Date: November 17, 2024
Location: Harris Mountains, West Matukituki, Otago, New Zealand
Total Trip Distance: 7.16 mi / 11.52 km
Total Elevation Gain: 6,209 ft / 1,892 m
Trip Duration: 9 hours
Team: Rob Fraser
Field Notes: This is a relentlessly steep mountain. Start as Raspberry Flat car park, hop the fence and walk across a brief section of farm land. Head directly up through bluffs, aiming to join the North West Ridge at 1,200 meters. Follow the ridge, sidling obstacles as they arise. An alternate option would be climbing the terrain just off the ridge to the West. Continue following the ridge higher up until a few hundred meters below the top. It is not necessary to cross the nasty gut. Pick any convenient line that joins the West Ridge to the summit. This peak would best be climbed in early season with snow.
Rating: I, 1+
Rob and I arrived at the parking lot the day prior to scout out conditions. We had originally intended to ski Craigroyston, but as we drove up the West Matukituki it seemed unlikely. I can't believe how quickly the snow was melting. We made a quick dinner and headed up the valley to get a better view of the upper mountain conditions. We were definitely not skiing.
With neither of us packing mountaineering boots Rob came up with the brilliant idea of chucking our ski boots in our backpacks and using them once we hit snow. Problem solved. We packed it in early and set our alarms for just after five.
Besides a sheep yelling outside of the van, we slept peacefully. The morning was cold and we were off at six. We appreciated how direct the route was, however, the terrain was brutally steep. My legs didn't feel fully recovered from my trip earlier in the week in the Richardson Mountains and it was going to be a long day.
Two hours in and we gained the ridge at 1,200 meters. From here we followed the North West ridge steeply up, sidling obstacles as they arose. The views were sensational as always and it felt great to have a super fit partner with a great attitude on this trip. We climbed higher and got our first view of the summit at 1,900 meters. There was plenty of snow now and we were stoked to take out the sharp stuff.
Crampons on and ice axes out we traversed slightly below the ridgeline and worked our way to the obvious snow ramp that lead up to the summit ridge. The climbing was easy and straightforward. Snow conditions were excellent. Rob is a fit dude with a background in mountain / ultra running. I'd like to think I'm also pretty mountain fit as well. Today, we were huffing and puffing like cigarette smokers!
Finally, about five hours in we reached the top. Happy days. The views were as expected - incredible. It was cool to look along the true right of the valley and look at the other peaks I've been fortunate to summit - Fog Peak, Sharks Tooth, Liverpool, Barff. The next phase is to climb the major summits on the true left!
We allowed ourselves ten minutes on the top before our descent. The snow was warming and it wasn't necessary to stay for long. We shot a few pictures and videos and began the descent. I'll save the details, but it was a leg burner and our quads were screaming by the time we reached the van. Thankfully, I packed a few cold juices and we headed straight to the West Matukituki for a cold plunge.
Happy days...
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