Routen in Handi Gundi Betta

An old school route, and one of my best adventures yet. But the route isn’t popular because of the nature of its climbing. There are bunch of such routes littered around Bangalore, and to understand these routes from the lens of modern climbing, one needs to experience them.

There is limited protection on this route after the first 60 meters. And the belay stations are just good stances in large buckets or on ledges. Body belays are more efficient as there is no fixed anchoring for the belayer. Ideally, the route should be soloed, as all the roped climbers are at risk if the leader falls.

The approach to the route takes 40 minutes to an hour. Map to the following coordinates (12.735434, 77.311752), and look for a small temple to park at.

The base is overwhelmingly a jungle now about 20-50 feet deep. So, requires one to traverse across fairly exposed lower slab of the hillock from the west. An adventure in itself. Look for a fold in the hillock, with a crack running to its left. Else, navigate to the base using the images provided below.

Gear needed, 50-meter rope (there is no possibility exit at any point along the route), and two-three slings. A rack including ball-nuts and big bros, (if you so wish to). There is possibility to place pro, only in the lower 60 meters. And there after the rack is just additional weight.

P1: 5.6. 32 meters. 5.4-5 slab for the first 15 meters with a tree at the end of it, and then an off-width crack for another 15 meters. The off-width crack starts from further left, but narrows to a fist crack, just below the tree, and continues as an ‘arm-bar’ sized off-width crack. The crux is just before the end of the pitch. Possible to protect with double finger sized cams just before where the crack ends. Wide gear might be needed for anchoring, or climb beyond to the tree, for about eight odd feet from the crack, and use it for anchoring. The tree seems healthy, but the root system didn’t seem extensive. Hence, we didn’t use it for anchoring.

P2: 5.5. 30 meters. Angle mildly left of the tree. Slab with large buckets. Might take ball nuts, along the way to protect, and a fist sized cam in another location. Not much to protect in the second half. End of the 30-meter mark, a system of large buckets, allows for a belay stance.

P3: 5.6+. 45-50 meters. Slab with moments, and no protection. The anchor station is in a large grass patch on a ledge. Might take larger pieces at the anchor station. A horizontal band of wide crack running across, behind the grass.

P4: 5.5. 30 meters. Aim right of the nostril shaped cave, and then straight up. End of the pitch is relatively flat terrain (still slab, but relatively easy angled)

P5: Easy scrambling terrain. Walk right below the cacti, and then continue straight up to a large cave. 50 meters

P6: 5.6/5.7. 20 meters. Continue on the headwall to the right of the cave (5.7), or alternatively from the left of the cave (5.6).

To exit, walk to the end of the plateau, and angle left. You should hit the well- marked goat trail.

The route was explored and climbed between 1984-85 by Shyam Krishnakumar, Y Sathya Prasad (Shyam’s brother), and Gajendra, after initial explorations by Shyam and Gopinandan since 1983. There is another resultant route to the right of Dhani (right of the fold/gully in the rock) that goes up for about 40 odd meters up to the trees, and up to below the overhanging section, and then hits a headwall, climbed in a similar style. While Shyam has led ‘Dhani’ multiple times over the three and half decades since, the only other person known to have led the entire route is Raghu (Sreenanandan AV).

Shyam, turned 60 in Jan 2019, continues to lead this route, with sure footedness, and is probably one of the oldest if not the oldest active climber around Bangalore.

Bolted and incomplete route.

A Dinesh Kaigonhalli bolted route.

Bolted route.

The first known bolted route in Bangalore, created in 1989, by Philip Coquard and Dominic Danard, two visiting French climbers.

This is could be a fun adventure; locating Bangalore’s first bolted route, on the expanse of the Handi Gundhi Betta face.