Routes as trad in Te Waipounamu / The South Island

Follow the obvious crack.

Climb the corner, then move left along the big flake.

The classic polished crack. Bolted anchors at top

Climb the diagonal crack up and left.

look for a deep recess for the 1st placement, take some large gear for the crux

P1 - (17, 20m, 6b) climb the black slab, tending right to the anchors.

P2 - (18, 32m, 1b + gear) clip the bolt at the start, then follow the crack. Rock over the right side at the first small roof to the crack on the face. DBA above the tree.

P3 - (18, 30m, gear only) climb the right-trending crack until it disappears, then cross the right arete to another fist crack. DBA on a ledge by a tree.

P4 - (20, 30m, 8b + gear) up the crack to your left leading to some sustained face climbing on bolts. Belay off trees above the DBA.

Traverse right for 30 metres to a DBA at the bottom of a steep, white, bolted arete.

P5 - (17, 20m, 8b) up the arete then traverse right to DBA.

P6 - (16, 32m, 6b + gear) face climbing right of the arete, with some cracks for pro after the 3rd bolt. Tree belay on a big ledge.

P7 - (16, 20m, 6b) climb the slab on your left, past a ledge then right to another tree belay. Belay from here, then carefully scramble right and up (past another tree with rap tat: 35m+ rap from here to bottom of P7) to the base of the headwall. Move 15m right to an obvious wide crack, which is the start of P8.

P8 - (20, 32m, 4b + gear) steep crack climbing into a sustained and overhanging face on bolts. A classic pitch!

Descent: From the top, descend to the bottom of P5 then traverse left past the top of P4 to the rap station above the top of Chink in Shining Armour. Rap to the top of Chink in Shining Armour then down the route to the bottom (triple chain anchors). Can be done with one 70m rope, or an uncut 60m with care.

Gear: A full rack of nuts and cams is essential. Doubles in the Camalot #0.4-#3 range are useful for P2 and 3. Take a few metres of cord to replace tree belays on the top three pitches.

Great climb

A quality route, well equipped with bolts, climbing the buttress on the right-hand side of the Mate. Seven pitches (280m), plus an optional further pitch to the ridge and a scramble to the summit. Take 2 x 50m ropes, a small rack of medium wires, cams to hand size and a dozen quickdraws. Abseil descent is best.

See http://climbnz.org.nz/sites/climbnz.org.nz/files/route/Lucky_Strike_1[1].jpg for topo

Left hand side of the arete and wall. Has been bolted and chopped multiple times, bold protection up through crack to the left. Or a good toprope can be setup from the bolted 17 to the right of the arete.

The fantastic crack line. Enjoy the surprise mantel to finish.

A climb with mixed personalities! First bolt is high! Lots of nuts needed for top.

This was the first multi pitch rock climb done on the Remarkables and since the first ascent has been misrepresented in the subsequent guidebooks. Firstly the route is named as per the rights of the first ascencionists as Maori Alphabet and not DB Eh? , that is the punchline! Secondly, from the descriptions other climbers have given me as to where they climbed, maybe if I was asked I could draw a topo of it to set things straight.

1. 50m (14) Start up the consolidated slaps. Belay at chains

2. 50m (12) Up slabs to the right of the chains and then easily up low angle slabs to belay.

3. 55m (15) Up slabs, traverse left under roof and up small chimney. Belay under rooflet

4. 45m (16/17) Pull through one 17ish move over the roof and then easily up slabs to belay in corner.

5. 55m (10) Up past ledge with cairn (this is where the abseil anchor is) till you run out of rope.

6. scramble

7. scramble

Descent Notes:

There are a few different ways down, depending on how you're feeling.

1. Finish off the Grand Traverse and come down the couloir of Single Cone. Pretty good value but doesn't go past the bottom of the route, if you left your bags there.

2. Do a bit of the Grand Traverse, but go down the Grand Couloir which will take you back to the bottom of the route. The scree is pretty loose.

3. Either finish the climb at the pitch five abseil (50m) or scramble back down to it from the summit. After the abeil make your way back to the cliff top above Alta Slabs. Keep to the right (looking towards Lake Alta) and there are a number of chains you can rap off. You can even scramble back to the top of pitch one and rap right back to where you started.

Two fairly run out pitches up the slabs, then a juggy headwall. Bolted anchors at the top of each pitch.

The main corner between Wonder and Cathedral Walls

Jam and layback a delightful steep corner crack and smile the whole way up. Double bolt anchor.

Climb the technical face on small edges past 2 bolts to a steep finish. Sustained!

Just right of Fowl Play, starting from ledge and tending rightwards.

Starts in the little alcove behind the tree. Move onto ledge then up the corner.

Direct start (Dave Brash, 2018): 3 bolts then straight up crack with reasonable pro. Original route comes in from the left (2 bolts) to crack.

The bolts have been taken out due to the dangerous state of the flake. May still be climbed on gear at your own considerable risk... ( it seems the hangers are back!)

Face crack with very good pro. There is an optional bolt after the ledge but quite useless as the two last meters are just a walk to the anchor.

crux start needs a good spot until the 1st piece of good placement.

Rhubarb direct start.

Destroyed during the earthquakes.

climb up to underclings and large feet under the overlap feature, clipping a high first bolt and then pulling up to good gear in a horizontal. Follow the flake feature up and right with obvious but sparse gear easily to double modern anchor

P1 - up corner to blue sling at 50m height.

P2 - step left off the belay and wander up to slung boulder for the next belay. (grade 14 if you use the ledges)

P3 - up steepening corner, step left onto ledge and sling belay.

P4 - a full rope length left across easy ledges, a couple of harder moves get you up under the base of BA corner/ just to the right of the slabs leading up to it.

P5 - step L off belay and follow steepening left facing corner. Belay on ledge after about 45m.

P6 - The glory pitch. Can belay above or below roof.

P7 - Three possible finishes detailed below.

Mt Somers classic.

Climb a prominent corner, passing a roof halfway up to the right. Bolted crux.

Trad +bolts

This fetching shallow crack makes for absorbing climbing and the fiddly pro keeps you on your toes.

Another My Horrible classic. The crux has been the scene of many a lead fall, as leaders stall halfway through the bulging layback, wondering whether to stop and try and place more gear, or just push on through.

Earthquake damage at the top of the climb.

Prominent left facing corner, start on the left wall then move up through the chimney before moving back to the left wall again. Exit either to the right or over the top blocks. There is an abseil station to the left dropping down onto the platform

The groove right of Orange Roughy.

A grade 13 that overhangs for 20 metres? An excellent adventure for the grade. Originally started further L, the best start is up the wide crack past the chockstone (as for Mandrake). For the two stars (and better pro), climb diagonally R up the upper wall to finish as for Transmag. Watch out for rope drag on this wandering excursion.

Boulder up the juggy wall & faint corner to ledge and corner crack. Crux near the top. Move left at the top. Double bolt belay. Good pro.

Climb the crack.

Mixed climb. Share the first high bolt of BBB. Stay left of the bolt, then clip the second bolt and place a small wire before running out for the top anchor.

Fierce crimping up the face of the overhanging pillar shaped wall. Small incuts past the first bolt to a rest out left and a trad placement, then up three more bolts on the headwall.

Follow right slanting flake into left facing slightly overhanging corner. Originally only 7m and grade 14, it has been bolted to the top of the cliff

A crack climb running up the face beside the groove that Sunday School Felching follows.

Left facing corner at the edge of a small cave.

The original (and best) start is on the slab with thin crack that rises to the right, a great balancy move. Layback and jam into left facing corner with hand crack, then step right into a beautiful open book corner with killer hand jams and bridging. Alternative start is 2m to the right up the corner of Turn to Gold.

Start Sensa Dextra and climb straight up the crack without traversing, then through the overlap.

An instant classic. 10 high quality pitches at sustained 20/21 with varied climbing right to the tip of Moirs mate. Well bolted when needed, excellent protection on trad pitches, all bolted belays and rappel descent. A brilliantly conceived route. PD initialled in rock 55m right of BAC and 30m left of Lucky Strike.

The trad version of lucky strike. Starts 5m right of Pipe Dream at a bolt. Bolted belays.

Another superb slab climb. Start in corner, or go direct over first bolt. Five bolts (after retrobolting) and some mid sized cams for up top.

Steep crack starting from a ledge.

Start up the crack to the left of the The Shoveller, then take the left hand flaring crack above that. Good protection.

A long consistent crack, that takes wires and small cams. Most clip the 1st bolt on dogfish before moving right on the crack.

The pumpy right-leaning crack.

Great climbing at the grade. Start up the left facing corner and into the large pea pod. Bridge your way up and out of it until you hit some welcome jugs. Finish easy up the left leaning crack.

Destroyed during the earthquakes.

The full-on climbing through the bulge onto the big ledge relents to a nice bridging corner. Step L when the corner fades out and scramble a further 8m to belay from the manuka. The corner is a drainage line which can take some time to dry out after rain.

A classy technical face climb forking left halfway up P2 of The Ravages of Time. Almost all sport; bring a slimmed down rack for the 15m of gear on P2.

P1 (6 bolts) - climb the first pitch of The Ravages of Time

P2 (5 bolts + gear) - climb the first 15m of P2 of The Ravages of Time through 1 bolt off the belay and gear before veering left (2m before a roof) at a ledge to continue up and left through 4 bolts to a hanging belay.

P3 (10 bolts) - steepening face climbing through an overlap (crux) before easing off to the next hanging belay

P4 (11 bolts) - cruisey face climbing veering right on good edges through the first 7 or 8 bolts before thinning out and veering back left for the final few bolts (crux)

It is possible to climb from the last anchor of Chink in Shining Armour to the rappel station on the halfway ledge, but requires climbing another ~10m through some dirty rock and plants protected by slinging trees (no bolts). Safer to link into this from P4.

Descent: Rappel down the anchors used on the way up in 2x50m rappels or 3x30m rappels