Mt Barney - Logans ridge

Winter 2021 #5 - A one way trip up Logans ridge, observing the route and its features.
Walking conditions : Tracks, footpads, scrambling and short climbs.
Walk length : About 7 km one way. 1000 metre height gain.
Notes : Logans ridge is a very direct route to East peak. Half the route is scrambling, and many steep, exposed sections are passed (and crossed) along the way.
New title info...
Due to changing conditions every year on the mountain, this video is now a little out of date. Of course, we will find all the rocks in the same places, but the scrub is another matter. In recent visits (Autumn 2023), I have noted the following alterations :
There is a new gate at Yellowpinch to enter the paddock land. Thanks to all involved!
On the forest walk beyond the track head sign, the highest section (just before the first rocks), is very overgrown. (650m)
Above here, but below the slab top lookout, a tree has fallen into the top of the steep gully that contains the footpad, and is very awkward to get through. (720m)
At the slab top lookout, the large tree that provided welcome shade has fallen across the slab tops and must be clambered over. A sad loss. (760m)
Higher up, in the awkward gully, there was a pile of deadfall in the gully head, just before the cairn, and it has been removed. Thanks to whoever did that. (790m)
From the knoll top, in the section that leads to the climb to the notch, the scrub has become very overgrown, obscuring the footpad, which is probably the only viable way. (860m)
The ridge is fairly unchanged beyond there, all the way to the short wall above the chimney climb. From there, the scrub is very thick all the way to the highest knoll, and the footpad is practically indiscernible. (1170m)
Finally, this video makes Logans ridge seem easy, but that is not true - the ridge is hard yakka, and a full body workout. Good luck up there!
Original title info...
This is the beginning of guide territory, and they are definitely worth considering. A guide can provide huge amounts of know-how, especially on a first trip. Mt Barney Lodge have tons of expertise, and their people are always on the mountain. (Not an ad!)
This was the first successful ascent route by a European person, and I still marvel at how Captain Logan got up here on that day in 1828. It is one thing to follow the foot pad, but to actually find the way up here would not have been easy. He sighted Mt Warning from the summit (Mt Warning had mainly been seen from the coast), and that knowledge, along with the river catchment sources, helped to place the QLD/NSW border.
If you have ever been on the mountain and realised that your fitness is inadequate (perhaps the legs have gone to jelly), spare a thought for poor Charles Fraser, who accompanied Logan on that day. Fraser ascended for much of the way, but couldn't keep up, and had to stop on a high knoll, leaving Logan to continue on without him (Logan was apparently a very strong climber).
The unfortunate chap managed eventually to descend to the support party, and from there had to be assisted back to camp. This would have made Mr Fraser the first recorded person to find that there is no easy way to climb Mt Barney. But that honour was already taken by Logan himself, because in the previous winter he had unsuccessfully tried (twice) to climb the mountain from a northern approach.
Information interpreted from a biography of Patrick Logan by Charles Bateson.
This is an incredible ridge for those who enjoy this type of thing. Take care to plan well, a shower of rain would make things very uncomfortable up there.
0:00 Beginning
0:21 Track head to the North ridge cairn
0:58 Cairn to the first rocks
1:50 First rocks to the first slabs
2:46 Slabs to a lookout
3:56 Lookout to a gully
4:36 Gully to a left turn
5:08 Climb to an obstacle
6:11 Letterbox obstacle to a knoll top
7:15 Knoll top to a ledge
9:32 Ledge to the Notch
14:06 Notch to the ridge crest
15:52 Ridge crest to a chimney
18:03 Chimney to a short wall
19:03 Short wall to the highest knoll
20:10 Highest knoll obstacles to an angled sloping rock
23:48 Angle sloping rock to the summit
25:11 East peak summit