“Have you seen any goats?”
“Nah, but I’ve smelt them”
I joked about the four-legged creatures. The Seal Skin label on my neoprene booties sparked a train of thought. Maybe we didn’t need to carry any food. We could just go Navy Seal and hunt down a goat with our ice axes. Steve was not impressed. He suggested that goats are much more agile than any human. Point taken.
It was early on Saturday morning and my feet were freezing despite the booties. We’d struck it lucky though. A cool, high had cloaked the South Island for a few days. The cold air mass ensured the Hodder River was in low flow. Travel was fast. Fingers crossed the ice had formed.
That afternoon we were destined for a high camp at the Tappy-Alarm Saddle. Thankfully, there was barely a step to plug in the consolidated snow pack. However, we were still warm from lugging our gear up the 2000m of vertical gain. Lengthy stints without conversation ensued as we made our way up the gently angled, Staircase Stream. The sun slid behind a ridge as we arrived at the saddle. Instant cold set in and our camp became a freezing one. Not to worry though. Perched high above the Clarence River, the location more than made up for the temperature. There was also the added bonus of anticipation of the climb ahead.
 |
| Our high camp - photo: Steve Fortune |
The plan was to sidle the southern aspect of point 2711 and eye up a potential route before descending into the basin below the South Face of Tapuae-o-Uenuku. Although we never got the view we wanted.
Dropping into the basin we passed some slabby looking ice lines and found ourselves beneath a deep gut. Steve suggested we have a go at that. I agreed.
 |
| The south face, our line starts behind the right hand bottom end of the prominent buttress - photo: Steve Fortune |
Dropping into the basin we passed some slabby looking ice lines and found ourselves beneath a deep gut. Steve suggested we have a go at that. I agreed.
 |
| The gut - photo: Steve Fortune |
 |
| Steve on the first pitch - photo: Kieran Parsons |
Spindrift poured over the imposing walls that flanked our chosen line. Like a funnel, the onslaught of crystals concentrated on the iced up gut. The climbing was fantastic. Two pitches with a touch of chimneying and sections of steep ice saw us through to the middle snowfield. I was also surprised to get a thread on the second pitch. The speckled, metallic grey and light brown rock was unfamiliar but it took reasonable gear.
 |
| Kieran seconding pitch 1 - photo: Steve Fortune |
 |
| Kieran on pitch 2 - photo: Steve Fortune |
We switched to simil-climbing mode at the snowfield. Once Steve reached the upper headwall he made for a “super ice runnel” that breaks the final obstacle. The runnel was nothing other than superb. First time sticks made the climbing enjoyable, whilst a series of steps kept one engaged.
 |
| The awesome ice runnel is the obvious line on the left - photo: Steve Fortune |
With the ocean stretching to the horizon the position of our climb was magnified. I had not climbed an ice route in view of the Pacific Ocean before. What a place to be. This was surly one of those elusive moments of Alpinism. Never quite captured by a lens or expressed with ink.
We exited the runnel and entered the upper snowfield. The line then delivered us direct to the summit trig. We shook hands and agreed that the route was surprisingly good and the view was stunning.
 |
| Steve at the summit - photo: Kieran Parsons |
On Sunday afternoon, with haste, Steve and I made our way back to the road. Again conversation abandoned us as we settled into a rapid pace. We were focused on making it out of the riverbed before dark.
Back at the car and relieving our shoulders of packs we couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that a quality route, on a popular and heavily trafficked peak, had not been climbed until now. It just goes to show that one never knows what gems may be hidden out there.
To cap it all off the little tuck shop in Seddon was still open. The drive home wasn’t a hungry one.
The Ornery Goat, Steve Fourtune and Kieran Parsons, September 2012
This article can also be found in the NZ Alpine Journal 2012.
Note: there is potentially a good (unclimbed) line on the south face of Mt Alarm.
Read more
The Ornery Goat, Steve Fourtune and Kieran Parsons, September 2012
This article can also be found in the NZ Alpine Journal 2012.
Note: there is potentially a good (unclimbed) line on the south face of Mt Alarm.
