Ascents in Boycetown

Has everything, slab, overhangs, exposure and a crux right at the end. Will be a tough tick but work it.

three coffees and i'm out of juice before halfway? technical, exposed, epic walking

Well!!! what a route, unreal.... long...one day, when i can climb more than 10mt without getting pumped stupid. got all the move except for the final moves,just stuffed.

False start 2. Scary scarce bolting above a ledge with no chalk = no thanks.

I have wanted to try this for years but I wasn’t feeling up to the challenge after the traverse so I bailed off to the 23. Another time.

Super techy climbing. Feeling pretty drained by this point, defintely jump back on if we ever return.

3rd shot over 2 visits, placing draws. Other than the nails direct start, this is about gr22ish to the roof boulder. The roof boulder itself is gnarly sequence, with a pumpy, committing finish.

6th shot total, and 4 core-shotting falls at the lower crux.

6th shot. Took me 4 laps to ever come up with a consistent sequence for the crux. 5th lap I went through the crux, and fell off the first stemming move... 6th lap for the win.

Incredible route, but probably not for everyone

Quite soft but fun

A monsterous quest involving many gambles. Quite fun and definitely memorable. I fell off half a meter below the anchor, after choosing to go the wrong way which was unfortunately very tick marked, very sad emoji. Beta for the top available on request I brushed those ticks off on the lower off.

Borderline classic. 2 shots. Had the beta for crux dialed but then tried what looked like neil's easier beta, no go when you dont have the span of an albatross.

1st shot today. Feet blew right at the crux and just caught the jug. Great route.

False start 1. Couldnt get past the 1st bolt. Broken hold?

Punted the crux move on the Onsight, came down, untied and did the route. Not that hard at 5 but well worth the admin at the start (which was fine) The water runnel above is all time.

Nice eod warm down. Bit tricky at the first lip but really fun and interesting climbing above. The top headwall is mega but I feel like I cheated out left of the bolts a little.

Thanks Jenga for the exploration/beta lap. Don't ask me what any of the holds are like. I couldn't feel any of them! Such cool climbing up through the water runnel.

Me to tired

Iron Curtain. (10m left of la Nina). The 1st pitch starts with a steep, thin finger crack to a ledge then up through a stellar horizontal roof crack. AWESOME climbing, funky moves (Grade 25- five stars, trad). The 2nd pitch is on some old carrots and is an interesting mixed pitch at 21 ending in a brilliant splitter crack. Four stars. The 3rd pitch another 21 on a bullet hard, steep, orange rock with a number of hand placed carrots. Three stars.

The new route is aptly called "Iron Curtain", a vestige of another era...

Can confirm this is definitely not 23 (25 per Hugh Ward’s description). Especially the overhanging tight finger crack boulder start with no feet (nuts and a 0.1). Bailed from the roof as it was taking too long

Wow. Intimidating roofs are tamed by the presence of buckets. The face climbing is just as good and makes for a great mix of climbing. None of the moves seemed hard but its somewhat sustained? Need another lap up it!

Dogged the crux, has anyone used the flake to the crimp or have you campused right and heel to cam mantled to the brain 🧠????

Above this is possible the best 20/21 in the bluies its a shame it has such a odd start.

Dogging your way through the crux is worth it for 25m of mega.

Think serendipitous and if you haven't climbed at serendipitous walls quit your job and go climb there tomorrow

Honestly the most bizarre first 10m of climbing but once you have beta it’s pretty cool. Stuck said weird crux then proceeded to pump off on jugs and turn the rest of the route into 10 v0s #LacticMike

blatantly dawged through the 25 crux start to get to the beginning of the all time classic 21 headwall.... yummo

Super anti style for me given it’s such a pumper so I’m chuffed

This undercling crux boulder is quite brutal! Didn't manage to get the crux sorted however climbed it and pulled on one quickdraw, making it a super mega 35m 23!

First Ascent!

4th shot of the day in the sun. Very powerful yet precise undercling boulder past rooflet.

They way I climbed this will be different from everyone else curious to hear other people's beta.

2nd shot. I only carried 2 draws through the crux, so climbed the top 20m clipping only 2 bolts.

A funky (but incongruous) start crux leads to a magnificient gr21ish headwall up cool grooves and scoops.

Originally attempted ground up. Took some falls, but was ultimately stymied by dirt and moss at the lip. Rapped in, cleaned 'er up, and went agsin. Took a huge lead whip right at the end on my 2nd shot, and sent 3rd shot on pre placed gear.

Repeat to do placing gear. Definitely scarier placing, as the best gear to protect the finale is grades harder to place on lead... so I just didn't place it. Wild cranking a roof boulder, way above gear, miles out in space.

Great! Not too hard at the grade, but bloody awesome. The low crux is just fun, but everything above it is mega at about gr23. Great rock, and pretty sustained. Might be my favourite route here.

A genuinely mega trad route, that should be on everyone's "classic cracks" list. The roof of the first pitch is all-time mega steep crack climbing, with great gear, and stacked moves all the way to the anchor. And yes, Anton Korsun they're actual crack moves

The 2nd pitch has a scary start, but otherwise is great crack climbing. I linked the pitch into the top pitch (which was rather gnarly, having only brought 3 bolt plates).

Pitch 3 has a very hard start through a rooflet, followed by pleasant facey rambling. IMHO, I'd suggest continuing up the grey slab to the top, rather than traversing out left to carrots. (I did the traverse, and just found it contrived.)

Regarding my 24M1 grading on P1:

I never managed to do 1 move off the ground (between the slippery righthand crimp, and the first tight fingerlock -which I can only just fit back-3 1-pad in with careful placement- with no feet) so climbed with the left hand pre-set-up, then up to the top (hence a point of aid off the ground). I'm not sure whether the collapse of the foot pedestal at the base of the route may be a factor, or whether I just have to concede that the start is too thin/hard for me. Regardless, doing it with a point of aid off the ground was still great climbing

I had some bad luck on the rest of the First pitch; breaking off a key hold, pinching a nerve in my hand so bad I had to drop off to recover, and taking a gear-ripping fall at one point. As such, my ascent was far from perfect style. Still, the fact I totally rate this crack despite these setbacks, is a testament to how good it is

Mega mega mega! Definitely one to add to the trad canon. Started up Boisterous then stepped right at the ledge as per FA and pulled the rope up and dropped it back down at the stance for drag purposes. All the bolts had draws on them but I placed all the trad on red point except for the two fixed wires that I hung the draws on during the send. I could wax lyrical but you should just go do it instead. Second go.

Fucking finally. The most anti Mitch climb I've ever done. 5m sideways campus into a heel hook and hand jam mantle to the brain. Urggghhh

Head wall is 4 stars at grade 20

On the warm up!

This climb is excellent.

Lil bit go go stop however the head wall rock quality is delicious

Brilliant route from James and Hugh! Deserves a whole lot more attention than it gets. With this, Harbinger, and La Niña, Boyce Town has some of the best under appreciated cracks in the mountains. Second go on the first pitch and then onsighted the upper two pitches linked together with Paul belaying on the ground. The first pitch is an amazing roof crack at about 24 that is unfortunately guarded by a pretty hard boulder off the ground (I do not know what grade it is). This should however not put you off! With one aid move or climbing in via a bolt to the left you can access the amazing upper crack which really is rad, or just do the move. The upper pitches are a bit shit and on shit bolts; either very old carrots or stainless bash ins. I wouldn’t really recommend bothering to do them. I didn’t enjoy the climbing and thought it was kinda dangerous; probably takes away from the quality of the first pitch. A much better thing to do would be to step right and finish up La Niña for sustained trad radness (or lower off). Because of rope drag and gear and general shitness and so I could rap clean the route, after pulling the steep section on the top pitch I climbed direct up the grey jugs instead of traversing left to the snappy orange rock for the last few metres. I think this makes the climbing less offensive and allows you to get to the tree belay on top in a way that means you can easily belay or rap. You can rap from this tree to the anchor at the top of the first pitch on a 70m.

interesting climbing, got lured out right at the crux on the onsight and couldn't do anything.

Pitch 1 only. Fantastic climb! My average sausage fingers could only juuuussst fit in the second lock at a precise angle, when I worked that out it was fairly easy to get through first crux. Second crux at exit went really well but I had to grunt.