In the last year there has been a good amount of local NZ alpinism happening due to the pandemic, so there are a healthy number of NZ based nominations for this year’s Alpinist of the Year award.
For 2021, the nominations are:
Individual Nominations
Don French – completion of the NZ Great 100 Peaks list.
With the ascent of the final peak, Mt Unicorn, Don completes a mission that has taken a lifetime to achieve. He has been working on this project since 1991. The challenge has taken him to some of the country’s remotest regions and has climbed many rarely climbed peaks, as well as the nation’s highest summits. During the process he ascended all of the 3000m peaks, pioneered several new routes and achieved many early ascents. The completion of the challenge has raised the profile of Alpine Climbing in New Zealand and is proving to be an inspiration to future generations of alpinists.
Article From NZ Alpine Club website
Gavin Lang – completion of all the NZ 3000m peaks
First Ascents (team nominations)
Sooji Clarkson, George Loomes – new route on South Face of D’Archaic – ‘Lust’, WI5 V 5+ 500m, Sep 2020.
D’Archaic is a classic Canterbury Peak, dominant in the headwaters of the Godley and Rangitata. The South Face has been receiving new attention in the last few years, with Ben Ellis & team’s new route ‘Desire’ comes another equally righteous line direct to the summit, ‘Lust’, by Sooji & George. Read their article here.
Ben Mangan, Nick Kowalski, Ed Cromwell, Leonard Brockerhoff – 2x new routes on Newton Peak, Garden of Allah, Jan 2021.
The trip to climb some new routes on the rarely visited Newton Peak North Face involved an epic adventure up the Lyell Glacier and onto the Garden of Allah. Newton peak rises from the glacial plateau sandwiched between Garden of Allah and Garden of Eden. The two new routes climbed were on some great quality alpine greywacke, with the initial route Fruit Salad on an unclimbed eastern buttress. This route comprised of approximately 7 pitches of variable quality before a brief sojourn on a snow field before a final steepening to the summit (crux). The second route Apple Crumble comprised a variation on a previously climbed western buttress on better quality rock, with a beautiful crack providing the crux of the route. Fruit Salad (15). Apple Crumble (18).
Jimmy Finlayson, Olivia Truax, Sam Waetford – new route on Kaipo Kid – Mist Crystals – 400m, Grade 17 Darran Mountains, Feb 2021.
Mist Crystals is an epic line up the side of the Kaipo’s walls outlier peak. While not as large as its bigger brother this wall provides excellent granite face climbing. This ascent was done as part of a multiday circum-navigation of Mount Tutoko.
Rose Pearson, Asher March – first ascent of a new route on Karetai Peak West Face, 17, 250m, Darran Mountains, Feb 2021.
Asher and Rose ascended Karetai Peak via an indistinct corner system up the Western face during a three day traverse through the central Darrans from Cleft Creek to the Donne Valley.
Conor Vaessen, Maddy Whittaker – new route on Pyramid Peak – ‘New Zealand Alpine Kids Go Climbing’, Darran Mountains, grade 19, (1095m), Feb 2021.
The South Face of Pyramid peak has only been climbed once, in winter 2020 by Ben Dare. As of February 2021, no rock routes scaled its immense face. Three days after finishing a 2 month traverse of the Southern Alps, Maddy and Conor took advantage of a brief weather window to try and find a crack system that would lead all the way from the valley floor to the summit, more than 1000 vertical metres above. The route was committing with poor abseiling options and multiple crux pitches going at grade 19. While there was the odd mossy pitch to keep one grounded, superb cracks and slab climbing made for mostly pure joy climbing. The route was climbed in 19 pitches over two days with a bivvy on the face, before the team descended into Falls Creek and walked out in a storm.
Steven Fortune, Ruari Macfarlane, Alastair McDowell – new route on Southwest Face of Mt Crosscut, Darran Mountains – ‘The Itch’, 6, M5+, IV (300m), July 2021.
Staring down at the Milford Road, this corner line had caught Steve’s attention for many years and finally the itch needed to be scratched. Lean snowpack down low in the Darran’s meant not much accessible ice was to be found, despite low freezing levels over the weekend. Crosscut’s SW face was accessed by the Crosscut bluffs route. The route involved 5 technical pitches followed by an easy romp to the summit. Descent via the west ridge and return to Homer via Crosscut bluffs. 17 hours round trip. The route was completed as part of the annual Darran’s Winter Meet held every winter based out of Homer Hut.
Ben Dare (solo) – First Winter Ascent of the East Face of Flat Top Peak, Darran Mountains – ‘Soulfly’, Grade 6+ (M5, AI5+R), VI, (1100m), July 2021.
A line first spied last winter from the South Face of Pyramid Peak. It climbs the centre of the steep wall on the righthand side of the face to top out just right of the summit. Starting out up steep and often thin ice flows through a series of overlaps, it then tackles the upper mixed headwall via a left tending traverse before existing the face via a steep snow gully. The descent was made via a traverse of the peak and down the South Ridge into the head of Mistake Creek.
Other notable mentions
Daniel Joll – first free ascent of Dream Liner, 28, 700m, Milford Sound
A second new route on the newly established, ‘Airport Wall’ in Milford Sound, tirelessly established by Daniel Joll along with numerous dedicated partners including Merry Schimanski, James Hobson, Rachel Clarke, Steven Fortune and others. Read about it here.
Llewellyn Murdoch, Jon Sedon, Bruce Dowrick – first free ascent of ‘Free River’, Copper Point