Grade
1
Length
0m
0
Quality
Located on
- P1
- Alpine (Mt Cook) 1
Starts directly behind the Hermitage. A pleasant day trip.
Comments
UUID
915f62f2-a5b0-4d87-87c3-757106100422
Hard long route compared to the Sealy Tarns staircase. Key beta: when in doubt, stay to the ridge. Go via the water tanks, not the view point, but still, this is the first of a number of slips that need to be bypassed. Track doesn't exist the whole way, so expect to bushbash. First crux is low - there could be direct ways up but very exposed and insecure. Best option we found was to the right then up by linking scree paths just off of the arete. When ridge to the right joins at a shoulder, shimmy right one or two ridges for more stable option up but cut back left to the ridge just before the skyline. One interesting section of crumbling rock looked dangerous but didn't cause much trouble. Then greywacke gave way to more stable schist. After that we hit snow so can't be sure what the route is when melted off, but there was one more crux - a head wall that we tackled just right of straighting on. Final challenge to the main summit was a knife edge snow ridge. We descended by NW face over rock then a snow slope (without snow, the ridge to the northern sub summit could have given way to an easier descent off its north side?)