Sebastopol Bluffs

Situated next to Mt. Cook – New Zealand’s tallest mountain and 37th in the world – the Sebastopol Bluffs offer tall climbs and spectacular views. This climbing area features a number of multi-pitch climbs up to seven pitches tall, including some easy enough for beginners. The 8 defined walls offer primarily slab and crack climbing and the approach is virtually non-existent.

Rock Type: Greywacke – a mixture of mineral and rock fragments held together by clay.
Climbs: ~80 Climbs
Location: Next to Mt Cook, New Zealand’s tallest mountain. Map

My Experience

Our arrival in Twizel (~30 minutes from Mt Cook) came with the great bonus of a bed and a hot shower, thanks to some friends my family had stayed in touch with since our six month stay in Christchurch 15 years earlier. After a week of driving and camping, I did not want to get out of that incredibly comfortable bed in the morning. Additionally, we wanted to get back in time for dinner with our friends, and save time for a hike on the Mt Cook trails, so we knew we only had room for a light climbing day. For this reason, we hung out at the Red Wall, where we tackled Red Arete and Shark Attack – some relaxing three pitch climbs. It was also my first time climbing multi-pitch in a year, so it was a great opportunity to ease into the heights on some simple climbs. Not to mention that the view of Mt Cook (once I got the guts to look anyway but directly at the wall in front of me) was spectacular.

While here, we climbed next to a guide service that was teaching new climbers how to climb multi-pitch. There was one guide for a group of four new climbers who had clearly never climbed before. After leading a route with one of the newbies belaying (whose belay skills I was seriously doubting), the guide set up two ropes for the beginners to climb up. He had two people tie into the end of each rope, about 10 feet apart, and had all four start climbing at once. So there was one guide belaying four new climbers simultaneously, knowing that if one fell, he would take down whichever guy was sharing the rope with him. Seemed incredibly sketchy…