General

Devil’s Peak comprises several outcrops of moderately angled granite slabs on the hillside to the east of Yau Tong, guaranteed to test your technique and smearing ability. Three main areas have been developed to-date, namely the Main Wall, The Lost World and Lingnan Slabs.

Access

From Yau Tong MTR make your way to Ko Chiu Road and then the road heading up the hill opposite Ko Cheung Court. Head up this road for about 50 m before taking a concrete staircase that puts you on the footpath to Lingnan Temple. Stay on the footpath, passing the temple and continuing up the hill until the trail makes a sharp right turn. Continue up the path another 50 m or so after the sharp turn until the hand railing on the right stops, at which point you head right and on to a dirt track that contours the hillside and leads you to the slabs in about 5 minutes.

Routes

Lingnan Slabs

Garden Wall

1) Double Tap * F6a
F.A Francis Haden & Brian Boyd (2020)

2) Silent Witness ** F6a
F.A Francis Haden & Brian Boyd (2020)

3) Unnamed ** F6b
F.A. Unknown

4) Visions ** F6b+
F.A Francis Haden & Brian Boyd (2020)

5) Unnamed ** F4
F.A. Unknown

6) Common Woe Be Done F5
F.A Francis Haden & Brian Boyd (2020)

7) Devil in the Peak * F4
F.A Francis Haden & Brian Boyd (2020)

8) Disregarding the Rules F4
F.A Francis Haden & Brian Boyd (2020)

9) Unnamed F6b+
F.A. Unknown

9) Unnamed * F6b+
F.A. Unknown

Main Slab

1) Flake Away F4
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2019)

2) Snapped * F4
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2019)

3) For Rich F5
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2019)

4) For Poor F5
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2019)

5) Slabair F4
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2019)

6) Unnamed ** F4, F6a+
Pitch 1: F4
Pitch 2: F6a+
F.A. Unknown

7) The Fog of War *** F4, F5, F6a, F4, F6a, F5, F4
Pitch 1: F4: A long and lovely pitch that leads you up the easy angled slab to a belay beneath a short headwall at its crest.
Pitch 2: F5: Climb the headwall above the belay before making an easy rising traverse to the left to a couple of belay station options beneath a short steep wall.
Note: If climbing with a 60 m rope and using some slings on the traverse near the top of the pitch, this section can easily be combined with Pitch 1 – just pre arrange belay signals with your partner in case communication is lost.
Pitch 3: F6a: Climb the short steep wall, initially by jug hauling until these run out and a more delicate approach is used to gain the large ledge above.
Pitch 4: F4: Walk to the back of the ledge and then move easily across the base of the large slab (the purists will avoid the trail and stick to the rock) to reach a bolted stance on the left of the face.
Note: Again, this pitch can easily be combined with Pitch 3 for those not fussed about chilling out on the large ledge.
Pitch 5: F6a: The best pitch of the route. A fine exercise in padding your way up a lovely slab.
Pitch 6: F5: Traverse right across the face, pretending the dirt trail 2ft beneath you doesn’t exist, before heading more directly up via some easy climbing.
Pitch 7: F4: Scramble your way up and right to reach the final bolt belay.
Note: Pitches 6 and 7 can easily be combined too, so you can knock this off in just four pitches if speed and efficiency is more pressing than a nice relaxing outing.
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2020)

Abseil Descent Option:
For those not wanting to walk off it is possible to abseil back down the line, noting the following:
1. The distance from to top anchor to the lunchtime ledge is a full 50 m, so you’ll need two 50 m ropes (60 m would be better and safer) to cover this distance in one go.
2. The belay station on the lunchtime ledge is appalling to abseil from and requires herculean strength to pull your ropes due to the friction it creates, especially if going all the way to the belay at the end of Pitch 1. The anchor at the start of Pitch 5 gives a better option, but requires more of a diagonal line during the descent. Alternatively just make a short abseil to the start of Pitch 3 and then an additional rope length to the top of Pitch 1 from the ram horn anchors.

8) Verbal Abuse * F6b+
F.A. Francis Haden (2019)

9) Fighting Torque * F6c+
F.A. Francis Haden (2019)

10) Pincer Movement F6c
F.A. Francis Haden (2019)

11) Crack Attack ** F6b
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2019)

12) Unnamed ** F6a
F.A. Unknown

13) The Enemy Within ** F6b+
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2019)

14) Skidwal * F5
F.A. Francis Haden & Jimmy Purssey (2020)

15) A Tale of Two Temples F4
F.A. Francis Haden & Jimmy Purssey (2020)

16) Unnamed * F6a
F.A. Unknown

17) Unnamed * F6a
F.A. Unknown

Quarter Slab

1) History of Drilling F4
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2020)

2) Rock to Recovery F4
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2020)

3) Social Distancing F3
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2020)

Terrace Tier & Upper Tier

1) Control is an Illusion * F6a+
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2020)

2) Slash and Drill ** F4
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2020)

3) Unnamed ** F6a
F.A., Unknown

4) No Factor ** F5
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2020)

5) Unnamed ** F6a+
F.A. Unknown

6) Shed in Order F5
F.A. Francis Haden & Donna Kwok (2020)

7) Unnamed ** F6b+
F.A. Unknown

8) Up in the Air ** F5
F.A. Francis Haden & Brian Boyd (2020)

9) Unnamed F6a
F.A. Unknown

10) Unnamed ** F5
F.A. Unknown

11) March ** F5
F.A. Francis Haden & Brian Boyd (2020)

12) Complex *** F6b
F.A. Francis Haden & Brian Boyd (2020)

13) Shot Caller *** F6b
F.A. Francis Haden & Brian Boyd (2020)

14) Partisan Lines *** F6a+
F.A. Francis Haden & Brian Boyd (2020)

15) Ready and Waiting ** F5
F.A. Francis Haden & Brian Boyd (2020)

16) Use of Lethal Force *** F6a
F.A. Francis Haden & Brian Boyd (2020)