Minarets

A short snow climb from the plateau between Mt De La Beche and the Minarets. The plateau is reached by the West Ridge of De La Beche, De La Beche Ridge, or the West Face of the Minarets. The technical grade is from the plateau.

From the Tasman Glacier there are a number of variations ascending the glacier. This route is highly dependent on favourable crevasse conditions.

A long climb, usually approached along the Main Divide via Mt Coronet, Mt Meeson, Mt Vic and Mt Gold Smith. The ridge crest can be followed except for one or two places where a traverse on the west is necessary.

From the Geikie Snowfield, traverse around onto one of the feeder arms of the Spencer Glacier and ascend the prominent rock face onto the West Minaret via a series of interconnecting snow ramps that start at the centre of the face (400m of mixed climbing). The ramps steepen towards the top and finish three to four easy rope lengths west of the summit.

From north of Graham Saddle ascend the prominent snowslopes to the saddle between De La Beche and the Minarets. There can be large schrunds at any time of year on this face, which involves sustained 40-degree snow slopes. The rock spurs nearer De la Beche have also been used. It's also possible to traverse the steep slopes under De La Beche and above the Rudolph Glacier, arriving high on the De La Beche Ridge.