2. NZ
  3. North Island
  4. Tongariro
  5. Mead’s Wall

Mead’s Wall

(27 routes)

That pioneer stalwart of Ruapehu, William Mead, had his name given to the famous rock feature that seals the head of Happy Valley. This rock was the crucial signpost on Mead’s route up Ruapehu via Happy Valley and the Whakapapa gorge, which he worked out in 1912:
“I impressed on all parties asking for particulars of the route that the rock wall was their important landmark both going up and coming down, and after a while I found them calling it Mead’s Wall.”
— W M Mead, Memories of a Mountain and a River.
Because it is such an obvious target – and so close to the carpark – it’s a certainty that climbers have clambered all over Mead’s Wall. Probably since 1914, in fact, when Horace Holl first visited the area. Records of the original climbs are scarce – an unusual state of affairs for such an accessible crag. In May 2019 a team from Hillary Outdoors Tongariro bolted many of the lines.
An enjoyable traverse can be made by scrambling along the crest of the wall, though it is very exposed on the eastern side. It is also straightforward to set up top-ropes on the crest.

Type: 
Crag
Altitude: 
1650m
Aspect: 
West
New Zealand map

Map, Topo

Lat/Lon: 
-39.235809920000, 175.561137200000
NZMS260: 
T20 311 156
Topo50: 
BJ34 211 539
@@@@@@
Reference Title Grade Length Quality Bolts Gone Natural pro Link to edit content
Mead’s Wall Traverse 12 120m
0
 3bolts wire representing trad
Traverse the ridgeline of the Wall. Generally climbed in three pitches.
5 Cave Route 15 40m
0
 wire representing trad
A good adventure can be had by climbing the rib in the centre of the front of Mead’s Wall, abseiling down the back of the wall through a little cave, then climbing back up. May require some cleaning.
Eyeball Moss 17 20m
1.02
 8bolts
Rock Without Moss 18 20m
0
 8bolts
50-metre Roof Crack 21 20m
0
 wire representing trad
Nein Moss 19 19m
0
 6bolts
John Hard 19 20m
0
 wire representing trad
Corners in the Moss 16 21m
0
 7bolts
Unknown 16 25m
0
 9bolts
But Where’s the Moss 21 10m
0
 4bolts
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Moss 17 20m
0
 10bolts
A Mossy Mistake 17 20m
0
 10bolts

Places

Type Title Link to edit content
Wall East Side (15 routes)

This place appears in

UUID: 
a57989d5-b750-4e74-93bb-b7d1f5383b23