If you are the adventurous type and you enjoy a nice view, take a walk to the Wānaka lookout and the crags dotted on the hillside behind. Originally just a dilapidated lean-to on the side of the left-most wall, Cesare made it an injury project to turn it into a veritable den of iniquity. Impressed by the new bling and flesh-pot ambience, locals gave it a suitable new name.
From the Diamond Lake car park walk up the east branch of the Rocky Mountain track. Turn right onto the Wānaka Lookout Track, almost to its end, then left uphill about 100m towards a series of crags, some of which are partially obscured by bush. Caesars Palace is the two walls on the far left.
Routes
| Reference | Title | Grade | Length | Pro | Quality | Alert | Operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1Liberty Cap, 24 | 24 | 15m | 4 |
|||
|
A single route on the separate wall through the bush to the left. These guys had a vision! And used a bit of aid (A1). Powerful moves up the prow to a bolt belay under the roof. The roof crack will probably go free on natural pro at about grade 25.
|
|||||||
| 2 | 2Cleopatra | ||||||
|
Closed project |
|||||||
| 3 | 3Eurovision, 28 | 28 | 20m | ||||
|
Bolted by Lionel Clay last century, rebolted by Cesare Marchesin, and then …
|
|||||||
| 4 | 4Kiss on the Cheek, 25 | 25 | 12m | ||||
|
Start Eurovision then go right under the overhang to join LAFS at the first big edge.
|
|||||||
| 5 | 5Eurovision HD, 29 | 29 | 22m | ||||
|
A harder start to Eurovision with a V4 boulder problem.
|
|||||||
| 6 | 6Love at First Sight, 27 | 27 | 20m | ||||
|
After breaking down the crux at the beginning, good luck managing the pump to the top.
|
|||||||
| 7 | 7Pure As | ||||||
|
Closed project |
|||||||
| 8 | 8Yaya Ding Dong, 29 | 29 | 15m | ||||
|
This one was over 20 years in the making. As the man said (more or less): “It’ll never be enough, I only want to do Yaya Ding Dong!”
|
|||||||
Images
