NR |
North Ridge |
1+ |
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This ridge cannot be soloed without a rope, there's a serious notch in the
ridge that cannot be downclimbed safely.
Bryan Barrer, Frank Askin, Dec 1931
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GR |
Golly Rodger |
16,18,16,20,17,17,14,15,13 |
395m |
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Left Wall
‘The route offers consistent climbing and has a worthwhile feel about
it,’ said one of the first
ascentionists. ‘We were scared pretty much the whole time,’ said the
other. Nine pitches on very
compact and sparsely protected rock. Belay/abseil bolts.
Access by scrambling up towards highest rock mound beneath centre of face.
This is about 100 metres right of the big right-facing corner. Rather than
climbing to top of the mound, move left about 40 m along ledges to bolt belay
on nose of rock.
The first ascent climbed using all natural gear with the abseil bolts being
added to the belay stances on the descent, which also helps to mark
where the route goes.
# | Ewbank | Alpine (Technical) | Alpine (Commitment) | Alpine (Mt Cook) | Aid | Water Ice | Mixed | Boulder (Hueco) | Length | Bolts | Trad |
1 | 16 | | | | | | | | 45m | | Yes |
| Left of belay is a recess in the face. Starting in this, climb up good rock tending slightly left to ledge. Then straight up overhang and face to main ledge and belay bolts.
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2 | 18 | | | | | | | | 45m | | No |
| Tend left up face to ledge. Above is a steep wall with seams angling right. Follow seams to ledge and belay bolts.
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3 | 16 | | | | | | | | 45m | | No |
| Straight up overhang, then the face above tending slightly right to a ledge. Then straight up face to belay bolts on ledge. Belay may be a little to your left when gaining ledge. Good sustained pitch.
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4 | 20 | | | | | | | | 45m | | No |
| Step left and up weakness in the overhang. Then up and move right along seams to a small overlapping corner. Move around this corner and up tending right to ledge. Climb straight up face to next ledge, then tending left up face to belay bolts in recess.
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5 | 17 | | | | | | | | 45m | | No |
| Just left of belay and straight up steep juggy line of weakness to ledge. Then on up face (slightly right). Belay bolts on ledge.
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6 | 17 | | | | | | | | 50m | | No |
| Tend left up face to ledge. Above ledge head straight up towards small right-facing corner. Belay bolts just above. Sustained pitch.
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7 | 14 | | | | | | | | 40m | | No |
| Up and right to follow weakness through overhang. Then back left and straight up face to ledge and belay bolts.
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8 | 15 | | | | | | | | 30m | | No |
| Move left a bit to avoid overhang then up good juggy rock. Once established on face above keep a little left at 1st, moving right again when well up. Gain sloping ledge and bolts.
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9 | 13 | | | | | | | | 50m | | No |
| The rock above belay looks a bit odd. Move right a few metres along ledge, then up face tending back left. Regain the line then barrel straight up juggy rock to the belay bolts. Above this the angle lies back to scrambling. Be careful to avoid snagged ropes if abseiling this pitch.
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Peter Dickson, Bill McLeod, 1992
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TG |
The Groke |
4- 15 , 15 , 15 , 17 , 13 , 13 , 16 , 16 , |
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Left Wall. Generally follow the vague weaknesses just left of the obvious
drainage line on the face. Even so, protection and belay anchors are sparse
on some pitches, though belays are generally on good ledges. Some pitch
descriptions are generalised.
# | Ewbank | Alpine (Technical) | Alpine (Commitment) | Alpine (Mt Cook) | Aid | Water Ice | Mixed | Boulder (Hueco) | Length | Bolts | Trad |
1 | 15 | | | 4- | | | | | 0m | | Yes |
| Weave in and out of ledges and overhangs seeking the easiest route, towards the prominent line in the middle of the wall
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2 | 15 | | | | | | | | 0m | | Yes |
| As above.
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3 | 15 | | | | | | | | 0m | | Yes |
| As above.
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4 | 17 | | | | | | | | 0m | | Yes |
| From below the overhang move left and up around the overhang, then up a faint corner.
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5 | 13 | | | | | | | | 0m | | Yes |
| Continue up the wall following the weakness.
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6 | 13 | | | | | | | | 0m | | Yes |
| As above
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7 | 16 | | | | | | | | 0m | | Yes |
| Follow a faint crack to the upper overhang.
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8 | 16 | | | | | | | | 0m | | Yes |
| Through the upper overhang, and into a chimney.
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9 | | | | | | | | | 0m | | No |
| Easy climbing leading to a scramble to the summit.
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Fiona Bowie, Richard Thomson, 1987
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The Whole Nine Yards |
13,18,17,19,21,19,17,17,14,13,17,17,18,17,15 |
730m |
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82 |
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4 |
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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.
There 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.
# | Ewbank | Alpine (Technical) | Alpine (Commitment) | Alpine (Mt Cook) | Aid | Water Ice | Mixed | Boulder (Hueco) | Length | Bolts | Trad |
1 | 13 | | | | | | | | 30m | 1 | Yes |
| Scramble up ledges past one bolt
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2 | 18 | | | | | | | | 35m | 8 | No |
| Climb straight up v grove, skirt left around overlap and up past eight bolts. Under the next overlap, move right to an anchor.
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3 | 17 | | | | | | | | 35m | 4 | Yes |
| 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.
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4 | 19 | | | | | | | | 40m | 7 | Yes |
| 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.
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5 | 21 | | | | | | | | 50m | 10 | Yes |
| 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.
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6 | 19 | | | | | | | | 55m | 9 | Yes |
| 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.
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7 | 17 | | | | | | | | 55m | 7 | Yes |
| 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).
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8 | 17 | | | | | | | | 30m | 4 | Yes |
| 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
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9 | 14 | | | | | | | | 55m | | Yes |
| Same as the first pitch of The Great Prow (trad. with rap anchor at the top)
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10 | 13 | | | | | | | | 150m | | Yes |
| 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.
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11 | 17 | | | | | | | | 35m | 7 | Yes |
| Follow the line of bolts linking ledges to a DBB.
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12 | 17 | | | | | | | | 35m | 7 | No |
| Follow the line of bolts linking ledges to a DBB.
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13 | 18 | | | | | | | | 55m | 8 | Yes |
| 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.
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14 | 17 | | | | | | | | 40m | 6 | Yes |
| Go to the back of the ledge and climb the crack at the head-wall using a mixture of trad. and bolts.
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15 | 15 | | | | | | | | 30m | 4 | Yes |
| 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.
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Grant Piper, Bernie Frankpitt and Greg Low 2021 , prow section still to do (but open)
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SWR |
South West Ridge |
3 15 |
150m |
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Start just left of the ridge : scramble up a gully to a small left-facing corner opposite a prominent
corner with a chimney. About four pitches of steep climbing, then a scramble to the summit of
Cloudy Peak. Alternatively, traverse right and descend scree.
Jack Hill, Rob Rainsbury, 1974
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East Flank |
1+ |
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From the Clyde, head up a gully south-east of Mt Nolan and cross into the basin east of Cloudy
Peak. Head directly towards the peak, swinging south onto the range at a flat area at 2120 metres
(also readily reached from Cloudy Peak Stream), before continuing up small bluffs then scree.
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South East Ridge |
1+ |
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From the col between Cloudy Peak and Ferrar Peak (2120 meters), scramble up a
broad ridge which gets easier and more defined the closer you get to the
summit. If descending in poor visibility, care needs to be taken route
finding to reach the col.
FA Unknown
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SL |
Silver Lining |
23 ,18 ,16 |
105m |
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2 |
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A line on the right hand end of the upper wall. Fine splitter cracks up steep
terrain. After 3 excellent pitches can continue scrambling up SW ridge to the
summit, or descend as per SW ridge.
# | Ewbank | Alpine (Technical) | Alpine (Commitment) | Alpine (Mt Cook) | Aid | Water Ice | Mixed | Boulder (Hueco) | Length | Bolts | Trad |
1 | 23 | | | | | | | | 35m | | Yes |
| Just right of the arete, a crack line goes through 2 overhanging bulges. Sustained and well protected climbing to large ledge system.
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2 | 18 | | | | | | | | 45m | | Yes |
| An immaculate splitter crack going up the next wall.
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3 | 16 | | | | | | | | 25m | | Yes |
| Move left to another shorter splitter crack.
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S Fortune, J Grinsted, S Chand, Feb 2017
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Comments
Water buckets are now in
Water buckets are now in place, one at the lower rock biv and one at the site near the bottom of hourglass wall - thanks to whoever put them in!
Thanks to Steve Fortune and
Thanks to Steve Fortune and Jack Grinstead, there is an access track that was marked with pink tape and cut on 26/2/2017 starting at the base of the slopes on the true left of Cloudy Stream. It ascends the obvious spur closest to the true left side of Cloudy Stream and leads to the scree fields at the end of the scrub. Travel up the spur is easy and open all the way to the scree fields. Access to the base of the hourglass wall from Erehwon Station is quite straightforward and makes Cloudy Peak an awesome weekend climbing destination!
Check the Rangitata River
Check the Rangitata River flow gauge for an indication of what the Clyde River level is (http://ecan.govt.nz/services/online-services/monitoring/river-flows/Page...).
This comment from a climbing
This comment from a climbing party, Feb 2012: We climbed Cloudy Peak's Great Prow over Waitangi Weekend,which proved a popular route as we were one of 3 parties. We have now cut a new track through the heavy scrub down low in the access valley. The track is well defined with white tape, climbers should keep a lookout for this after they reach to top of the initial hill / ridge which grants access to the valley.Track goes through open scrub initially, staying low(ish) in the valley rather than going high. Then it picks through the thick stuff to finish on scree.