Tunnel Vision - Reflections on Ground-Up Development

Three metres of blank rock above. I reached over and detached the drill-bit from the drill, tucking it into my pocket. I'd discovered that it feels easier to commit to a crux without visions of falling and being impaled by the drill.

Pulling onto the dirty crimps again reminded me of the weight of the bolt kit. It had been a couple hours of zig-zagging up this 30 metre headwall. Digging out small cam placements, and trying to save on the handful of bolts clipped to my harness. Now, sitting just below the summit I was repeatedly getting shutdown by this one short section.

Fuck! I fall again and slam into the granite. Looking warily upwards I saw that the gear placements still held. A black and blue totem, each with half a lobe peaking out of the crack. This is bullshit, I thought. Pulling up on the rope I grab the drill and put in a bolt - just below my high point.

With renewed confidence I could see the sequence in a different light. Rather than snaking my way up on small sloping holds, maybe I could try and make a wild throw to something better above. With feet skating off the wall, my hand wraps around what has to be the biggest bucket on the entire route. David whoops and cheers from the belay. I pull over the lip and collapse onto the summit, marking the first ascent of Tunnel Vision.

Ben Mitchell nearing the crux of Pitch 9 (The Headwall) on Tunnel Vision

This route represents a labour of love from Ben Mitchell and David Macdonald, supported by the help of many others. My part was relatively small in the grand scheme of things. I did however, have the luck of establishing the final two pitch headwall - which features the hardest climbing of the route.

For all of us, it was our first time developing a route of this scale - which was unsurprisingly a significant learning experience. I wanted to briefly share some of my own reflections - for a full overview you can check-out the video linked below, or Ben's upcoming article in the NZAC 2026 Autumn Journal.

Why go Ground-Up?

My personal reflections on development style.

I believe that there is style in route development to the same extent that style exists in climbing. And for adventurous routes, the epitome of style is to quest into the unknown relying on only your strength and skill to progress upwards. Of course, virtually everyone falls short of this epitome; but making an effort to get closer, for me, is what puts the challenge and intrigue in climbing.

"I wasn’t certain that I could even free climb this wall, but I wanted to get as close to that style as possible. By forcing you to rely on just your body, your mind and your training, free climbing, like martial arts, lets you discover how much power you really have. With each unexpected situation, new hidden potential unveils itself, endlessly pleasing." - John Bachar (on establishing Bachar-Yerian 5.11x)

Tying in at the base of pitch eight, these thoughts were ringing through my mind, but of course some concessions must be made.

Firstly, I am not a hotshot climber like Bachar. Free soloing 5.12 or doing hard onsights above a death run-out will probably never be in my repertoire. I knew that if the going got tough I may need to put in a bolt to rest, or even switch to aid. That was okay in my mind, but for the overhanging headwall above, I resolved to commit all my energy to progressing at the level my climbing ability would allow, even when drill-hooking or top stepping would be the faster, more sensible approach.

Secondly, we knew that given the location, Tunnel Vision was going to be popular. Upon writing this article there has been no less than five repeats. This meant that runouts between cruxes, zig-zaggy pitches and finicky protection - all things which marry nicely with ground up climbing - would be a disservice to the climbing community. For this reason many people state that top-down is the only way to develop "good" routes. After developing tunnel vision I firmly disagree with this stance. Sure, bolts might have to be added and belays might have to be shifted after rockfall hazard is removed, but ground-up climbing can create a good user experience, while preserving the natural adventure that the mountain presents, rather than coming in from above and carving out the experience for others to consume.

It took David and I about five hours to climb through the short Tunnel Vision headwall. During subsequent trips we added bolts, removed loose blocks and straightened out the belays for abseil descent. It now stands as a well-protected outing for those looking for adventure in Fiordland, established in a best-effort style which I'm quite happy with.

Route Beta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpPpS5R8jdI