Te Herenga

(8 routes)

On the upper north-eastern side of Pinnacle Ridge and visible peeking over from the NZAC hut are a number of steep, easily accessible routes that offer interesting and challenging climbing.

Type: 
Face (Alpine)
Aspect: 
North East
Reference Title Grade Length Quality Bolts Gone Natural pro Link to edit content
Moonage Daydream 13 M2 45m
0
Starts up a corner on The Gnome and leads to a short steep wall (crux 13) and then an easy ridge and a final steep pitch to the summit. There is a straightforward downclimb to the west.
Yibai He, Mike Peat, June 2006
Wave of Phase 14 M3 60m
0
A two-pitch (25m, 35m) mixed route on the South Tower starts from the toe of the tower and ascends trickier-than-it-looks and rather loose rock to a belay on the large ledge in the middle of the face. Pitch 2 continues up the obvious wall on very nice rock (crux 14). The descent involves an abseil (15m) down the north side.
Mike Peat, Tom Wilson, July 2006
Cosmic Jive 16 M4 45m
0
On the Central Tower, the route starts with a traverse above easy ground to the start of the route, heads up and right around the prow of the buttress and then up a steep wall with sustained moves (crux 16). This leads into a corner system that provides interesting climbing to the summit. The descent is a 20m abseil to the north.
Yibai He, Mike Peat, June 2006
Religiously Unkind 16 65m
0
wire representing trad
A two-pitch (40m and 25m) summer rock route up a reasonably safe line to the left of the chimney. Descent was via a 30m abseil to the southwest.
Mike Peat, John Dawkins, March 2007
Road to Purgatory 14 M3 25m
0
wire representing trad
On the North Te Herenga Tower, climb the short offwidth to the first icefield, continue up until and through a short gully and through another icefield to the bottom of a short face. Once this is climbed (crux) another short icefield leads to a horn belay. This route was originally climbed to retrieve ropes stuck after an ascent of Religiously Unkind. Take large cams, wires and sling threads.
Joseph Nelson, 26 September 2011
Snow White Tan WI2 120m
0
On the Arrowhead Buttress, start on the left side of the lower buttress and ascend the obvious ice flow. Then follow a broad snow gully tending left into a narrow couloir, where it is necessary to either climb the ice or bridge up the rock walls. The route pops over an adjoining snow ridge and up an easy gully to a very loose summit. The descent continues over the summit.
Mike Peat, Tom Wilson, August 2006
Tigers on Vaseline 15 M4,, 115m
0
This climb on the Arrowhead Buttress is a superb route. The descent is a 25m abseil down the western side from the notch.
#EwbankAlpine (Technical)Alpine (Commitment)Alpine (Mt Cook)AidWater IceMixedBoulder (Hueco)LengthBoltsTrad
115M450mNo
 

Begin on the north side of the lower buttress and climbs through a small overhang (crux 15) and up easier but interesting climbing to the nose of the buttress, where it steepens again (crux 12) to an airy belay.

225mNo
 

Continues along the blocky level portion of the ridge across a cheval to a belay on the small saddle at the toe of the upper buttress.

340mNo
 

Climb directly up from the saddle on steep ice / mixed ground to the left of the rock buttress, leading to easier ground. The climb then finishes up a short ice gully with a loose rock wall at its head. The summit is very loose and exposed, and it requires some work to hook axes over the top and peer over before retreating to a better belay stance at the notch to the north of the summit.

Mike Peat, Tom Wilson, July 2006
Leper Messiah WI3 100m
0
A two pitch climb on The Shield, destined to become a classic. From the centre of the face, tend left toward the snow arĂȘte and up 50 degree ice to a belay. Pitch 2 heads up a short steep ice wall (crux) then tends right across the ice shield. Above this, the terrain relents from 60 to 50 degrees. The final part of the climb is up a 60 degree gully to the summit. Descend via either a 10 m abseil down the west side or a steepish down climb also to the west from the south end of the summit block.
Mike Peat, Tom Wilson, August 2006
Attribution: 
http://web.archive.org/web/20100527004605/http://www.mountainz.co.nz/content/article/article.php?article=170209_ruapehu.php&direct=nz
UUID: 
332cede8-67bf-468b-af91-245ae059142d