![]() Rock climbing in New Zealand | |
Highest governing body | https://www.climbing.nz/ |
---|
Rock climbing in New Zealand, as a sport in its own right, emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. While it has been practiced at least since the late 1800s it was largely considered as training for mountaineering. But by 1968 the first dedicated rock climbing guide had been published by the University of Canterbury tramping club, and the following decade saw a rapid improvement in standards and the introduction of new technologies and approaches including the bolting of routes that paved the way for sport climbing to emerge as an alternative to traditional route protection. Pursuit of trad climbing, sport climbing and bouldering all began developing their distinct trajectories separate from each other and from mountaineering.
Rock climbing in New Zealand is pursued in many settings: sea cliffs (e.g. Ti Point, Long Beach), lakeside cliffs (e.g. Kawakawa Bay and Whanganui Bay on Lake Taupō), riverside cliffs (e.g. Waipapa Dam), old quarries (e.g. Mt Eden Quarry), farmland crags (e.g. Wharepapa Rock, Waipari), and alpine crags (e.g. Wye Creek in The Remarkables). Access rights to these climbing areas vary across the country due to the circumstances of land ownership and governance. Sustainable access to rock climbing areas in New Zealand has become an increasingly important issue and in recent years a number of historically important climbing areas, such as Mt Eden Quarry and Whanganui Bay have become closed to the climbing community. In response to these difficulties the Aotearoa Climbing Access Trust was recently formed to engage with landowners and public land governance bodies to maintain sustainable access to rock climbing areas in New Zealand.
Detailed descriptions of climbing areas and climbing routes in New Zealand can be found on specialist websites including climbnz.org.nz, 8a.nu and thecrag.com.
The table below details those areas that have been most popular over the years, although some are closed.
Area | Style | Rock type | Number of routes | Ownership and status |
---|---|---|---|---|
North Island | ||||
Mt Eden Quarry | Trad | Basalt | >200 | Private and closed |
Wharepapa South | Sport | Ignimbrite | >1,300 | Mostly on private property except Waipapa |
The Airstrip, Waitomo | Bouldering | Limestone | >200 | Private property |
Whanganui Bay | Sport and Trad | Ignimbrite | >300 | Public and closed |
Kinloch/Kawakawa Bay | Sport | Rhyolite | >300 | Public land |
South Island | ||||
Paines Ford / Pohara, Golden Bay | Sport | Limestone | >300 | Public land |
Castle Hill Basin | Bouldering | Limestone | >2,500 | Public and private |
Port Hills | Sport | Trachyte and Basalt | >1,100 | Public and private |
Wānaka | Sport | Schist | >1,000 | Mostly public |
Queenstown | Sport | Schist | >1,000 | Mostly public |
Long Beach, Dunedin | Sport | Andesite | >200 | Public land |
Competition climbing in New Zealand is administered by Climbing New Zealand, a member of Sport New Zealand.
Although rock climbing in New Zealand has a post-colonial history that can be traced back at least to the 1890s, [1] it was primarily employed as training for mountaineering.
It was not until the 1970s that a community of dedicated rock climbers emerged focused primarily on rock climbing to push the sport into the modern era. The key protagonists advancing rock climbing standards in the 1970s included Robbie McBirney and Rick Mcgregor in Auckland and John Allen, John Howard and Dave Fearnley in Christchurch. Robbie McBirney and Rick Mcgregor contributed many first ascents in the Mt Eden Quarry, including Robbie McBirney's ascent of Supergroove in 1976. Although McBirney initially graded Supergroove at 24, it was soon recognised as the first 26 to be established in Oceania.
Although rock climbing standards were greatly elevated in the 1970s, largely driven by members of the Auckland Rock Group, it was the 1980s the has been called the "revolutionary epoch" [2] of New Zealand Climbing. It was the decade when bolting became ubiquitous, opening up many of the rock faces in New Zealand that had previously been unprotectable by traditional gear placements. In the North island the focus of activity was at Whanganui Bay with many climbers making significant contributions, including: Len Gillman, Graeme Aimer, Grant Davison, Bryce Martin, Simon Vallings, Robbie McBirney, Rick McGregor, Roland Foster and Micke Rockell.
The 1990s saw the proliferation of indoor climbing walls and the rapid development of Paynes Ford, arguably New Zealand finest sport climbing crag.
![]() Rock climbing in New Zealand | |
Highest governing body | https://www.climbing.nz/ |
---|
Rock climbing in New Zealand, as a sport in its own right, emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. While it has been practiced at least since the late 1800s it was largely considered as training for mountaineering. But by 1968 the first dedicated rock climbing guide had been published by the University of Canterbury tramping club, and the following decade saw a rapid improvement in standards and the introduction of new technologies and approaches including the bolting of routes that paved the way for sport climbing to emerge as an alternative to traditional route protection. Pursuit of trad climbing, sport climbing and bouldering all began developing their distinct trajectories separate from each other and from mountaineering.
Rock climbing in New Zealand is pursued in many settings: sea cliffs (e.g. Ti Point, Long Beach), lakeside cliffs (e.g. Kawakawa Bay and Whanganui Bay on Lake Taupō), riverside cliffs (e.g. Waipapa Dam), old quarries (e.g. Mt Eden Quarry), farmland crags (e.g. Wharepapa Rock, Waipari), and alpine crags (e.g. Wye Creek in The Remarkables). Access rights to these climbing areas vary across the country due to the circumstances of land ownership and governance. Sustainable access to rock climbing areas in New Zealand has become an increasingly important issue and in recent years a number of historically important climbing areas, such as Mt Eden Quarry and Whanganui Bay have become closed to the climbing community. In response to these difficulties the Aotearoa Climbing Access Trust was recently formed to engage with landowners and public land governance bodies to maintain sustainable access to rock climbing areas in New Zealand.
Detailed descriptions of climbing areas and climbing routes in New Zealand can be found on specialist websites including climbnz.org.nz, 8a.nu and thecrag.com.
The table below details those areas that have been most popular over the years, although some are closed.
Area | Style | Rock type | Number of routes | Ownership and status |
---|---|---|---|---|
North Island | ||||
Mt Eden Quarry | Trad | Basalt | >200 | Private and closed |
Wharepapa South | Sport | Ignimbrite | >1,300 | Mostly on private property except Waipapa |
The Airstrip, Waitomo | Bouldering | Limestone | >200 | Private property |
Whanganui Bay | Sport and Trad | Ignimbrite | >300 | Public and closed |
Kinloch/Kawakawa Bay | Sport | Rhyolite | >300 | Public land |
South Island | ||||
Paines Ford / Pohara, Golden Bay | Sport | Limestone | >300 | Public land |
Castle Hill Basin | Bouldering | Limestone | >2,500 | Public and private |
Port Hills | Sport | Trachyte and Basalt | >1,100 | Public and private |
Wānaka | Sport | Schist | >1,000 | Mostly public |
Queenstown | Sport | Schist | >1,000 | Mostly public |
Long Beach, Dunedin | Sport | Andesite | >200 | Public land |
Competition climbing in New Zealand is administered by Climbing New Zealand, a member of Sport New Zealand.
Although rock climbing in New Zealand has a post-colonial history that can be traced back at least to the 1890s, [1] it was primarily employed as training for mountaineering.
It was not until the 1970s that a community of dedicated rock climbers emerged focused primarily on rock climbing to push the sport into the modern era. The key protagonists advancing rock climbing standards in the 1970s included Robbie McBirney and Rick Mcgregor in Auckland and John Allen, John Howard and Dave Fearnley in Christchurch. Robbie McBirney and Rick Mcgregor contributed many first ascents in the Mt Eden Quarry, including Robbie McBirney's ascent of Supergroove in 1976. Although McBirney initially graded Supergroove at 24, it was soon recognised as the first 26 to be established in Oceania.
Although rock climbing standards were greatly elevated in the 1970s, largely driven by members of the Auckland Rock Group, it was the 1980s the has been called the "revolutionary epoch" [2] of New Zealand Climbing. It was the decade when bolting became ubiquitous, opening up many of the rock faces in New Zealand that had previously been unprotectable by traditional gear placements. In the North island the focus of activity was at Whanganui Bay with many climbers making significant contributions, including: Len Gillman, Graeme Aimer, Grant Davison, Bryce Martin, Simon Vallings, Robbie McBirney, Rick McGregor, Roland Foster and Micke Rockell.
The 1990s saw the proliferation of indoor climbing walls and the rapid development of Paynes Ford, arguably New Zealand finest sport climbing crag.