A distinctive peak with a 600m triangular north face visible from Katies Col. Kupe was first climbed (by accident) by the Wopereis brothers in 1980 during a traverse from Drake to Vanguard. The peak was not visited again until Bryan Moore and others added three new routes to the North Face in 1992 and named the peak Kupe, in keeping with the explorer theme of the area. Access to Kupe is not easy. Options include travelling up the Cook and Balfour valley systems or arriving from the lower Fox Glacier via the Paschendale range. It appears that more new route potential exists.
Routes
| Reference | Title | Grade | Length | Pro | Quality | Operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Incredible & The Naked Dancing Girls, 16,5+ | 16,5+ | 0m | ||||
From the avalanche cone on the left of the face, gain the edge of the headwall and continue to the summit (crux 16). Descend by abseiling the route. |
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| Kupe Direct, 19,6 | 19,6 | |||||
This is the central line on the headwall. Balancy climbing on solid red greywacke leads to an overhang (crux 19) two pitches below the summit. Descend by rappelling the route. |
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| The Sinusoidal Ridge, 16 | 16 | |||||
Takes the right hand ridgeline to a gendarme at 2/3rd height where it joints the headwall. An abseil is needed to pass the gendarme. The climb was abandoned somewhere on the headwall due to a difficulty that couldn’t be passed. The climb remains uncompleted. A crux of 16 was encountered before the headwall. |
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