Mt Lindesay - Vidlers Grave and Chimney

These notes are for research purposes only, and I don't encourage anyone to traverse around Mt Lindesay unless very experienced and comfortable with steep, sheer, dense, and difficult terrain. This is an exploration route for Vidler's Grave site and Chimney. Video to come - stay tuned.

My original intent for this adventure was basically to circumnavigate the entire baseline of Mt Lindesay from the southern end, and in an anti-clockwise direction with a hope of seeing Vidler's Chimney. I really did not think Vidler's gravesite cross was there any longer and believed it was destroyed or washed away.

Parking at end of Old Mt Lindesay Rd - enter by the left gate and follow the farming paddocks to the double gates of the National Forest - this is the QLD/NSW border line.

Follow right and the border fencing goes up, and up, and up. It becomes extremely steep. At the top you will see a distinct 90 degree bend at the fencing, and a yellow reflectorised dot on the corner metal post. The Southern ascent entry point is here, you will see a path going into the bush towards Mt Lindesay.

Following this trail, and at points you will see the border fencing, often broken and damaged. This is an extremely steep ascent but the easiest and fastest way to get to the base of the southern cliff line. Took me around 1hr and 10mins to get from the carpark to the southern cliff base.

Just to the left is the "tourist" route up to Mt Lindesay. Don't take that to mean easy... it's for experienced rock climbers only. Just to the right you will see a memorial plaque for Ross Sinclair Miller (obviously a climber that perished here) on the cliff wall and a fixed anchor point next to it.

A little further to the right is the secret Yowie Cave. Don't get too excited, it doesn't go in too deep. From here I began wrapping my way around the eastern side of the mountain taking in the breathtaking sheer cliff walls of this beautiful beast. So much geology here I was foaming at the mouth. There is a faint trail but that doesn't last for long.

The reality is that the eastern side is an extremely difficult and rugged side to traverse... the terrain is honestly tough. There are loads and loads of Gympie Gympies, so keep your eyes open. I went fairly high up and close to the base of the eastern wall, and even past a segment I'll call 'the Wet Wall' due to the droplets of water falling over the upper cliffs here. Quite beautiful actually. However, I came to a point where it simply drops off about 10-15 metres, and there was no way further here. I had no option but to turn back, and find a safer route down where I was able to continue on. The lower terrain is still very steeply sloped but I was able to continue.

I came to a place that is a large OPEN SLAB that goes up to the base of the cliffs again. I remember this OPEN SLAB from my last visit here when originally searching for Vidler's grave site. I continued northward as best I could, and soon came to where I believed Vidler's Chimney was located. I continued upward in that direction, and sure enough, it was that rocky crevice. It was still a good 20 metres or so upward to the very base of the chute, and this part is extremely steep and loose. I was slipping and sliding all over the place just trying to scramble up on very loose soil. Quite dangerous actually. But up I continued until I reached the very base of the chute, and there I took in the sight, both below my feet, and above my head.... thinking of how Edwin Lyle Vidler perished here on 26/12/1928 trying to free solo climb up this route. Descending down was basically a landslide downward, but I managed to stay in control. If I can give a word of warning here.... even getting to this Chimney/Chute section, it is high and treacherous terrain. Do not take this lightly!

As I came to the bottom, I simply took a moment to read my surroundings.... and then I saw it!! I saw a white cross. My heart began to beat faster, and faster. It was small from where I was standing, and extremely camouflaged with the bush foliage, but it was the cross I had been exploring for on my previous expedition here. I made my way carefully to it (still very steep terrain here), and there I spent some time paying my respects to this young man. Vidler's Grave Cross is white, and is made of what I think is aluminium, with a gold plaque pop-riveted in. It is a bit loose in the rocks in which it is embedded, but it obviously won't be washed away. The grave itself is simply a bunch of rocks piled flatly. On 1/1/1929, a small funeral party made their way here and a funeral ceremony was held here for Vidler.

I had not expected to find the grave site.... now I had achieved something in my mind, I felt.

I continued on, and the terrain seemed to become even more difficult than before (I had forgotten just how hard this was to traverse here). I made my way up to the North East Cliff face. A marking which looked like "ER1" was etched into the stone on this wall. I believe climbers might abseil down via this face.

I continued down from there and circumnavigated around the lower north eastern side which is extremely steep. I had to calculate carefully the placement of each of my steps here to prevent myself from falling. This was mentally fatiguing and slow. Everything is overgrown here, there is no route and no easy way. Keep this in mind. I finally wrapped around to the North face. I had planned to traverse all the way from the north face here across to the north western wall, but as I assessed the terrain... I determined that this was even more steep than where I had just come from. I simply couldn't traverse across safely here. So I proceeded to descend the Northern Ridgeline, and at this point I realised I'd been hiking for around 5hrs straight, and was getting gassed. So my objectives now changed, no longer to circumnavigate around the cliffs (because I would have to descend quite a lot, and then go westward, and then upward once again - which would be about another hour, and then then traverse the north and north western wall which I've done previously and is easier for sure than the eastern side)... but rather to simply return to my start point.

Coming down the northern ridgeline is extremely steep and every single footing needs to be done carefully right until the very farm fenceline. Once across, I traversed to the right and following the fencing across farming land. The fence stops at some point and a deep creek gully needs to be crossed which is absolutely deep and filled with thick lantana. I followed it downward until I located a passable point and then followed it up and over numerous hills, and cow trails until I finally reached my start point. Took me around 1 hr from the northern ridgeline exit point at the fence to reach my vehicle. On this eastern side there are simply spectacular views of Mt Lindesay, breathtaking.

Once again I will stress, this is not a mountain for hiking. It is extremely difficult, and extremely treacherous terrain, and I don't encourage anyone to traverse it unless you are extremely skilled with this kind of environment.