McPherson Talbot Traverse
- Mike Morelli
- Feb 14
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 22
Date: Feb 1, 2025
Location: Darran Mountains, Fiordland National Park, Southland, New Zealand
Total Trip Distance: 9.87 mi / 15.9 km
Total Elevation Gain: 4,619 ft / 1,408 m
Trip Duration: 13 hours 20 min
Team: Flora Yu
Field Notes: Start at Gertrude Valley or park higher up (if hitch hiking). Leave the road at the start of the tunnel and follow a trail and cairns north until a grassy area where a solid ground trail leads up to Homer Saddle. While sometimes exposed, Talbot's Ladder is easy scrambling on solid rock. Once above the Ladder, follow the South Ridge on the eastern side to the summit of McPherson. We found the easiest route onto the summit to be from gaining the South Ridge forty meters roughly below the summit. From here, follow the ridge over to Traverse Pass. Conditions will dictate the best route onto and off the pass. To get off the pass, we descended directly from Traverse Pass on terribly loose rock and made one short rappel to reach the snow. From here, pay attention for cairns at the 1620 contour which leads through the bluffs back to Gertrude Saddle.
Rating: III, 2
Fiordland is a place where I do not spend enough time. Snow-capped peaks. Pristine rain forests. Rugged and raw. This is a place that deserves respect.
The McPherson Talbot Traverse is one of New Zealand's classic alpine routes. It seems to be Fiordland's version of the Remarkables Grand Traverse.
With another fantastic weather window lining up, I messaged my friend Flora to see if she was keen to join. Sure enough she was and we made the three and a half hour drive to Homer Hut.
It was a cold morning when we started. Not a cloud could be spotted in the sky and we were optimistic for a beautiful day in the alpine. We wore headlamps and organized gear while I brewed up some delicious coffee.
We drove up towards the tunnel and got started. From the tunnel, a solid trail and cairns lead into the McPherson Cirque. Near a grassy area past a boulder field, a ground trail switchbacks up to Homer Saddle. We were treated to the early morning light filling the valley as we climbed higher.
At the saddle, we had a quick bite to eat and rehydrated before beginning the climb of Talbot's Ladder. It was my first time climbing in the Darrans and I was stoked. Unlike the rest of the country, the rock in the Darran's is incredible. Most of New Zealand's mountains are composed of greywacke / schist - loose and flaky. The Darrans are unique in that the mountains are composed of granite - a climber's dream.
The Ladder provided fun scrambling with excellent holds. It felt amazing to climb on rock that was solid, compact, and grippy. It was also cool to see Flora grow in her mountain climbing and push beyond what she had done prior.
Above the Ladder, we followed the South Ridge of McPherson on the East side, putting on crampons two hundred meters below the summit. We continued our climb higher and the views were sensational. As fate would have it, clouds poured over the ridge twenty meters from the top. Most of the views were obscured.
While the clouds came in, we searched for an easy route onto the summit. We found the best option to be from gaining the South Ridge forty meters roughly below the top. Once on the apogee, we high-fived and ate some lunch. This was my first summit in the Darrans.
While we were grateful to be at the top, I felt slightly uneasy about the amount of cloud that was developing and was curious if the weather would deteriorate. My only concern was descending Traverse Pass in a whiteout as I had never been there before.
We spent the next hour in and out of the cloud. The ridge between McPherson and Talbot is beautiful and when the clouds lifted, the views were stunning. We left the snow and scrambled up rock to gain the ridge slightly north of the pass. We scrambled along the ridge until we stood officially at Traverse Pass.
As I expected, the cloud made it slightly more difficult to spot the best descent route off the pass. The rock was also terribly loose and extreme care needs to be taken here. With all of this said, I had expected this to be the crux of the trip and was prepared.
We searched for a way down and got within fifteen meters of the snow until we got cliffed out. From here I looked for a place to build an anchor and found a massive boulder - happy days.
I looped some cordelette around the anchor, organized the rope, and called Flora down. Soon enough she was over the cliff and onto the snow and out of the way to safety. Then I followed, into empty space, and onto the snow. It felt like the major obstacles of the day were behind us.
As we started down the snow, I was lazy with fitting my crampon and took a momentary slide. Although harmless in this scenario, other mountains would be less forgiving. Mountaineering is a practice that requires absolute focus. You could argue it requires perfection. I was actually disappointed in myself for such an amateur mistake but made sure to soak in the lesson post trip.
I also think it's good to openly share with others who may read this. How easily does the mind switch off in the mountains when one thinks okay, we are safe now. You can see why most accidents occur on the descent.
Back at Gertrude Saddle we finally gave ourselves a good break. I had expected to see more people there but it was just us. The weather was clear at this elevation and thankfully we were out of the clouds.
A few hours later we got back to the van and rushed to Te Anau - arriving just in time for some delicious wood fired pizza.
Happy days...
Great trip description. Looking to do the same in two weeks time.