Supergroove

A New Zealand classic and a defining moment for climbing in New Zealand. This fierce groove overhangs like a sausage, making the base of the route the driest place at the crag on a wet day. A boulder-problem start leads into the relentless groove. On a first attempt McBirney fell at the crux and ended in hospital. He then placed a piton (now a bolt). Twenty years later (the story goes), he re-enacted the ascent for dozens of onlookers and fell again just before the bolt with a bone-jarring thud. Unhurt, he dusted himself off and completed the climb next try.