Taranaki & Aoraki Trips 2022

Mt Taranaki — East Ridge & Shark’s Tooth

Date: 27 August 2022

Team: Sam Brown, Dan Waterston, Eric Buscaro & James Johnson

Ascent route: East Ridge and Shark’s Tooth

Descent route: North Ridge

Grade: 2+

Taranaki topo map showing East Ridge and Shark’s Tooth ascent route, North Ridge descent

East Ridge of Taranaki with route line marked in red

Manganui Lodge with the upper mountain and approach slopes above

Climbing the steep snow face of the East Ridge; roping up at the summit with panoramic views

Spectacular golden sunset from the Taranaki summit, two climbers on rope above the cloud sea

Purple dawn at the Taranaki summit with city lights visible below; night climbing with headtorches

Team photo at the base — Sam Brown, Dan Waterston, Eric Buscaro and James Johnson, Taranaki behind

Dates: 15–24 October 2022

Alp 1 Team: Tom Wilson, Logan Olausen, Andrea Wolter

Alp 2 Team: Dan Waterston, Sam Brown, Mike Peszynski, Hamish Brown & Helen Lee

Climbs completed:

Hochstetter Dome (2834m) — South/East Face ascent, North Ridge descent, Grade 2
Mt Kain (2670m) — West Ridge ascent, Zero Politics descent, Grade 1+ (bolted abseil)
Mt Abel (2688m) — Pencil Couloir ascent, Red Buttress descent, Grade 2+ (bolted abseil)

Aborted climbs: Elie De Beaumont, Mt Annan, Mt Sealy

Topo map of the Upper Tasman Glacier showing routes on Hochstetter Dome, Mt Kain and Mt Abel

Wide panoramic view from the summit; climber ascending a snow ridge above cloud-filled valleys

Dramatic view of a high alpine peak — Hochstetter Dome — with two climbers tiny below

Climber on steep snow with ice axe; alpenglow at dawn on the peaks; wind-swept plateau approaching summit

Climber ascending a snow ridge at golden sunset, peaks and glaciers stretching to the horizon

Inside Kelman Hut — two team members at the table, gear spread through the cosy mountain hut

Tasman Saddle Hut perched on rock above the glacier; silhouette at hut window as the sun sets

A deep crevasse moulin dropping into blue ice; exploring a narrow crevasse passage on the Tasman Glacier

Aerial view of a ski plane on the vast expanse of the Tasman Glacier with seracs alongside

Ice climbing in a steep couloir; climber front-pointing up a narrow icy gully between rock walls

Rope team climbing the final ridge to a summit on a clear blue sky day

Summit celebrations — team members raising ice axes on the Tasman peaks

Climber on a summit with a rocky peak rising behind, surveying the Southern Alps