Ascents of Blabbermouth

Logging done climbs from last 12mth

Great day out, quality rock and nice exposure for the grade. Linked pitches 4 & 5, no gear needed after pitch 3. 21 degrees and overcast, would not go near this on a hot day.

Access to El Scorcho

Fun day out climbing. Climbed variant crack but ended up at sunburnt P1 anchors so rejoined blabbermouth at P2 anchors. Linked 5&6.

A nice route with good quality rock. Linked pitches 4-5 to speed things up. Top pitch was an easy solo, with exposure. A steep walk down the main walking track!

Climb 12 of 50. Strung pitches 5 & 6 together. Had never climbed past pitch 3 prior to today, so was good to finish the entire route.

First two pitches to get to El Scorcho.

I always miss the first bolt on this pitch, it’s lower than I remember!

First ever trad climb

Pete lead the first two pitches with some mad long run out (definite ground fall potential on the first pitch). At the end of the second pitch short on time we decided to retreat to avoid climbing over some wet slimy rock. Still got some good views and fun in tho!

bailed after the second pitch. only started mid afternoon once the wall was in shade.

water runoff and big runouts made progress way slower than expected. wanted to avoid having an epic so just called it

Pretty much a sport route. Only need gear for first pitch.

Variant start

Cruisy day out with Ben to suss out the route as potential multi for the kids. We did the variant start, can't add much to Rob's very detailed description of the route. Only one thing for rap beta: if rapping with one 70m, don't skip any anchor if you weigh less than 50kg, rope won't stretch enough to get down to the anchor top of p3 (or p4?) 😅

Back to lead the route!

Gear beta: A single rack is sufficient, if you must bring doubles make them micros. Swap out the #5 (DMM) with a big hex.

Rap beta: If on 60m doubles, I’d recommend descending by linking 7-6, 5-4, 3-2, 1. On a 60m single you’ll have to rap each pitch.

This was my first mixed multipitch route and was an excellent introduction! Overall the route is very well protected with plenty of hangers where natural gear is unavailable. A 70m single rope will allow you abseil each pitch without issue. We started climbing the variant start at around 0715 and topped out around 1045 and were back on the ground at 1145.

Big thanks to Angie for taking me up and for being great company!

Pitch notes:

1. (VS) Easy climbing with good gear available at every stance.

2. The initial traverse of the belay is easy climbing and straight forward to protect. 5 fixed hangers separated by good cam placements.

3. A really fun pitch with solid gear protecting the crux and more than enough bolts either side of it.

4. Fully bolted with 6 hangers to the anchor.

5. Really cool corner straight off the belay. Slightly greater distances between bolts on this pitch are protectable with gear if you feel the need.

6. Starts steep, turns into a slabby walk about half way up. Bolts where you need them.

7. Solo to the anchor on a ledgey slab. Easier than caves route in my opinion. Small gear available on the left of the headwall if you feel you need it.

Thanks to the developers for the time, effort, and money that went into making Blabbermouth what it is: an excellent introductory mixed multipitch. It's a route I expect I'll enjoy many times, and gives me the confidence to tackle others!

Very enjoyable climb on a beautiful day! P2-P6 are very well bolted and not much gear needed. We started at 7 and got back to ground at 11h45.

Had to bail after the 4th pitch due to time constraints. Keen to head back and finish this one day. The NE Buttress area can be a bit of a head spin when trying to figure out which routes go where. Lots of criss-crossing of routes, branched off variants, etc. Had surprisingly cool weather for November.

Cant believe November conditions where great to climb the NE today. Run out of time to do the last few pitches.