Little Eiger

(22 routes)

Apparently (perhaps in a heavy mist) this wall resembles the famous Eiger Nordwand in Switzerland. The wall faces east, down valley, and has many good long outings – almost all of which are rarely climbed and will need a clean.

Type: 
Wall
Altitude: 
1500m
Aspect: 
East
Access: 

The best descent route is to the left as you look at the wall, down a shallow grassy groove and a short slab.

Lat/Lon: 
-39.294720000000, 174.082317000000
NZMS260: 
P20 034 117
Topo50: 
BJ29 933 500
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Reference Title Grade Length Quality Bolts Gone Natural pro Link to edit content
1 Eketahuna International Airport 18 14m
0
wire representing trad
Start up the centre of the appealing small slab left of the main wall. Head up and then left to a crack that leads to the top of the wall.
Lionel Clay (second failed to follow), 10 March 1985
2 Imported Talent 18 14m
2.01
wire representing trad
Start as for EIA but trend right then up passing two ledges. A small cam is useful near the top, otherwise protection is sparse.
Neil Parker, Chris Morris, Simon Carr, R Wood, 27 February 1983
3 Blake’s Route 16 22m
0
wire representing trad
Start as for EIA but continue right to finish up the right edge of the slab.
Geoff Blake, Dave Chowdhury, 1976.
4 Aspo’s Flight 17 20m
0
wire representing trad
Starting further right, follow the crack/groove feature to the broken arête above.
Dave Bolger, Glen Aspin, 26 January 1999
5 Very Silly Crack 19 56m
1.02
wire representing trad
Look for a rusty piton about 2.5m above the ground, above a red-stained rock. Climb to the piton then up the cracks above. It is possible to fashion a belay on a ledge below the overhangs or, if you have a very long rope, you could finish the climb as a single pitch through the overhangs and up a mossy groove to glory.
Nigel Shepherd, Kevin Conaglen (FFA), April 1982
6 Longdrop 16 57m
1.02
wire representing trad
Start as for VSC. From the piton, move up and right to a good ledge. Finish up the corner above and slightly left.
Kevin Conaglen, Stuart Skene, April 81
7 Skylarking 19 55m
2.01
wire representing trad
A few metres right of Longdrop, head up next to a smooth wall to gain blocky ground and a belay ledge. Continue right then up the vague groove/arête feature and finish as for Space Truckin’.
Dave Bolger, Chris Prudden, 24 February 2000
8 Space Truckin’ 18 57m
3
wire representing trad 1
Start up a jam crack, heading for the obvious protruding block. Belay under the block, if you dare, then move up a groove to the left and on to the exit crack. Scramble up mossy slabs and park your rig on the summit.
Rick McGregor, Len Gillman, Brian Barlev, Rob Archibald, Easter 1975
9 Coming Home 18 57m
2.01
wire representing trad
Climbs the most obvious corner/V-groove on the wall. To gain the groove, scramble up a right facing corner. You can belay at the bottom of the groove, but beware some loose blocks.
Nick Banks, Stuart Skene, Andy Harris, 21 November 1981
10 Regular Rowt 21 50m
0
wire representing trad
The name may be stolen from a route at Titahi Bay, but the route itself is classic Egmont. Shares a start with Commodores and Fingers on a Landscape. Start up the right facing corner past a piton at 5m. At the white band, go left to gain the left-most crack on the wall. Follow this to the top. Can be climbed as one or two pitches.
Neil Parker, John Pawson, Mike Rockell, 1 January 1986
11 Commodores 19 40m
1.02
wire representing trad
Start as for Regular Rowt but continue up the main crack to the top. The top-out is a little underwhelming.
Lionel Clay, 31 December 1985
12 Fingers On A Landscape 21 50m
3
wire representing trad
A great route. Start as for Regular Rowt but at the white band head right to gain a seam in the compact face. Climb the seam to finish as for Commodores. Take plenty of small wires and cams. Anti-revolutionary revisionists wanted to change the name to ‘Figures in a Landscape’
John Pawson, Mike Rockell, Neil Parker, 1 January 1986
13 Involuntary Pelvic Contractions 19 50m
2.01
wire representing trad
Sounds less than ideal! Charge up the obvious line right of Commodores all the way to the top. The ‘first ascent’ was claimed as a two-pitch grade 22 affair with some aid moves. Lionel Clay put things right two days later, giving it 19.
Lionel Clay (FFA), 11 February 1985
14 Master Grasshopper 23 50m
3
wire representing trad
Above the initial overhangs, step right then commit to the wall above. Near the top, head left to join IPC. Take smalls wires and lots of courage.
Mike Rockell, John Pawson, Neil Parker, 1 January 1986
15 Stranger to this Planet 18 50m
0
wire representing trad
‘ … welcome to this hole, let’s strap on a guitar and play some rock and roll.’ Or so the song goes. The right-most crack with good gear the whole way. Note: is now revegetated.
Lionel Clay, Warwick Humphries, 1 January 1986
16/2 Kaya 23 25m
0
wire representing trad
The thin elegantly sculptured arête right of Stranger to this Planet. Take a long neck. Finished on the half-height ledge at start of The Slug Patrol.
Richard Kirk, 03/92.
17/2 The Slug Patrol’s Revenge on the Thrash and Dangle Man 18 25m
1.02
wire representing trad
This route starts from the half-height ledge which runs in from the Little Eiger-Eiger Wall corner; due to loose conditions and wet moss, traversing along this ledge is not recommended. A more stylish and interesting approach is to climb Jim Collins Hits Egmont to the belay stance on top of the large boulder—the chock stone in off-width can be used for belay. Start the climb about a metre to the left of the cited chock stone and follow the fist-crack to the top.
Lionel Clay, Richard Kirk, 17/03/85.
3 Jim Collins Hits Egmont 17 20m
0
wire representing trad
The twin cracks right of the large wet corner. Start up the loose blocks past three very old in-situ pegs. Climb one of the hand-to-fist sized cracks. The original route took the right-hand crack, but better climbing and belaying is found by taking the left hand crack to the base of The Slug Patrol thus beginning a splendid sunny two-pitch climb. Jim Collins was apparently a pseudonym for Chris Morris.
Chris Morris, R Cooper, 05/04/85.
4 Desmodramatic 19 17m
0
wire representing trad
The capped right facing groove just right of Jim Collins Hits Egmont. Sustained climbing with a strenuous roof at the top. Leader rested on rope during first ascent.
R Cooper, Chris Morris, Neil Parker, 07/04/85.
5 Prescription Poison 16 19m
0
wire representing trad
Climb the right hand side of the site of the shattered arête which has now blown away. Note this is the same arête described as ‘fairly stable’ in the previous edition!! Climb to the sloping ledge. Move up corner crack, laybacking or jamming, to second ledge. Finish by climbing last 3m on a small face. Despite the demise of the much lamented arête the climb is still possible and still 16, but is not altogether safe or recommended.
Lionel Clay, Pete Swanson, 04/84.
6 Green Eggs and Ham 20 20m
0
wire representing trad
Start as for Prescription Poison until sloping ledge. Traverse right into the slightly overhanging crack. Climb crack direct. The first ascensionist described this route as being particularly desperate, but not in those precise words.
Lionel Clay, Richard Kirk, 31/03/85.
Eigerwander WI4
0
A short icefall often forms down the red slabs.
Iain Young, Greg Banks, 1995.
Attribution: 
Updated with RDN text & pic.
UUID: 
ed8d34e8-9aba-4e64-a168-a5ea6c0125a3