The Nuns Veil

From the true left bank of the lower Murchison River in the Tasman valley, ascend an unnamed creek to the prominent couloir leading up between Nuns Veil and Mt Biretta. From the top of couloir climb a rock ridge to the summit.

Takes the central buttress on the west face. Head up the groove on the left hand side of the face, continue past two rock shelves (the top one may be snow covered), then tend left into a gully leading to the top. The route involves 900m of climbing, involving compact pink slabs, chimneys, and scrambling.

A popular climb, and for good reason. The route is not too technical and the summit offers a glorious viewpoint. However, there’s an exposed traverse near the top of the glacier that takes a lot of people by surprise. Gorilla Stream was formerly known as 'Griller Stream.' You’ll understand why if you’re there on a hot day. From upper Gorilla Stream, ascend the Nuns Veil Glacier to the summit. This mostly involves straightforward snow slopes, but around 2600m there’s a traverse over a big drop down towards the Tasman valley, which can often be icy. It’s not too steep, but if you’ve got people that aren’t too confident on sustained snow slopes then you’ll want a rope and some snow stakes. The effort is well worth the view. Descent is by the same route.

Super rock one loose section in middle of face. Head up center buttress to the impressive head wall. 10 pitches, Crux 19. One pitch with super hand jams.
Climbs to spot height 2520 South of Nuns Veil.