General
The Mount Parker area is a collection of buttresses and crags situated on the north and east facing slopes of Mount Parker. although these buttresses had been spied by many over the years, it was not until Bob Moseley and Renée Mullen made the effort to undertake more detailed exploration in 2018 that any real development got underway.
A PDF guide to the climbing areas can be downloaded here
At present, Mount Parker includes three distinct climbing areas, namely:
Mount Parker Crags: Two prominent buttresses situated beneath the Air Traffic Control radar stations on the summit of Mount Parker. The approach may be (very) long, but trust me, the climbing is worth it with face, corner and arête routes ranging from long and easy to desperately thin and hard.
General Rock: Two crags (General Friction Slab and North Flakes Tower) approximately half way up the east facing slopes of Mount Parker offering a variety of mid-grade routes.
Garden Buttress: A small and more easily accessible crag (still a good 30 mins hike though) offering short technical routes that are great for a quick afternoon work out.
A full PDF guide to the Mount Parker Area can be downloaded here
Access
The best access route depends on which of the crags you plan to visit, with the individual approaches shown below:
Mount Parker Crags: To paraphrase the Beatles, the most straightforward approach is to follow the long and winding road of Mount Parker Road from its start in Quarry Bay all the way to the ATC domes on the summit of Mount parker itself. When reaching the split in the road beneath the summit domes, follow the righthand branch to the end of the small man-made slope, where a small dirt trail leads you on to the slope crest and then down to the base of the upper buttress.
General Rock: From Yiu Tung Estate in Shau Kei Wan, head east to the base of a large man-made cut slope alongside the road. At the western end of this slope is a maintenance staircase that leads uphill to the top of the slope and a dirt trail that continues up the hillside beyond. Follow this to the catchwater before traversing west a short way to reach another footpath continuing up the ridgeline above and to the Watchman of General Rock itself.
Garden Buttress: This crag is best approached from the eastern end of Braemar Hill Road, using the trail starting at the Greenery Mini-Garden. From here, a collection of trails lead to Sir Cecil’s Ride, the Morning Walkers’ Garden, and the catchwater above this. The crag is located a short way along the catchwater.
