Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting.

We have been migrating South to New Zealand for the past several years. Usually this was a winter migration to visit the fabled ice-climbing crags of Wye Creek.The Pink Palace and the warm fireplaces in Queenstown to warm up our bodies after several days in a tent. But this year’s trip had an entirely different purpose. The next generation is now coming on strongly and the bouldering mecca of Castle Hill had entered their imagination. High school and more importantly the HSC had just finished and as a sendoff into adulthood, Schoolies and to celebrate the culmination of twelve years of studying – more or less - we decided on a bouldering/climbing road trip to New Zealand. The plan was forged a long time ago and this trip was for the boys: Alex, Cameron, Chris, Roman, Will with Louise and me trucking along.

The plan was to wait until the last exam, which was Will’s physics exam on Monday the 11th November and fly out the next day. And so it was on Tuesday the group of seven flew directly to Christchurch with the amazing Emirates airline. Picking up our Juice Toyota Estima 8 Seater Van, was a quick formality and we were on our way towards the nearest Countdown which is the local subsidiary of Woolworths, we shopped for three days to stock up on supplies. The next stop was the amazing Smylies YHA in the closest township to the Castle Hill – Springfield. I had preordered a couple of bouldering mats for the highballs in the boulder fields so that we had a total of four mats. From Springfield it was a short 20 minute drive up towards Arthur’s pass and the tiny Castle Hill alpine village where our lodge was located mere minutes from the bouldering fields. We managed the steep ascent up the mountains with time to spare and by 5pm the bouldering field of Spittle Hill came into view. It was late afternoon and the sun was low in the sky but there was no holding back and the boys were keen to get their hands on the immaculately smooth limestone of one of the world’s most famous bouldering destinations. So I dropped Louise of at our Alpine Chalet and joined the boys for a late evening session at the entrance area of Spittle Hill near the iconic Submarine Boulders. The shadows were long and the moon was bright so there was still plenty of light.
The first day saw quick ascents of some of the areas classics near the Submarine Boulder:

Tricky and Dr.Wall area (map 30)

Cocoa (V2*) surprisingly hard mantle on long crater
Tricky (V6**) powerful roof crux on good holds

At the submarine Boulder (map 31)

Turbine V5* despite the glassy edge and pocket of this arête problem: Throw from small slopey pocket to ledge.
Special Forces V5* Mantle into the humongous hueco, high steep and trust your foot with a bad edge for hands.

Now only the moonlight was our companion and by 8pm, I had enough and whisked the boys away towards our lodging where Louise had prepared our first meal spaghetti bolognaise. Anticipation for the next day kept the dreams vivid and our journey had just began.

Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting.

Day 2  (Wednesday 13 Nov) started with an early morning coffee for Louise and Roman. We usually woke the boys at 7am and let them chill for an hour before breakfast and the day’s activities. A big cereal breakfast with a second serving of eggs on toast would get us through the morning and Louise made sandwiches for lunch at the boulder field. We basically spend the entire day climbing and stopping for lunch was really never an option and this routine would continue for the entire trip.  We were in luck with the weather and although the temperature was much colder than expected the sun was out and friction was going to be good today. We pretty much headed straight to where we had left off the night before, to the East (morning sun) side of Spittle Hill. Once again the Tricky and Dr.Wall area (map 30) provided amble warm up opportunities and some of the classics were quickly repeated:

Horror Show (V4**) Pocket through high vertical face with good feet until a crux undercling up high. Hit the sloper hold it and throw for the jug. Highball nerves are required.

Hop to Poc (V6**)  [Chris Sending Video] crux starting move from bad undercling to high sharp pocket (ouch) than amazing climbing on big hueco to the top.

It was time to move towards a new area and right behind us lay the SuperFly boulder with one of the most outrageous boulder problems at Spittle Hill:

SuperFly (V4**) perfect 45 degree angle with no footholds and a jug barely reachable. Jump up high and match. Do a huge campus move to a jug far up let. Hold the swing and mantle over the void. Make sure you have plenty of mats and spotters for this one. The jug on the top of the boulder was a water bucket so we could not top out. We will come back for this one soon. Lunch was approaching fast and we were touring Spittle Hill in search for interesting problems. We ended up settling at the back of Nasal Slip. (Map 11)

Connect Four (V3**) Nice arête moves with mantle top-out. A good introduction to mantling.
Chalice (V2**) Not easy for the grade: throw into large scoop from bad crimps and footholds.
The Element (V5***) classic tricky mantle on polished edges with good double hand start pinch right behind Nasal Slip.
The Letter Box (V5**) Hard move to gain the slot and become established on the rock. Then a long pull to a good pocket out of reach.

With most of the classic dispensed it was time to quickly gobble down some lunch and check out the nearby Opium (Map 8) but not before checking out the Michell Angello Boulder:

Twin Arete (V3***) balance up both aretes to gain high jug for heel hock and mantle.
Opium (V7***)  the boys had their hearts set on this one but alas the polished nature of the rock and the impossible pockets made us move on rather quickly. Perhaps another day. There was still time for a little excursion to the second major area known as Quantum Fields with another thousand boulder problems but time literally flew away from us or the rock must have absorbed it all together because before we knew it day two, our first full day, ended with tired limbs and big smiles. It was time to head home for some butter chicken and a quick review of the daily videos.

Day 3 (Thu 14 Nov) was Quantum Fields day – a whole new area with labyrinthine rock formations to loose yourself within thousands of boulders. It was supposed to be our second and final new area at Castle Hill after we discovered that unfortunately Flock Hill with its amazing boulder problem database was closed due to the Annual Lambing season from 1st October - 25th December. But alas the weather forecast for Queenstown was abysmal and we decided to stay an extra day exploring the Castle Hill area.  The day began early again with the customary serial for breakfast and an additional loading of soft boiled eggs. This should safely get us to lunch when Louise’s carefully prepared sandwiches would be attacked with a vengeance. From our Chalet at Castle Hill it was mere minutes to drive to the Spittle Hill bouldering field and this time we did not forget to put on our sunscreen after a lavish roasting the previous day. Temperatures were cold in general with intermittent light rainfall and sporadic strong sunshine: the customary four seasons in one day spring weather in New Zealand. Once again we hit the rock early and started were we had left off the day before. Warming up was easy and performed straight on the hundreds of easy warmup problems all around us at the entrance of Spittle Hill:

Horror Show V4** unfair name for a fantastic pocket problem. Crux is the final exposed move from an undercling to a sloper, double take and throw for the deep bucket (filled with water). Highball.
Hop to Poc (V6***) first move crux from a bad hold hop to a very sharp pocket then fantastic moves to the top. Only Roman did the first move. Will cruised the top.

With the warm-up quickly dispensed with, it was time to relocate to another area and with thousands of boulders to choose from that was often the most confusing task. We settled on the nearby Avenger Boulder (map.25) for some of the classic lines:

Jump to Poc (v3***) jump to huge jug and mantle carefully - one of the most fun problems at Spittle Hill

Battle of the Bulge (V6*** Map25) Chris discovered this mantle masterpiece by accident and fell in love with it. He was the first one to suprise send. It is one of the most unforgiving mantles I have ever tried. Pull up on bad slopey crimp rail with both hands and heelhock high up right. Then squeeze.......

The Druid (V1**) classic warmup pockets on face to slab.

Beatnic (V3**) Pockets on face near offwidth to arete and big final move. Good warmup.

Divination (V3*** Map24) this is a highball slab. Very committing topout. Good pockets until halfway: mantle on final large pocket and than take a deep breath and carefuly balance up the final five metre slab. Do Not Fall!

Around ever corner we kept disovering new and amaizing shapes and sizes.

Karmic Retribution (V7*** Map 17) was a problem that the twins had seen on video and were keen to try. A huge extended reach out from under a bunched up roof position from an undercling leads to a far away lip - too far unfortuntaly for us. We never made it to the final mantle crux.

Contrived (V5** Map 16) another one discovered by Chris serendibitously. Tough slopers from beginning to last throw requiring a strong core. Everybody walked away in disgust but he kept throwing himself at it over and over again until the send came. Well done.

Let there be malt (V5***) nearby high slab with devious starting slab move. Roman Junior and Senior had a few shots and then walked away - Impossible ?

Wondering about in the glowing afternoon sunshine we discovered the piece-the-resistance of our Castle Hill trip, the one hard problem everyone is searching for on trip here. Right on the boundary of what is possible and the future, a real challenge that needs a lot of dedication and everything one can give and then some more. It was waiting for us at the Karmic and Vaseline Area (Map 17).

Tiger Eyes (V8***) deceptively simple start on two high disgustingly small but positive pockets. Pull up and throw your left heel hock on nothing. Then try to reach for a real bad sloper for above the bulge with your left hand - hold the sloper readjust and hit the final jug. Roman was determinded and threw himself at it with vengence. His first shot was perfect and he nearly sent but then the late afternoon took its toll. We will be back for this one.

Snatch (V5**) nearby: move right from pocketed frailty using invisible footholds. Everybody sent in the late afternoon.

Reaches (V6**) slopey start with good hold and high right heelhock, push hard on the gaston and try to mantle. Desparate and we came oh so close. Another one to come back for.

Now the cold mountain air was flowing freely and the hunger bangs started to drive us off the mountain towards our cozy chalet, where dinner and our daily video review was waiting for us. We slept very solid that night.

Day 4 (Friday 15 Nov) was supposed to be out moving day from Christchurch to Queenstown, but the forecast was torrential with heavy weather warning for the Fiordland region. We decided to extend our stay and hope for better weather so another day at Quantum Fields became possible. Our accommodation was running out so we booked Smylies in the nearby township of Springfield for one night. This would give us a chance to relocate and wait for better conditions. After cleaning the house and packing the car to the rafters with our four bouldering mats we set off once again for the nearby bouldering fields. This time we would try some actual routes in the Castle Hill area which was a first. We decided to explore and entirely knew area and moved along the base of Quantum Fields to the Headlight Boulder (Map 33) one of the most iconic house-sized boulders with lots of three-star classics. There was also a large selection of ring-bolted routes around this secluded area which made for a good mix of styles for the day. Some of the classics the boys send included:

Right Headlight (V4***)

Left Headlight (V4***) Both lines have big moves on big pockets with highball feeling

Sandwiched in the middle is the classically scary:

Fender Bender (V7**) hard crux start throw between good pockets. Roman got the crux but chickened out on the highball technical slab above. Scary !

Uncle Sam’s Safe Cracker (V7*)  Chris worked out the technical sequence to this classic lowball.

Vertex (V5/6***) [Video of Will sending]Undercling reach to pocket, lock of two shallow pockets and bring your left toe into tiny precision pocket. Throw for sloper and mantle. Sit start is V6. Everybody got is except the senior (cry!) I will be back for this one.

Steve’s (V6***) perfectly shaped pebble boulder. Long move from crimp to large scope then technical balancy moves to topout.

While the boulder boys enjoyed some lunch Will and Roman S. explored some of the slab routes on the high spires. The area around the Headlight Boulder has many slab type routes but it is difficult to ascertain the precise name and difficulty of the route. No precise guide exists so one has to choose carefully. Will and Roman went to the most impressive line first and discovered very soon that the first bolt was about 6 meters of the ground with serious ground fall potential. We discovered a top-rope option by climbing around it and the slab was just too difficult to complete. We opted for two less difficult routes and completed the first climbing experience at Castle Hill. Meanwhile the afternoon bouldering activities were already underway. Close nearby several more boulders revealed hidden gems (map35):

Luxuriant (V3**) undercling to nice edges and slopers with a nice deadpoint crux. Quite hard for the grade.

Pocs (V2**) classic warm-up boulder problem.

ThinkTank (V4***) this is one of most famous problems at Quantum fields, deceptively difficult with no holds whatsoever. Precise stemming and mantling will get you to the balancy finale. Amazing.

Double Pockets (V7***) [Roman Sending Video] Crimp two thin pockets and hit the sloper far out left - classic.

The weather began to turn again around 5pm and the air temperature plummeted in the overcast sky. We still had to check into our new accommodation and a warm pup meal was waiting for us. The short 20 min drive to Smylies was relaxing and before we knew it Chicken Parmigiana; rips and burgers were consumed in great quantities.

Day 5 (Saturday 16 Nov)   The forecast had improved slightly and we decided to relocate to Queenstown after all. The first half of the journey would lead us to Tekapo hotsprings about 3 hours and 250km or almost exactly half way. The baths were perfect for our sore muscles and a little bit of relaxation was just what we needed. The rest of the journey would lead us straight to Queenstown via some mercurial weather fronts along the way. But by 5pm we were considering a quick bouldering session when the showers began once again. We had been lucky so far but the forecast was grim. Spring in New Zealand had been very cold and quite temperamental for us. After checking into our Air BNB granny flat we had some shopping to do and discovered a nice sushi place at the close of day. We were all hoping for a miracle the next morning.

Day 6 (Sunday 17 Nov) Our first real climbing day at Wye Creek began with heavy morning showers and our hearts sank. But our host cheered us up and told us to be patient. Just after our usual lavish breakfast (wheatbix with eggs) the sun reappeared. We began our journey along lake Wakatipu and parked our Juicy van at the entrance of Wye Creek. The descent to the upper reaches of ravine along the river; the skyway across the treetops takes a solid 40 minutes of steep walking. But it is worth it and you are greeted with the South side panorama of the climbing area. Luckily for us it was glowing in sunshine and the rain had completely dried. This was our first day of alpine climbing and we had the entire crag all to ourselves.

The Mission (17***) a long face climb leading to a steep arête, this is a must-do warmup and one of the amazing easy but exposed climbs with panoramic views.
Lucalucki (18***) this climb is 32 meters of relentless faceclimbing with some 18 quickdraws.  It will test your 60meter rope to the limit with stretch you will make it.
Dream Thing (21***) one of the most iconic climbs in New Zealand and probably the world. Easy moves through a huge horizontal move lead to the lip. The jugs invite you to pose at leisure for some of the best shots you will ever take with lake Wakatipu as your backdrop.
TNT (25***) arguably a better and much harder version with a tricky roofcrossing onto a slab.
Smellie Crack (20***) amazing offwidth with crack, roof and face – this climb has it all.
No Holds Barred (22***) sustained face climbing with intricate holds, body position is key.

By late afternoon the boys were keen for a quick bouldering session on the way to dinner in Queenstown. Since it was only 6pm we still had two hours of light left so we headed straight to the Jardine Bouldering fields. On private property with lots of sheep the owners are kind enough to allow the boulders to be used recreationally. Once again we had them all to ourselves. Fortunately the entire bouldering field is now described in the new Queenstown guide and so for the first time we actually new all the grades of the boulder problems. Here is a selection of some of the best sends that night:

John Boulder
John Arete V3***
John Traverse V6***
John Low Traverse V7***

It was hard to put an end to climbing that day – the boys just kept going but once I mentioned food and pizza to them we quickly were on our way to downtown Queenstown. That night the Buffalo Chicken wings with giant sized pizzas (42inch) at the Fat Bagger tested ever so good before Harry Potter lulled us into sleep.

Day 7 (Monday 18th Nov) was another full day of climbing and it had been a flawless trip so far executed to perfection with all the write choices despite the mecurial weather. But everyone’s luck runs out at some time. This was our day when the first epic was about to hit us with a vengeance that we did not anticipate. We woke up to the customary early morning showers which did not phase us anymore. It was cold but by the time the boys started moving after yet another late night Harry Potter session, the rain had passed, clouds parted and sunshine was drying Wye Creek valley already. So we decided to head out one more time and try to locate the fabled Project Wall at North Wye Creek. Following the guide careful we bush-bashed for quite some time but the approach to the Wall was dangerous in the wet and we eventually gave up. Deciding instead to find the ‘rain-proved’ walls of Wow City, which reputedly would stay dry in all conditions. Again we spend a long time following the instructions of the guide and getting nowhere fast. It was a very well hidden mini crag which we found eventually after much persistence. Temperatures had begun to drop again in the shadows of the North side and it was now bitterly cold. The crag would have been perfect in summer but in spring (read winter) the conditions were horrendous. There are no good warmups here so we decided to hop straight on the classic:

Little Bo Steep (23***) massive jugs head out an overhanging face and terminate in a little rooflet, Crossing the mini overhang is the crux and we could not feel our fingertips anymore because of the cold so this was going to be our only climb at Wow City.

The sun was now hitting the South side of Wye Creek and it was beckoning us with its warmth. We all headed across and decided to explore the exposed Harold’s Wall with its two pitch classics. As we discovered there were not warm-ups on the two tiers so the hidden Zipity Zapity Wall with its slightly of vertical angle seemed a good option. After long searches and over an hour walk everyone was keen to get on the rock. All three ropes came out and Chris, Cameron and Will started the first leads. Half way up the rock it began to get dark all of a sudden which was slightly strange. A huge dark cloud was right above us and light rain began. With all hands busy we just kept going it wasn’t too bad until the rain appeared to thicken and turned into mushy sleet. Not much we could do so we just kept going and to our surprise it began to snow.  Then the snow became heavy and visibility dropped. It was hard to see the next handhold and and in any case everything was now wet turning the easy warm-ups in cold hard classical mountaineering testpieces. What an amazing experience – everyone made it down safely and by the time we packed up and cleaned the routes of all the equipment the sun was back out again and had dried up all the rain. Quite a surreal experience.
But that was not the end of our epic day yet. Roman Junior had been waiting patiently (?) for his turn on something a little more challenging across the big roof on Harold’s wall. The wall is split into two tiers with a fixed safety cable between them. After much hesitation he chose Projection (26/28***) primarily because it had all the quickdraws in place so would make for easy cleaning.  The 26 variation avoided the crux start and traversed in from the side and if that was okay he would try the 28 after. We decided to bring a few extra draws for the beginning of the route and just in case. That was mistake number one.
The climbing started easy and Roman used his spare quickdraws at the beginning to get to the business section of the climb with its fixed draws. He pushed his way through the steep crimpy cruxes across an exposed overhanging face without too much trouble. After taking a fall at the last draw he pushed through the runout top section to the anchors of the climb. Unfortunately there was no gear and he had no draws left about 5 meters up from his last draw and seriously pumped. His fingers through the chain he shouted down “don’t take”  which was mistaken for “take” in the windy conditions. Not good. I tried to take the rope tight but immediately herad additional shouts from above NO, don’t take. It didn’t really make much sense to me at the time but I paid out more slack and Roman began to downclimb to another anchor on the adjacent route which luckily had a quickdraw attached. Phew that was a close call and nerves where a little frayed after that. Worst thing would have probably been a big fall into space but he kept his cool in a bad situation so well done. Lesson learnt never trust preset gear and always take plenty of spares. Now the wind was picking up once again and after a quick lunch we decided to finish up with some easy top-ropes.

Rejections 15** Alex lead this short but sweet pitch.
Oracle 26**  Toprope with Chris enjoying the crux.
The Vision 24** Will lead the pitch initially and Roman S. toproped later.

Now the wind was getting the better of us and we decided to bail for the Jardin boulder field once again.

G-spot Boulder
The Hit V8*** powerful campus move to sloper than balancy arête to the top.
V6 (**) on the other side of the boulder with no name this problem (no.14) follows some hard crimps to a mantle that ends in a tricky arête. Only Cameron was able to conquer this beast.

The day ended once again when the last rays of the sun disappeared and the hunger took over. We headed straight back to Queenstown for some pub food and ended up in the amazing Irish pub at the wharf. A quick late night shop for chips chocolate and icecream and the day would be farewelled in style.

Day 8  (Tuesday 19th Nov) yesterday had been a huge day and the late night Harry Potter session have taken their toll. An early look outside revealed more rain so we all just slept in probably for the first time. By the time we finished breakfast we decided to brave the weather and head to boulder field for a chance of some climbing. The one hour hike to the Wye Creek crag was too risky in these conditions. To our surprise the sun blessed us again and we climbed through the entire morning until early afternoon at the Jardines Bouldering field, when the rain finally came in from the valley beyond.

Tussock Boulder
V4** (No.11) vertical face with technical moves to good top jug.
V2* (No.9) good warmup
Tolkien Boulder (West Face)
V5** (No.14) hard sit start deadpoint on crimps. Match on the sloper and pop to the top – then hard mantle.
V7 Gollum (No.11) hard sit start with slopey holds all the way. Chris got very close until the rain started.

We saw the rain front approach fast and kept bouldering until the first drops fell but we had one more ace up our sleeves: a new climbing gym close to the airport needed to be explored and there was still plenty of energy left in the tanks. So off we went to the brand new Basecamp Adventure Centre with a combination of bouldering, climbing as well as a Clip and Climb centre for children. It turned out to be a good wet weather option with a nice bouldering cave, a Moon Board and some lead routes well worth the afternoon session. The boys spent what energy they had left until at 7pm hunger finally got the better of them and we bailed for the nearby Indian restaurant Boliwood. Tomorrow we would fly home again but the memories will stay with us for quite some time………….

If you want more photos go HERE.

Cost estimate NZ (12 -20 November) 8 days per person 7 people:
NZ return Airfare:  400$
(Juicy Honda Estima 8 seater: 8 Days @ $102.86 / Day total            $822.88
Accommodation Christchurch 3 nights: total 100$
Accommodation Queenstown 4 nights: 100$
Other expenses Food and personal spending ???

Travel: itinerary
12 Nov Tuesday fly out of Sydney to Christchurch
13 Wed - CastleHill
14 Thu - CastleHill
15 Nov Fri - CastleHill - Springfiled extra day
16 Sat - Hotspring rest day and Move from Christchurch to Queenstown
17 Sun - Queenstown
18 Mon - Queenstown
19 Tues - Queenstown
20 Wed - Return Home

Castle Hill Chalet
7 Frizzell Court, Castle Hill Village, Canterbury
Source: https://www.holidayhouses.co.nz/listing/2711

Smylies Accommodation
stay@smylies.co.nz
https://www.smylies.co.nz/Castle-Hill/Gear-Rental-Climbing/