Pehi’s Bluff | ClimbNZ

Type

Altitude

1700m

Part of

According to William Mead, Pehi Turoa was a Whanganui chief who knew the western side of Ruapehu well and had a whare between Ruapehu and Hauhangatahi, which he used on hunting trips early in the twentieth century.
Pehi’s Bluff is the dome of jointed, columnar lava that can be seen on the south-western skyline as you drive up towards the Top o’ the Bruce. The crag faces north-east, with expansive views out across the western volcanic plateau. But it is an alpine environment, sitting at around 1700m. Be prepared for changes in the weather.
The routes are at a relatively easy angle, well protected and with moderate grades; it is a good venue for climbers wishing to practise leading on natural gear.
Stu Allan, with OPC students, was the first to climb here in 1977. Other OPC and park staff followed, including Doug Wilson, Ann Louise Mitcalfe, Neil Clifton and Ray Button. At least 10 routes were done, including the brilliant Tawhitikuri. Pehi’s Bluff is now visited mostly for instruction by OPC, but deserves to be more widely known.
There are no fixed anchors at the crag: double ropes may be useful as belay anchors can be some distance back from the tops of the routes. Descent is by scrambling along the blocky crest of the ridge towards Ruapehu.

Walktime

45 min

Aspect

North East

Lat/lon

-39.24428562,175.54169655, NZ Topo Map

Topo50

BJ34 193 530

Approach

There are two ways to reach the crag. Best and easiest, though slightly longer, is to start from the Round-the-Mountain carpark at Scoria Flat on the Bruce Road. The crag can be seen as a prominent lava outcrop on the skyline to the south-west. Walk south along the track until it veers west to sidle up to the ridge separating the Whakapapaiti valley. Climb up on to the ridge and continue up this until the crag is reached at about 1700m.
Alternatively, walk directly west for about 2km from the Top o’ the Bruce carpark; this is reasonably rough travel over old lava flows and gullies.

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Routes

Reference	Title	Grade	Length	Quality
1	1Cornered, 14	14		0
P1 14 Trad
2	2Cracked, 14	14		0
P1 14 Trad
3	3Grooved, 14	14		0
P1 14 Trad
4	4Sharpened, 14	14		0
P1 14 Trad
5	5Shallow, 14	14		0
P1 14 Trad
6	6Deep, 14	14		0
P1 14 Trad
7	7Kaiserin’s Inspiration, 14	14	22m	0
P1 14 22m Trad Start left of the left-most of two obvious semi-detached pillars. Leaving the deck is tricky, then climb the crack to easier moves before finishing up cracks in a short, steep wall.
8	8Pillar of the Community, 15	15	22m	0
P1 15 22m Trad Climb up over the left-hand pillar, and continue to the top of the crag.
9	9Acid Rock, 14	14	25m	0
P1 14 25m Trad The crack and groove immediately right of the first pillar.
10	10Acid Drop, 16	16	25m	1.02
P1 16 25m Trad Interesting and sometimes tenuous moves up the shallow corner. Protection is adequate, but quite hard to arrange.
11	11Acid Casualty, 18	18	25m	1.02
P1 18 25m Trad Thin crack systems and face climbing up the wall.
12	12Tawhitikuri, 13	13	25m	2.01
P1 13 25m Trad One of the better routes around for its grade. But let’s not be modest, this gorgeous route stacks up well against climbs at any grade. Launch up a crack system just left of the second, larger pillar. Positive, sustained climbing all the way to the top, and good protection too.
13	13Back to Reality, 20	20	20m	0
P1 20 20m Trad The wide crack and face to the right of the pillar.
14	14Kumara Patch, 11	11	20m	0
P1 11 20m Trad Climb cracks in the wall.
15	15Garbage Gully, 6	6	18m	0
P1 6 18m Trad Scramble up the gully. Some loose rock at the top.
16	16Doug’s Corner, 14	14	25m	0
P1 14 25m Trad Climb the corner left of the main buttress, then either head right across the ledge system and up, or continue climbing straight up with a steep pull onto the upper wall.
17	17Digital Monsters, 18	18	20m	0
P1 18 20m Trad Climb the well-protected buttress in the centre of the right-hand wall (crux). Continue directly up the arête above and finish using cracks in the top wall.
	Rabbit Drop, V1	V1		0
Named for reasons that will become obvious to the climber this boulder is found directly under Pehi's Bluff. Rabbit Drop sits on the western aspect while Black Pudding Pizza is on the southern. Sit start, Strong moves straight up the central crack to mantle onto the face and then an easy top out via the center,
	Black Pudding Pizza, V2	V2		0
Same Boulder as Rabbit Drop, directly below Pehi's Bluff. BPP is on the southern aspect. Start on the left hand side, move up off the deck, then across following the crack and then up and top out on the right hand side. Be sure to check the top out holds for dirt as a fall would be bad due to the jumble of rocks as the landing zone. Spotters recommended. Center of the boulder can be quite wet.
	V for Vaccinate!, VE	VE	2m	0
Approx 20m down hill of Rabbit Drop Boulder a short little sit start, heal hook problem. Use only the centre roof, none of the others are in. P1 Hueco VE 2m
	Ricky Retty, V0	V0	4m	0
Large leaning slab boulder beneath Kaiserin’s Inspiration. Slab route on the right hand arete. P1 Hueco V0 4m

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00684788-3b77-43ca-b8f8-1fb1585a1a87