The Whole Nine Yards

Type: 
Rock
Description: 
A climb that goes from the bottom of the Hourglass Wall to the top of The Great Prow. You have to walk a short distance, from the top of the tier above the Hourglass Wall to the base of the Prow Wall. All belays are equipped with rings making it possible to rappel the route. The Prow Wall section is Ok, but the upper Hourglass Wall has diagonal, leftward rappels which are moderately difficult. Take a comprehensive rack of cams between BD #0.3-#3 and a single set of wires. The most practical descent route is to abseil down the upper section to the base of The Great Prow, and using the access way down the big shelf to near the start of the SW ridge.
Pitch(es): 
#EwbankAlpine (Technical)Alpine (Commitment)Alpine (Mt Cook)AidWater IceMixedBoulder (Hueco)LengthBoltsTrad
11330m1Yes
 

Scramble up ledges past one bolt

21835m8No
 

Climb straight up v grove, skirt left around overlap and up past eight bolts. Under the next overlap, move right to an anchor.

31735m4Yes
 

From corner on right of overlap, step up and climb right facing corner (trad.) to roof. Step left onto face and move up past well-spaced bolts on easier ground to the big ledge. The anchor is on your left.

41940m7Yes
 

Start at left corner of big ledge, Climb past three bolts onto the face left of the corner (crux). Climb up the face past two bolts, angling right to a splitter crack. Climb the 10m splitter crack (BD 2 and 3) to overlap. Step up onto the face and continue climbing to DBBS.

52150m10Yes
 

Climb through the overlap to the right of the anchor. Make a delicate move to the left and continue up the black face until capped by another overlap. Skirt right of the overlap into a vague crack. Climb up to a third overlap and move right onto easier climbing. The pitch finishes on a small ledge under the next overhang.

61955m9Yes
 

Climb through the overhang (crux) and continue up the face above. After the second bolt move left across the face to gain an off-width feature with good right-leaning, left-facing edges. Continue up the edges to a horizontal ledge. Traverse right to an orange left-facing corner and trad. gear. Move up the corner onto the brown face and past a single bolt. Finish on a big ledge with a rap station.

71755m7Yes
 

Follow the line of bolts starting at the right of the ledge, traverse right onto the red rock face, and then veering left until you reach the rap anchor at the top of the Hour Glass Wall (can be split in two pitches).

81730m4Yes
 

This pitch starts 30m to the right of rap station at the top of the previous pitch, at the back of the ledge that joins them. From the DBB, Scramble left up the ramp to a big red face with a bolt at its base. Climb straight up using a mixture of bolts and trad. crack gear. You finish at a rap anchor below the big scree that takes you to the prow buttress

91455mYes
 

Same as the first pitch of The Great Prow (trad. with rap anchor at the top)

1013150mYes
 

Scramble along base of the face on the left side of the Great Prow. Climb a pitch up an off-width crack and keep moving left until you meet the saddle. The next pitch starts at the top of a small stepped ramp above the saddle point of the saddle.

111735m7Yes
 

Follow the line of bolts linking ledges to a DBB.

121735m7No
 

Follow the line of bolts linking ledges to a DBB.

131855m8Yes
 

Step left and climb up passing a mixture of bolts and trad. crack placements until the angle eases in a wide gully with a DBB.

141740m6Yes
 

Go to the back of the ledge and climb the crack at the head-wall using a mixture of trad. and bolts.

151530m4Yes
 

From the right of the ledge, step up onto the moderately angled slab and climb past three bolts. At the third bolt step left across the void onto easy ground and scramble up to DBB, at the top of The Great Prow.

Grade: 
13,18,17,19,21,19,17,17,14,13,17,17,18,17,15
Quality: 
0
Gone: 
0
Length: 
730m
Bolts: 
82
Natural pro: 
1
Attribution: 
Photo Geoff Spearpoint
Ascent: 
Grant Piper, Bernie Frankpitt and Greg Low 2021 , prow section still to do (but open)
Route Image: 
UUID: 
21befc71-3adb-479e-b10d-d599038dd960

Comments

Poor bolting job

Being a bit more specific about the "poor bolting job" could be helpful for others planning on doing this climb, otherwise it just sounds critical.

The climbers who bolted this climb are experts with a huge years of experience between then, I would never question their experience, and also their motives.

If the motive was to purposely do a poor bolting job then I will never question a route bolted by these individuals again.

A worrying amount of bolt holes had been drilled very shallow, this means the bolts are sticking out at a worrying length. Also the location of some of bolted anchors have had little or no thought put into them at all.