Tony, Sniper and Al established Cracked Pepper on the Breaker Spur section of Bulging Buttress just over a year ago. It doesn't look like it has had much traffic, which is a real pity and the reason I'm doing this post. Di and I repeated it today and loved it. I reckon the first ascensionists have been a bit circumspect with their star rating. (Maybe it was still a bit damp when they cleaned and climbed it.) This route is well worth at least two stars. The so-called belay "ledge" at the start isn't all that wonderful but once you depart the climbing is terrific. It's well protected and sustained in difficulty on both pitches. There's a bit of lichen on it as it doesn't get much sun but it will clean up into a real beauty. In fact, if you were to run the two pitches together rather than step left to belay after 25 metres you'd end up with a 45 metre stonker, probably as good for its grade as Carpe Diem. Yes, I know that's saying something. (If you start the route with this intention you might want to double up cams between about BD 0.3 and 2.0 and make sure you have quite a few big wires. No micro cams or RP's needed.)

The first pitch is sustained at about 16 with a fantastic section of 17 or so before you get to the belay. The top pitch would benefit from a bit of brushing to heighten the enjoyment but there isn't any real problem and the climbing on this section keeps going at about grade 15/16. Once it's a bit cleaner it will be one of the best moderate trad routes on the mountain if it isn't already. Great fun for those of us bumbling along at about this grade and no doubt a terrific warm-up for others heading for something harder in the vicinity. Highly recommended.

Below is a photo of Di nearing the belay at the end of the first pitch.

Cheers

Doug

 

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4 Comments

  1. dave james

    I agree doug its a really nice route and surprised it took so long for someone to climb it.

     

  2. Domhnall Brannigan

    Just did first pitch today with the Watkins, but got rained off in the drizzly easterly system that came through in the morning. It's a cracking pitch at the grade. Nick agrees that pitch two is pretty good too, having done it last week. We think definitely worth 2 stars.

    1. Doug Bruce AUTHOR

      Another new sweet little gem at about the same grade - but very different climbing - is Owen's route Kabling on lower Great Tier. Very well protected, mostly with cams up to about a one Camalot, with lots of micros. Not quite as consistently good as Cracked Pepper but still very nice.

  3. Zach Sonstegaard

    Just wanted to say, I was inspired by this post and went up to do Cracked Pepper this morning.  It's beautiful! Get out there and do it people! Also, I didn't do this myself......but I certainly agree that it would be pretty rad as one long pitch! Good work for putting it up!