Little Babylon | ClimbNZ

Type

Part of

The most popular sport crag in the Darrans, thanks to the steep-but-friendly climbing, the immaculate rock, and the fact that the crag stays mostly dry in all but the nastiest weather.
To minimise your impact, please:

Don’t pee within the drip-line at the base of the crag. Head into the bush instead.
Take your rubbish and your other gear with you when you leave.
Avoid excavation or destruction of vegetation around the base of the crags, and keep to the formed tracks. The bush here is slowly regenerating.

Walktime

30 min

Aspect

West

Approach

To get there, start by following the track to Babylon. At the point where the track heads left just as you reach Babylon, continue up and right and keep climbing through the bush for another 20 minutes. You’ll emerge more-or-less at the middle of the crag, pretty much under Bish Bosh Bash. You’ll see a waterfall to your left, from which you can usually gather water.

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Places

Type	Name	Alert
Sector	Top Cave

Routes

Reference	Title	Grade	Length	Pro	Quality
1	1Ulysses, 24	24	0m	8	1.02
P1 24 8 The left-most route, past the waterfall and left of Dionysus.
2	2Upskirt Dreams, 26	26	0m	7	1.02
P1 26 7 Traverse in from the left and climb the immaculate rock behind the waterfall. Equipper: David Bunn.
3	3Weta-cide, 23	23	33m	7	0
P1 23 20m 7 Trad A mixture of bolts and gear, starts near the waterfall and traverses up and right towards a broken corner. The first route completed at the crag, established in order to gain access to the large belay cave above. P2 16 13m Trad Climb the vegetated corner using natural protection.
4	4Red Bull, 25	25	20m	5	0
P1 25 10m 4 A short and crimpy pitch on the red wall at the left end of the crag. Also known as Little Lucifer. P2 23 10m 5 Can be climbed as an extension to the first pitch. Fun climbing, but without the immaculate rock of the rest of the crag.
5	5Solitude, 25	25	25m	10	3
P1 25 25m 10 Climb the short overhang to a good stance and then the long, aesthetic face to the upper cave. Probably the best way to access the climbs in the upper cave.
6	6Multitude, 21	21	9m	5	1.02
P1 21 9m 5 An intricate sequence leads to a hard last move to the jug on the lip.
7	7Bish Bosh Bash, 23	23	12m	4	1.02
P1 23 12m 4 Cruxy climbing on the short steep wall leads to a single bolt anchor above the ledge. A popular warm-up, shares the first bolt of Rua Tahi.
7	7Bish Bosh Bash Extension, 27	27	22m	9	0
P1 27 22m 9 Best climbed as an extension from the ground, rather than a second pitch. Rest up after the lower section of climbing then charge up the face to a hard last move. Clipping the anchor is desperate but at least the anchor is the drop-in type.
8	8Rua Tahi, 23	23	12m	5	3
P1 23 12m 5 The most common warm-up, this route offers excellent flowy climbing on big holds with a distinct crux.
8	8Rua Tahi Extension, 25	25	24m	10	0
P1 25 24m 10 Best climbed from the ground as an extension. You will need to unclip from the anchor of the first section to avoid excessive rope drag. Go hard right, then wander up ledges to a hard bulge with a long reach. Not as popular as the bottom section.
9	9Traverse of the Titans, 27	27	30m	12	3
P1 27 30m 12 Climb the first pitch of Rua Tahi and then head off rightwards up the hanging slab to join the top of Tantalus.
10	10Traverse of the Gods, 28	28	30m	11	2.01
P1 28 30m 11 A harder version of Traverse of the Titans. After the first pitch of Rua Tahi, climb the hard boulder problem at the top of Odysseus.
	Ivan's Project, 34	34	0m		1.02
P1 34 Boulder problem leading out from Rua Tahi, maybe V13.
11	11Here Come the Romans, 30	30	0m	6	2.01
P1 30 6 Start just to the left of Xerxes and finish up on last bolt of Rua Tahi. Hard past the first three bolts and then a very cool section of edges.
	Odysseus, 33	33	18m	8	3
P1 33 18m 8 One of the original bolted lines, but it took a while to get climbed. Start by the small tree with intricate climbing to head up and slightly right. A desperate boulder problem through the obvious undercling leads to easier climbing above. Equipper: Jon Sedon.
	Xerxes, 30	30	20m	10	3
P1 30 20m 10 Climb the diagonal line. Power endurance.
	No Country For Old Men, 29	29		9	2.01
Direct start to Xerxes. That may not be the historically accurate way to describe it. P1 29 9
15	15Hey Zeus, 29	29	18m	8	1.02
P1 29 18m 8 Start up No Country for Old Men and cross into the top of Odysseus. Big spans!
	Hercules, 29	29	18m	9	3
P1 29 18m 9 Powerful climbing on big holds.
	Tigerblood, 33	33	30m	17	3
P1 33 30m 17 Climb Hercules and rest then up headwall through bulges to the left of Xena.
	Xena, 33	33	30m	16	3
P1 33 30m 16 Climb Hercules then straight up through the big roof. Equipped by Derek Thatcher.
	Blood of Olympus, 35	35	30m	12	3
P1 35 30m 12 One of the first lines bolted. Start up International Turkey Patrol to a very hard boulder and dyno, then do the crux of Xena.
20	20International Turkey Patrol, 25	25	18m	7	1.02
P1 25 18m 7 Excellent fun climbing on friendly holds. Start 10m right of Hercules. Climb the slab to a bolt where the wall gets steep (this is best unclipped after the second bolt has been reached), then head straight up the steep weakness until a line of bolts lures you out on a pumpy traverse left all the way to the anchor of Hercules. Equipper Tom Hoyle.
21	21Tantalus, 28	28	35m	12	3
P1 28 35m 12 An extension of International Turkey Patrol, and an epic voyage. After a shake at the ITP anchor, continue left and up following the vague corner/ ramp feature to double bolt belay by some jugs. There is even an extension to this extension, which hasn’t been climbed yet.
22	22Fly My Pretties, 25	25	18m	6	0
P1 25 18m 6 Start up International Turkey Patrol and link into Jugular.
23	23Jugular, 26	26	18m	10	3
P1 26 18m 10 Up the jugs to a single ring. Probably better to finish at the Moses anchor.
	Moses, 27	27	20m	2	3
P1 27 20m Climb up to little hollow and then left out undercling band.
25	25New Testament, 34	34	26m	12	3
Extension to Moses with a tricky boulder problem. P1 34 26m 12
26	26Prowess, 29	29	28m	12	1.02
P1 29 28m 12 Start up Moses. After resting at the big jugs, traverse right and then climb the prow to the top anchor. Equipper: Thomas Adamson.
27	27The Giving Tree, 31	31	25m	14	2.01
P1 31 25m 14 Follow a truckload of bolts up the slab, then through steep terrain to finish up the prow at the Prowess anchor. Equippers: Max Farr and Thomas Adamson.
	Colossus, 33	33	25m	10	3
P1 33 25m 10 Excellent steep climbing for 17m, then through the roof and up the prow below and to the right of the upper section of The Giving Tree. Hard compression moves that may well make your biceps explode!
29	29Cyrus the Great, 30	30	25m	9	3
P1 30 25m 9 A brilliant climb. Shares the first 17m of Colossus then tackles the large mammary feature to the right.
30	30Cyrus The Virus, 32	32	30m	11	2.01
P1 32 30m 11 Climb Cyrus the Great, clip the anchor and then do a crimpy V10 boulder problem past two more bolts.
32	32Blood Meridian, 32	32	25m	10	2.01
P1 32 25m 10 Make some weird slab moves, then head through the overlaps. Don’t forget to save some energy for clipping the bolts.
	Man of Substances, 29	29		9	0
P1 29 9 Named to honour a friend who loved Fiordland. Follow a weakness to the right of Blood Meridian, and be prepared for some serious crimping at the end. Equipper: Bruce Dowrick, 2007.
	Sick Bro, 27	27		7	0
P1 27 7 An early finish for Man of Substances, stopping at an anchor just below the headwall. Equipper: Jon Sedon, 2021.
	Crystal Method, 27	27	0m	7	2.01
P1 27 7 A bit devious, a bit tricky. The weakness to the right of Man of Substances.
35	35Hellboy, 28	28		12	3
P1 28 12 Follow the cracks into some testing ground. Some people love this climb, and it’s got lots of bolts.
	Aphrodite, 28	28	0m	8	0
P1 28 8 Climb multiple bulge features just to the right of Hellboy. Apparently two left hands would be useful.
	Algorithm, 26	26	0m	8	1.02
P1 26 8 A tricky slab sequence leads to a cruxy groove on slopes, flexibility helps.
38	38Mica, 27	27	0m	8	0
P1 27 8 Easy to the small roof, then hard pulls on small positive holds leads to a balancey and thought-provoking finish.