Guideless Buttress

Also known as the Ranger Route, this 800m route was first climbed by local DOC staff in the summer of 2013 and offers some of the finest alpine scrambling near the village: enjoyable rock with some fantastic views and exposure. A fun and challenging day trip.
From the viewpoint at the end of the Hooker valley track, access the nearest scree fan descending from Mt Wakefield (the second large scree fan on the east side of the Hooker valley). Climb the buttress on the true left of the scree. Either start directly up the base of the buttress, which is steep and scrubby, or head further right and follow up a stream that gains the crest of the buttress at about 1250m. Negotiate multiple towers and gendarmes to where the buttress eases off to lower angle rubble and the broad upper basins of Mt Wakefield, exiting just under the radio towers at 2000m. A more challenging direct start (grade 18–19) has been climbed higher up the scree (Lewis Ainsworth, 2018).