Ascents in North East as Tick or First ascent

I lead aid pitch 2 and 4. Start 11.50am. Finish 11pm.

Repeat, still great. Linking P1 and P2 makes for a great flowy ramble up the flake

A great pitch. Probably 20

This is up there with the best 17's here.

Got tangled and hangdogged P1, Led P2, P3 Second Clean.

This is an excellent pitch of climbing.

It was brushed feb 2022

I wasn’t ready to lead yet but great moves.

Done in 2 pitches, starting from the ledge a few metres down and left of the start of Hard Rain.

alternative start is dirty but good.

A really nice slab, with plenty of exposure thrown in. The belay bolts are hard to see - don't rap over the second roof like we did.

The plan:

Day 1: Pack, drive to Buffalo, hike to base of route, bivy at base of route.

Day 2: Climb to big grassy, set up portaledge, climb on and fix ropes for next pitches

Day 3: Pack down ledge, climb on. Either topout if moving quickly, or set up ledge at Glenhill bivy and fix ropes beyond.

Optional Day 4: Topout early before weather arrives.

The reality:

Day 1: Pack, drive to Buffalo, repack, start hike in. Realise starting the hike at 8pm in wet conditions with heavy packs was not wise. Bivy at carpark.

Day 2: Hike to base of climb with gear. Start climbing early afternoon. Climb P1 and P2, finish 11pm. Set up ledge at base of route and bivy.

Day 3: Pack up ledge, jug and haul to top of P2. Climb P3 and P4, haul, set up ledge on big grassy. Turns out with portaledges, the fly doesn't go on last. Climb half of P5, get confused about route direction and anchor location in darkness, build trad anchor, fix rope, rap back down to BG. Finish at 11pm.

Day 4: Morning thunderstorm. Lightning less than 1 sec away. Sleep until gear mostly dry. Finish P5, climb P6. Fix ropes and descend to BG. Finish at dusk, huzzah!

Day 5: Pack up ledge, jug to top of P6, haul. Climb P7 (slow). Set up ledge at Gledhill bivy. Bed down before dark, huzzah!

Day 6: Pack up ledge. Poop tube now full and topping out becoming urgent. Climb P8, haul. Link P9 and P10. Topout at 5pm. Haul. Collapse.

Some will look at this and see a pair of amateurs faffing around. And frankly, they wouldn't be entirely wrong. Most of what we did up there, we were doing for the first time. First time setting up a ledge. First time aiding anything other than a bolt ladder. First time using camhooks. First time hauling a pig. First time pooping into a bag while hanging in a harness. My first route at Buffalo! But I would counter that by highlighting that adventure is a function of the possibility of failure. We knew we were operating within our limits. Both of us had the technical and rope skills to finish - or fail - safely. Either of us could have found a more experienced person to drag our sorry hindquarters up the route. And while it might have been fun, less work, less stress, not to mention faster, we would have missed the adventure. In putting ourselves into challenging circumstances, circumstances where failure is a possibility, success is vastly sweeter.

We learnt a lot, and would do a bunch of things differently in future. Having a set of etriers for each person would make cleaning the roof much easier, as well as the jugging. Having food that won't morph into a 3 day zippy bag vinaigrette would be nice. Packing a haul bag so what you want next isn't at the bottom. Study releasable tie-offs for the pig, instead of trying to invent them on the go (Note to self: a slip hitch in a maillon can twist and get stuck). Back cleaning the roofs. Getting more comfy with run-outs on camhooks.

I am incredibly grateful to Jacinda for the trust she showed being willing to undertake such a massive adventure with me! You're a legend.

Abseiled to Big Grassy from lookout. Fixed the ab rope to belay at the end of pitch 6 (before traverse left) and at nice belay on arête after the corner on pitch 5 on the way down.

took a few goes

First fully hanging trad belay, great route with lots of variety to warm up to buffalo's style.

first pitch only. second is pro-less chimney, will rap in to try.

Stuck with the Gerard and Haydn after they belayed me on my free attempt at the first 4 pitches. Had a shit sleep at grassy basically hauled bags and sorted logistics as the fellas swung aid leads to the top. Hauling a 3 person pig solo is honest work 😂 they got a good bargain I reckon.