A climb of Mount Rolleston via Rome Ridge Words and pictures Peter Laurenson Right - On Rome Ridge at about 1,850m, just above and east of the notch Below - At about 1,800m, on the narrow section before the notch Above - Crotch-eye view on Rome Ridge at about 2,000m Below - On Low Peak (2,212m), with the main summit (2,275m) left skyline Just as I confirmed that down climbing was going to be fine, James also located a fixed sling up above me. We didn’t need it, but now we turned our attention to the next section, climbing out of the notch towards Low Peak – the crux. Steps again led both ways – left and right. “Which way James?” “Last time we definitely went right.” And off he went. As we struggled up through some exposed downward sloping, snow splattered rock, then a precarious little ice cheval, the advice the Arthurs Pass Oracle Graeme Kates had given me the evening before came flooding back. “My mate mentioned an unpleasant patchy rock and snow section just on the Bealey side of the ridge. Sounds like that is best to avoid if you can.” “Yes, I see what you mean now Graeme” I thought to myself as we carefully plugged up a steep, exposed snow face back on to the crest of the ridge – where, at 1,950 metres all the other steps reappeared. From there the going was straight forward and we arrived at 2,212 metres on top of Low Peak about 11am, six hours after having set off. “Well, it took us a bit longer than I’d first thought, but at least we can claim a pretty unbroken ascent of Rome Ridge James.” A cold breeze now blew but the weather remained clear, affording 360 degree panoramas that could not fail to pump joy into the heart of any photographer. I was certainly having a good time and our view northwest to the main summit looked eminently doable. But first, time for a spot of lunch. The route on to the summit dropped off low Peak to the upper edge of Crow Glacier, skirting beneath a steep rocky buttress, before climbing again into another notch. Climbing out of the notch gave us another small helping of gnarl, very similar to the first in terms of thin snow and ice on a small steep section of rock. We managed to free climb it but I was definitely not keen on down climbing it. In fact, the cumulative effect of quite a lot of exposure during the morning encouraged me to suggest we pitch from there on. James put in three not totally bullet-proof cams but, as the final section below the summit came into view from behind the rocky outcrop where he stood, we could see that a fall was going to be unlikely. The rope still had a calming influence though as I climbed through and set up a T slot just below the summit for James to follow up on. “It’s still sinking in that I’m actually on top James. I’ve been looking at this peak for three years. Life is good!” The summit of Mount Rolleston is just the 2,275 metre high point on a long narrow ridge. There wasn’t a huge amount of room up there and the wind was up so, after I’d covered, to my satisfaction, all angles photographically, I carefully followed James back to our packs back at my T slot point. An easy pitch and a reassuring 30 metre abseil later saw us back down in the notch, comfortable in the knowledge that the rest of our day should be quite straight forward. For more captioned images and a route map www.occasionalclimber.co.nz Above - On the descent at about 1,950m, with Goldney Ridge below centre Below - From the summit, with Otira Valley left, Crow Glacier on the right and Low Peak right of centre Our round trip from Low Peak to the summit and back had taken about two and half hours, so we set off on our descent to Goldney Ridge about 2pm. The going was steep, mostly facing in to the slope, but straight forward. By now any freeze had well and truly become a distant memory in the bright sunlight. Any thought of climbing it made me wince, but the snow was actually quite pleasant for descending – soft but predictable. Looking below at the Otira Valley I could see one or two avalanche sites, but generally everything appeared pretty stable – in line with the “moderate” rating given by avalanche.net.nz. Although steps led off along Goldney Ridge, we decided to drop off down the Slide almost immediately after reaching the ridge. Being wary of afternoon avalanche danger, we kept close to the edge of the snow slope until it broadened out and the gradient relented at about 1,600 metres. “This takes me back three years James” I remarked as we crashed thigh deep into soft wet snow. While there was still some gradient to work with the best way forward was on our bums. Thankfully the snow improved a bit once we reached the shade of the Philistine Ridge and then it ran out altogether at about 1,200 metres. James is less than half my age and mountain fit by any climber’s standards. While I plodded, nursing my ailing knee joints, he disappeared at speed. The gesture was both kindly and logical – his Ute was parked back at the base of the Coral Track three kms down Highway 73 from the Otira Valley carpark. He figured he’d save me having to cover that ground and also save himself from having to wait for me. Smart! I trudged into the carpark at the end of Otira Valley at 5.30pm, twelve and half hours after we started. James was already back, airing his feet in a reclining position. He’d run the 3kms in his climbing boots, claiming that having enjoyed a summit day, he’d felt extra perky. We had certainly enjoyed a fortunate alignment of conditions for our climb, the only disappointment that wonderful day being that the Pub at Arthurs Pass Village is closed on Tuesdays.
