First climbed on March 5, 1935, by Russell and Gordon Edwards, Ernie Smith, and Doug Knowles, Maori repulsed further advances for 25 years, until Les and Doug Brough, Lindsay Bruce, and Alex Gourlay finally succeeded from the Snow-White Glacier after a series of attempts totalling 55 days spread over seven years. The route of the original ascent from the Dart was not repeated until 1966.
Routes
| Reference | Title | Grade | Length | Pro | Quality | Alert | Operations |
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| From the Whitbourn Saddle | 0m | ||||||
From the Whitbourn Saddle via the Snow White and ‘Maori’ glaciers, reach the South West Ridge and follow it to the top. |
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| 1 | 1East Ridge, II,3 | II,3 | 0m | ||||
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From Cascade Saddle follow route 3.1 before veering left under the South Face of Wahine to reach Pākehā Col. The route on Māori zig-zags up a series of rotten rock ledges on the Dart Face to regain the ridge above the main gendarme. Above this the rock improves somewhat but is still poor, with some delicate towers just below the summit. The climb would take about five hours from Cascade Saddle and one and a half hours from Pākehā Col.
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| 2 | 2South Face, II,3 | II,3 | 0m | ||||
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Follow route towards Pākehā Col and the East Ridge then drop down to underneath the face. The route parallels the East Ridge through a rock band on mixed ground, and up steep snow slopes to the summit. This is a good mixed route and of better quality than the East Ridge.
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Images
