The crew arrived in waves at Mt Tibrogargan car park. First to arrive was the Keegan farm people and Nicole, her mum, Shane and Stuart. Despite a 9am rendezvous time, the first arrivals began at 8:15am and they decided to proceed without the second group.

The second group (Dennis, Jenesse, Mel Rose, Troy and Tom) arrived 20 minutes later. We saddled up, took the obligatory group photo at the entrance sign and marched up the 700m trail to the chicken gate rock wall. Two quick breaks were needed for the trail slog up though. Fitness levels were questioned, but a slight reprieve from the cardio exercise was just beyond the chicken gate.

A chicken gate is a 3m rocky wall that offers the uninitiated a chance to turn back to the car park. The way forward now ascends a steep, exposed rock slab where all limbs will be used. The only time the heart would be racing will be because of the fear factor.

Once over the wall, the second group caught up with the tail end of the first group. The going was a little slow ascending the mountain than previous encounters with Tibro. Perhaps it was because of the bigger group (over 15 people) and various levels of fitness. Several rest stops to relax and admire the views were needed before the whole group congregated on the summit.

The summit offered great views towards the east. A few of the adventurous (or crazy people as some said) explored the summit edge. The summit edge is an overhang. Directly below is a small cave which can be accessed via a southern rocky wall. Troy descended the wall and went into the cave before exiting north over an exposed 380m drop off section. He scrambled his way back up appearing on the northern end of the summit outcrop.

The group then split again. The first to start their descent off Tibro. The second waited 15 minutes before following. Towards the chicken gate the groups merged. Here the steepest part of the slab is encountered. So much easier going up isn’t it? Dennis, who brought along a 20m static rope, tied it around a small but sturdy tree and dropped the end of the rope which reached the thank god ledge above the chicken gate.

The remaining group that was still on the slab decided to use the rope as an aid to descend off the slab. Dennis went first as the Guinea pig to test the setup. Tom stayed at the top to retrieve the rope when everyone was safely down. The setup was sound, and soon Jenesse, Mel Rose, Shane, Stuart, Nicole’s mum and Nicole followed. Although the rope was handy, the slab still proved difficult for some and putting trust on letting go of solid rock to grab both hands on a rope was a mental exercise. Nicole used her climbing shoes which helped her feet grip footholds that otherwise would be overlooked in boots. Surprisingly, Nicole’s mum descended off the slab with confidence. Just like a Keegan, she did not wait (not even for her "Nicky") and kept going. The next time we saw Mrs Keegan was at the carpark. Nicole had some difficulty on the descent but found her footing to not require the rope at all.

The chicken gate was much easily negotiated than the slab. Although steeper it has many holds and is not as exposed.

On the trail on the way back, Jenesse lost her footing on a loose stone. This caused her to fall hard and immediately she clutched her ankle screaming that she heard something snap. Tom and Dennis were right at the scene and tried to comfort Jenesse. It took Mel Rose who in military style simply told Jenesse to "Stop panicking!" Jenesse calmed down immediately and upon self assessment said it might only be a sprained ankle and not broken. That was a relief. Shane and Nicole offered their ankle support brace and strapping respectively. Tom decided on the strapping and proceeding to apply aid to the ankle. Jenesse was able to stand back up with some support from the group and slowly walked the remaining 400m out.

At the car park, a brief rest and change of clothes was needed. The two remaining groups met back at Vecchio’s for some well deserved food and drinks. Mango pancakes, banana smoothies, passion fruit ice cream, coffee and hamburgers were ordered and scoffed down.

In Dennis’ car, the alphabet game was played. Troy was half asleep. Tom never stopped talking. Jenesse was nursing a sprained ankle. Dennis was watching the raod and traffic. During conversations, Mel Rose would blurt out of the blue the word she saw to gain her progress through the alphabet game. Despite a close game she narrowly beat Dennis (who was on "X") by yelling out "Zupps" when we were travelling through Zillmere.