GUNUNG · Selandia Baru

Mount Earnslaw / Pikirakatahi

Pikirakatahi (Māori)

Information

Elevation: 2.830 m
Country: Selandia Baru (NZ)
Location / Range: Pegunungan Forbes (Forbes Range), Taman Nasional Mount Aspiring, Otago, Pulau Selatan
Mountain type: Puncak alpine bergletser (non-vulkanik) berpuncak ganda di Pegunungan Forbes, Pegunungan Alpen Selatan
Volcanic?: No (non-volcanic)
Coordinates: -44.6240, 168.3970
Difficulty: Mountaineering serius: pendakian alpine panjang dan menuntut (East Peak umumnya digradasi sekitar Alpine Grade 2 dengan crux batuan pendek; West Peak lebih sulit). Butuh kebugaran tinggi, kemampuan menyeberang gletser, dan scrambling batuan. Jalur Rees-Dart di sekitarnya adalah rute tramping multi-hari yang melewati gunung tetapi tidak mencapai puncak
Best Season: Desember hingga April (musim panas–gugur belahan bumi selatan); sejak Desember sisi utara East Peak umumnya bebas salju untuk scrambling batuan. Bulan dingin membawa salju tebal, risiko longsoran, dan penyeberangan sungai berbahaya
Permits & Rules: Tidak perlu izin mendaki; gunung berada di Taman Nasional Mount Aspiring (DOC). Tiket/karcis pondok DOC berlaku, dan mendaftarkan rencana perjalanan (intentions) sangat dianjurkan
Hazards: Celah (crevasse) gletser, batu jatuh dan batuan lepas di muka atas, cuaca alpine yang cepat berubah, bahaya longsoran salju di luar musim panas, serta penyeberangan sungai/kali yang berbahaya di pendekatan lembah; eksposur dan ketinggian serius di punggungan puncak

Description

Mount Earnslaw — Pikirakatahi in Māori — is a glaciated peak in the Forbes Range of New Zealand's Southern Alps, about 25 km north of Glenorchy near the head of Lake Wakatipu within Mount Aspiring National Park. It has twin summits: the East Peak, the main top at roughly 2,830 m (Wikipedia records 2,819 m), and the slightly lower but more demanding West Peak at about 2,819 m, separated by a deep saddle some 2.5 km apart. The East Peak was first climbed in 1890 by Glenorchy guide Harry Birley, who reportedly left a bent shilling in a bottle in a summit cairn, while the West Peak fell to H.F. (Frank) Wright and J. Robertson in 1914. Its flanks are heavily glaciated, with the hanging Earnslaw Glacier and the Earnslaw Burn cirque — scenery made famous by the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films. Climbing Earnslaw is a serious alpine undertaking, usually approached from the Rees Valley via Kea Basin or from the Dart, with high camps at the Kea Basin bivouac rock or the tiny Esquilant Bivouac hut above Wright Col. The multi-day Rees-Dart Track circuits the base of the massif and is the main way trampers experience the peak from below.

Gallery

Foto bersumber dari Wikimedia Commons — klik untuk memperbesar & lihat sumbernya.

Routes

East Peak via Lembah Rees, Kea Basin, Wright Col & Esquilant Bivouac

Alpine Grade 2 (scrambling batuan dengan crux pendek, pendekatan gletser)

2–3 hari

Pendakian klasik dimulai menyusuri Lembah Rees menuju Kea Basin, lalu menaiki semak dan lempeng batu ke Wright Col dan pondok mungil Esquilant Bivouac. Dari bivak, pendakian relatif singkat menaiki muka utara ke East Peak yang lebih tinggi, yang sejak Desember umumnya bebas salju sehingga menjadi scrambling batuan dengan crux pendek; total tanjakan dari lembah melebihi 2.000 m.

Source

Jalur Rees-Dart (sirkuit kaki gunung)

Rute tramping multi-hari (advanced); bukan rute puncak

4–5 hari

Tramping backcountry multi-hari ini mengelilingi massif Mount Earnslaw / Pikirakatahi yang berpuncak gletser, menghubungkan lembah Rees dan Dart melewati hutan beech, tussock subalpine, dan medan alpine lewat Rees Saddle. Inilah cara baku pejalan menikmati gunung dari bawah; jendela teraman adalah Desember hingga April, karena musim dingin membawa salju tebal dan kali yang berbahaya.

Source

Climbing Experiences

Experiences on Mount Earnslaw / Pikirakatahi split between serious alpine summit climbs and easier ways to enjoy the massif from below. Climbers describe 1–2 day expeditions to the East Peak via the Rees Valley and Kea Basin, with high camps around Wright Col / Esquilant Bivouac, then rock scrambling and glacier terrain to the top. Others enjoy the mountain via a tramp into the waterfall-laced Earnslaw Burn cirque beneath its hanging glacier, scenic flights over the ice, or the multi-day Rees-Dart Track that circuits its base. Recurring themes: dramatic glacier scenery known from the Middle-earth films, and the need for alpine skills and the right season (December–April) for the summit.

References

The summary above is compiled from the following sources. Click to explore them yourself.