Great Pinnacle | ClimbNZ

Type

Altitude

2190m

Part of

The most impressive of the pinnacles when viewed from low on the ski area, the Great Pinnacle also holds the classic routes on the ridge, such as Chiming Bells and Grand Gully.

Walktime

30-90 min

Lat/lon

-39.24927085,175.56937695, NZ Topo Map

Topo50

BJ34 217 524

Add Place Add Route

Routes

Reference	Title	Grade	Length	Quality
	North Ridge, I,1	I,1	0m	0
From Hut Flat, traverse out to the northeast below the big bluffs on the North West Face, to where straightforward climbing can position you on the ridge. A pleasant scramble follows along the rocky crest to the summit. Most enjoyable. P1 Alpine (Commitment) I Alpine (Technical) 1
	North West Face, I,1	I,1	0m	0
This face has seen much activity. Beginning from Hut Flat it’s possible to do a reasonably straightforward ascent that avoids any major difficulties. Start up the middle of the face, heading up to the narrow left-tending gully that leads through the main section of bluffs. Above the bluffs, head back right, up the snowﬁeld and the summit blocks. P1 Alpine (Commitment) I Alpine (Technical) 1
	Peanut Slab, I,2	I,2	40m	0
P1 Alpine (Commitment) I Alpine (Technical) 2 40m A nice mixed pitch up a slab, to the left of where the usual North West Face route climbs the gully through the main bluffs. Other mixed routes also exist on spurs below that gully.
	Dribble, WI2	WI2	30m	0
P1 Water Ice WI2 30m Short but quite steep in places, this tackles ice smears up the right side of the Northwest Face gully.
	Smells Like White Spirit, WI3	WI3	40m	0
P1 Water Ice WI3 40m The deep gully about 30m left of Chiming Bells. Climb steepening ground up the gully before tackling the ice curtain directly. The curtain rarely forms.
5	5Chiming Bells, WI2	WI2	150m	1.02
Perhaps the classic ice route on Ruapehu, this climb tackles ice runnels up the western face of the Great Pinnacle. Various options exist on each of the two waterfall pitches. P1 Water Ice WI2 50m The obvious gully in the centre of the face. P2 Water Ice WI2 50m Move right up a lower-angled ramp. P3 Water Ice WI2 50m Climb ice smears at the head of the ramp to the upper snowfield.
6	6Chiming Bells Direct, WI3	WI3		0
A steeper line, less often in good condition, starting about 10m right of the Original Line and continuing direct up steep ice, rather than moving right. P1 Water Ice WI3
7	7Chiming Bells Left Variant, WI2	WI2	150m	0
P1 Water Ice WI2 50m Begin up the Direct route, and climb up to the left end of the snow ramp. P2 Water Ice WI3 50m Traverse left a few metres and then up a vague rib (about 25 metres). Only really climbable in good ice years. P3 Water Ice WI2 50m A final pitch to the snowfield keeps well left (north) of the Direct Variant.
	Banana Split, I,2	I,2	0m	0
From the bottom of Grand Gully climb the couloir that tops out below the first pitches of Chiming Bells. Best climbed as an alternative start to that route. P1 Alpine (Commitment) I Alpine (Technical) 2
	Gorilla, I,2	I,2	30m	1.02
P1 Alpine (Commitment) I Alpine (Technical) 2 30m The main drainage line tucked away on Grand Gully’s left (northern) side, with two steep sections.
10	10Neanderthal, I,2	I,2	30m	0
P1 Alpine (Commitment) I Alpine (Technical) 2 30m Stay hard against the left wall of Grand Gully, up to the start of Gorilla.
11	11Grand Gully, I,2	I,2	0m	0
The major feature when viewed from Whakapapa skiﬁeld, running directly from the valley ﬂoor to the col south of Great Pinnacle. The gully narrows and climbs some short steeper steps towards the top. Avalanches are a serious hazard in winter after snowfall. From the col at the top of Grand Gully, the Great Pinnacle is an intimidating prospect. The next two rouites describe two methods of reaching the summit. P1 Alpine (Commitment) I Alpine (Technical) 2
12	12Traverse of the Gods, I,1	I,1	60m	0
P1 Alpine (Commitment) I Alpine (Technical) 1 60m From the col, follow ledges across the face facing the skiﬁeld to reach the top of the Northwest Face. Exposed, but not difficult.
	Tequila Sunrise, I,4	I,4	50m	0
P1 Alpine (Commitment) I Alpine (Technical) 4 50m Climb direct from the col. In winter conditions, an alternative is to drop down about 15m to the east into the start of a gully. You can traverse into the gully from the col, but starting lower makes a better, more sustained route. Climb back up the gully and then mixed ground to the top.
	East Rib, 11	11	100m	0
From the ridge north of Great Pinnacle, traverse along eastern slopes to reach the base of a rock rib that climbs directly to summit. Easy rock for two pitches. A pleasant variation to a climb of Great Pinnacle. See also http://www.mountainz.co.nz/content/article/article.php?article=141107_pinnacles.php&direct=nz P1 11 100m Trad
RE	RERuarimu Express, M4	M4	0m	0
"As we threaded a pretty line up the buttress of the Great Pinnacle, an incredible landscape of lava runnels, volcanic plateaux and high forest spread ever-wider below. The sun shone clearly. Where the ice ran out, we scratched at rounded blobs of conglomerate for purchase, working weaknesses on the exposed right side of the buttress crest. Atop the tooth on Pinnacles ridge, our smiles were wide. Greg, who runs an outdoor centre down the road in Raurimu, suggested we name the line “The Rua-rimu Express”. Despite the self-referencing, I am a complete sucker for bad puns, and abdicated helplessly. We could have descended a nearby gully, but Greg suggested showing me the full Pinnacles traverse, despite having climbed it numerous times. Wandering spire-spire through shifting whorls of cloud, we savoured the severance of ties with planet Whakapapa below; all that existed were gargoyles of rime, a comfortable fluidity in an alien world, and unhurried conversation as the terrain suggested it." - from 'Stirring Embers', NZAJ c. 2023 P1 Mixed M4 Trad

Images

Comments

UUID

f55176f6-831b-4cfb-9b50-096a69df409d