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| First crux pitch on the traverse, with Queenstown in back ground |
Before even setting foot on New Zealand soil, through Internet research, I had selected three climbs that I wanted to climb whilst travelling. They stood out with the WOW factor in the limited online library section surrounding climbing and mountaineering in NZ.
They were; The Remarkables Traverse, Mt Aspiring and Mt Cook, and this past weekend we climbed our first one.
My first desire was to climb the ridge in winter, when its transformed into a glorious alpine adventure according to the guide book, but without a car during winter the fates never aligned and summer arrived with still the urge to tick the route off. So with a mixed weekend of thunderstorms and a sunny day, we decided it was a perfect opportunity to relax, watch the new hobbit film and complete our first of the three routes.
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| The route follows the skyline, with the Grand Couloir splitting Single and Double Cone summits
Walking up past the ski resort we were familiar with was surreal, without the snow and tourists it was just us and the scarred landscape. Ascending on to the approach ridge the light summer wind from the south was bitingly cold, even with thin gloves and a hat on we were zipped up tight in our jackets and for a moment I thought it was going to be a thick gloves on climbing experience. But as soon as we got to the bottom of the ridge the wind had dropped off and after kitting up with the fantastic view down to Queenstown, we were ready to tackle the ridge proper.
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Despite leaving the guide book at home, we were determined to stay 'on route', but beside the crampon marks and vague memory of the route description, we didn't have much of an idea as to where the route 'went'. After 30 minutes, switching sides of the ridge twice and a ledge system that ended in non protect able terrain, we figured that most ways are the right way, but not all the ways were the best way.
We soon got to the point that I remembered as the 'crux' or hardest part of the route, a right facing corner with a 2000 metre drop below. Neither the build up from the guidebook or the climbing triggered the exposure in my mind, I happily enjoyed the situation, until on the next pitch my boots didn't seem to grip the foot ledge as I matched my feet to step across onto easier ground. All of a sudden, the now 2020 metres, was reaching up and playing games in my mind, but after some strong words to myself and a mental video of me falling on to the cam at my feet, I got through it and belayed Lucy up, who didn't even stop to think about the move...
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| Standard type of terrain |
Back to scrambling, we reached the first summit and a view to the end goal, Single Cone.
Abseil followed by, a pitch, some more scrambling, some down climbing and another abseil, the situation was great, a very alpine adventure, but the rock on the other hand: on the whole it was solid, but there was an abundance of loose rock on the ledges, stacked up in cracks and filling the gullies, we had to test most handholds to make sure they were solid and not come off in our hands. This made for a more tentative approach and made some of the more easier bits, mentally harder.
We decided to pitch the snow traverse of the Grand Couloir as it was a warm day and the snow was the consistency of porridge. After that the rock seemed to change, from a teetering pile of rubble to a compact slab of joy. We took advantage of the the pleasant climbing and shot to the summit in a blur of semi-climbing.
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| Grand Couloir and Single Cone behind |
Sat on top of familiar ground, we took a moment to enjoy our position, 2320 metres above sea level, the whole mountain to ourselves and a clear blue sky. There were many reasons I wanted to travel to New Zealand, but this is what I will remember, the spaces to create adventure.
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| View back long the ridge and down to the lake |
Knowing the terrain and the easy descent, meant we were binging out on food in Queenstown not long after topping out. Due to the access from the ski field, this is an easily accessible classic kiwi adventure, which happened to be the exact words that drew my attention on the Internet in the first place. Even though the list of adventures in NZ is ever growing, the excitement from the traverse has turned our thoughts to the other two original goals and hopefully some planning.
