Although we only the better part of a day there, we had clear skies while checking out the bouldering mecca of Castle Hill Basin. It's a pretty cool place to check out even if you aren't a climber. It's set in a high mountain basin with gorgeous vistas about 100km from Christchurch. The area is chalk (bad pun) full of strange, slopey boulders in just about any shape you can imagine. If you are a climber, well, let me just say that at noon every day I face south and pray to the rock gods...
Limestone is a very unusual rock for bouldering. It normally is to fragile to form good boulders. Since the rock medium here is limestone, exposed rock is subject to chemical erosion, similar to what forms limestone and marble caves. CO2 forms carbonic acid with water and dissolves such rocks. This makes the rock smooth, as this weathering erodes any sharp edges and recrystallizes the precipitate on the cooler undersides of the boulders. Thus, the rock here is unlike any other. The climbing is full of bizarre friction moves on heinously smooth slopers and manteling on pockets that are way to small. The one problem with the place is that a lot of the problems (boulder routes) were lowball (short).
Victoria hiked around and wrote postcards while I scrambled around climbing every thing I could. We just spent the day at Spittle hill. This area is about 1/4 the size of Castle Hill and is smaller than Flock Hill, a few km away. It still boasts 1800+ problems. It's everything a climber asks for. Epic, graceful climbing in an area with stunning scenery. Ok I'll shut up now. On to the pics. One last thing though, everything here is much harder than it looks.
One of the best Pictures, mid morning
Everything on the south faces was bitter cold and snow covered. That left me only 900 or so problems to climb.
Victoria during our initial exploration of the area
Giant golden face with a few routes on it
This V4 I eventually bagged. Start in the hole and gun for the lip.
Falling!
Sweet success
Slopey V2 topout
V7 that took my ego down several notches
Self portrait whilst heel hooking the cyclops boulder
find Victoria in the picture if you can
My attempt at an artsy shot
The submarine boulder (no really, it's called that)
Deposits up close on an overhang
Way to many of them. I didn't even scratch the surface
A V3 with snowy holds on the shady side. I wisely chickened out.
Self Portrait
Lacing up for the cyclops (V5 I think)
It is way way WAY harder than it looks. Those are the slopiest huecos (holes) I have ever seen.
~Cheers
4 comments:
The "to"/"too" mishap is in this post...I think at the beginning of the second paragraph.
I finally got a chance to read all of the postings, and think you did a great job! Everyone I sent the link to really liked reading the posts and looking at the pictures. Thanks for doing all the work on it babe, I owe you one!
I found another "to/too" mishap...check photo #16 (I think). Great job babe!
I look constipated in the picture where I'm walking up the hill...couldn't you have found a better picture of me to post??! Maybe you could photoshop a better expression on my face :P
These pictures are great. Thanks for sharing your adventure with me.
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