Routes in India for selected grade

Sharp crimps up face R of LDA

Highball. Easiest way up the boulder. Up the eastern face off block. Down climb or stack pads off the back for descent.

SDS. Easy slab on SW side of boulder

Better to layback than jam.

Up rails on north side of boulder. Easy up, with several variations

Slab up L side of walkway channel

The easiest way to get on top of the stack. Access this section by walking around the ME Boulder from the south of it. This section is essentially the upper part of the Inner Chimney route on the ME boulder.

Protect in the hand and finger crack with nuts or intermediate sized cams (finger and double finger sized). One or two placements.

Top Anchor: Cracks. Same as for the main chimney.

Immediately left of the Bare Necessities routes, on the featured wall with the trees above.

The line in middle of that wall with finger crack. The crack can take finger sized nuts or cams. Use one odd tricky chicken heads to further protect, as needed.

*Mess up that chicken head sling, and the fall is directly to the ground.

Immediately left of the Bare Necessities routes, on the featured wall with the trees above.

The line in middle of that wall with finger crack. The crack can take finger sized nuts or cams. Use one odd tricky chicken heads to further protect, as needed. Mess up that chicken head sling, and the fall is directly to the ground.

The same route could be used to set up about four-five ropes, with the trees as the anchors.

Gear: Smaller sized cam/s or nuts. Slings for the chicken heads. Not a very gear-intensive route. One cam or couple of small nuts should be more than adequate.

Anchors: Trees.

Exiting: Please, please leave TATs behind or learn to use ghost anchors to save the trees. Or climb out and top out through the vegetation.

Facing: West

FKA: April 24th, 2022. Sohan supported by Latha BM & Charan H.

Around the corner, facing Bangalore.

Amrit had soloed this line sometime back, and plans to put some bolts to be able to lead the line.

An intermediate graded line.

30-50 meters to the north of Bare Necessities. The chimney to the left of the Strangers in the Night.

For the first 20 feet, a low-grade scramble till the first block of rock chocked in the chimney. The crux is getting past it. Creative protection.

Exit: Walk left, over the boulders, to the trees, and a 15-meter rappel. Or walk around.

Facing: North

Rack: Mid- sized pieces should do.

Anchor: At the end of chimney, cracks.

FKA: Gadappa and Amrit Appaden, April 2021

Crack & roof

To the right of the Vajra line, over the slab, protect the thin horizontal crack (finger or half finger sized cams or pink tri-cam), and over the roof, the slab and crack.

After the roof and the slab, connect to the Nehru’s Fault.

Rack: Half-finger sized pieces to hand-sized pieces.

Anchor: Same as that of Nehru’s Fault

Route courtesy: Sohan, June 2022

The offwidth on the Zen Garden boulder, facing north.

Starts in a chimney left of a tree. Through the tree to the offwidth.

This face of the Zen Garden boulder is covered by thick vegetation.

Rack: Slings for the tree, and #4, #5, #6 (optional) cams. Large hexes and small gear for the anchors.

Anchor: Boulders and cracks below the boulders

Natural Anchor: Boulders

FKA: Caleb Daniel and Amrit Appaden, Apr 2021

Up the south-east corner of the Zen Garden. Long easy looking slab.

Seam crack starting behind a tree. Protect using the seam and climb on the slab. The seam extends only half-way up. Use the trees and get creative with slinging the protrusions in the rock (if you need to).

Exit: Either down climb or walk around to the left or right and hike down

Facing: West

Rack: Micro-nuts (offsets), and full rack for the anchor.

Anchor: Boulder and cracks. Boulder is too large to sling. But a large hex, #3 cam, and a #1 cam (to the right) would suffice.

Natural Anchor: Boulder

FKA: Amrit Appaden

The slab reminds of the type of climbing that exists at Cochise, on dinner plates and protected by slinging protruding rock.

Slab line, radiating left from the afore mentioned tree, in the bamboo grove.

Some creative placements and slinging the protruding chicken heads and dinner plate formations.

Exit: Either down climb or walk around to the left or right and hike down

Facing: West

Rack: Largely needed for the anchor. A set of medium nuts, #3 cam or finger size or less aliens.

Anchor: Boulder and cracks

Natural Anchor: Boulder

Through the series of two boulders in the chimney, and the tree.

Deceptively NOT a scrambling line, especially on the last boulder before the tree. Excellent route for a first lead, as the protection is excellent, especially at the crux on the second boulder, to the right.

Gear: Hand and fist sized pieces.

Anchor: Tree

FA: Gujju Razzak with Charan H and Sachith. June 11th, 2022.

Right-side of the King Swing boulder, as you are facing it. Access through the chimney

Through the corner between the face and the pile of boulders in the wide chimney, and then through the tree.

Rack: Hand-sized cams or hexes

Anchor: Tree or the crack behind.

FA: Amrit Appaden & Arun Bhat, May 21st, 2022.

The corner off-width to the right of the I am Groot.

To access, either climb the first half of the I am Groot, access this off-width section and solo it out. Or set up an anchor, rappel, and climb-out.

FA: Arun Bhat & Amrit. May 21st, 2022

Text-book hand crack, but unfortunately too short, and with ledges along the line make it even more simpler.

Route credit: Amrit Appaden & Arun Bhat. May 21st, 2022

Chimney to the right of Phelps Help.

Rack: Finger and hand sized pieces.

Anchor: A tree at the top of the boulder to the right, or hand and fist sized cracks on the left boulder.

Natural Anchor: Tree on the right-side boulder.

Through the chimney, and after the second horizontal crack on the right-side boulder, turn right, and follow the crack under the roof, and around to exit through the tree.

Rack: Finger and hand sized pieces.

Anchor: A tree at the top of the boulder

Hand crack - Immediately behind the Phelps’ Help Boulder, slightly to the left (north-east).

Short and squat bread loaf shaped boulder with a split in the center. Couple of good hand jams on the steep start and then fist jams when the angle becomes gentler.

Solo or one piece roped up climb.

Face and crack

Between Sweet smell of Guano and High Noon, with stiff take off on the face and then the crack.

Offwidth/Hand Crack As you walk up from the Higher Noon Plateau towards You or I, the off-width crack on the stand-alone boulder to the right of the trail.

*Mildly tricky top out.

One piece protection with hand sized piece before the top-out.

Anchor: Possible to build a top anchor with one or two hand sized pieces.

Exit by scrambling over the boulders and a thorny shrub. Same exit as for the Gobright chimney.

Route and name courtesy, Aravind

As you walk up the trail past the High Noon and where the trail turns right, the west face of the Simian boulder is featured with a wide chimney and a neem tree at the base. The chimney hosts a Bee-hive for part of the year.

The scramble through pile of boulders at the base is also good way to access the Holy Crack section of the Red Sea Plateau.

Rack: Hand sized pieces and below.

Top anchor: Tree.

FKA: Dave Gates by the way of soloing it out in his approach shoes! June 22,2022

About 15-feet to the right of the B-Cheek, and to the right of the Neem Tree, climb past the stiff start, use the tree limbs to sling and protect, and over the face to the slab and scramble to through the off-width to the same anchor as that of B-Cheek.

The most unsatisfying climb! Climb and you might know why. But sometimes this is the nature of climbing on the longer trad routes around Bangalore.

Facing: South-west

Rack: One sling for the tree. Fist sized and intermediate sizes for anchor under the boulder above the tree.

Anchor: Cracks under the boulder. Same anchor as for the B-Cheek.

Natural Anchor: Boulder

5.6. 10 meters. Hands, chimney, fingers.

50 meters to the right the High Noon boulder (south-east), the most prominent crack system with a tree at the top, and a chimney at the base.

Couple of options to get into the crack, either through the Chimney at the base, right of the chimney (over an easy boulder), or from the left over a Rhino shaped feature with a crack above it.

Suggested to start left. The direct chimney or the right start reduce the grade to 5.4/5.

Bouldery start from the left, finger sized to small placements, then cut right, into the chimney, and through the hand crack, to the slab with finger crack, and past the tree. Suggested traverse right under the boulder to create the anchor. The crack at this point is more stable for top anchor.

Exciting little line, with moments while traversing right, and then all the way to the slab. Hard to believe that this little classic was undocumented or not shared up until March of 2021!

Facing: west

Rack: Up to fist sized pieces. Save the fist sized cam for the anchor.

Anchor: Cracks under the boulder at the top out.

Natural Anchor: Boulder

Name provided by Vikram Murthy

Horizontal cracks and slab - The kind of line one usually encounters when going ground up on long routes.

Traversing in nature. Only ground-up climbing, no top-rope possibility. Bring up the second and walk off.

Start immediately to the left of B-Cheek. From behind the Rhino’s horn likefeature. Get atop the horn, protect the horizontal crack, and angle left. Thin jagged crack below the tree takes small offset nuts Traverse left from the crack along the slabby face under the tree to the horizontal crack on the adjacent boulder.

Facing: North-west

Rack: Finger sized pieces and small nuts. Fist sized and intermediate sizes for anchor under the boulder above thetree.

Anchor: Cracks under the boulder.

Natural Anchor: Theboulder.

Route courtesy - Sohan

Start on the west face or left of the bonsai, on the face around the corner. Face climbing and then three horizontal cracks makes this a good line to teach trad climbing for new folks.

Takes hand-sized and smaller gear. The last horizontal crack is best protected with a pink or red tricam.

A satisfying top-out, but no option to build an anchor at the top. Downclimb (8feet) from the other side on to the ledge, and then one could build a gear anchor at this point. Or from top of the boulder, hip belay the second up.

Rack: Finger and hand sized cams or tricams.

Anchor: None.

There are couple of easy top ropeable lines here. Further left on the face, could be mildly stiffer start.

But to the right and below the tree, offers a short horizontal crack and then the tree itself as protection for an easy beginner trad line.

Rack: Finger and hand sized cams.

Anchor: Gear anchor in a horizontal crack.

Natural Anchor: None.

Slab and cracks 30-feet to the north of You or I boulder.

Slab with cracks to protect. Old school Bangalore Slab climbing. There is one more easy line, immediately to the left, and around the corner. About 10 feet to the left.

Facing: South

Rack: Mid sized cams and nuts

Anchor: None

The east facing line is one of the easiest chimneys encountered so far around Yedumadu, and easy to protect. The left most yellow line in the image below.

The first 15-feet is back-and-foot wide, then a narrow ledge to stand up on, and place the #6 cam, that protects the transition to the next wide ledge. Bump the cam up and run out the last eight-nine feet to the top out through the squeeze chimney section.

Facing: West

Rack: One #6 Cam to protect the line, and a couple of #3/#4 cams for the anchor. Anchor: Cracks above

Natural Anchor: Boulder or the tree behind it, 30-foot long cordage.

FKA: Sohan supported by Kyra (Mar 2021)

Vinayaka set is in fact three high boulders stacked up next to each other and forms two chimneys between them. With multiple lines for both lead and top ropes. Located about 30-feet south-west of the Redeemer rock. Or about 40 feet east of the Vedauwoo Boulder.

Multiple ways to access.

1. Via the Cobra section of the Yedumadu South Trail, the top of the boulders comes up to the right just before you reach the Redeemer rock.

2. Or walk east from You or I, along the south-facing boulders, for about 100 meters.

Off-width Crack and Chimney

Hidden from direct view by the boulder to the east.

A long jagged off-width accessible through the chimney.

The first 12-odd feet with the chimney behind and the crack in front, to the chocked boulder. You can stand up on the boulder behind which forms the initial chimney.

The second 10-foot section to the top out can be protected with a #6 BD cam, while easy, offers opportunities to practice chicken-wing and arm-bar techniques for squeeze chimneys/off-widths.

Rack: #5 and #6 BD cams to climb, intermediate sized cams for top anchor. Could also be protected with mid-sized pieces in the chocked block of rock.

Anchor: Cracks/Boulders

Natural Anchor: Boulders

FKA: Amrit Appaden and Sohan (Mar 2021)

Chimney/Offwidth

Immediately to the right (10 meters) of the Decepticon Boulder.

Single move Chimney crux till the deep fist jam, and then the route is quite done. Easy climbing to the tree for the top anchor.

Rack: One #3 cam, and cordage for the tree.

Top anchor: The tree

Natural Anchor: The tree

Documented by: Prakhaar Gaur & Sohan, Oct 31st, 2021

Chimney/Offwidth

Immediately to the right of the Bhandup ka Popeye. Easy, but exciting top-out, especially if you don’t have wide-gear.

Starts as a squeeze chimney, then converts to an offwidth at the top. Most common top-out is by going over the edge to the right of the crack.

Possible to protect with smaller wide-gear or a couple of fist-sized pieces, if ok with running it out in sections.

Rack: Wide-Gear (BD cam# 4, 5, & 6 ideal) or Fist-sized pieces (doubles) with run-out.

Top-Anchor: Hand- and Fist-sized gear, and long anchor (30-foot cordlette)

Natural Anchor: None

FKA: Sohan & Kiran Kallur, Oct 23, 2021

This crack is essentially the same crack as the Idli Swamy offwidth crack, running along all the boulder, splitting into two and runs down the other end.

Could have been much more fun, but the base has a mid-sized boulder the top of which is an easy scramble from the base. The crack is available for about 4- 5 meters from atop the aforementioned boulder and does not offer significant climbing challenge. But an excellent beginner crack.

Take off crux, and thereafter good holds and ledges.

Additional top-ropeable lines could be set up to the right and left of the off-width.

The jagged face to the left (5.8), face to the right of the crack (mid-5.11), stem- chimney to the right (5.6/7). And one further to the right in the Stem-Chimney (5.5).

Finger and Hand Crack

The short crack on the trail between Crack Jack and Holy Crack. On the approach to the Red Sea plateau via the path left of Slab Crack Boulder, located just below the main plateau.

Or if approaching from the Red Sea Plateau, on the trail between Holy Crack and the Holy Crack, look for the path going downhill through a jumble of boulders, and through a narrow passageway between the boulders, the path winds down and switchbacks.

About 50 meters from the Holy Crack. The crack is facing west. Another quick one-piece route. A satisfying route for beginner crackclimbers.

Facing: West

Rack: Hand and finger pieces.

Anchor: Crack runs all the way to the top and behind.

Natural Anchor: None / Hip Belay

As you walk along the base to the south, a couple of slabs separated by a channel filled up with mud.

Both sets of the slabs could be protected with gear or from the trees atop them.

One crack that takes purple or green BD cam, and then the tree anchor.

FKA: Akhil Menon with support from Amit Manikoth. July 31st, 2022

Might have to dig out the soil to find a placement, but largely a soloable line.

From the center to the tree.

It is possible to also follow the line from the left to the shrub to the left, along the ledge, as a separate line. The shrub is not very solid to create a top-anchor out of.

FKA: Narayan Pai. July 31st, 2022.

Three lines here; one of which could be led on gear, and the other two are currently soloed.

The leadable line is to the far left, thin cracks take finger sized pieces (cams only). Or maybe pitons. The take-off crux here, and then easy line to the top.

The weakest (5.5) take-off section is to the right. And then follows a series of weaknesses diagonally going left. And top out towards the left horizontal crack.

The third line follows to the right, closer to the edge, and then exposed but easy climbing to the tree.

Three top-rope lines could be setup, with one from the tree in the channel, and two on either side about 8-10 feet below in the horizontal cracks.

FKA: Sohan. July 31st, 2022.

Chimney

To the south of the Ball-Rama Boulder, behind the clump of Bamboo, the chimney runs for about 15-20 feet deep, and 25 feet high.

An off-width crack in the deep end to protect the climb in the chimney at the beginning of the line, but nothing else after the easy roof, unless you have big- bros.

Facing: South

Rack: Some wide-gear at the start of the route. Big Bros or just solo it out, or top rope it.

Anchor: Boulder and cracks.

Natural Anchor: Boulder

FKA: Shyam Krishnakumar, October 2021

Hand crack

Could also be approached from the OTP boulder at Middle-Earth area.

Couple of lines on this short face. The hand crack to the left is a beginner hand jam and fist-chock crack.

Alternate line: Start from the left of the crack, and use the pocket in the center of the face, use the aretes on both side of the pillar to the left to top out. Similarly graded as the crack.

Facing: North

Rack: One or two hand or fist sized cams, and save the largest cam for the top anchor.

Natural Anchor: 10- or 15-meter rope around the boulder at the top. Hip belay. Boulderable – Good base.

Off-width to squeeze chimney

Solo it out. Or protect with wide gear. Or crashpads below

Anchor: Hip Belay

The stunning looking long chimney.

No protection possibilities until you get to the near top.

Place small finger sized pieces before topping out through the slot.

FKA: Amrit Appaden, supported by Sonakshi Mittal and Sohan. July 23rd, 2022.

Corner crack 50 odd meters further up the trail from You or I, opposite the access to the Menhir plateau bouldering section.

Stem the corner or use the crack. Good finger to hand sized crack to protect.

Rack: Finger to hand sized pieces.

Anchor: Tree at the back or the crack

Natural anchor: Tree.

Further up along the trail after the Corner Crack, on the right.

Along the series of horizontal cracks, and over the mild roof.

As you head up the trail from You or I, at the next right turn after about 50 meters, to the left is the Menhir area.

This plateau is also the area which allows access to Rapa Nui, Red Sea, and Crack Jack routes for top rope setups, or from where you can walk off if climbing the aforementioned routes. The plateau is marked by a menhir or obelisk shaped boulder on its south-west corner. Raman’s crack is located in this area facing west.

A short easy crack that can be soloed out, or a fist sized piece to protect. Not a clean splitter crack, but crack formed by overlapping rock, so a different style of crack climbing that involves side-pull and lay-backing while jamming the feet in the crack. Somewhat similar to Louvre start, and Khoday Neer topout (both located near Savandurga, on Banyan Tree Pillar).

A stack of boulders with cracks formed between the pile, opposite the Cobra boulder.

Hand and fist cracks.

Around the corner from Mongoose Cracks. Between the GRIT traverse and the Mongoose crack. A short thin finger crack below the tree growing out of the rock.

Chimneys

Three boulders stacked together forming chimneys.

The northern line of the chimney is solo-able

Alternate lines all around, including for bouldering

Class four scramble to 5.2/3.

One long slab starting from a large flake to the south of these slabs, when you emerge out of the mini-forest, via the lower middle-earth section.

Some route finding to get to the base through the isolated fields.

The initial section offers some technical climbing, and then after some 50 odd meters transforms into scrambling terrain, until you reach the big V or the naamam painted on the slab.

Protection: Occasional crack and cacti. Or hip belay from stances for less experienced folks.

The shape of the flake, with placement potential behind the flake, resembles the west coast of a continent.

Solo it out or find placements in the flake.

Multiple lines to the left and right of the line.

Rack: Mid to hand sized pieces.

Anchor: Boulders above to the left.

Natural Anchor: Yes, but to the left of the top out.

First route from the left edge of the crag.

Route 1 and 2 are perfect routes to get in your first lead climb, anchor set up & rappel.

*Shares top anchor with Gethna Workshop Route #2

Second route from the left edge of the crag.

Route 1 and 2 are perfect routes to get in your first lead climb, anchor set up & rappel.

*Shares top anchor with Gethna Workshop Route #1

Route by Srikanth, Dini, Raju K.H., & Pai (1985).

From the end of the third pitch of the Meghaduta traverse, if you need to exit quickly, this is another option. Else, the pitches below are 35-meter long.

Unprotected traverse through the diagonal crack system, which is more of a ledge.

36-37 bolts.

Cloud 9 along with Cicada Uprising at BM Betta is one of the few easy sub 5.7, and beginner friendly long routes around Bangalore. This classic was put up by a group of national climbing team members sometime early last decade. The name apparently refers to the nine members who were responsible for it, including Pranesh Manchaiah, Keerti Pais, and others.

Facing South-east. Eight pitches long with seven bolted pitches, and one unbolted. Each pitch is about 40-50 meters long. The last pitch is just about 58- 59 meters long.

Gear needed, 60-meter rope required and half a dozen alpine draws and anchoring gear.

How to find the climb: Get to the main temple at the base (the second one), you will find a path leading towards the Traditional pilgrim path going up Savandurga along the south-west ridge. The moment you get onto the rocky bit of the path, you will see four large boulders to the left. The main path continues straight but turn left through the boulders and head up the gently angled slab. You should find the first bolt about 20 foot up a steeper section of the slab.

P1: 5.4. 4 + 2 bolts.

P2: 5.5. 6 + 2 bolts.

P3. 5.4. 5 + 2 bolts.

P4. 5.4. 4 + 1 bolts. Just one bolt at the belay station but located in a good-sized bucket that can accommodate two-three folks.

P5: 5.3. 2 + 2 bolts.

P6: 5.3. 1 + 1 bolts. Belay station anchors have one missing hanger, and the other hanger is hammered down. Take one of your own hanger and nut, and protect the other beaten down hanger with a sling on a girth hitch or a chock nut with the top wire pushed up & slung through the bolt, behind the beaten down hanger.

P7: 5.3. 2 + 2 bolts. No more bolts after this section.

P8: 5.3. Go past the first set of grass patches on your right, to the second set another 50 feet higher, find a bucket, and body belay from here. Thereafter, while the section is referred to also as a pitch I suppose, it is easy angled walk up till the hillock plateaus out.

Easy slab facing the same direction as 'Slabatha'. Can also be done no hands.