French Buttress

Type

Sector

Altitude

1800m

Part of

Tūkino Crags

Obvious looking cliff with buttress pillars direct view from TASC Lodge lounge window

Walktime

20min

Aspect

South East

Approach

walk along the final bit of ski field vehicle access track then head of south west direction obvious cliff infront of you

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Routes

Reference	Title	Grade	Length	Pro	Quality
French Buttress	French ButtressScrambled Eggs, 12	12	60m	6	1.02
P1 12 60m 6 Trad The obvious left buttress before heading up to Tascmaster Wall. Climb the scrambled egg choss pile (4 bolts, not as loose as it sounds) on gigantic jugs and ledges. The mid section is easy scrambling and the headwall has two bolts, the rest on good pro and a nice bollard to belay. An awesome first lead and a rope-stretching 60m climb. Can be done as two pitches: belay just before the final headwall after the middle scrambling section.
	Camp 2015, 16	16	20m		0
P1 16 20m Trad On a small outlier buttress to the north of French Buttress. Passes through a couple of overhangs with some good exposure. Belay on gear. Walk off by scrambling up and to the right.
	Croissant, 12	12	50m	3	0
Route up right hand edge of French Buttress (blue route on picture) P1 11 24m 3 Up the right side slabby arête of the broad orange buttress. 3 bolts, DRB anchor. P2 12 26m 2 Trad Veer right on broken slab, climb up into gully then into left facing corner. Step right onto the blocky arête then up. 2 bolts and trad gear, DRB anchor.
	Cafe Noir, 14	14	51m	4	1.02
Route on left hand edge of French Buttress (green route in picture). P1 13 25m 4 Up the left side arête of the broad orange buttress. 4 bolts, DRB anchor. P2 14 26m 2 Trad Straight up and climb up the white buttress feature, then finish on slab. 2 bolts and trad, DRB anchor.
	French kisses, 16	16	25m		3
From the start of the second pitch of Croissant veer right to a large square rock revealing a crack in the left side. Shares Croissant's anchors. Good range of black diamond cams "0.5" up to "5" P1 16 25m Trad From the start of the second pitch of Croissant veer right to a large square rock revealing a crack in the left side. Shares Croissant's anchors. Good range of blackdaimond cams "0.5" up to "5"
	Right French Pillar, 15	15	60m		1.02
Climbs the rock to the right of the "Pilier Français" arete. P1 15 20m Trad Climb on good holds with good protection. The rock is fascinating. It looks loose, but you find it’s exceptionally solid and takes gear well. Belay before it steepens. P2 15 20m Trad Continue to climb directly up, finally joining the arete truely. Belay just before the final section. Can belay here or finish it off. P3 15 20m After a step, scramble to a good belay. Exit by traversing north and descending easier ground north of "Camp 2015".
	Splish Splash, 16	16	26m	5	0
P1 16 26m 5 Trad Up the wide corner system 5m right of the waterfall. Starts up the flinty-looking slab, going straight up or angling in from the right. Then into the clean left facing corner for a few moves, then stepping right into the main corner system and heading straight up. 5 bolts plus a couple of trad placements - medium wires and cams handy. Take a long sling for a belay bollard a few metres back from the top.
	Choss Corner, 15	15	20m		0
P1 15 20m Trad About 50m right of Splish Splash, attack the loose looking weakness. Good placements all the way and the rock is a lot better than it looks. Belay off large boulders at the top.

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UUID

04a6905b-c651-4ee5-952d-57459f161f3b