Routes on the South Face are accessed by climbing up the slabs below Sabre then traversing the terrace that runs the length of the wall. The lower cirque wall climbed with aid during the FA of Maid Marion and freed when Mater Dei was climbed
This photo shows the upper wall approx 600m vertical with Mater Dei 1000m, 20 in red and Maid Marian 1000m 21 in Green. Both routes start via the same six pitches on the lower tier which range from 16 - 20. Mater Dei is less sustained and on average has easier climbing. The rock however on Maid Marian is excellent and it offers clean sustained climbing most of the way up the route.
Most recent ascents have been via the Crosscut-Barrier col.
Routes
Reference | Title | Grade | Length | Pro | Quality | Alert | Operations |
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Herron Hyslop Whiston | 500m | ||||||
A 500m long route taking a left-slanting groove starting in the center of the face. Five points of aid. |
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Red line | Red lineMater Dei, 20 | 20 | 1000m | ||||
shares with their other route, Maid Marian (21, 1000m). They freed a previously aided (A1), grade 20 pitch through a small chimney and tunnel, which led to a large terrace between the south faces of Marian Pk and Barrier Pk. Ben and Daniel quickly traversed left under avalanche-prone snow patches, along the edge of the terrace to access an easier line off to the left. The next 15 pitches started off with 250 metres of easy (grades 14-16) simultaneous climbing, followed by six pitches of steeper (grades 17-20) terrain, which were the crux of the route. Ben and Daniel then cruised up the last, easy 100 metres to the ridgeline, which Daniel explained wound up ‘just down and left of the true summit.’ |
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Green line | Green lineMaid Marian, 22,A2 | 22,A2 | 1000m | ||||
After the lower tier, you wander up onto the middle ramp. Above the right
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TT | TTTiki Tour, IV,WI4 | IV,WI4 | 0m | ||||
Follow a gully through the cirque wall below Sabre, sidling up a 45 degree snow ramp toward Marian. Continue up ice gullies on the upper south eastern face for fifteen pitches. The first ascent was done in a full day from the Hollyford, ten hours on the route and out to Homer. “A good walk with very little tough climbing. I’ll grade the climb as four, and a fucking lot harder in crap conditions.” Kim Logan |
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South East Face | 0m | ||||||
The small face beside the Marian Sabre Col. |
Images
Photo: Daniel Joll
I deleted the SE Face, as a simple solution. Not sure if there is much or enough difference in aspects or routes to warrant a separate SE Face place? Did the Jones/Fantini start from the bottom? Or did they drop down a bit from the col?