The East Ridge and East Peak of Avalanche dominate the view from the road up the Matukiktuki Valley. They also dominated Paul Powell’s climbing intentions for six years until October 23, 1960, when with Don McTaggart, Bob Cunninghame and Geoff Bayliss, he finally succeeded with a route from the Hood Glacier.
Routes
| Reference | Title | Grade | Length | Pro | Quality | Alert | Operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Ridge, IV,3 | IV,3 | 0m | |||||
Climb to the col west of Duncan’s Knob, either from Glacier Burn or Aspiring Flat. The ridge is then followed, with some minor digressions on the north side to turn some of the early bumps. A difficult step about 70m high occurs just past a sharp bend in the ridge; beyond this the ridge is a mixture of very easy sections on loose rock and more demanding climbing on the steeper sections, until the col at the foot of the final step below the peak is reached. This step has been climbed by a difficult chimney on the north east side, but easier ledges with good holds are present on the Avalanche Glacier side. The first ascent, from a bivvy near the col at the end of the ridge, required about nine hours to the summit. |
|||||||
| Via Hood Glacier, III,2 | III,2 | 0m | |||||
Access the Hood Glacier. From the head of the névé a short but steep rock climb leads to the summit ridge between the east and the middle peaks. The rock notch can also be reached from the col between Duncan’s Knob and the East Ridge (approached either from Aspiring Flat or Glacier Burn), by sidling the first knob of the ridge on the north side on an exposed deer trail, and then traversing, on a gradual descent, the snowgrass ledges and snow on the north side of the ridge. The climb would require a bivvy above the bushline. |
|||||||