Bunny Bucket Buttress and Hotel California Area Rock climbing 8 routes in area

Used to be a carrot patch for the sports bunnies, with an awesome final wall. Don't rap down Mirrorball, easy to jam your rope, use the rap station about 20m further right, with care (knot the rope ends!) Now it has rings all the way. Carrots are still there, so take some brackets if you need to share a belay. Don't go as a party of 3 unless you are experienced, it eats too much time. If you have a pack, haul it on the second rope if you're getting tired.

People have stupid epics on this all the time. Please read :- http://www.chockstone.org/Forum/Forum.asp?Action=DisplayTopic&ForumID=15&MessageID=26665&Replies=58&PagePos=0&Sort=#NewPost

Generally safe, but run-out at times, with a few loose patches of rock. Take helmets as belayers are lashed to small ledges and can’t dodge shrapnel. Take 2 50m ropes (for rapping down, or retreating), 16 draws and a few slings.

There is a blue emergency bin below Pitch 6, with some water, food, clothing, torches, and basic shelter. Don't call 000 just because you are benighted, so the police don't have to go out at night to babysit you. Please arrange to replace anything you use.To ESCAPE if you've had to retreat- see notes above! Basically walk back to Old Skool and down the ridge to the river, then back up the Pierces Pass track

ACCESS: It’s halfway to Hotel California from Mirrorball. Rap down about 20m R of Mirrorball pinnacle. Set up on Ubolts on wall at head height, 45m almost free rap to small ledge-walk left 6m to next anchor. KNOTS IN THE ROPE ENDS- TAKE PRUSIKS AND KNOW HOW TO USE THEM. Then a 45m free rap to the deck. Walk along the track to the right (facing the cliff). After 30m, drop down around the base of Old Skule (clean arete on next pinnacle) and go 70m horizontally right thru the scrub till you hit an orange buttress. Continue down a bit and about another 70m then (Red rope and BBB sign) scramble up and right to a ledge 15 m above the track, right of a chossy white patch, just right of a short squeeze chimney. Scramble up and walk right on the ledge till you see the bolts at the desperate boulder problem start. If you go down hill to a big fallen boulder, or see a 30m high black then orange corner (Randy Rabbit Ridge), or traverse beneath a choss cave, you've gone too far.

PRINT OUT TOPOS ETC AS YOUR PHONE PROBABLY WON'T WORK DOWN THERE!

1. 20m (18) Traverse out right and back left to flake, reachy. Up to ledge, 2RB.

2. 20m (18) Right and up seam and corner to ledge. Up a move and diagonally R to arete, then R to ledge and 2RB.

3. 40m (18) Up dirty slab and R across corner, traverse R to nose and up corner and nose to ledge. 2RB on block or walk R 8m to 2BB at base of wall.

4. 30m (8) A hard hands-free problem, diagonally R past bolts to 2RB on block further up or tree belay at the top of the slab.

5. 40m (8) Climb across ledges and walls (and a lot of bush...) past bolts to below orange overhang, L to 2RB below corner.

6. 40m (18) Up choss and head out L staying low under roof. This pitch can give bad drag, either sling the first 3 bolts to reduce drag or (PRO-TIP) bring second up to belay on second bolt and back up with a hanger on a carrot. Head up pumpy wall to big ledge. 2RB.

7. 40m (18) Up vertical pump and move L to layback move at top. Needs 15 draws. 2RB.

8. 40m (13) Left across ledge, diagonal L past bolts and across groove. Climb loose left wall to 2RB on top. Lots of rope drag.

TO WALK OUT after finishing the route: 3 options (marked on topo above):

1. Walk up the L side of the ridge for 100m to join the footpad heading L back to Bell’s line of road.

2. down top Mirrorball rap to Lunch Ledge. To get to the top of the rap go up the L side of the ridge for a few meters and then go L around the small gully to go back to cliff edge. Go west along the cliff edge to a small cairn above a short gullly, walk down to rap down Mirrorball to your gear at the lunch ledge (not when it's windy tho, easy to lose a rope).

3. If it's windy walk north near cliff edge for 200m to gully and down to Lunch Ledge

A more funky version of BBB, with a bit more variety, but pumpier and more climbing. If you waste time on belays this will take a long time. Start in big black corner leading to orange wall 20m R of BBB, and 10m left of a huge sloping boulder sticking out of the ground near the track. If you are benighted, go left to the Blue emergency bin on BBB around pitch 6. See notes on BBB.

1. 25m (19) Loose then up reachy corner. There are a few small chain hangers on the first 2 pitches, people have threaded them.

2. 20m (19) start on left and up then airy traverse R to belay ledge. Possible to link P1 & P2.

3. 25m (19) up weird v corner on slab to ledge

4. 40m (18) Boulder start then up and r to corner, move around arête and up to grassy slope, up 8 m wall to belay at top

5. 25m (17) up slope and up arête past bolts to belay on top. (second could wander up to the base of the wall after you've clipped the first ring to give you a better belay -less rope stretch- for the hard move out of the cave).

6. 20m scramble left a move, up corner, then right to belay on tree on right. Can join P5 and P 6 but you'll have drag unless 2nd moves up as above.

7. 15m (18) up wall on right, clip 3rd bolt (above ledge) with screwgate to limit fall

8. 30m (19) up L to corner then huge traverse left under roof and up wall. Awesome position

9. 20m (17) Walk L 5 m (can move belay to here) and up pumpy wall to cave

10. 30m (18) Up wall and head right. Up slab, pass first belay and go to 2nd set of paired rings (you can link P9, 10, 11 into 2 pitch by belaying at first set of rings)

11. 30m (19) Up and right to nose. Step R around nose to undercling and up, later unclip that bolt to reduce drag then left to arete to finish. Follow BBB access to escape

The first three pitches were retrobolted January 2011 entirely on RBs/UBs/FHs, so no brackets are required, although it's wise to take a couple in case you have to share belays. The first three pitches (17, 8, 19) of CC linked into the top of HC makes for a sub-20 outing.

1. 45m (17) Low angle cracked face then slab just left of arete to ledge and anchors. Sport pitch on ringbolts.

2. 15m (10) Short vertical crack. This pitch can be linked into pitch 1. Sport pitch on ringbolts.

3. 40m (19) Thin black face trending slightly right to ledge. Clip high bolt (with difficulty) then crux horrible chinup/mantle onto short face and up to ledge and tree belay. Sport pitch on ringbolts.

4. 10m Trad corner about 15m left of Hotel Cali's bolted line.

5. 10m Short thin corner to big shale ledge. Walk 10m left to belay.

6. 40m (22) Follow the Hotel California traverse on the top head wall for 5 bolts then head straight up the seam crack on good but spaced trad to a poor carrot belay on ledge. (U rap station 8m R and down)

7. 45m (22) Hard moves over the bulge (two BRs) then straight up the epic trad protected juggy face. Take 8 slings. carrot and U belay. Scramble up hill to cave. Walk right and up short rock step to under chossy upper cliffline. Walk left under this clliffline and up exit gully.

Lots of fun and still an adventure, top 3 pitches of Hotel California are fabulous! You want to be solid with exposure! Start first two pitches of CC. First pitch to ledge at 40m but don't stop here, go up through bush then up 5m wall to DDR belay (60m). Second pitch 40m to ledge then traverse right along ledge onto last 10m of 3rd pitch of HC. Follow Hotel California from there.

10 pitch sport route (all rings or homemade stainless hangers, which some odd-ball fat nosed biners struggle with, but take bolt plates for the carrots instead and in case the belays get too crowded). Don't rap down Mirrorball, easy to jam your rope, use the rap station about 20m further right, with care (knot the rope ends!). Access the start via abseil 15m R of Mirrorball (Mirrorball B, 2 x 45m abseils), walk right past pinnacle at 40 m, hit base of cliff at 100m, drop down, then go up to cliff (near start of Big Nose). Walk round the base of buttress and drop down a bit, then go up and you can see a 8m pinnacle/flake leaning against the steep face. This is the start. About 350m walk. There is a much easier variant to the first 3 pitches by starting up Contented Cows, all rings at 17, 8 (12m), and 19.

There is a blue emergency bin below Pitch 5, with some water, food, clothing, torches, and basic shelter. Don't call 000 just because you are benighted, so the police don't have to go out at night to babysit you. Please arrange to replace anything you use.

1. 45m (22) Up and left to ledge, through overhang, further up and left, through roof, then back right to the belay.

2. 30m (20) Straight up the groove until easier climbing, then up and left to belay on ledge.

3. 40m (17) Up and slightly left to ledge, then pull through roof and up to tree anchor.

4. 35m (10) Up short wall, then scramble up and left about 30m through vegetation to the base of the cliff corner and anchors (rescue drum here).

5. 30m (17) Up the right wall of corner and arete, then traverse left to the ledge.

6. 50m (19) Up onto the wall then traverse right about 20m and up following rings to ledge and belay.

7. 30m (20) Thin move to start, up to roof and jugs, pull through and up to ledge.

8. 25m (18) Up wall, then jug haul through the bulges to the top. Belay anchors are back and right about 6m in a small cave.

9. Scramble up and left to the base of the choss cave, then right around the base about 20m to the start of the last pitch. (You can escape left and up gully from this ledge).

10. 20m (16) Straight up the wall to belay at anchors on top.

To exit, walk up to the top of the ridge and then follow the path back to Bells Line of Road (20 min).