Date: Nov. 30 - Dec. 1, 2023
Location: North Branch of the Routeburn, Humboldt Mountains, Glenorchy, Otago, New Zealand
Total Trip Distance: 21.22 mi / 34.15 km
Total Elevation Gain: 4,871 ft / 1,484 m
Trip Duration: 2 Days
Team: Solo
Field Notes: Poor snow and route conditions turned me around 450 meters from the summit. The Somnus Couloir is best climbed in September to early November with stable snow conditions. I was a few weeks too late. The couloir is never that steep but has much objective hazard (described below). Easy access can be had by staying at Hobbs Bivy, a 3.5 hour walk from the Routeburn Shelter.
Rating: I, 2
It's crazy to think that less than a week ago I was climbing Mount Barth. It almost felt too quick to pack up the bags again for another mission, but when the weather is good here in New Zealand you have to go for it. My plan was to climb Somnus via the Somnus Couloir; an 800 meter chute in the heart of the North Routeburn.
The day before leaving I got a text from a new potential climbing partner, Henry, about doing the southwest face of Brewster - another dream climb. I've been wanting to do a mission with Henry because he has a ton of experience (way more than me) and seems like a good dude. Unfortunately when I woke up the next morning he was unable to get work off, so I switched back to my original plan of climbing Somnus.
I made the two and a half hour drive to Glenorchy, shouldered my pack and started down the trail. Within five minutes I ran into my old friend Tsukasa. I blurted out "oh my God! Tsukasa!" He looked like he saw a ghost. Only 48 hours ago we were sharing a beer together to catch up as we hadn't seen each other in nine years. Now twice in two days. A great start to the trip.
The Routeburn track is quite famous and for obvious reasons, it is simply stunning. The forests are almost spiritual. Not even almost, they are spiritual.
I arrived at Routeburn Flats not feeling entirely optimistic. It was really, really warm and when I looked up high I couldn't see any snow. At this moment I thought about diverting my plans to climb Xenicus but decided this was my only chance in the season to climb Somnus.
I spoke to the hut warden to see if she knew anything about conditions and she told me that a party had successfully climbed the peak one week ago, but since then it had gotten really hot. She also said she climbed Xenicus today and that it looked like a bergschrund had opened up in the middle of couloir, but she couldn't be 100% sure.
I sat at the creek and weighed my options. Ultimately, I had to take a look.
When I reached Hobbs Bivy I was greeted by one thousand bugs. I was really glad I chose to wear long clothing! I collected some firewood and got a nice fire going - always a treat in the mountains. I went down to the river to soak my feet and have a look at the route. At first impression it didn't look great. I could see three different places where a bergschrund had opened up. Cloud had funneled into the couloir making it difficult to appropriately assess conditions.
Ultimately, the only way to truly know something is to experience it. I headed back up to camp and went to sleep.
I woke up at 2 am, packed my stuff, made a coffee, and got underway. It was warm. Another red flag. At this point I felt that the odds of the route being in condition were slim. I climbed up into the couloir and felt the snow. It was soaked. Isothermic. Damn. I kept climbed climbing because I wanted to see if the snow became firmer with elevation. I wasn't concerned about getting avalanched at this point, I was concerned about the icy walls that lay about the couloir.
I made good time and kept climbing higher when I reached my first obstacle - a bergschrund lay in front of me that required a climbing move (except it was soft snow and not ice). It was a 4 foot vertical step and the crack below would likely be fatal if I fell into it. I felt fine, made the move and climbed on.
Higher I reached a second schrund. This was actually sketchier because I had to trust a snow bridge that I had almost no trust in. This was a deep fucking hole. I worked my way across the snow bridge and climbed higher. At this point I stopped and had to have a conversation with myself.
The first schrund was not too bad and the risk of falling into the hole was extremely, extremely low because of the way it was angled. The second shrund I relied on fate, luck, or chance. Without a partner and without a rope and with overly warm conditions it was an extremely risky move. I told myself that if I got to a third major obstacle I would turn around. Ten minutes later I reached the third and final schrund that I spied from the valley yesterday. It required crossing another snow bridge. It was a no brainer and I made a deal with myself already. The risk was too much at this point and I turned around. Intuitively, it never felt right anyways. I know that I could've crossed that third schrund, bagged the summit, and got back to the car in one piece...but at what cost? The thing is, when you start taking big risks in the mountains and you get away with it, it fucks you. It fucks you because if you do that enough you will think it's skill. When I looked into the shrund and saw a bottomless pit, I can not think of a worse way to die or get severely injured. No thanks! As I was near the bottom of the couloir I head a gunshot above me. I actually almost tripped at the sound it was so loud. I turned around and saw a massive ice fall smash into the couloir near where I was climbing just twenty minutes ago. Wow.
It felt really nice to be in the valley again out of harms way. I was proud of myself for making the safe decision to turn around. Timing in the mountains is everything and this time the timing was not right. I was a bit gutted to see the summit of Somnus soaring above the clouds though...oh what a lofty summit it is!
As I walked out of the North Routeburn an elderly lady came around the corner. "SOMNUS!!!" she squawked. She painted a huge smile on my face. I shared the story of my adventure, the bergschrunds, the shitty snow, and my philosophies on life and death. She said she had a camera and was trying to get a shot of me summiting the peak as the ranger told her I was out here. Oh what a world we live in! She had a captivating energy about her and listened with great interest. Come to find out, she had used to be the hut warden many moons ago in the Routeburn. "Oh well, it'll be here next time," she said. "Come on, go get your coffee in Glenorchy!" So I went and got a coffee in Glenorchy :) Happy days...
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