Evans Pass

NOTE THAT THIS CRAG IS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Located above the old Lyttelton dump, this cliff was largely ignored apart from one route by Lindsay Main in the late 1980s. A surge of development in 1995-6 has resulted in over twenty routes including several excellent lines, and scope for several more.
A bit of subsequent development has been done, mainly by John Entwisle.
Being south facing, it gets virtually no direct sunlight, making it an ideal place to hide on hot nor-west days. It is also surprisingly well sheltered from the north-easterly, but is exposed to the southerly. The orientation makes it somewhat lichenous but it is surprisingly clean and dry.
Grazing animals (particularly rabbits) have stripped most of the native vegetation in the area except what they can't reach. The result is an area with little other than grass and broom but with a good collection of native plants on the cliff itself including ferns, shrubs, and extensive clumps of orchids. Care has been taken to avoid damaging these plants and if you are cleaning new routes, please respect this approach. There are also numerous skinks and geckos around the top of the cliff - please consider their habitat requirements when moving rocks.
Routes are up to 22m in length, on steep rock of a type similar to that at Lyttelton Rock and tend to be sustained and strenuous. With a few exceptions, most of the routes are partly or totally bolt protected, ie. some routes require other gear as well, but watch out for crumbly rock. There have been some campaigns to rebolt a lot of the climbs to modern standard, but there are a few climbs that require trad climbing skills.
This crag still has a few areas of loose rock- climb accordingly.Descriptions are from left to right.
The road (left hand) end is generally less steep, with more vegetation, looser rock and fewer clear lines. The centre of the crag has the best rock and most obvious lines. A bit right of the cave the rock is a bit rotten, but then improves again.