Date: February 13 - 14, 2015
Location: Main Divide, West Matukituki, Mount Aspiring National Park, Otago, New Zealand
Total Trip Distance: 25.48 mi / 41 km
Total Elevation Gain: 8,769 ft / 2,673 m
Trip Duration: 2 days
Team: Sam Gallup
Field Notes: The South East Ridge a fantastic climb and Liverpool Hut makes a convenient base. The key to this summit is route finding and it pays to be dialed in. Do not follow the ridge from the hut. Instead, begin traversing West towards Arawhata Saddle. Cross a creek and then start climbing up a small bump. After roughly sixty meters, sidle northwest into a gully that leads up to slabs and the glacier. Follow the South East ridge directly up. The crux is a steep slope that tops out less than a hundred meters from the summit. Sidle around the North side of the peak and scramble to the summit from the West.
Rating: III, 2
Authors Note: This is a trip report from 2015 when I first began my mountaineering journey. It was a powerful experience that I wanted to write about. Please note the beta provided is relevant and up to date.
It has almost been ten years since my friend Sam and I climbed Mount Barff. Since then I have climbed and explored the world, but this remains one of the most memorable trips of my life.
I think a lot has changed with mountaineering in New Zealand in that ten years. When I first arrived here in 2014/2015, it seemed like the mountaineering community was non-existent and huts were still empty. I remember hiking up to Brewster Hut in the middle of summer to climb Mount Armstrong and I had the entire hut to myself. Another memory of climbing Mount French that same summer with one other person in the hut.
When I showed up here ten years ago information was very hard to come by and you could feel just how wild the Southern Alps were (and they still are wild). I originally found Mount Barff because of the fantastic write up from Danillo Hegg. Convinced this climb was within our capabilities, we packed our gear and drove to Raspberry Flat.
It was a stinking hot summer day as we walked up the West Matuktuki. Although not the hottest place in the world, the sun here is brutally strong. We walked past the stunning Rob Roy Glacier, past livestock, and approached Aspiring Hut for a break. Out of the bushes came the hut warden, brushing himself off as he had been lying on the ground.
I'm searching for Kiwis!
Did you spot any?
Yeah, two little ones!
He walked closer and examined our gear as he inquired about our destination. His eyes ravished our new Mammut Infinity 9.5mm dry-treated rope and began to caress it like a woman that had stolen his heart. Wow....an amazing rope...
That hut warden, God bless him, was an example of what it's like to be fully immersed and fully alive. With newfound energy, we continued up the valley to Shovel Flat, onwards to Pearl Flat, and then eventually up the steep track to Liverpool Hut. Drenched by sweat we offloaded our gear and looked up towards Barff, immediately intimidated.
A few other tourists began to arrive at the hut and were taken aback by the ice axes and rope.
What are you guys going to do with that?
We pointed upwards towards Barff.
Are you serious? Are you afraid of dying?
I puffed out my chest as best I could and casually said we got this.
Truth be told I was shitting my pants. Barff looked pretty ugly at this time of the year. The glacier was a minefield of crevasses.
We spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying the scenery. The hut is placed in a commanding location with views of the West Face of Rob Roy and the North Ridge of Mount Liverpool. Sam and I used the remaining daylight to scout out the access route to the South East Ridge which would prove to be an excellent decision.
I can't remember the time exactly, but our alarms went off very early in the morning. We quickly grabbed our gear and made our way out the door. Just before leaving, someone from the hut whispered to us good luck! I still laugh every time I think of our experience there. The tourists in the hut were more nervous than we were!
With headlamps on we followed the route we had scouted the day prior. We climbed the gully that led up to the glacier where we took out crampons and ice axes. The day was gorgeous and there was not a breath of wind. I could feel the wildness of the Southern Alps in my bones. We climbed the South East ridge until crevasses forced us to take the rope out.
Near the top of the ridge, the pitch steepened significantly. My stomach dropped. Sam was visibly nervous. I elected to lead the crux pitch and took out my second tool. Except it wasn't even my tool, but from a friend who let me borrow it! We hammered in a snow stake and set up a belay station for Sam. I lead out.
A fall to my left would send me tumbling toward massive crevasses on the South Face. A fall to my right would be over bluffs. My heart was pounding. I focused on my tool placements and remembered right towards the top of the pitch thinking, we got this.
At the top, I stood up and shouted for joy. I was twenty-two years old and it was the most radical thing I had ever done. At that exact moment, the sun rose above the Bonar Glacier and illuminated the entire mountain in golden light. It was a moment, a memory, etched forever into my soul.
Sam followed shortly and we embraced at the top of the pitch. We sidled around the north side of the mountain and easily scrambled up Barff from the West. The summit was a mix of feelings. For one, we were stoked. But even more so we were just plain scared. This climb had been a big undertaking and honestly, we didn't have the skills to be up here, and we knew it.
We didn't stay on the summit for long and were nervous about the down climb of the crux pitch. I belayed Sam down and, with heart in mouth, followed. I can still remember the feeling of relief after getting down from the ridge. Like a shirt that has been wringed of water. A few hours later we arrived back at the hut, totally exhausted.
After a nap, food, and water we knew we had to go. The hike out was going to suck and we had no idea that you could bike to Aspiring Hut. Lesson learned! I vividly remember the pain in my feet as we walked, hobbled, and limped down the track. At Aspiring Hut, we sought out the warden to let him know of our successful climb.
How'd you boys go?
We did it! It was epic!
Nicely done! You should've seen the look on all of the tourist's faces. One by one they stopped through the hut to tell me two madmen were going to die on Mount Barff!
What? Are you serious? What did you say?
I told them to relax. Once I saw the rope you guys were carrying, I knew you'd be okay...
Man, that hut warden. What a complete legend. Sam and I laughed our asses off as we hobbled back to the car. What's even funnier is our friend Alex had been waiting for us at the car for over five hours. He was on his own mission up the valley and since we all shared the car, we organized a meet-up time.
We told him we would be back by early afternoon but instead, we got back in the evening. While he was waiting he went from being concerned, to pissed off, to maybe concerned again, to just straight angry. Because we had the keys, some guy in the parking lot felt bad for him and he wound up giving him a beer!
I can still look back on this trip over a decade later with a huge smile on my face and I hope it inspires you to find your way to the summit of Mount Barff.
Happy days...
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