Bolts at Rarangi, Blenheim
6 September 2006 - 11:34am
Someone's bolted a slab on the corner before you go up the hill. Mixture of Fixe (on a perfectly protectably 8m crack??????), glue in stainless and glued in carrot bolts.
Any body know anything about them??? :?:
6 September 2006 - 5:40pm
#2
Drive to Picton, as you get to Tua Marina, at the Koromiko cheese factory there's a corner which you turn right. Follow this road to the end until you get to the car park vacinity.
The bolts are on the lower slab on the left of the corner and also some carrots near the left cave at the car park.
I don't know where that OB crags is, but would like to know, looks like schist??? There's a band somewhere in the sound on geological maps.
6 September 2006 - 6:45pm
#3
I don't either but I know that the staff have explored climbed at most available rock around there - perhaps give them a call and ask one of the instructors
6 September 2006 - 7:00pm
#4
There's a practice anchor at the bottom, so I thought that it might be a school used crag or something.
Just trying to find some out if anyone minds the rock being scratched up a bit, for a possible dry tooling area????. The rock has some extremely dubious and obvious movement, but has good positive holds, almost like slate. I'm just questioning the dry tooling, I'm along way off actually doing any. So don't anybody give me a earful for it!??! :shock:
7 September 2006 - 8:59am
#5
General rule is to not dry-tool on established routes. Bolts can be chopped, but damage to the rock from dry-tooling is irreversible. Try and find some rock that isn't worth climbing to dry-tool. (admittedly an 8 m face which isn't technical almost falls into this category)
7 September 2006 - 1:55pm
#6
My ear's are fulling up already, not even a single scratch??!! :shock:
7 September 2006 - 2:48pm
#7
Is that a flood gate I hear opening?
7 September 2006 - 3:52pm
#8
Yeah I hear what your saying.
There's truck loads of crap rock around Kaikoura, where I'm currently living, it's just that I might be on the move to Blenheim some time this year or next. Sussing things out.
Besides I'm generally bollocks at rock climbing, so to deal with my inadequacies I might have a go a dry tooling, justifies feeling proud about leading a 14!!!! :lol:
Though the rock at Rarangi is crap as well...
7 September 2006 - 4:33pm
#9
Though the rock at Rarangi is crap as well...
It probably is, and if it wasn't bolted I'd let you be the judge of wether it was bad form to damage the area. But purely because someone has bolted it is reason not to dry-tool.
The reverse argument is that if every piece of rock gets bolted there is nowhere to dry-tool...
Generally quarries are a safe bet, if not safe climbing. Thats it, move to auckland and dry-tool at the quarry.
7 September 2006 - 4:39pm
#10
move to auckland and dry-tool at the quarry.
Nice one!! :lol:
That'll stir the jafa's up!!!
7 September 2006 - 4:44pm
#11
yeah, except Peter Dickson climbed soliquay (18.) at the quarry in crampons in about 1988...So maybe the jafa's are ahead of the pack..... :wink:
7 September 2006 - 5:02pm
#12
There has been and is a large amount of top mountaineers from auckland, location really has dick all to do with it, though they do have population statistics on their side.
And quarries you can dry tool in by the sounds, never been out of Kaikoura, might have to.... :shock: Just joking (about KK)!!
10 September 2006 - 4:00pm
#13
I know :-)
The NMIT blenheim outdoor course does its climbing and abseil instruction at Rarangi. It was bolted years ago by the tutor for this purpose.
the little outcrop on the corner there has some nice easy (about grade 14) routes on it.
The one on ring bolts up the face is quite a stiff 22. just watch out for loose blocks at the top (we accidently knocked down one the size of a fridge one time!)
There are more heading towards the walkway to monkey bay, they arent climbed on much by the course, might be quite dirty.
Have a look around!
looks like lots of beautiful trad climbing as you go round the coast towards Robin hood bay as well!
11 September 2006 - 11:27am
#14
Thanks Vic, this post was getting a bit wayward!!
The area in Monkey bay looks quite interesting, nice bouldery low roof then a choice of vertical cracks, though the rock might be of dubious quality the higher you go. Are there any anchors at the top of the wall???
The large 25m wall next to it looks promising, it would have to be bolted, to get anything out of it.
The bit at Robin Hood bay, is that accessable from the pine forest down to the rock??? I might have the bays mixed up??
There does seem to be some potential in the Rarangi area, you seen anywhere else in Blenheim for climbing?? :o
11 September 2006 - 11:48am
#15
At monkey bay i think the wall with the roof at the bottom used to be climbed on trad but then all the crucial placements fell off (again, blocks the size of small refrigerators... covered with sand now)
If i remember, there are trees at the top that you can toprope off. Maybe pro placements... Dunno about bolting it, after a couple of falls there will be a lot of boulders with bolts in at the bottom!
You can get to the top by going round to the bottom of the ridge (where everyine fishes from!) there is a scrambly sort of track to the top.
There were also some nice boulder problems but i believe they get shorter every year as more sand comes in. there was an awesome little roof just below the entrance track that we had hours of fun on but it might be gone now.
Climbing at Robin Hood...
Actually, i think i have MY bays mixed up. Robin hood bay is the surf beach ay? 5 km after you go onto the dodgy gravel road? I cant remember if there is any rock there we were always too focussed on the surf kayaking now thats a stoopid dangerous sport!
Whites bay is the one we were looking at i think. Round by the hole sea cave thing. TR prob ( no belays at the bottom) or almost but not quite entirely unlike deep water soloing (prob a bit shallow, munchy and cold!)
Ok i have to stop procrastinating studying now.
Have fun!
16 September 2006 - 7:02pm
#16
I'm currently on the outdoor recreation course in Blenheim, so I've been at Rarangi climbing a few times. Not especially good, and cold as hell..Anyway, F&C, if you're moving to Blenheim, or Vic if you are in Blenheim, it would be cool to hook up sometime and do some climbing.
17 September 2006 - 9:53am
#17
hi emmett. Nah im not in blenheim anymore, i left when i finished course mainly because i needed to climb! (now in wellington which isnt much better cos ity rains every day im not working :( )
You are right its cold, we first climbed there on the second day of course, we slipped off everything because it was so icy :roll:
Please say Hi to Ash for me and enjoy your course, you will do some really cool stuff!
17 September 2006 - 12:14pm
#18
Hey emmett!!
If your looking for a place to climb, there's a limestone plug up the Leatham valley just before Cave (stream?) Hut.
It's a roadside crag, don't know if anyone's climbed on it, though it has some very nice trad lines and some possiblity of bolts, seems to be very solid and up to 30m +!!.
You'll need a 4x4 to get to the hut/crag, hope you check it out.
As to climbing, I run my own business in KK, so I get feck all time off, hopefully selling it in the next six months so I might be keen after that. Thanks very much for the offer and we'll keep in touch.
17 September 2006 - 6:31pm
#19
Ok, sweet :) Where is Leatham valley? I'm from Finland so I'm not so familiar with the New Zealand geography..yet!
19 December 2011 - 2:37pm
#20
I am spending a bit of time in Rarangi, this summer.
Did anyone find out about these crags?
Any info would be gratefully recieved....
Thanks
19 December 2011 - 7:29pm
#21
Hey dupersuper
I was out there in the weekend, there are a few short, sharp, slightly crumbly sport routes on a mixture of glue-in and expansion bolts. there are two wee spots, one in the small valley just to the left of the monkey bay car park and another in monkey bay itself on the eastern side. the rock is relativly suspect and tends to come apart without warning.
Most of the routes were bolted by NMIT a number of years ago but they dont appear to use the area anymore. A couple of anchors are in need of replacement in the near future, this will probaly become a summer project for me if I can come up with some motivation...
If your keen for a bit of an after work sesion drop me a pm!
20 December 2011 - 2:17pm
#22
Hi dupersuper
I was a Blenheim local before moving to Christchurch to go to uni. I wrote a small guide for the area. PM me if you would like a copy. I'm at home for the holidays at the moment and keen to climb.
Matt
where is rairngi? Is it one of the Outward Bound crags?
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