Passu Sport Climbing Routes

Passu Sport Climbing Routes

The cliff is 30 meters high and you can either lead the routes or toprope them by walking to the right of the cliff until you reach a steep scree and boulder slope. Walk up the slope to the old irrigation channel and then follow that left until you are at the top of the climbs. The bolts are far from the edge, so be careful and setup a temporary anchor on the big boulders in the irrigation ditch if you need to. There is tons of LOOSE ROCK on and at the top of the climbs, so be extremely careful when climbing and setting up topropes. We had a few holds break on us while climbing, so if you’re not very solid at the grade, then toprope. Wear a helmet and have your belayer stand away and off to the side. Don’t get hurt, cause you’re in Pakistan!

The Climbs
The left climb (when facing the wall), PSA, is 6a+ (5.10b). The middle climb, Sting of the Tail, is also 6a+ (5.10b). The right climb, Apricot Cake, is 6b+ (5.10d) and is named after the famous and delicious dessert from the Glacier Breeze Restaurant. All of the climbs are fun and long. Again, be careful with loose rock, especially on the middle climb, because there is a giant loose block that you’ll be tempted to stand on.

The Bouldering

If you continue walking north down the KKH from the sport climbs, then the road will curve right and in a few minutes there will be a rocky slope up to a plateau on the left hand side of the road. If you see a trail up that, then, good. Otherwise, scramble up and you will find yourself on a long plateau overlooking the town of Passu. You’ll also find a ton of boulders perfect for bouldering!

Bouldering Plateau

Unfortunately, we didn’t have a crashpad so we kept our bouldering to V0 and V1. Here are a few pictures of some boulders we climbed. These ones are all a little north of the cricket field on the plateau.

Here’s a bit of beta for some of our favorites (with locally inspired names):

1: KKH Stretch (V1)

This one involves a lower start, quickly moving left to a far-reaching and sharp but solid hold. A few easier moves complete the route.

2: Drying Hay (V0), 3: Drying More Hay (V0)

Good warmup climbs with decent holds throughout. High top out but easy descent via the backside, labeled in the photo.

4: Hunza Hat (V1+ going either way)

A great traverse along the hat’s 3/4 section. When traversing from right to left, the feet holds are a little trickier to find. Good crimpers gets you through it. You can also top out at multiple points along the traverse for a nice view.

There are a slew of other great routes and you could easily spend an afternoon or early evening bouldering up in this area.

If you put up any interesting routes and want them listed here, let us know.