Gaea's Cliff

Gaea's Cliff (ガイアの絶壁) is a location in Final Fantasy VII. From the ground, it seems to be a mountain, but is actually the side of the North Crater. Due to its height and location past the frigid wastes of the Great Glacier, the cliff is so cold few can survive the climb-up. There is a large system of caves that connect in and out from the cliff, which must be explored in order to the reach the top. Gaea's Cliff can only be explored once.

Mr. Holzoff and a friend of his attempted to climb Gaea's Cliff only to have his friend killed. Holzoff decided to wait in a cabin just at the base of the cliff to help out potential climbers. Cloud Strife and his party climb Gaea's Cliff in order to reach Sephiroth at the Whirlwind Maze.

While climbing up the sides, the player must keep the party's temperature above 30° Celsius by repeatedly tapping to increase the temperature. This cannot be done while climbing. This part of the game was actually considerably more difficult in the game's original Japanese version where the player's temperature dropped much faster and few managed the climb on the first try. In the international release the difficulty was reduced. If, however, the player still passes out from the cold, they will simply wake up again at Holzoff's cabin and have to start the climb again.

Items Found

 * Ribbon - found by walking through a wall after crossing ice bridge upon re-entering first cave area.
 * Javelin
 * Elixir
 * Fire Armlet
 * Megalixir (inconsistently translated as "Last Elixir" when picked up in the PlayStation version).
 * Speed Source
 * Enhance Sword

Outside

 * Headbomber x2 (Back-attack)
 * Headbomber x2, Zolokalter
 * Headbomber x3
 * Malboro
 * Zolokalter x2



Inside

 * Stilva
 * Headbomber x2, Zolokalter
 * Zolokalter x4
 * Evilhead x2
 * Evilhead x4, Icicle (Four set battles only)

Schizo's Lair

 * Cuahl, Headbomber x2
 * Cuahl x2
 * Blue Dragon
 * Evilhead x3
 * Schizo (Boss)

Trivia

 * A prerelease shot shows an area that can never be accessed in the final game. This area is only seen in very old footage shown before the game's release.
 * Gaea's Cliff is home to one of few areas in the game where the player can encounter the Inescapable Battles Glitch, in the area in which Schizo is fought.