm for the Topo and photographs.

Big 60 Canyon is a fantastic 3 star canyon in the Hunter Valley.

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You will ideally be based in Forbes hut (best to fly in to get to the hut) with many great canyons a stone’s throw away.

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We unfortunately did not get a lot of photos due to camera issues, but the few we did get should show the character of the canyon. We explored higher from our entry point but felt there wasn’t much worth doing above where we entered (720m roughly) as it’s just a bouldery gorge. The terrain got steeper towards the canyon rim and abseiling into the canyon gets harder as well. When we go back on a future trip we will have another look at the entry. For now entering at 700-750m works.

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The canyon has an awesome lower section with tight walls and back to back abseils and jumps into blue pools. Not all pools are jumpable so they need to be checked.

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The highlight after the narrow section is the big 60 waterfall, which looks much higher than it actually is when you walk in. When you are at this big drop, you will need to climb over the block next to the TL of the waterfall to reach a doubled bolted anchor. A V-thread anchor was drilled to protect and help facilitate this climb up. For a better pulldown, traverse over to your left even more to a perfect hangout ledge, which is also a great spot to get everyone into the sun. Here are 2 ring bolts as well and the pull down is much easier for this drop. 

Patrick Timm