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. By 1968, however 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.
Access
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 formed to engage with landowners and public land governance bodies to maintain sustainable access to rock climbing areas in New Zealand.
Major climbing areas
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.
+ Major rock climbing areas in NZ 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
Competition climbing in New Zealand is administered by Climbing New Zealand, a member of Sport New Zealand.
History
Although rock climbing in New Zealand has a post-colonial history that can be traced back at least to the 1890s, 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" 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.
Timeline
1890s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
See also History of rock climbing
References
External links Climbing NZ NZ Alpine Club www.climbnz.org.nz