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Warwick Castle

Type
Altitude
1600m
Part of

Warwick Castle is the distinctive crescent shaped formation on the east profile of the mountain as seen from New Plymouth. Most climbs are on the south face, which can mean a cool belay even on a fine sunny day.
This crag gives both excellent short routes at moderate grades as well as some of the best long routes on the mountain.
Most of the cracks on Warwick's Castle are filled with vegetation. If you want to climb any of them you'll need to clean them. It's recommended to prepare your climb on abseil before leading it. Climbing is best after a dry period.
Ice Climbing.
The traverse of Warwicks Castle provides a fine, interesting winter scramble with the top end offering mixed climbing at times. The South Face has a few good lines in the mid section where there is more moss.
Many of the larger cracks or mossy sections will freeze providing a winter line, the overall quality will generally be dependent on prevailing conditions and how keen the climbers are to tackle the new coating after a storm clears.

Image
Aspect
South
Lat/lon
POINT (174.084377 -39.296115)
Topo50
BJ29 935 498
Access

It is about 30 minutes walk from Tahurangi Lodge, or about 1 1/4 hr up from the Stratford Plateau.
The best access is from the Stratford Plateau/Manganui Skifield. Follow the Round the Mountain Track under and past Warwick's Castle, follow a spur up on the northern side to arrive the top of the crag, between Warwick's and Lion Rock.
To descend either abseil off, or walk along the spine of the ridge towards Lion Rock. The spine or arête of the ridge is considered a good scramble and not to be underestimated. You may desire the protection of a rope at certain places. There are two naked anchor bolts at the top of BB Char.

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Places

Type Name
Sector Warwick Castle Right Side
Sector Sunnyside Wall

Routes

Reference Title Grade Length Pro Quality Operations
1 This One’s a Twenty-Two Too Chris 16 8m
0
2 Cobalt Blue 20 15m
1.02
3 Possum Claws 17 19m
0
4 Anti Climax 16 19m
2.01
5 Cardinal 13 16m
0
6 Dynafrog 16 18m
1.02
7 Rope Boy 16 16m
1.02
8 Sunrise 15 17m
1.02
9 The Way of The Orange 17 18m
1.02
10 Five Mill 16 18m
0
11 Menage a Trois 18 20m
1.02
12 Friend 18 20m
1.02
13 Chuff 18 20m
0
14 El Cap 15 20m
0
15 Pussy Lips 16 20m
0
16 BB Char 21 36m 2
0
17 Le Climb 20 30m
3
17.5 Last Night on Earth 26 20m 8
3
18 Jam Gambit 22 35m
3
19 Diplomatic Immunity 24 35m
0
19.5 Art Nouveau 27 20m 8
3
20 The Quick 18 43m
0
21 Dig This 16 40m
0
22 Small Nuts Have Their Uses 18 40m
0
23 Terminal Dive 23 30m 8
2.01
24 Tee’s Line 19 40m
0
25 The Disappointed 16 43m
1.02
26 Feat Of Clay 17 40m
0
27 The Elated 16 45m
0
28 Physical Graffiti 21 38m
0
29 Ethics, That’s Near London Isn’t It? 18 39m
0
30 Riders of the Purple Wave 19 40m
0
31 Firing On 18 30m
1.02
32 Aerobic Delight 20 30m
0
33 Scotty Dog 16 30m
0
34 Bop Girl 18 36m
0
35 Sun 17 35m
0
36 Fun 18 35m
0
6.04 Warwicks Traverse 11 80m
1.02
Comments
UUID
 
60b918f6-53d0-4ddd-a036-19c36a3b9b6d