UKC

Hi - I'm going to NZ with the mrs over Christmas. She doesn't climb, but I am hoping to get up some scrambling type peaks on my own. The Talbot - Macpherson traverse in the Darrans looks appealing - anyone done it? Do you need to take axe & crampons? How hard is the Talbot ladder? What other similar day trips are there, either in the Darrans or elsewhere? Cheers!

In reply to halhorner:

Not done that, or even climbed anything in the Darrens.

However, they do look awesome as does the rest of the country.

I quite fancied the traverse of Mitre Peak, was told it's a real adventure, but quite easy.

In reply to halhorner:

McPherson-Talbot is a great trip. Yes - you'd want a bimble-stop and crampons and watch for slots as you approach Traverse Pass. More soloable options in the area include going up past Black Lake to the Gertrude Saddle then up to Barrier Knob (and maybe along to Barrier Peak) then back down the same way. A harder alternative would be the N Ridge of Moir from the Homer Saddle - might pay to have a rope for getting down. For a shorter day out and a great ridge scramble the traverse of Double Cone and Single Cone in the Remarks is worth doing. There are plenty of other day trips that are fine on one's own but aren't really what you'd call scrambling - let me know if you want some suggestions.

In reply to halhorner:

You will need axe and crampons for the traverse

Talbots Ladder per se doesn't exist any more (it was old wire cables) but its easy if exposed.

In reply to halhorner:

See you there!
Will be in Darrans new years. There is a guide book available from www.alpineclub.org.nz
I want to do Talbot Macpherson too.

Traverse of the Remark in Queenstown is a good one.

In reply to halhorner:

Hi,

I have just uploaded (on to UKC) a picture of the top of Talbot's Ladder so you can see what it is like. I took a friend up it (he is the one in the picture) and we went on to climb McPherson. This was his first Alpine route and it was a great experience for the both of us. The suggestion of walking up to the top of the Gertrude Saddle and up on to Barrier is a very good one.

The Darrans are wild and are not a place to find many easy things to do (a bit like not expecting to top rope at Gogarth...)

Anyway to answer your question, The Talbot - McPherson traverse is about Alpine PD? Yes you do need crampons and ax. NZ mountains are not great for scrambling day trips; they are generally far too big, loose and scary unless you one of those dudes who do such things!

Single Cone in the Remarkables has some very good easy bolted lines and would be a very good day trip as the ski field road allows very quick access. There is a new guide out for Queenstown which has lots of new routes