UKC

I am hoping to reach out the vast bank of knowledge on here.

I am heading out to a mates wedding in New Zealand in March (so early New Zealand Autumn) and am looking to do a mountain with him. He is based on the North Island, where most of the mountainous terrain is not, however we could get across to the South Island, but it would need to be an area relatively accessible (not requiring days of travel to the base).

So the mountain/mountains - as high as possible, with a route which is more than just walking but no more than say Grade I/II Scottish winter standard or grade 3 scrambling. Glacier travel is okay.

I know it is a bit of an open question, but any insight, thoughts which could be offered then great.

Thanks

In reply to bowls:
Arthers pass area. Look at mt rollesten. It is unusual for nz in that it is done up and down from the road in a day.
Easy no more than grade 3 scramble with a few hundred metres of easy glacier to traverse onto the ridge. it is probably on various Internet mountain databases.

Hope this helps.
James

In reply to bowls: On the North Island you could do a lot worse than Ruahepu via Girdlestone.

In reply to James Edwards:

Yeah - second Rollesten. You might also consider the other side of the pass in Temple Phipps basin. I remember there being a very steep walk to a bivvy hut (so you would need to overnight) and an old ski tow but this was years so things may have changed. This might help:

http://www.softrock.co.nz/mg/pages/page67.html

In reply to bowls: Yep: Rome Ridge sounds like the badger.

Alternatively if the rock grade went up, the traverse of the Remarkables would be very easy from a transport perspective (airport at the bottom makes flights easy). Also good beer afterwards. Not a wilderness experience though.

b

In reply to bowls:

There's Rollerstone like others have said, and there is also Rob Roy hich is a good 2 dayer, hike in late in the arvo on day one, up at 2am and summit by around 0730, then back in wanaka by 5:30pm and sit looking at the summit having a beer

In reply to bowls:


In reply to bowls:

If you do make it far down south Mt Earnslaw is a good shapely mountain, I think second highest in Aspiring NP? We did it in less than two days Queenstown - Queenstown, we did have a bit of a (safe) epic though.

From Queenstown, a bit of a drive to Glenorchy and beyond to the trailhead. Then a walk up the Rees and ford the river to cut up to a basin via some beautiful woods (millions of glow worms Then easy scrambling up to a short glacier crossing and a cool bivi hut. Then short easy scramble up the north face to the summit and amazing views. Alpine F or PD- I think.

Guess you'd be better off with northern stuff though, but the limit of my NZ hill knowledge is in the south.

In reply to Southern Man:

Turns out I got the wedding information incorrect and the wedding is at the north of South island.

Been doing some research and was considering Mount Aspiring. Has anyone got any views on the seriousness of this, I appreciate this is probably a 5 day venture, but looks possible and early March would seem like a reasonable time to do this?

In reply to bowls: Aspiring isn't really in the "rock up and do it" as a first backcountry trip in NZ IMHO. It's reasonably serious, a long day out from the hut, and The Ramp sees more than its share of accidents.

The comments about Earnslaw are good ones - very shapely hill and the sneaky walk up the back of it a fine choice for getting into an impressive bit of terrain without too much danger or difficulty.

http://www.alpinenz.com/images/tn/EarnslawSF-big.jpg - the east summit being on the right of the picture. The traverse is IIRC in the Classic Peaks of NZ coffee table book.

b

In reply to bowls:

Agree with ben b about Aspiring. The walk in is pretty heavy duty, about 10-15 miles IIRC, including a sketchy climb up a waterfall and a glacier crossing before Colin Todd hut. You'd need 3 days at least for walk in/out + peak assuming you have good weather. You can heli in to a col before the glacier if you're feelin' flush though.

We didn't summit because of weather, but stuck to the ridge proper as we didn't fancy the ramp. Got to the massive tower and seemed ok to there, but quite exposed in places. Nothing hard (up to that point) but definitely harder than Earnslaw.

Colin Todd hut is a beauty

In reply to bowls:

You may find there's pretty good hiking in the Kaikouras, which are pretty close to Nelson in the north of the South Island, and not that high. I haven't hiked there, but they look great when you fly over them-- like Snowdonia on steroids, except unlike Snowdonia they go on and on.

You can get pretty good hiking maps of New Zealand-- in New Zealand. Maybe you can buy them on the interweb these days. If not I imagine that specialist map shop in Covent Garden could help. Or the one in Blackwell's in Oxford.

Don't go to the big mountains unless you're prepared for something full on, like the European Alps but with much less reliable weather.

In reply to Tim Chappell:
www.topomap.co.nz

In reply to bowls: I'm heading south to climb Aspiring for the first time in November. If that's not too late I'm happy to swap emails and can give you some detailed feedback on it afterwards. Let me know if any help.

In reply to bowls:
Wanaka and Queenstown are LONG drives. Nelson Lakes, north end of south island is far closer (1.5 hrs from Picton ferry) and far quieter (never a problem in NZ).After a short boat trip across the lake from St Arnaud is a beautiful wild walk in to a choice of huts. Cupola Basin hut is very wild and lonely providing a truly NZ ambience and access to Mt Hopeless and Cupola.
Spent 3 months in the south island climbing everything in sight and this area provides my best memories. Mainly because of the ambience and isolation.
Other areas may be more 'alpine' (Mt Cook and Aspiring parks in paricular) but are farrrr busier.
Fiordland and in particular the Darrans are spectacular and def worth the trip if you have the time - its a long way south!
Good luck

In reply to bowls:

Climbed aspiring in jan. Flew in. Too long to walk in and weather too fickle to expect almost 8-9 days of it being good

However, did the full ridge traverse, some scrambling, some interesting rock moves and summit ice cap was steep but abseiling down it was great fun.

One of my favourite climbs. 9 hours from aspiring hut.

If you have the time, do it. But fly in.

In reply to bowls:

My suggestion would be Mount Sealy in Aoraki/Mount Cook region. It's an easy peak but the biggest on the range with amazing views to across the whole national park which you can see here

This should whet your appetite:

http://www.southernalpsphotography.com/Tramping/Mt-Cook-Westland/Mount-Seal...

The route outlined in that link is a cracker. I've done it in two long days, three would be relaxed.

It starts and ends in the village where you can enjoy a pint in the Old Mountaineers when you get down.

In reply to yellowjersey: Mount Sealy is a great option. We did it in three days and did not feel too relaxed. Maybe I am not as fit as I thought.

Aujayeb, surely you mean Colin Todd Hut?

I suggest also considering the Arrowsmith Range only a couple of hours from Chch. Some awesome peaks there.

In reply to aujayeb:
Not that I'd go against your idea of flying, but I don't think you'd need 8 or 9 days to accomodate the walk in, summit and walk out. It's a day walk from the trail head to Colin Todd Hut. Admittedly I didn't top out, but probably would have had my mate not minded the whispy little cloud on the mountain (sorry Darren - what ifs eh?

We had four days in total and I think if you're fit and have a four day window, then - as others did whilst we were there - this would be enough time to accomodate it all.

The walk in is really all part of the adventure too

In reply to bowls:

Did the Phipps-Temple Traverse a few years back (in winter though). Was awesome but watch out for those dastardly Kea's if you leave your pack anywhere by itself.
Also an advocate of Rome ridge of Mt Rolleston with a descent down the Otira Slide. Did this in the middle of winter too and was an epic day out. Well worth the steak and cheese pie at the Arthurs Pass Cafe on the way back to civilization.

In reply to Southern Man:

Yeah, this is what I was thinking, a very hard, long day walk in from the trail head at Raspberry Flats and then maybe rest up for a day/reccee the first part of the route, go for it on the next day (weather permitting) and then walk out.

So for contingency, allow 5 days? It would all be part of the adventure, so even if not sumitting, it would still be a great few days. How hard is the pull out of the initial valley on the approach from the trailhead? I have heard anything from "rough" to "Diff" standard climbing (with a huge pack!)

How easy is it to get space at the Colin Todd hut, do you speak to a warden/ranger beforehand to get permission or do you just turn up and chance it?

In reply to bowls:

For hut bookings go to the Department of Conservation office wherever you decide to climb.

There is one in Arthur's Pass, Mt Cook Village and Wanaka for Aspiring.

This site has information on most peaks (and crags) in NZ: http://climbnz.org.nz/

In reply to bowls: Tappy?

Highest peak outside of the Mt Cook chain

http://www.summitpost.org/tapuae-o-uenuku/154568

In reply to bowls:

Hi bowls.

Yeah that sounds about right time wise to me. Despite not summiting, it was still an amazing adventure for us, precisely because of the walk-in.

Colin Todd Hut space was plentiful for us, but that was quite late season. You have to radio in every night while you're there, but they'll fill you in when you book at DOC.

The climb up the waterfall is the worst bit of the trail. It's a couple of hundred feet of sort of rising diagonal traverse on some slabs. You definitely wouldn't want to fall off! It probably feels diff in big boots/sack/wet rock, but maybe isn't as hard as all that. It's certainly not enough of an obstacle to put you off after walking the initial 10 miles anyway!

Hope you have a great trip

In reply to aujayeb: What kind of cost was this? Also are you aware of any websites so i can have a look see?

In reply to bowls:

Hey. You probably don't need 8-9 days, but for me walk in would have taken two days and then whatever time for aspiring and then out,

When I flew in, I got to do the traverse of the rolling pin, mountain next to aspiring, and then do aspiring and mt began would have been climbed as well but the weather turned, then we walked out, the walk out took 6 hours and ranks as one of the best walks I have ever done.

I did it with alpine recreation. They are amazing.

Alpine recreation.com I think

In reply to aujayeb:

Cost was about 4500nzd I think. Check with them. Say avi sent you. I.ve done enough trips with them

In reply to bowls:
Definitely don't need 8/9 days for Aspiring, 4 or 5 is plenty.
We did it differently by going into French Ridge hut on day 1 (no scrambling, just steep climbing over tree routes!), then up to a bivi on the glacier the next day, climbed day 3 (SW ridge, descended the ramp) - back to French Ridge, then walked out on day 4. Comfortable. My boyfriend has done Aspiring (walking in) in 2 days, several times, not sure that's to be recommended though!!
You could climb the ramp from French Ridge via a bivi or Colin Todd, it's an option for if the hut was full or if you really didn't fancy the scramble approach.

In reply to glaramara:
Adventure consultants, Aspiring guides, are two nearby Companies

In reply to bowls:
With alpine recreation, all gear is included in price. Even gloves and goretex jacket etc.
So don't need to bring anything.
Mcpac bag they supply is awesome

In reply to bowls: I recently climbed Rome Ridge in Arthur's Pass and it is a mountaineering classic. I would highly recommend this route if your in that area. To compare it to a route in Scotland may possibly be similar to Aonach Eagach except longer and steeper. Its very physical and the mountain never gives until your into the decent valley.