Barrier Bluffs | ClimbNZ

Type

Face

Part of

Barrier Knob

The Barrier Bluffs, at the head of the Gertrude Valley below Barrier Knob, provide winter and summer routes.

Walktime

1.5 hours

Aspect

South

Access

Summer
Danger Will Robinson was accessed via the highest scree fan below Black Lake: scramble up the creek to a large terrace below the face. To access The Joker and nearby routes, gain height on the right-hand side of the slopes directly out of the lower Gertrude Valley until a left-tending ledge system can be followed to the base of the routes. To descend it is five abseils to easy ground, or traverse to Gertrude Saddle.
Winter
Winter routes on the Barrier Bluffs have the advantage of a pleasant walk up the Gertrude. The slabby ground below the Bluffs merits some care, but generally gives straightforward access to all routes. The climbs are severely threatened by the slopes above, so keep a wary eye out for releases on the Barrier Face during the previous afternoon. To descend, either rap the routes or traverse the slopes to Gertrude Saddle.

Accessed from

Gertrude Valley

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Routes

Reference	Title	Grade	Length	Pro	Quality
	When Friends Drop By, 20	20	0m		0
P1 20 Trad Up from the grassed areas. Follow a wide flake that opens to the right, almost wide enough to chimney inside. Continuing up relatively easy terrain to a ledge. Move up and left of a fairly blank wall (crux) then two more relatively easier pitches to the top. “It just got completely blank before I could reach easier ground again. At that point I took a winger and unzipped all the pro. I dropped all the way back to the ledge from about 15 meters up landing just beside Graeme, hence the name.” Dave Carlyle
	Ramping Time, IV,3	IV,3	0m		0
P1 Alpine (Technical) 3 Alpine (Commitment) IV Trad Climb thin ice on the right for one pitch, then traverse left for two pitches to the bottom of a right-sloping ramp, three pitches to the snowfield.
3	3Danger Will Robinson, 18	18	290m		0
P1 18 40m Trad Buttress to grassy corner below diagonal roof. P2 40m Trad Corner of left slab to roof. Out along crack and more easily up corner system to a big ledge. P3 35m Trad Onto slab and then to shattered corner. Climb buttress on the right then up to a ramp leading down right. Move down to belay on nose. P4 45m Trad Traverse right to easy ramp and corner above. P5 45m Trad Following left-tending corner. Hard move through a double mossy corner and over jammed block. Move to ledge and left to belay below ‘peapod’ flakes. P6 35m Trad Move through slab and blocks to left, then diverge right from obvious direct line which appears harder and descend right along flakes and up to belay. P7 50m Trad Blocks and a steep short wall to a slab. Tend right in slanting grooves then up to below lip.
	Ice One, IV,3	IV,3	0m		0
P1 Alpine (Technical) 3 Alpine (Commitment) IV Trad The left slanting gully below a steep wall, left of the Joker. Rarely in condition.
	Tessellate, 25	25	200m	12	2.01
6p, 200m, 25 mainly natural pro, all anchors DBB Approach Follow the Gertrude Saddle track uphill for 100m past the main stream crossing. When the track heads left at a prominent pyramid boulder continue up the vegetated scree ridge skirting low angle slabs on the left. Scramble up to the base of the wall directly below the prominent triangle face. 60-90mins. See topo map attached for details. Decent Recommend 2x 60m ropes. A 55m abseil from the top of P5 to the top of P3 is recommended. Take care for blocks on ledges P1 18 35m 2 Trad Scramble up to left trending ramp past 2B and gear around corner to DBB P2 19 40m 3 Trad Up corner, through overlaps then trending left and up. 3B. P3 18 40m 2 Trad Steep face with 2B to grassy ledge and mantle into corners, left of the Finger of Doom, then wide crack to hanging belay. P4 20 20m 1 Trad Clip bolt and fire up offwidth and right trending crack with good jams, then carefully up corner to large ledge. P5 25 35m 12 Right from belay, chimney up to first bolt. Technical face climbing steepens to wild pulls between huge jugs to top of overhang. P6 19 30m 3 Trad Rock over onto slab and up to first bolt, around corner and up slab on beautiful rock tending right past two more bolts and gear.
5	5Generation X, 19	19	80m	4	0
P1 16 30m Trad From the belay at the top of the third pitch of Aces High climb diagonally left on slabs and around arête to bolt belay. P2 19 50m 4 Trad . Up face and arête edge to natural belay on large sloping ledge, four bolts.
4	4Aces High, 23	23	180m	6	2.01
P1 17 50m 2 Trad From the groove right of the block climb the off-width crack and up the slab and arête to ledge at top. P2 20 30m 3 Trad Scramble up to higher ledge and follow left crack, then past three bolts to bolt belay. P3 23 40m 6 Trad Three bolts and pin to overlap then trend left. Two bolts protect rising traverse (crux) to smaller corner (natural pro) then out left past sixth bolt to belay close to corner. P4 17 35m 2 Trad Two bolts above belay then follow crack up and right to belay on spike on Joker arête to right of big roof. P5 21 25m 1 Trad . Climb above spike to fixed pin, then move left to clip bolt. Follow thin ramp up left, clip bolt then direct finish up scalloped rock.
6	6The Joker, 19	19	0m		1.02
P1 19 Trad Five pitches to the snowfield. Climb Evil Gully to below arête. Trend up on the right side of the arête for two easy but run-out pitches ending in a spike belay back on the arête. Two beautiful pitches to finish on the terraces. ‘Hard, dark, savage and ugly, but I recommend it!’ Calum Hudson
	Nobility of Spirit, IV,4	IV,4	0m		0
P1 Alpine (Technical) 4 Alpine (Commitment) IV Trad Take the gully-line right of the Joker arête. 9 or 10 pitches, with some superb ice that progressively steepens through the climb. Crux pitch is the last: a thinly iced vertical wall that leads onto easier ground.
	Barrier Cream, III,3	III,3	0m		0
P1 Alpine (Technical) 3 Alpine (Commitment) III Trad Five pitches of ice up the wide gully immediately left of the main Barrier face gully to the snowfield.

Images

Comments

Attribution

Craig Jefferies

UUID

873e5b54-e9f3-489d-9b6a-99f57736979a