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Cloudy Pk

(27 routes)

Place info

Cloudy Pk

(27 routes)

Cloudy Pk is the highest point on the Cloudy Peak Range and is host to some excellent alpine rock climbing. The routes on the Left Hand Wall are listed here.

  • 6

    Walk in

  • 2403m

    Altitude

New Zealand map

Map, Topo

Type: 
Mountain
Altitude: 
2403m

Cloudy Pk is the highest point on the Cloudy Peak Range and is host to some excellent alpine rock climbing. The routes on the Left Hand Wall are listed here.

Access: 

It’s 6 to 7 hours walk from Erewhon Station to the bivvy in Cloudy Stream. However, 4WD access is possible right up to the base of Cloudy Stream. From there it's only 2-3 hours to the base of the Hourglass Wall.

The best access to the valley is to head straight up the spur on the immediate true left of Cloudy Stream. Once the valley opens up, look for a track marked with white tape (2016). It goes through open scrub initially, staying fairly low in the valley rather than going high, before picking its way through the thick stuff to finish on scree.

There are a couple of bivvy sites in the Cloudy Stream valley at about the 1140m contour and also directly below the Hourglass Wall. Running stream water can be found between rocks a few minutes down valley even in the driest of summer months.

It's advisable to check the flow gauge for Rangitata River at Klondyke Corner on the Environment Canterbury webpage before heading off. Flows below 100 cumecs are generally OK.

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Walk time: 
6
NZMS260: 
J35 304 472
Topo50: 
BX18 204 856
Reference Name Grade Quality Length Comments Actions
NR
1+
0
 

This ridge cannot be soloed without a rope, there's a serious notch in the ridge that cannot be downclimbed safely.

Reach the Cloudy Peak divide, skirt below the middle peak and scramble to the top.

Bryan Barrer, Frank Askin, Dec 1931
GR
16 ,18 ,16 ,20 ,17 ,17 ,14 ,15 ,13
1.02
395m
Natural gear required
 

Left Wall
‘The route offers consistent climbing and has a worthwhile feel about it,’ said one of the first
ascentionists. ‘We were scared pretty much the whole time,’ said the other. Nine pitches on very
compact and sparsely protected rock. Belay/abseil bolts.
Access by scrambling up towards highest rock mound beneath centre of face. This is about 100 metres right of the big right-facing corner. Rather than climbing to top of the mound, move left about 40 m along ledges to bolt belay on nose of rock.
The first ascent climbed using all natural gear with the abseil bolts being added to the belay stances on the descent, which also helps to help mark where the route goes.

  1. Left of belay is a recess in the face. Starting in this, climb up good rock tending slightly left to ledge. Then straight up overhang and face to main ledge and belay bolts.
  2. Tend left up face to ledge. Above is a steep wall with seams angling right. Follow seams to ledge and belay bolts.
  3. Straight up overhang, then the face above tending slightly right to a ledge. Then straight up face to belay bolts on ledge. Belay may be a little to your left when gaining ledge. Good sustained pitch.
  4. Step left and up weakness in the overhang. Then up and move right along seams to a small overlapping corner. Move around this corner and up tending right to ledge. Climb straight up face to next ledge, then tending left up face to belay bolts in recess.
  5. Just left of belay and straight up steep juggy line of weakness to ledge. Then on up face (slightly right). Belay bolts on ledge.
  6. Tend left up face to ledge. Above ledge head straight up towards small right-facing corner. Belay bolts just above. Sustained pitch.
  7. Up and right to follow weakness through overhang. Then back left and straight up face to ledge and belay bolts.
  8. Move left a bit to avoid overhang then up good juggy rock. Once established on face above keep a little left at 1st, moving right again when well up. Gain sloping ledge and bolts.
  9. The rock above belay looks a bit odd. Move right a few metres along ledge, then up face tending back left. Regain the line then barrel straight up juggy rock to the belay bolts. Above this the angle lies back to scrambling. Be careful to avoid snagged ropes if abseiling this pitch.

Peter Dickson, Bill McLeod, 1992
TG
4- 15 , 15 , 15 , 17 , 13 , 13 , 16 , 16 ,
0
Natural gear required
 

Left Wall. Generally follow the vague weaknesses just left of the obvious drainage line on the face. Even so, protection and belay anchors are sparse on some pitches, though belays are generally on good ledges. Some pitch descriptions are generalised.

  1. Weave in and out of ledges and overhangs seeking the easiest route, towards the prominent line in the middle of the wall
  2. As above.
  3. As above.
  4. From below the overhang move left and up around the overhang, then up a faint corner.
  5. Continue up the wall following the weakness.
  6. As above
  7. Follow a faint crack to the upper overhang.
  8. Through the upper overhang, and into a chimney.
  9. Easy climbing leading to a scramble to the summit.

Fiona Bowie, Richard Thomson, 1987
SWR
3 15
1.02
150m
Natural gear required
  Start just left of the ridge : scramble up a gully to a small left-facing corner opposite a prominent corner with a chimney. About four pitches of steep climbing, then a scramble to the summit of Cloudy Peak. Alternatively, traverse right and descend scree.

Jack Hill, Rob Rainsbury, 1974
1+
0
  From the Clyde, head up a gully south-east of Mt Nolan and cross into the basin east of Cloudy Peak. Head directly towards the peak, swinging south onto the range at a flat area at 2120 metres (also readily reached from Cloudy Peak Stream), before continuing up small bluffs then scree.
1+
0
 

From the col between Cloudy Peak and Ferrar Peak (2120 meters), scramble up a broad ridge which gets easier and more defined the closer you get to the summit. If descending in poor visibility, care needs to be taken route finding to reach the col.

FA Unknown
SL
23 ,18 ,16
0
105m
Natural gear required
One or more images in route detail.
 

A line on the right hand end of the upper wall. Fine splitter cracks up steep terrain. After 3 excellent pitches can continue scrambling up SW ridge to the summit, or descend as per SW ridge.

  1. Just right of the arete, a crack line goes through 2 overhanging bulges. Sustained and well protected climbing to large ledge system.
  2. An immaculate splitter crack going up the next wall.
  3. Move left to another shorter splitter crack.

S Fortune, J Grinsted, S Chand, Feb 2017
Attribution: 
Yvonne Cook and Geoff Spearpoint, in association with the Canterbury Mountaineering Club
This place appears in: 
The Canterbury Westland Alps: a climbing and transalpine guide

Places

Actions
Wall Upper Walls (6 routes)
Wall Hourglass & Centre Walls (14 routes)
Mountain Mt Onslow (5 routes)
Mountain Ferrar Peak (4 routes)

Comments

Comments

Posted by ollieclifton on Wed, 2012-02-08 14:02

This comment from a climbing party, Feb 2012: We climbed Cloudy Peak's Great Prow over Waitangi Weekend,which proved a popular route as we were one of 3 parties. We have now cut a new track through the heavy scrub down low in the access valley. The track is well defined with white tape, climbers should keep a lookout for this after they reach to top of the initial hill / ridge which grants access to the valley.Track goes through open scrub initially, staying low(ish) in the valley rather than going high. Then it picks through the thick stuff to finish on scree.

Posted by mjeatson on Mon, 2015-04-13 15:19

Check the Rangitata River flow gauge for an indication of what the Clyde River level is (http://ecan.govt.nz/services/online-services/monitoring/river-flows/Page...).

Posted by schand on Sun, 2017-03-05 08:45

Thanks to Steve Fortune and Jack Grinstead, there is an access track that was marked with pink tape and cut on 26/2/2017 starting at the base of the slopes on the true left of Cloudy Stream. It ascends the obvious spur closest to the true left side of Cloudy Stream and leads to the scree fields at the end of the scrub. Travel up the spur is easy and open all the way to the scree fields. Access to the base of the hourglass wall from Erehwon Station is quite straightforward and makes Cloudy Peak an awesome weekend climbing destination!

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