The Mate’s Little Brother contains some of the best free routes in the Darran region. The Half Dome-shaped Little Brother is 180m high and the rock clean and coarse.
To access these routes, follow the scree slope below Moir’s Mate round to narrow ledges (try not to lose too much height) which traverse along the base of the wall.
Descent of the Mate’s Little Brother
By far the easiest option is to rap your route. Otherwise it is possible to walk down the true left of the Little Brother to the Cleddau ledges. In early summer the snow basins can be full, making descent down the true left both difficult and dangerous. An alternative route lies over a col beyond the Moir’s Mate and down the northern slabs to the Homer Saddle ridge.
Routes
| Reference | Title | Grade | Length | Pro | Quality | Alert | Operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where’s My Epirb?, 21 | 21 | 0m | |||||
|
On the left side of the Mate’s Little Brother.
|
|||||||
| 1 | 1The Milford Cruise, 22 | 22 | 0m |  |
|||
Three pitches. 20, 22, 21. An excellent and sustained route through three overlaps; the route avoids much of the water-streak, staying right through the overlaps. |
|||||||
| 2 | 2Brothers in Arms, 23 | 23 | 150m | |
|||
Starting on slabs left of the arches, move up past some bolts then step right and into obvious crack.
Sustained moves left of the belay then move right into the white leaning corner – a 25m, grade 20 overhanging jug-fest. Belay out left.
Step right from belay, climbing right trending crack to bolt on face above. Step right then continue up and left through cracks past bolt to belay.
Straight up corner passing a bolt to the butterfly flake. Two bolts lead to a long reach left then up and over the Mate’s Little Brother. |
|||||||
| 3 | 3Cradock's Retreat, 21 | 21 | 80m | |
|||
Climb steep slabs and small left facing crack, passing a number of bolts. The crux bolt has been replaced. Climb through a small roof to bolt belay.
From belay climb left into the shallow corner, passing two bolts before steep cracks lead to the big white corner of Brothers in Arms. Continue up corner to belay. |
|||||||
| 4 | 4Second Coming, 26 | 26 | 122m | |
|||
Easy-going slab takes you to the base of the overhanging arches.
The dihedral requires wide bridging and lay-backing on fingertips with protection from small wires.
Hard moves up corner ‘til crack opens out to underclings. Take big Friends #4.
Move past three old bolt ladder bolts, then traverse over to the newer bolts cutting back into flake/chimney system.
Up right, then back left following ramp to single bolt and natural belay.
Move through big corner past black rock band to belay in horizontal break.
Straight up, moving out right to bolt then a lengthy stretch of steep slab climbing with no protection over the Little Brother. A trouser-filling top-out! |
|||||||
| 5 | 5Armageddon, 28 | 28 | 95m | 8 |
|||
|
|||||||
| Revelations, 27 | 27 | 140m | 8 |
||||
|
Mostly bolted with obvious cams (sizes 0-3). Take 14 quickdraws and two
|
|||||||
| 6 | 6New Jersey Drifter, 24 | 24 | 145m | |
|||
Staunch moves off the belay lead to more staunch moves through an undercling layback before continuing up corner and face to belay.
Dynamic face moves past two bolts lead into the Yosemite Flake and steep jug-filled corner.
Move right off belay then up past a bolt before trending left along ramp to overlap and bolt. A healthy rock-over leads onto a slab. Continue up and right to bolt then left to belay.
Cranky moves lead up and left off belay past two bolts then right under overlap. Continue up and left to bolt under second overlap. Traverse right on underclings, clipping bolt on face above before pulling roof to belay.
Head up and right on slab, then mantle onto sloping ledge. From bolt on wall move left into black and white vein which trends right to exit at the top of the crag. Three full 60m abseils to reach the ground from the top anchors. |
|||||||
| Mystic Sister, 24 | 24 | 150m | 11 |
||||
|
The route starts at a single ring bolt anchor below a black corner 10 metres right of New Jersey Drifter. The route heads straight up the face, taking in the big right-facing corner in the centre of the wall. All belays are double ring bolts. Take a standard rack and 15 quickdraws, but you might like to add a #4 cam. Descend by abseiling the route, or walking off the top.
Reach a shallow corner via an undercling and some hard pulls. Turn the lip before it curves right, climb straight up onto the face above. Then follow the seam diagonally up and left to the anchor.
Straight up from the anchor tending right a bit onto a tricky face with flakes. This leads to the splitter crack which forms the bottom of the right-facing corner. Layback the flake to finish on the easy face right of the corner. Step left to belay on a ledge.
Step left from the belay onto the face. Balancy moves lead onto a slab below the crack of a left-facing corner. Aim for the jug out right to get to a crack and face above. Move slightly left to the bottom of a left-facing offwidth. Negotiate the big boulders at the top of the offwidth to get to the next anchor.
Take the flake left to climb the face into the left-facing corner. Pull over the roof on good holds, then climb a slab and a seam to a DBB at the top of the face. |
|||||||
| Gough-Wayatt | 0m | |
|||||
On the right side of the Little Brother start off the broken slabs further round to the ledges. Seven pitches. Five pitches of aid, two of free-climbing. Tends up and left towards a small roof near the top of the face. |
|||||||
| 8 | 8Crystal Void, 19 | 19 | 0m | |
|||
On the right side of the Little Brother start off the broken slabs further round to the ledges. Four pitches. 17, 13, 19, 16. Follow a corner into left-tending ramps before heading straight up over the right side of the Mate’s Little Brother. |
|||||||
| 9 | 9Crystal Meth, 19 | 19 | 0m | |
|||
On the right side of the Little Brother start off the broken slabs further round to the ledges. Four pitches. 16, 17, 19, 16. Starting from slabs on the right side of the wall, follow ledge systems up and left. The route moves through a series of cracks leading into a lone right-facing corner on the edge of the Mate’s Little Brother. |
|||||||
| MF | MFMechanical Failure, 23 | 23 | 0m | 7 |
|||
Start at the RHS of the crag, right of the arch and after beginning the scramble up to the Moir ledges. About 15m up above the ledges and back left a bit a bolt and a maililon by a left facing corner mark the start of the climbing. The climb needs cams 00 - 3 (Camalots) and a few wires. Route is rigged to rap. Follow left facing corner then break left to flakes and cracks to a grassy ledge. DBA
Gain the slanting slab and follow it to an overlap, over this to another slab. DBA
Up obvious corner, exit it at bolt to arete on left. Climb this to steep blank wall. Desperate move to gain groove and wall system. Ledge with DBA
Pull onto arete up to ledge and then move left on slab to finish up arete. DBA |
|||||||
Images
The Mates Little Brother possibly has the best mountain rock climbing in New Zealand, (In my opinion).