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Wilderness Magazine
Jul 23, 2026
In search of greatness
In search of greatness
00:00
17:01
Transcript
0:01
Hi, it's Alistair here from Wilderness. I'm joined by author Peter Lawrenson, who wrote about climbing Mount Alexander on the West Coast in the September 2026 issue of Wilderness.
0:12
Peter is going to read his story, and then we'll have a short Q&A about the trip. Kia ora, Peter, over to you. Kia ora, Al. In search of greatness.
0:23
Our party of three paused high above Moana Lake Brunner, the blocky, exposed ridge of Mount Alexander rearing steeply before us. A climbing friend had told me that a couple of challenges lay further on out of sight.
0:37
"The guidebook indicates sidling onto the north face to avoid them," I said. "I reckon we are at that point."
0:45
The guidebook, The High Pathways by Paul and Shelley Hersey, had inspired Bruce, Seb, and me to visit this West Coast peak.
0:55
We began to pick our way across a system of scree slopes, gradually angling upwards to a rocky chute at about 1,900 meters beneath the summit.
1:04
There are seven Mount Alexanders in Aotearoa, two apiece in Southland, Canterbury and Westland, and one in Marlborough. At 1,958 meters,
1:17
this one we were about to climb is the highest and is also the highest point on the Kaimata Range, which stretches westward from the main divide and ends steeply east of Moana.
1:29
It offers unimpeded panoramas in every direction.
1:33
Despite the popularity of the name, a search of New Zealand Gazette- Gazetteer had drawn a blank, and any recorded history about this particular Mount Alexander is sparse and relates mainly to its reputation as a hard-won West Coast tramping objective.
1:49
More recently, the Herseys featured the peak's northwest ridge route in their guidebook as a climb suitable for beginner mountaineers and those who climb only infrequently.
2:00
We had started from the trailhead car park about 19 kilometers south of Moana township on the n- northern shore of Moana Lake Brunner.
2:09
The trail up Camp Creek was well worn, and although the topo map indicated all travel to be on the true right of Camp Creek, at one point after losing sight of the next orange triangle, we s-- we found ourselves boulder hopping for several hundred meters, swapping sides several times before eventually spotting a triangle again on the true right.
2:32
Returning the following afternoon, we would discover that our boulder hop had gone on a lot longer than necessary, but a plunge into the creek is still required. If the creek was up, this would be a showstopper,
2:46
or at least require a spell of nasty bush bashing. Back on track, after two and a half hours that included an arduous up and down sidle just before the junction, we reached Camp Creek Hut.
2:59
At 750 meters, the hut offers a base from which to make the 1,200-meter climb to the summit with light day packs, as well as a place to break the monster descent, which we plan to do the following day.
3:12
When ups and downs along the route are taken into account, the descent from summit to car park is nearly 2,300 meters.
3:20
A climbing friend had told me the ridge top terrain was worth the effort, and several tarns had lovely camping spots. So with a good weather forecast, we continued lugging our packs upwards.
3:32
From the junction below the hut, the trail climbed a narrow spur steeply. As we breached the tree line into the sun, the gradient only seemed to increase, leaving us struggling through dense scrub.
3:45
It was a relief to make the ridge crest reached after a bouldery sidle. As we moved onto the broad ridge top, a tarn that is not shown on the topo map came into view, nestled in comfy-looking tussock at 1,410 meters.
4:01
With a superb view northwest, it was tempting to stop right there. Before we had set off, however, Bruce had explored sat nav images that showed another tarn at about 1,500 meters.
4:14
This could only offer even better views and was 100 meters vertically closer to our objective. Five and a half hours after leaving the car park, we reached this tarn
4:24
less than one kilometer west of Point 1,795, also known as Little Alexander. What a spot. The water was clear and pure and home to a community of frogs who sang us to sleep later that evening.
4:40
With plenty of options for tents and bivvies, we were soon set up in a shallow hollow on the south side of the ridge, ready to enjoy dinner and the approaching sunset.
4:50
Below us to the southwest, beside Point 1,328, were several tarns that do feature on the topo map.
4:58
As the magic hour unfolded, these glistened in the sunlight, providing a striking foreground for a multitude of peaks within Arthur's Pass National Park, including Mount Rolleston and Murchison.
5:09
If we had more time, it would have been tempting to spend a second night on the tops, relocating to these larger tarns to enjoy another perspective.
5:18
To reach them requires picking a route through photogenic rocky tors, which ultimately become the entire landscape beyond Point 1,795.
5:28
From just above our tarn camp, we enjoyed views north along the Alexander Range, which branches north from Point 1,795. It was hard to put our cameras down as the fading light kept offering new photographic compositions.
5:43
The same was true of the dawn, which compelled us to set off on our climb the next morning a little later than planned. We knew we had a big day ahead to reach the summit and to descend all the way back to our car.
5:57
To regain a little time, we decided to leave our tents up.
6:00
A couple of kea had squawked nearby the previous day but had taken no interest in us, and as we set off, we crossed our fingers that we wouldn't find any holes in our tents on our return.
6:12
The 300-meter climb to point 1795 follows an easy pole route. On top, we watched the sun rising behind Alexander the Great,
6:22
an impressive and somewhat formidable sight, especially as it was time for the business end of our trip.
6:28
Between point 1795 and the summit is a narrow and often exposed rocky ridge punctuated by gendarmes that are straightforward to pass using short, enjoyable sidles for the first kilometer.
6:42
After that, still at 1,800 meters, the ridge rears up more steeply.
6:47
On the south side are vertical cliffs offering no sidling possibilities, but to the north lies a system of steep scree slopes punctuated by downward-sloping slabs.
6:58
This is where we opted to leave the ridge and pick our way across, angling upwards to the rocky chute at about 1,900 meters.
7:07
The chute offered many handholds and footholds and led to less steep scree and boulders and onto a surprisingly broad summit area. We'd made it.
7:18
We did a quick recce, rock-hopping from west to east and taking photos in every direction. I couldn't linger for long with the huge descent ahead of us.
7:28
At 10:30 a.m., Seb led off, retracing our steps to the rock chute where he'd thoughtfully built a small cairn. Without it, we might have struggled to spot the entry point.
7:39
As we descended, West Coast jungle mist began rising from Crooked River to the northeast, and by the time we had climbed the final slope back to point 1795, the mist was swirling around the ridgeline and around the now distant summit, adding a sense of mystical wonder to the scene.
7:59
Back at camp, we were relieved to find no signs of parrot visitation. It was hard to find the motivation to pack up and leave, but some food and cooling tarn water helped us get on the move again at 1:00 p.m.
8:12
I was not looking forward to the steep descent along the scrubby spur, but by taking it slow but steady, I was pleasantly surprised how quickly the meters fell behind us. We were back at the car park at 4:00 p.m.
8:25
Considering the vertical ascent and the brutal yet accessible West Coast mountain terrain, we all agreed climbing the tallest of New Zealand's Alexanders had indeed been great. Fantastic. Thanks so much, Peter.
8:41
Can you tell me why you chose to do this trip in two days instead of three?
8:44
Well, it's, it's a big climb up and descent, but you can do it in, depending on level of fitness and condition, somewhere between six to nine hours each way. So, you know, in that sense, it's just a solid two-day tramp.
8:57
We had advice from a friend who had made it in that way, and we also didn't realize just to what extent rocky tor and tarn landscape exploration was up there.
9:08
If we'd known that, perhaps we would have thought about making it a two-nighter. Then you would have had a chance to see those other tarns that were below your campsite. Yeah.
9:17
Yeah, and in fact, there are, there are tarns the other way, uh, on, on the ridge heading off north as well. So there, there's quite a bit of open country up there. You know, people...
9:25
If people enjoy just exploring, um, there's, there's, there's a lot of, lot of opportunity.
9:31
You mentioned using Camp Creek Hut as a base from which to climb Mount Alexander with light packs, but you guys went on and camped at about 1,500 meters next to a tarn.
9:42
Is that prospect achievable for most people, do you think?
9:46
Look, it's, it is West Coast, uh, mountain country, so you do need to have a fairly good level of fitness, um, to, to take it on in, in, you know, just over two days.
9:56
So yeah, yeah, fi- fitness is important, but other than that, uh, you know, if you've got reasonable conditions and, and good visibility, uh, it's not a particularly difficult route to navigate.
10:06
I noticed in one of your photos that one of your group was using a bivy bag, and I know you've often used a bivy bag.
10:12
Can you tell us about what it's like to sleep in one of these and, and why you might choose a, a bivy bag over a tent? Well, I'll answer the second question first. Why? Why choose a bivy bag?
10:23
Well, uh, one of the advantages is weight, although, uh, I've got a, a Nemo tent now that's not much more than 1.2 kilograms.
10:30
In a bivy bag, my, my bivy bag is about 600 grams, so it's half the weight, but it's only ha- half of 1.2 kilograms. So gear is getting lighter and lighter, so the weight factor's becoming, I guess, less important.
10:42
But the other, um, benefit of the bivy bag is that it gives you a lot more scope and, uh, flexibility to decide where you are gonna hunker down.
10:51
You, you can find little hollows and just curl up in them in a bivy bag, whereas that's not possible with a tent. So yeah, weight and versatility are the reasons for a bivy bag.
11:00
Uh, and there is a third, and that is that there is something special about having no canopy over your head at night.
11:06
Uh, I've seen some of the most amazing starscapes, um, when I've been in a bivy bag, and that is, that is something quite special as an experience. But everything has its ups and its downs.
11:18
Uh, if you're in a bivy bag, uh, one of the things you get without having a canopy over your head is dew, uh, forming on you and drops of water dropping from tussock onto your face and, uh, onto your, onto your bivy bag and so on.
11:31
That, that can be a little, little bit more physically challenging. Doesn't your bivy bag have a hood? Yeah, good question.
11:38
Uh, my bivy bag is, uh, more than 10 years old, uh, and technology's constantly improving, so I don't have the, um, uh, sophistication of a hood or anything. And, and in fact, my...
11:53
I think my bivy bag is less breathable than, than some of the more modern types as well, so you get condensation building up inside pretty quickly. I want to ask about the, the weather.
12:02
So you had really good weather, but then you did mention that the mist was coming in on the second day on your descent. I'm just wondering, um, are there any escape routes off the tops there?
12:14
Yeah, I think, I think the route we took was probably the most direct and also well-trodden.
12:20
I think I'd take a step back on that question, uh, and say that I wouldn't go up there at all if I didn't have a good weather forecast. It's pretty serious country.
12:30
Uh, it's steep, and, uh, it's, it's quite precipitous, so when the conditions are good, it's a wonderful experience. If you were in, uh, really bad conditions and it was wet and slippery, it could get really dangerous.
12:42
Yeah, for sure. What about on the summit, Pete? It was interesting that you had to kinda scout a route through.
12:49
Is there only that one way to the summit, or did you, you guys discover the route that you felt more comfortable with? I think you can pretty much stick to the ridge all the way up.
13:01
Uh, uh, the friend that I spoke to beforehand had done that.
13:06
But he did mention that there was one little move of a kind of a, a, about a three-meter vertical situation where you had to sort of hang out over quite serious exposure.
13:15
So we thought, "Well, maybe we don't need to do that," because we could see a route that was still reasonably exposed, but not to that extent. And, um, so you know, we, we weren't looking to try and prove anything.
13:27
We just wanted to enjoy our, our trip up there and get to the summit and enjoy the views, feel, feel that sense of achievement, and, uh, come back safely. Um, but yeah, I think they are, they are the two main routes.
13:39
Uh, I know that, um, Paul Hurty is looking at, uh, doing an- another more challenging route that would probably require a rope in, um, some places. Well, you've done a fair bit of climbing.
13:50
Would you say that the route to the summit there, uh, did it make you nervous with the exposure? Or if you could think of someone who's not an experienced climber, do you think they would find it a bit nerve-wracking?
14:03
I think it's, it's on the edgy end of tramping, but you don't need a rope, and if you're in s- nice, dry summer conditions, just normal boots are fine. You don't need rock shoes or anything like that.
14:15
Uh, probably the thing that was most edgy for us was that we hadn't done the route before, and so there were a few points where we couldn't see line of sight all the way up, and so there's always that sense of uncertainty.
14:27
But actually, at any given point on the route, no, I didn't really feel any, any concern. It was very manageable. Uh, plenty of rock and footholds, and, um, most of the time it's just a matter of picking your way up.
14:40
As long as you follow the correct route, it's, it's very doable for, for trampers. Yeah. Good. We've talked about, uh, the bivy bag and your Nemo tent. What other gear did you take on this trip?
14:52
A- as I said, um, for summertime, there isn't really much that's specialized at all. Obviously, we took tents or, and a bivy bag, uh, because we planned to stay up above the hut.
15:05
And so, you know, we had our thermal ground mat and tent and sleeping bag. We, uh, we didn't need any technical gear. Uh, there was no need for ice axes or crampons or anything or the like.
15:17
Although, if you tried this trip in winter, they would be essential. You still may not need a rope, uh, because if you pick the correct route, I think it's pretty doable in, uh, just one or two axes and crampons.
15:31
But of course, that will also depend on the nature of the snow. Is it, is it just icy rocks or is it a decent base of snow that you can, you know, sa- safely crampon up through?
15:42
But during the summertime, no, no need for any of that technical gear. We didn't really need any, any other particular gear.
15:47
O- o- one aspect is above the tarn where we camped, um, there's no more water, so you've gotta make sure you can carry enough of that. Other than that, really, uh, noth- nothing extra special.
16:00
Did you drink from that tarn, Pete? Is that where you guys got your water? Absolutely. Tasted beautiful.
16:07
Well, uh, it, it kinda felt at the beginning of our chat, Pete, you know, when you mentioned there was so much more up there than what you guys had the time to explore, um, that you might be tempted to go back at some stage.
16:19
Would that be the case? Well, it's, uh, n- never say, never say never, for sure.
16:25
I've still got lots of other places that I'd like to reach, and, uh, my, uh, my joints are telling me that I'm sort of moving towards borrowed time, so repeats are, are not that common a thing for me.
16:38
Certainly going back to places where they've, they've, they've defeated me and turned me around, that's, that's fairly common too.
16:43
But, um, uh, thankfully we were able to get up onto the top of Mount Alexander and enjoy those views, so I haven't got quite the same compulsion to go back. But, uh, I could certainly understand why people would.
16:54
It is a beautiful landscape. Super. Hey, thanks so much for your time, Pete. I really appreciate the chat. Yeah, you're very welcome.
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