Routes in Ikara Head

There's a few newish-looking bolts up the middle of the wall between Tuxedo Mask and Power Vacuum with DRB at the top.

Starts from the top of a block, 10m right of BO. It's a great shame p2 is bracketed by the rubbish of p1&3, as it is one of the finest pieces of crack climbing you will find in the Mountains, blasting up a beautiful orange wall on mostly great rock in a stunning position.

1. 20m 16. Start off block on good holds left of the death blocks and traverse right on sandy, chossy jugs to crack and ledge. Follow poxy corner crack to ledge (new DRB, old carrot). Very poor rock and pro for 10m, then okay cams in horizontals after that (but the rock is still bad).

2. 35m 25. Step down then right from the belay to the amazing leftwards diagonal hand and finger crack, to new DRB. Has humbled most repeat attempts, emphasising Steve's impressive onsight FFA. Double rack #0.2 to #3 with triples from #0.3 to #2 handy, especially for cleaning.

3. 25m. Not part of the original route (which ended at fixed wires), and adds less than zero value, so feel free to skip this deathy unprotected grovel to DRB over the top. You can either step left and pull the roof (unprotected) then quest up to the top OR traverse a long ways right to the Telstar exit (also unprotected). Or rap off...

Whoopy!

Start 43m right of BO. Crack/groove system below a terrifying roof.

1. 30m (18) Up hand crack bypassing 2 small roofs (stick right) to belay in alcove at start of bomb-bay chimney.

2. 15m (17) Out bottomless/bomb-bay chimney to turn lip of roof then up slightly to small stance. Build a semi-hanging belay or continue up pitch 3.

3. 20m (19) Up crack to belay at tree.

4. 15m (8) To exit traverse right 2m then up corner and groove to large tree. Up easy slab for 5m to the top.

This seems likely to be a repeat of Jezebel p1 because that’s the only big corner matching this info.

"Big orange corner 30m right again. Up corner to slings."

The aid (originally a few bolts) at the start of the second pitch was freed by Joe Friend. Start 33m right of PV at obvious right trending wide yellow crack/corner system. Marked with J.

1. 30m (18) Stem up featured corner system that funnels into a chimney near the top. Traverse right 4m to semi-hanging belay off rap chains. Lots of long slings useful on this pitch.

2. 30m (22) Burly, slick and spectacular. The right trending wide crack breaching the upper headwall. Belay at top off trad and pretty awful tree belay.

Reportedly you can rap from here to ground with 50m rope, however as of oct 2021, tree did not appear suitable for abseil.

1. 30m Easy grey slab to top.

Clean and varied corner, 30 meters right of Telstar.

Start at small finger crack then up slabby corner to rings. Anchor replaced 2022. Any information about name and FFA history please update.

"The climb that Ikara is famous for and the only one that most people have heard of!" - A.Penney 1982. The painted initial is mistakenly a ‘K’, but it is definitely Caladan with a C, a reference to Frank Herbert's Dune series.

Start at major corner below crack 33m right of T. Anchors replaced 2022. A 60m rope will just reach, tie a knot in the end!

The aid (originally a few bolts) at the start of the second pitch was freed by Joe Friend. Start 33m right of PV at obvious right trending wide yellow crack/corner system. Marked with J.

1. 30m (18) Stem up featured corner system that funnels into a chimney near the top. Traverse right 4m to semi-hanging belay off rap chains. Lots of long slings useful on this pitch.

2. 30m (22) Burly, slick and spectacular. The right trending wide crack breaching the upper headwall. Belay at top off trad and pretty awful tree belay.

Reportedly you can rap from here to ground with 50m rope, however as of oct 2021, tree did not appear suitable for abseil.

1. 30m Easy grey slab to top.

Start 90m right of C. Around roof and up crack - possible to belay where wall becomes a slab - small corner, traverse right along obvious break 10m, diagonally right across to corner and up. Take care with pro after the crack fizzles.

An amazing line and excellent climbing. Starts on top of large detached pillar, 25m up and R of A, which is accessed from a slot at the back which starts 10m R of A.

1. 20m (18) Fingercrack to ledge and DRB.

2. 50m (22) To infinity, and beyond! Some extra BD #0.3-0.75 and a #5 will come in handy.

Rap down from chains under small overhang just below the summit in two pitches (~50m, 20m) or walk off.

Sustained and varied climbing up a truly superb finger crack. Marked with AS. Start 7m right of J at short crack in block and finish at the rap chains shared with Jezebel (in great nick as at 2021). Easy for the grade. 65m rope to lower off to the ground; 60m should certainly get you down to the pedestal.

On the same wall as Club Mac. Starts in vague scoop to the left of Octonauts, 3m R of PV. Lots of cams.

1. 27m Leftwards up through scoop onto wall and up to bolt with fixed hanger. Move left then up groove above to top.

A varied climb with a bit of everything. Start 65m right of of WC. Shale band with roof crack above.

1. 20m 22. Choss (2 BRs, PR) to roof, then up crack.

2. 15m. Thin R wall, wires, big ledge.

3. 15m. Walk L, up corner.

"A surprisingly long climb despite appearances from below. Two fairly good pitches...spoiled somewhat by a scrappy finish." The first route climbed at Ikara in 1974 by discoverers, K. Bell and I. Thomas. Was previously named Casserole Corner by them in memory of the prevailing cuisine of the time.

Start 20m R of TM at the clean wide crack leading to a V groove with a bush in it.

1. 40m 17. Offwidth, chimney, bush, squeeze to ledge.

2. 35m 17. Steep corner to ledge then small corner to small ledge. Abandon the corner and head L across wall to nose, L across slab to ledge/bush.

3. 45m. Up and R via scrub, terraces and corners.

"An excellent excursion for a hot day. Some tube runners are useful on the 2nd pitch." Right facing corner about 30m R of C. Scramble 10m R up from SM to base of corner.

1. 25m 17: Climb trees up corner to belay cave some large cams and shrub runners. Sling boulder to belay.

2. 30m 14R: Climb center of the chimney past a small nut. Then no gear except for a blue big bro to the top.

The nice clean corner crack 3m R of CT.

Direct lower-offs added 2022 (rings), which means you no longer have to link it into Caladan or rap off dodgy pin and carrot.

To block, corner, crack, left to ledge and rap. Start 150m right of PU. Track below steep crack right of small black chimney.

Start 20m right of big orange corner. Sounds like it needs to be freed.

1. Wide crack, blocks, thin crack (aid) to ledge.

2. Zig zag crack then right to belay.

3. Up.

Big orange corner opposite the detached block. Marked as a sport route but surely it needs some trad?

1. (24) Corner to belay under roof.

2. (23) Left under roof, up thin crack, right to corner and up.

Start 30m right of TM under the obvious soaring square arete.

1. 24m (20) Corner to bolt, left to DBB on arete. 4 carrots, #3 cam.

2. 35m (24) Arete to chain. 9 carrots, 2 FHs.

3. 28m (24) Left edge of cave to roof, right, then the arete to DBB. 5 carrots. To rap from here take hero loops (or maybe something more permanent). Rap 30m to chain, then 50m to ground.

A continuous, soaring, well-protected crack with minimal crack-climbing required. Generally excellent rock, with brief suspect rock near top. Takes a wide mixture of gear, and consider saving a #4 cam and a #3/#2 cam for that final traverse).

Start most of the way up the ramp/slot (about 5m left of Blast Off ). Up obvious crack, trending left. 2m below the shale ledge, traverse left for about 10m along a clean break, then step down to the Jezebel chains.

Rap 30m from here to large block. 70m rope is ample to lower off if the leader would rather belay on the ground.

Start on right side of arete 4m right of C. 10 very rusty old carrots. Up to ledge shared with L&W, then right and up wall and flakes to the Caladan rap anchor.

Start 15m right of TS. Cairn & flake.

1. Up to ledge. Ignore the carrots, that's a hard variant start.

2. Flakes to roof, up, right on loose block and up to chain. 7 bolts.

3. Ramp to arete, to big ledge, up wall, left around roofs then right across wall to rap point (30m to chain then 50m to ground). Double ropes.

Starts from the top of a block, 10m right of BO. It's a great shame p2 is bracketed by the rubbish of p1&3, as it is one of the finest pieces of crack climbing you will find in the Mountains, blasting up a beautiful orange wall on mostly great rock in a stunning position.

1. 20m 16. Start off block on good holds left of the death blocks and traverse right on sandy, chossy jugs to crack and ledge. Follow poxy corner crack to ledge (new DRB, old carrot). Very poor rock and pro for 10m, then okay cams in horizontals after that (but the rock is still bad).

2. 35m 25. Step down then right from the belay to the amazing leftwards diagonal hand and finger crack, to new DRB. Has humbled most repeat attempts, emphasising Steve's impressive onsight FFA. Double rack #0.2 to #3 with triples from #0.3 to #2 handy, especially for cleaning.

3. 25m. Not part of the original route (which ended at fixed wires), and adds less than zero value, so feel free to skip this deathy unprotected grovel to DRB over the top. You can either step left and pull the roof (unprotected) then quest up to the top OR traverse a long ways right to the Telstar exit (also unprotected). Or rap off...

...they must have been fighting for it!

Start 7m right of A. 11 old-ish carrots up the good looking face to the new chains of Jezebel. Would be easily TRed off these chains if you don't like the look of the old carrots.

Arete 30m right of CT. Carrots & FHs to TBB.

Start: Right of S. Up the prow.

20m R of WM.

1. Crack to offwidth and belay where crack becomes slabby.

2. Up and right around arete, wall and arete, left at last bolt and up to belay. Rap here or continue up crack.

Start 2 m R of PV, up pockets past bolt to ledge. up to next ledge past bolt, then R to shallow R facing corner/flake. L up this past BR to PV pitch 1 ledge & 2 rings.

1. 30m (17) Start up PV to the ledge, then up the arete to to the R passing 2 BR.

2. 40m (16) Continue up PV to ledge (ignoring bolt on wall to L, which is a gr 20 variant), then L to crack. Follow crack through roof, and continue until it is blocked by vegetation. Head up and L across slab past bolt to large ledge (1 bolt + cam belay).

3. 25m (19) Up face past 2 bolts, then 15 m left along ledge to 2 bolt belay. Good nut to avoid big swing for second.

4. 20m (15) Carefully up face passing bolt and a couple of cam breaks to 2 bolt belay at top.

Probably done before, but it's a decent line and worth recording. Crack, ~ 2m to the right of the R facing corner almost directly below Blast Off. Up the clean hand/off width crack to ledge.

Start 4 m right of PV. Up groove to chimney and offwidth squeeze chimney. Belay on slings on ledge.

180m R of Pin Ups. Just past big arete. This had been climbed to a trad lower off, but now goes free to the top of the left crack with a lower off. Beautiful orange corner 19ish to a bolt at the blocks. Delicately up not pulling anything off and left to a seam, small blue alien used here to get into it..... very balance and committing to get into it and up on to the ledge. Shake it out and then enjoy some grunty laybacking to a hard crack finish.... A 70m rope will get you to the ground... I haven't been able to find any details on the history of this climb....