Type
Altitude
100m
Part of
A wee crag clearly visible from road on the way towards Daimond Harbour. The climbs are generally about 10m high and bolt protected.
It was intially developed by Simon Courtois and Dave Shotwell around 2008/09.
Walktime
5min
Aspect
West
Lat/lon
POINT (172.723639 -43.635329)
Topo50
BX24 777 686
Access
Park just east of the small bridge. The track starts just west of the bridge. Follow the track up the creek then cross the creek. Go uphill and there is a bit of fixed rope to get around the right side of the crag.
Routes
Reference | Title | Grade | Length | Pro | Quality | Operations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HF | Holy Fatima | 20 | 10m | 3 | ||
MC | McChurch | 27 | 3m | 4 | ||
FI | False Idol | 31 | 10m | 5 | ||
The Power of Christ Compels You | 29 | |||||
AB | The Alter Boy | 27 | ||||
Ca | Charismania | 32 | 8m | 6 | ||
Kneel to the Pope | 30 | 10m | 6 | |||
David and Goliath | 27 | 10m | 4 | |||
SP | The Supreme Pontiff | 30 | 8m | 4 | ||
TH | Thor's Hammer | 21 | 10m | 4 | ||
TP | The Pulpit | 17 | 4 | |||
Werewolves Of Diamond Harbour | 17 | 10m | ||||
CG | Catholic Girls | 19 | 10m | 4 | ||
HG | Hindu Love Gods | 20 | 5 | |||
RR | Rasta's Revolution | 23 | 5 | |||
Ad | Altared | 24 | 12m | 3 | ||
Moroni's Blues Band | 20 | 4 | ||||
Joe's Route | 20 | |||||
RC | Randall the Horny Clergyman | 21 | 4 | |||
Face Scratcher | 15 | 10m |
Comments
This place appears in
UUID
3ca9372f-6aec-48bb-8f72-1a122b4cc20a
Me and Ferg girdled this the other night. Two pitch (15)
Church Bay's answer to the Wimmera both in terms of the immaculate rock and thought-provoking body position climbing. Just not long enough! The projects look amazing... and hard! Pulpit (~17), Catholic Girls (~18+), Hindu Love Gods (~20), Rasta's (~23), Randall (~20+). Numerous single ring anchors.
I've added the three trad routes and made some minor edits, including grade changes to bring them more in line with the consensus between Simon and me. I think Catholic Girls and Hindu Love Gods could move down a grade, but have left them as originally graded to see what other people think.
Just visited The Alter today and loved the place! Great rock, beautiful environment and fun climbing. Where is there more of this kind of rock around CHC???? It's a shame the routes are only 10 m. I thought I'd put in my 2 cents on the grades etc. as Simon mentioned. I thought overall they were a bit soft, however some were right on. Thors Hammer, yes 21, Catholic Girls I'd say 18. Hindu Love Gods, Yes 20. Rastafarianism 22 1 STAR. This route is awesome and would be a three star mega-classic if it was 30 m, but I don't on-sight 24 off the couch... EVER! Randal... Yes 22 but maybe a bit soft. Thanks for all the hard work in putting together a quality climbing venue.
Hi, It is good to see The Altar in your guide. I've added the route names from our 1st ascents in 2008/2009. The grades have not been changed and differ slightly from what we had thought originally. When more people climb these routes, we will have a better idea of what the grades should be.
2 gear routes exist, and that was how we accessed the top of the cliff. Not recommended.
Thanks, Simon Courtois