Routes in New Zealand for selected grade

Climb the slab no hands

The right hand side of the face with the sandy base. V0 for the sit start else VB.

The left hand side of the face above the sand.

Traverse the boulder, keeping as low as possible.

The slab just to the right of The Spider.

About the centre of the upstream side.

The left hand side of the boulder with a bad landing.

Climb the easy groove directly below the bomb launch spot, stepping right (crux) at the top.

Top rope only. A nice climb to show people what fun climbs is.

Follow the arete.

Start matched on the far right and traverse up left.

"Hop On" from the adjacent rock and follow the jugs.

Climb the left side of the bulge.

Left of arete/ 13.

Left again/ left of 14.

Traverse

Climb the face just right of bolts to the ledge.

Traverse hands on top of boulder.

On stand alone boulder before Bring Your Daughter Wall.

Traverse hands below top.

On stand alone boulder before Bring Your Daughter Wall.

Climb up the easy slab to ledge. ('Slab of Bolts/ Starting Small' route)

Climb to top point.

To first bolt.

Climb the groove.

Climb up the short face.

Sit start and mantel over.

Climb up the funny chimney.

Climb the bulge.

Up to the first bolt and down.

Up to the first bolt and down.

Up to the first bolt and down.

Easy mantel.

Easy mantel.

Easy mantel.

Easy mantel.

Easy mantel.

Easy mantel.

The face to the right of the blunt arete.

Climb the arete to the obvious ledge.

Climb up the easy slab.

Another slab.

Climb the right hand side of the face.

Start by abseiling from a tree. A rope bag is great for this or get lowered by a trusted mate! At the saddle climb the pinnacle. Three of the bolts have maillon rapides on them so you can pull the rope and not leave gear behind. At the top of the pinnacle you can either abseil off the anchor of "Tàrradh" or retrace your steps.

A nice easy slab for building beginners confidence. Travsers in from the left to set up.

One of a bunch of shorter, easier routes in the middle of the beach. Start on the right hand side of the buttress on big holds, finishing on the shallow groove at the top. Room for one nut and one cam, then rap off the big tree at the top.

Same grade as its namesake, but about 120m shorter, although this one has 4 more bolts than the Ozzie version. 4 bolts, DRB anchor.

The gulley in the center of the wall. Scramble up and be careful of loose rock.

Approx 20m down hill of Rabbit Drop Boulder a short little sit start, heal hook problem. Use only the center roof, none of the others are in.

A great summer or winter traverse, in either direction. Rock is sound over most of the traverse if you stick to the ridge proper. If going southbound, bring another rope for the 50m abseil down the Great Pinnacle. Take a few cams and lots of long slings. Ice axes are a must for winter conditions.

Arguably Mt Taranaki's finest summit route, a joy in either summer or winter conditions.

This guide is written from the Stratford Plateau, though the route is also accessed from Tahurangi Lodge with a rising traverse from near Organ Pipes (Mangamawhete) Valley

Start at the Stratford Plateau, and follow the signposted route through to the Manganui Ski Area. Expect this to be super busy during winter if the ski area is open.

From the ski area, head directly up following the various tows. It starts off with easy tussock or snow, transitioning into scree (in summer). From the building at the top of the Top Tow, pick a route onto East Ridge depending on season. In summer, it's typical to cut under the Policeman (dominant rock outcrop above a narrow rock spine) and scramble up to the base of the lava flow. In winter, head above the Policeman instead and cut through a short but potentially troublesome spur. Be careful with the latter, as there's a risk of having to get through off-camber ice slopes with increasing exposure to the cliffs that separate the ridge from Teds Alley.

Either way, climb East Ridge up increasingly steep slopes. In summer, the lower section is a mixture of scree and rock, transitioning to excellent rock (with one awkward scree bed around 2200m which can be avoided), followed by a summit pyramid of decent rock. In winter, expect mostly ice with sometimes awkward rime on the summit pyramid. The ridge is mostly around 45 degrees, with a short step around 2200m and increasing to around 60 degrees by the summit.

Descent from the tooth is via various means. Some parties abseil into the crater, which should be achievable on a single rope (if you can find a decent anchor). However, most parties scramble the crater rim eastward, easy (if a bit exposed) in summer and generally ok in winter depending on snow levels. In summer, grab the cables at the top of Pleasant Valley ('The Chimney') and follow them down. In winter, you might have to go further along to the col in the crater rim ('Surrey Road Entrance') and enter from there. It's possible to downclimb East Ridge, but probably not worth the time - expect to frontpoint on ice back down below 2200m at which point you can walk off.

A nice gully route with an ice step for those who choose to take it.

The route is typically accessed from the Stratford Plateau. Follow the signposted route to Manganui Ski Area, then follow the various tows until they terminate. From there, you can see a long line of cliffs above which radiate off the edge of Sharks Tooth - these cliffs separate Teds Alley from East Ridge.

Continue climbing directly up, staying left of the cliff line. The route steepens to around 45 - 50 degrees, eventually becoming hemmed in as you approach the major step at around 2200m.

The guidebook route here goes right, hitting a pitch of ice / steep snow to clear a step. It is possible to avoid the pitch and instead climb over a steep knob of snow / ice to the left of the step. This is useful for solo climbers and those without pitching skills or gear, but also avoids the issue of getting smoked by the rime that tends to fall off the adjacent cliffs and pour down the gully after a good snowstorm. By spring, the step has filled in quite a bit and might not need a rope.

Either way, above the step (or outcrop) it's a laborious few hundred metres of frontpointing to access the crater rim. The route comes out immediately west of Sharks Tooth at a flat spot, mercifully avoiding the difficulties of getting off the tooth in winter. From here, you can drop directly into the crater and ascend the summit dome.

The easiest way to the top. Climb the obvious groove. The best way down after completing boulders on the sides of Seaward Boulder.

Double Bolt Belay.