Routes in New Zealand for selected grade

Sit start

Climb the obvious crack.

The right hand staircase.

There is 2 sets of bolts with chain on an easy slab. This is the lower one.

Decent mixed climb. Grade 8-10 climbing on solid rock.

Two-pitch mixed climb with bolts on the first pitch. Better than the Central Buttress.

Easy gully used for descent from upper Grand Pinnacle snow fields.

This is the most popular way to access the Summit Plateau and Crater Lake. Until well into summer, most years, snow blankets the upper mountain. But by autumn the steaming Crater Lake is ringed by stark burnt-orange rocks and dark, ash-covered snowfields – dramatic evidence that the volcano is a restless environment, a place not quite of this world. Although one-way lift tickets up the skifield are available in winter, and during the summer holiday period, first-time visitors may want to walk, if only to gain a better idea of the topography of the mountain: it is not that straightforward. In summer, guided walks begin from the top of the skifield chairlifts, up a scoria track to the Crater Lake. In winter, the short climb to the Summit Plateau from the Whakapapa skifield is many North Islanders’ first true alpine experience. From the carpark you can reach the vicinity of the NZAC Ruapehu Hut in about 90 minutes. Follow Tennents Valley to Hut Flat, and then a poled route climbs up Egmont Ridge behind (west of) the Ruapehu Ski Club lodges onto the western side of Delta Ridge. The hut is on the brow of this ridge at 2040m elevation (grid ref 310138). From here there are two main routes. Note that parts of both routes lie in paths followed by lahars on the three occasions they have been recorded on this side of the mountain. Two of these, in 1969 and 1975, occurred in ‘blue sky’ eruptions. From Delta Corner (the rocky end of Delta Ridge) it’s about another 90 minutes to Glacier Knob. Climb up ‘The Gut’ – a popular ski gully between Knoll Ridge and Restful Ridge – and continue beyond straight up the broad valley to the obvious knob on the skyline. Alternatively, just before the top sidle up and slightly to the climber’s left (east) to reach The Notch. This gives direct access to the Summit Plateau. In winter, watch for snow loading from the westerly quarter. From Glacier Knob it’s worth going south along the ridge to The Dome at 2672m. Here you overlook Crater Lake, and beyond is Tahurangi, the true summit of Ruapehu. Dome Shelter is a small emergency shelter, not intended for overnight use, on top of The Dome at grid ref 313113. During winter the door is often buried by snow and ice, so there is a hatch in the roof for emergency access. This shelter will be removed ‘when it falls due for replacement’. Check with DoC on its current status

From the carpark you can reach the vicinity of the NZAC Ruapehu Hut in about 90 minutes. Follow Tennents Valley to Hut Flat, and then a poled route climbs up Egmont Ridge behind (west of) the Ruapehu Ski Club lodges onto the western side of Delta Ridge. The hut is on the brow of this ridge at 2040m elevation (grid ref 310138). From here there are two main routes. Note that parts of both routes lie in paths followed by lahars on the three occasions they have been recorded on this side of the mountain. Two of these, in 1969 and 1975, occurred in ‘blue sky’ eruptions. From Delta Corner climb to the south-west, through the ‘Cornice Bowl’ to reach the top of the Far West T-bar (300m climb, about 45 minutes). From here, continue up the wide valley to reach The Col between The Dome and Paretetaitonga (a further 300m, another 45 minutes). It is a short climb from the Col to the Dome, best made by continuing around underneath and then back up the eastern ridge. In poor visibility the Glacier Knob route is a better descent; when descending the Whakapapa Glacier care needs to be taken to head north-northeast so as to regain the skifield. Failure to do this will leave you amidst the exposed bluffs of the upper Whakapapaiti valley – a long long way from anywhere. The Whakapapa Glacier formerly filled the upper reaches of the valley leading to The Col. Fifty years ago, on April 2, 1954, crevasses across the upper glacier forced Tom and Doris Barcham hard under Paretetaitonga, and then under the Dome to traverse Pyramid. Finally, on Tahurangi they met ‘very steep hard compacted ash. Cut many steps!’ Earlier that same year, New Zealand Canoeing Association members carried a rubber dingy up to explore Crater Lake. Although people have swum in the lake, with a fairly constant acidity of pH 1 this cannot be recommended. There is a story, possibly apocryphal, about a boat once kept near the crater for research purposes. Over time, the acidity ate away at the nails holding the craft together until on one fateful voyage . . .

From the end of the Ohakune Mountain Road, walk up the skifield cat track, and make your way up to the top of the Jumbo T-bar at 2200m. One-way lift tickets are not available on this side of the mountain. From here, leave the skifield boundary and climb in a northerly direction on a rising traverse aiming for a broad ridge at about 2350m. Continue on a rising traverse around the mountain, over rough scree by late summer, into the Mangaturuturu Glacier basin. Climb up to Pare Col at the head of the snowfield, overlooking Crater Lake.

From the Tukino skifield carpark at 1700m, climb the rocky spur south of the upper rope tow. Avoid the gully on your left (south) at all costs; it can harbour a significant avalanche hazard. A poled route leads up in a westerly direction, past a large lava outcrop (the ‘Luncheon Rock’) and crossing several gullies, to a prominent marker pole at 2150m. From the marker pole, the NZAC Whangaehu Hut can be seen about 100m below to the south, perched on a spectacular bluff above the Whangaehu River. Pick a traverse line across and onto the lower Whangaehu Glacier. Take care here: these slopes can get very icy and the runouts are not good. In good snow conditions it’s possible to keep fairly high, but it may be necessary to descend to about 2100m and then climb across and down into the valley. Once on the glacier it’s a long, steady climb up the gently convex slope.

From the Tukino skifield carpark at 1700m, climb the rocky spur south of the upper rope tow. Avoid the gully on your left (south) at all costs; it can harbour a significant avalanche hazard. A poled route leads up in a westerly direction, past a large lava outcrop (the ‘Luncheon Rock’) and crossing several gullies, to a prominent marker pole at 2150m. From the marker pole, the NZAC Whangaehu Hut can be seen about 100m below to the south, perched on a spectacular bluff above the Whangaehu River. From the marker pole, take a rising traverse north-west. The most direct route is to aim for Button’s Buttress, the large bluff on the south side of the glacier proper, and then climb up a wide snow gully to reach the Summit Plateau north of Matihao.

The poled route to the summit.

Typically starts at North Egmont Visitor Centre. Follow the signposted summit route from the upper carpark, being careful to take the left hand route (through the gate) when you head off. Follow the 4WD track as it zigzags across a couple of major valley systems, eventually reaching a public toilet and then Tahurangi Lodge at 1520m. This is a good decision point, as the route is well-formed and reasonably sheltered until here.

Above the lodge, the track follows the true right of the upper Maketawa Valley ('Hongis Gully') for a bit before cutting through the base of the gully and onto a set of wooden stairs to pass through the cliffline on the climber's right. Above this, the route transitions to easy scree and passes through a rock / scree outcrop before hitting a sizeable boulder ('Drinking Rock') with a small depression to its right.

Above here, it's a journey through scree following well worn trails. Gain the obvious lava flow ('The Lizard') at the poled location, and scramble that up until the crater entrance is encountered at around 2400m. Take a right and scramble the summit dome, be courteous and yell out if you dislodge any big rocks with people beneath you. Pop out onto the flat summit region, the true summit is directly behind the obvious plaque.

Route is a bit different in winter. Expect snow from around Tahurangi Lodge, the gully above tends to be hard and icy. It's generally easier to either skirt the upper gully cliffs on the climber's left, or else follow the Around the Mountain track briefly and climb directly to the top of the staircase from there. Instead of taking the Lizard lava flow up, cross into Crater Valley (climber's right of the Lizard) and enter the crater through that.

Easiest route in summer. Often used for novices in winter, but be very careful - the fall line from Crater Valley and upper North Ridge goes through the upper Waiwhakaiho Valley which has killed a good number of climbers over the years.

Much less popular than its North Ridge cousin, but only slightly harder and more interesting.

Start at Dawson Falls Visitor Centre. Follow the route to Syme Hut, which is signposted and commences on your left about 20m behind the visitor centre. Head through easy terrain for 5 minutes, then take a right at the junction (signposted) and start to climb. Lots of steps will eventually take you to wooden stairs at around 1300m, climb through these (ignoring the turnoff to Lake Dive Hut) and come out into a short spot of flat scree. Get everything sorted here (warm clothes, ice axe and crampons out in winter, food and drink) as it's another 400m of climbing before any respite in gradient.

Follow the poled route up through scree.In summer, pass directly through the obvious rock outcrop ('The Knoll') - in winter, it's easier to bypass on to the climber's left. Continue on through until around 1900m where you go over a lip and encounter the false flat. You can follow poles which swing right above the Kapuni Gorge if heading straight to the summit, but the fall line is poor and there can be deep crevasses in early summer slightly lower down. Alternatively, head through the next 50m aiming to the right of Copestone (major rock outcrop) and enter the main plateau. Head to Syme Hut from here, without a doubt one of NZ's finest backcountry huts.

If going to Syme Hut, there is a poled route down into the adjacent Rangitoto Flat (the poled route from the false flat goes directly here). Pick your way up the reasonably featureless southern face, with gradients varying between roughly 30 and 45 degrees. Reach the crater rim at a steel waratah directly west of the Mackay Rocks. Descend into the crater rim and climb the summit dome directly.

A classic Taranaki climb, though not particularly popular.

Start from the Stratford Plateau carpark at the end of Pembroke Road. Walk towards Manganui Ski Area for about five minutes before locating an overgrown track entrance on your left. Bash through the first few metres of this after which it improves slightly, but expect scratches.

Follow bush and scrub on the obvious track. It eventually fades out and into nice broad tussock, before the ridge narrows. Sharp pinnacles are soon hit, which are normally scrambled initially before a quick hop to the climber's left will let you sidle the remainder. Be careful not to fall to the right off the pinnacles, it's a long and sheer drop.

Above the pinnacles, follow the ridge up through various outcrops. Some would be slightly dangerous in the wet, there is some scrambling on moss with cliffs only a few metres below. Clear the last of the major ridge difficulties and come out into loose but tolerable rock.

Depending on snow levels (or lack thereof), err on the side of caution when putting on crampons. The ridge eventually fades out into broad face slopes, and those slopes are not pleasant. The matrix isn't coherent, and its littered with rocks that won't tolerate even partial weighting. Expect to send hundreds of rocks into the Manganui Gorge, with a reasonable chance of eventually bailing. Further up, there is a fine layer of shingle on a hard clayish bedrock which is difficult to traverse. To make matters worse, a good portion of the runout heads over cliffs into the Kapuni Gorge.

With that said, when the upper section is snow covered it presents no major difficulties (and even offers pleasant climbing!). Follow it up until you cross over the obvious lip onto the southern face and climb as per the South Face route.

A long outing by Taranaki standards, but a nice variety of terrain with easy climbing in the right season. Despite the low technical grade, it's noteworthy more for its length and height gain - about 12km of continuous climbing and 2100m of gain, one way. The lack of summit routes from the west also means getting back to your car means retracing your steps, or heading back down to the Around the Mountain Track and circling back.

Start off at the end of Kahui Road, on the western side of the mountain. There is no carpark, but plenty of room to park at the turning bay. Follow the signposted route up to Kahui Hut, on well cut (but often boggy) tracks.

Kahui Hut is a nice play to stay for the night, quiet with a bit of history. No fireplace, so bring a nice sleeping bag in winter. You can see the gorge condition from the hut (in good weather), though most of the mountain is obscured by the forest surrounding the hut.

From the hut, you have two choices. The 'correct' route is to make your way down into the adjacent Okahu Gorge, typically via a lightly taped pest control track which comes off the main track slightly below the main hut. Follow this (careful to avoid to drops below) until it hits a slip, scrambling this into the gorge and follow the river up. The gorge is traversable right through, though it takes a few hours on an already long route. There is a decent cliff mid-way up which is scrambled through occasionally prickly terrain to the climber's left. Once you're in the tussock, keep a look to your left for a gentle slope that breaks the mostly cliffed gorge edges to enter the tussock fields above. It is certainly possible to just follow the gorge all the way up which gives a nicer view of Hughsons Ledge, so it's a call between tussock and dry streambed.

The other option is to head up about 50m past Kahui Hut and there's a closed pest control track to your right. DOC was kind enough to put up a No Entry sign (making it easier to find) - I don't have knowledge of whether that's a legal prohibition / call for courtesy etc., but in the interests of liability I would suggest confirming the specifics of access (or lack thereof) with DOC first. I would guess use of the track is discouraged as it enters a short patch of narrow and exposed terrain further up, or potentially to discourage people from walking through the fragile mossfields that litter the western face. Either way, the beautifully cut track heads straight up before traversing a narrow ridge, coming out into scrub and ultimately tussock.

From the tussock fields, continue ascending pat Turehu Hill (tall rock spine to your left). The broad tussock fields narrow and lead to a large mossy outcrop - either climb this directly which is quite steep with mostly friction holds, or head south and follow the obvious ridge which takes longer but is easier. Continue over the outcrop into the gorge proper, and follow that up.

The gorge itself is unpleasant in summer, seemingly oversteepened volcanic debris just waiting to tumble down. Even football sized rocks show little tenacity, kind of like the scree on North Ridge but on a much larger scale. The guidebook recommendation is to take the scree slopes north of the gorge (i.e. the west face) instead, but I have not personally tried this.

In winter / spring / early summer, snow coverage in the gorge makes for a lovely outing. Enjoy the reasonably shallow slopes (perhaps 45 degrees maximum) as you cut under the 150m high cliffs of West Ridge, snaking up until you reach the entrance of the crater when a quick scramble up the summit dome will bring you magnificent views in all directions.

One of the more popular alternatives to the crowded North Ridge route, though possibly because it diverges from that route at Tahurangi Lodge.

Access Tahurangi Lodge however you wish - most come in from North Egmont Visitor Centre as per the North Ridge route, but for those coming from the south it's just as quick to park at the Stratford Plateau and follow the Around the Mountain Track.

From Tahurangi Lodge, ascend the obvious tussock bulge to the climber's left of the marked route up Hongi's Gully. There is a snow pole at the top of this hump which suggests a direct route up is achievable (though steep), but it's easier to follow the Organ Pipes Valley access track (not marked on topo maps) for a short period and ascend onto the ridge proper using either the obvious tussock gully or adjacent ridge crest. The upper section of this ices over quite early in the season and may require a short section in crampons.

Above the bulge, the route flattens off slightly and transitions to broad moss slopes and ultimately scree. Follow the ridge as it gradually steepens, hitting perhaps 50 degrees on the final approach to the crater rim. The upper section is reasonable rock in summer, or snow / ice in winter.

Gain the crater rim slightly right of where the eastern edge of Sharks Tooth drops away, finding a short gully amongst the cliff faces to descend into the crater. Ascend easy slopes to the true summit.

Can be done year round, but in winter watch for rime falling off the bluffs to the south (climber's left) of the route. Also be aware that the upper sections of the route run out over cliffs.

An uncommon and potentially seasonal route, but enjoyable nonetheless. It climbs part of the west ridge of Mt Taranaki, overlapping with Okahu Gorge route.

Access Kahui Hut via the Kahui or Puniho Tracks. From there, access further up is either via a cruise taped pest control track into the lower Okahu Gorge or more directly, the 'closed' pest control track that runs off about 50m past Kahui Hut. Access to the latter is contentious, with an overt prohibition sign in the field and poster in the hut.

If coming up via the lower gorge, travel is ok as per the Okahu Gorge route description. If coming in via the mossfields, you will want to trend south and find the path of least resistance to around 1400m. There's a sloping tussock face around 1400m which gives access and a straightforward descent into the gorge around 1600m, but between the two is a hanging moss slope with a hidden cliff face below - be careful not to drop over this.

From the gorge, access West Ridge. This isn't trivial and generally the crux of the route. Historically it was done via Hughsons Ledge, a tussock / moss ledge that breaks the main cliffs. Access is via a tussock scramble from the gorge floor and then a long trend upwards. I haven't done the route, but there are two visible slips from the gorge that cut the ledge and 70m high cliffs below. The ledge narrows near the top to under 10m wide, before breaking out into a moss basin and providing access to one of the gullies on the West Ridge.

The other option is to climb onto the ridge directly via one of two gullies that cut the ridge just above 1700mm, with a distinctive and blocky lava toe splitting them. The upper one offers good travel, but it's probably above the 1+ grading given to the Hughsons Ledge route. When infilled with avalanche degree and snowfall, it can offer a consistent snow lead from the gorge right up onto the ridge.

Climb the moderate lower slopes at perhaps 40 degrees - on snow this is fine, in summer conditions it can be loose rubble. There's a short rock step about halfway up, though in good snow conditions this reduces to a short 3-5m section of 60 degree snow / rock. Beyond the step, it's largely 40 - 55 degree climbing as the gully opens out from a few metres wide to more of a face. This is a beautiful section, you can look down and see the broad face converging beneath you. The runout is still pretty good at this point, with just that small rock step breaking up the smooth snow slope back to the valley floor.

From the upper gully, there are various options. You can tend left, sneaking around the small but sheer face of a cleaved lava flow. This doesn't look to offer any technical difficulties, but the traverse across runs out over large cliffs.

The gully has a headwall, and in winter this seems to involve ugly chandeliered ice with little substance. Far from offering good pick placements, it seems to accumulate slushy snow around the weakness on its left-hand side making it an unpleasant option. With enough snow coverage, the cliffed right hand side of the gully is broken by a useful snow lead near the top. This leads to a short and icy ridge climb onto a knob, which finally leads to the open expanses of West Ridge.

From here, the route is more trivial. Follow the sweeping ridge until it merges with Bobs Ridge, then ascend to near the shallow saddle and find a route down into the Okahu Gorge. Ascend from here into the crater as per the Okahu Gorge route, being mindful that you can expect heavy rime shelling on the approach.

Not sure how much fun this route would be in summer. The upper gully looks horrendously shingly in summer conditions, and while West Ridge has one dominant lava flow which looks coherent, at least some of the route will be on shallow shingle and exposed. The descent into the gorge could be problematic, and the upper Okahu Gorge tends to be on loose blocks without snow cover.

Named for the springer spaniel that climbed it. Right side of the low angle slab.

On the left-most of the line of small boulders ~40m N/NW of the Submarine. On opposite face to 'No. 17'. Mantle.

On mid-sized of trio of boulders next to Submarine, on South-East-facing side. Short featured arete.

Grade: VE

Grade: VE

Grade: VE

Grade: VM

Easy climb from Barron Saddle Hut

Up via Welchman Glacier

This route follows the only marked track to a summit in APNP. From behind the visitors centre in Arthur’s Pass Village, ascend steeply through native beech forest, passing several waterfalls, to eventually arrive above treeline. Join with Scott’s Track about 200m below the summit and continue up. Descend via Scott’s Track or continue on to Lyell Peak and Mt Bealy.

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Up the coolie not described in guide book for one (maybe two) pitches of mixed. (M3/4) followed by 45-50 degree Snow/Ice for 75 m to true summit. Rapped into and down main coolie (Very loose rock on descent). Not sure if this has been climbed before. If this is a FA, we propose the name "Blitzing everywhere"

Standard descent route off Single Cone. Due to it's aspect it is not uncommon to find snow in the gully, even in Summer. Bolted belays.

There is now an easy scramble down on the ledges ~12m climber's right of the gully that leads to DBA that allows for a single 30m rappel to the bottom of the gully. Useful in shoulder seasons if crossing the iced/snow gully to get to other rap stations is difficult.

Awesome scramble to the summit. Consider a light rack and a 60m rope.

Starting at Shadow Basin top station, ascend ridgeline lookers left of the saddle. Gains about 200m vertical - either hug the blocky ridge or adjacent snow slopes can provide easy solutions.

access the mountain from what is now the standard approach route through Kea Basin, ascending the Birley Glacier and through Wright Col

the obvious South East Coluoir visible from the Rees Valley. runs all the way to the summit!