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Mead’s Wall

Type
Altitude
1650m
Part of

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 – unusual for such an accessible crag. In May 2019 a team from Hillary Outdoors Tongariro bolted many of the lines.

Image
Aspect
West
Lat/lon
-39.23580992,175.5611372, NZ Topo Map
Topo50
BJ34 211 539
Add Place Add Route

Places

Type Name Alert
Sector East Side

Routes

Reference Title Grade Length Pro Quality Alert Operations
1 1Mead’s Wall Traverse, 12 12 120m 3
0

  • P1
  • 12
  • 120m
  • 3
  • Trad

Traversing the ridgeline is enjoyable and quite exposed. Mostly trad (take a few #2 cams if you can). Generally climbed in two or three pitches.


2 2Eyeball Moss, 17 17 20m 8
1.02

  • P1
  • 17
  • 20m
  • 8

3 3Rock Without Moss, 18 18 20m 8
0

  • P1
  • 18
  • 20m
  • 8

 Cave Route, 15 15 40m
0

  • P1
  • 15
  • 40m
  • Trad

Not sure exactly where this route is, but apparently 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.


4 450-metre Roof Crack, 21 21 20m
0

  • P1
  • 21
  • 20m
  • Trad

5 5Nein Moss, 19 19 19m 6
0

  • P1
  • 19
  • 19m
  • 6

6 6John Hard, 19 19 20m
0

  • P1
  • 19
  • 20m
  • Trad

7 7Corners in the Moss, 16 16 21m 7
0

  • P1
  • 16
  • 21m
  • 7

8 8Unknown, 16 16 25m 9
0

  • P1
  • 16
  • 25m
  • 9

9 9But Where’s the Moss, 21 21 10m 4
0

  • P1
  • 21
  • 10m
  • 4

10 10I Can’t Believe It’s Not Moss, 17 17 20m 10
0

  • P1
  • 17
  • 20m
  • 10

11 11A Mossy Mistake, 17 17 20m 10
0

  • P1
  • 17
  • 20m
  • 10

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