New Zealand scrambling recommendations

[coopergould]

Hey all, headed to New Zealand (both islands) in a few weeks and wanted to ping the community for any hiking, and specifically scrambling, recommendations.

Ideally looking for some aesthetic class 3 routes that would make a reasonable/enjoyable day trip... think Sneffels SW Ridge, Kelso Ridge, any route on Adams, Meeker Iron Gates to Loft loop, Wilcox in Canada (Ice Fields Parkway), etc etc.

I've stumbled across the typical suggestions in my research - Avalanche Peak loop and Single Cone namely - but am curious if there are others this group has experience with.

And if there answer is that there aren't many class 3s/4s in NZ, that's all good! No doubt that there are endless class 1/2 trails and full on class 5 alpine climbs down there.

Thanks for the help, and of course all general NZ hiking/exploring recommendations are welcome even if they don't hit the specific question above!

[Scott P]

Can you use an ice axe? This will make a big difference in the answers given.

There are plenty of class 3 and 4 climbs down there, but the snow-line is much lower than Colorado so an ice axe is standard equipment on most peaks. Timberline is around 3000 feet on the South Island and 4000-5000 feet on the north island. On the South Island, peaks above 5000 feet will be limited unless you take an ice axe. On the North Island there are a few peaks above 7000 feet you can do without an ice axe.

Below timberline the forest is almost Impenetrable in most places so most routes will be class 1 below timberline. Above timberline there are plenty of scrambles, but many require an ice axe. On the South Island glaciers drop below 700 feet in places.

Mitre Peak is a classic, if you can hit it in good weather. You might want to look into that one. Maybe Mount Ollivier too, though an ice axe is usually needed.

On the North Island Egmont/Taranaki is a classic, though it doesn't have much rock scrambling. There are a lot of snow routes and one trail to the top.

One thing to be aware of is that the weather in the mountains of New Zealand is often atrocious. Those sunny pictures you see on tourist brochures or websites were taken between storms. Don't expect good weather to last very long and bad weather can make even the class 3 and 4 routes dicey. There's a reason almost no one camps in the mountains there. We had about 7 days of good weather in the 30 days we were there. New Zealand is beautiful-when you can see it.

Disclaimer: Most of my info on scrambles and climbs is second hand. We did a lot of hiking there (Kepler Track, Mount Luxmore, parts of the Copeland Track, and many other hikes on both islands) but had our 7 month old baby with us on the trip so couldn't do any really serious mountaineering or scrambling. We did some multi day treks as well as climbed a few class 2 peaks and I did a few class 3 scrambles, but nothing really serious climbing-wise.

For sure you're going to want to see Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers, Fiordlands, The Remarkables, Aoraki-Cook NP, Kaikoura, Abel Tasman, and Tongariro.

For class 1 stuff the Great Walks are all spectacular, but can be hard to get permits for. We were denied on the Routeburn and Milford, but got the Kepler permit. Make sure to be flexible if you want to do the Great Walks.

Of course there are all the adrenaline activities as well (canyoning, jet boating, bungee jumping, etc.) if you're into that. There's also penguin or whale watching for rest days.

Also, don't miss the "Blackwater Rafting". It's Rafting or tubing through caves under a "sky" of glow worms. It's a really unique experience.

[Trotter]

Taranaki is class 2 but great. If in New Plymouth also do Paritutu rock, its short class 4. Also do the Waitomo caves for glowworms. And three sisters. And Waiotapu/Taupo area.


I'll second Scotts recommendation

For sure you're going to want to see Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers, Fiordlands, The Remarkables, Aoraki-Cook NP, Kaikoura, Abel Tasman, and Tongariro.

[cougar]

The Waitomo glow worm caves are great, with a scrambling option of sorts. Guided on fixed ropes on wet rock, no weather windows, but fun rappels over underground waterfalls.

Didn't get the chance to do a planned mountain trek due to weather. North Island is mainly volcanic, south has the glacier peaks but some lower ones as well.