Earle’s Gap | ClimbNZ

Type

Altitude

2850m

Part of

Earle’s Gap is the level section at about 2850m Earle Ridge. You’ll need to get to Earle Gap (or at least pretty close) in order to access the Empress Shelf.

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Routes

Reference	Title	Grade	Length	Quality
	Direct, II,3+	II,3+	0m	0
Climb directly from the Sheila Glacier, depending on the season can involve anything from one straightforward pitch of snow and rock to three steep pitches of rock. P1 Alpine (Commitment) II Alpine (Technical) 3+
	Empress Icefall, III,3	III,3	0m	0
Navigate the icefall draining the true right edge of the Empress Shelf. This can involve very complicated route finding through crevasses and seracs. P1 Alpine (Commitment) III Alpine (Technical) 3
	Lower Earle Ridge, III,3	III,3	0m	0
Follow the lower ridge from Empress Hut. This starts with a couple of steep pitches then relents, although near Earle’s Gap it narrows. This would be a time consuming option but, in some cases, may be the only feasible route. P1 Alpine (Commitment) III Alpine (Technical) 3
	Don’t Call Me Dude, 17,4	17,4	350m	0
P1 17 Alpine (Mt Cook) 4 350m Crest of the buttress between the upper and lower Empress Shelves. Excellent rock with no objective danger. 350m, crux 17. Descend via Earle’s Gap or glacier.

Comments

This place appears in

Aoraki Tai Poutini: a guide for mountaineers, 2018

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UUID

ff1dbe34-3908-458f-8caf-c12f5b0a19f1