Mt Underwood

The prominent buttress above the Donne valley leading to Pt 1825m on the south ridge. Galen Rowell in the AAJ: We climbed long overhanging bands of rock solely on vegetation. The rain forest just kept going up and up for countless thousands of feet above the river. We reached the base of the route at two in the afternoon, cached our bivvy gear, and decided to push on. I led pitch after pitch of 5.4 to 5.8 climbing on good rock. I had a choice of going unprotected on slabs or sticking close to cracks where the rock was coated with vegetation. For the most part I stuck to the slabs.

The climb takes the left of two prominent ribs to the ridge north of the summit. Scramble up a small snow chute down-valley from the most prominent one. Veer left across tussock to the first rock slabs, then climb a mixture of wet slabs and overhanging snow grass to a prominent shelf. Climb the snowfield to the foot of a left-tending rib which leads to the second prominent shelf. Climb the first buttress (a mixture of aid and free climbing) to another snowfield then climb a second buttresses of poorer quality rock. Climb beside the third buttress of rotten rock exiting via a snow gully leading to the summit ridge.
Five days were spent on the first ascent, much of it in marginal weather. Legend has it that the climbers utilised their cutlery as pitons.