GUNUNG · Selandia Baru

Mount Tasman

Te Horokōau (Māori)

Mount Tasman (3.497 m) di Pegunungan Alpen Selatan, Selandia Baru — foto dari Wikimedia Commons. Photo: source

Information

Elevation: 3.497 m
Country: Selandia Baru (NZ)
Location / Range: Southern Alps (Kā Tiritiri o te Moana), Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, South Island
Mountain type: Greywacke and granite peak (non-volcanic) — the second-highest peak in New Zealand
Volcanic?: No (non-volcanic)
Coordinates: -43.5660, 170.1570
Difficulty: Fully technical — snow and ice alpine mountaineering with glaciers, mixed ice-rock pitches, and rapidly changing weather. Not a non-technical climb; crampons, ice axe, harness, and glacier experience are mandatory. Most climbers hire an NZMGA-licensed guide
Best Season: November–March (New Zealand summer): the most stable snow conditions and longest daylight hours. Outside this season conditions become highly alpine and dangerous
Permits & Rules: No special permit for climbing; climbing intentions must be logged with the DOC Visitor Centre Aoraki/Mount Cook. Huts such as Plateau Hut require booking via DOC. Most climbers use licensed guiding services
Hazards: Glacier hazards (hidden crevasses, serac avalanches), brittle and unstable greywacke rock, very rapidly changing alpine weather, white-out fog, hard ice on steep slopes, and avalanche risk. The mountain has a record of fatal accidents

Description

Mount Tasman (Te Horokōau in Māori) is New Zealand's second-highest mountain at 3,497 m, standing about four kilometres north of its more famous neighbour Aoraki/Mount Cook in the Southern Alps of the South Island. Unlike Aoraki, Tasman sits directly on the Main Divide, forming the boundary between Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park and Westland Tai Poutini National Park and the highest point of Westland District. Its ice- and glacier-clad summit makes it one of the country's most technically demanding alpine climbs, known through routes such as the Balfour Face and the Silberhorn (Syme) Ridge. The first recorded ascent was in 1895 by Edward FitzGerald and his guide Matthias Zurbriggen. Its Māori name (horo: to swallow; koau: shag) is thought to refer to the swelling in a shag's neck as it swallows a fish. Most climbers approach via Plateau Hut, reached by helicopter from Mount Cook Village.

Gallery

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

Routes

North Shoulder via Pioneer Hut / Fox Névé (sisi pantai barat)

Advanced — pendakian gletser & es alpin dari sisi barat, melintasi Fox Névé dan bergschrund menuju North Shoulder

Ekspedisi ±6 hari (musim November–Februari), hari puncak ±10 jam

Alternatif dari sisi pantai barat: bermarkas di Pioneer Hut di Fox Névé, lalu menapaki névé dan lereng es menuju North Shoulder dan punggungan puncak. Biasanya dikemas sebagai ekspedisi berpemandu enam hari yang menyertakan aklimatisasi, latihan teknik gletser, dan menunggu jendela cuaca yang stabil.

Source

Syme/Silberhorn Ridge via Grand Plateau (Plateau Hut)

NZ Alpine Grade III+/IV — es & salju alpin teknis dengan gully es, bergschrund, dan punggungan puncak setajam pisau

±15–18 jam pulang-pergi dari hut (rute standar); total 3–5 hari termasuk fly-in dan aklimatisasi

Rute yang paling sering ditempuh: dari Plateau Hut di Grand Plateau (sisi timur, dijangkau ski-plane/helikopter dari Mount Cook Village), pendaki menyeberangi névé menuju Silberhorn lalu menapaki Syme Ridge dan North Shoulder, menembus gully es dan bergschrund sebelum punggungan puncak yang sangat tajam ke 3.497 m. Banyak pemandu menilainya lebih menuntut secara teknis daripada Aoraki/Mount Cook. Cuaca adalah variabel paling kritis. Hampir semua pendaki menyewa pemandu berlisensi NZMGA.

Source

Climbing Experiences

Recorded activity on Mount Tasman is almost entirely alpine mountaineering expeditions rather than ordinary hiking. Climbers usually fly in by ski-plane or helicopter to Plateau Hut, then work up névés, ice gullies, and bergschrunds to the North Shoulder and a knife-edge summit ridge via the Syme/Silberhorn Ridge or the Balfour Face. The clips and write-ups below — from alpine teams, solo climbers, and guides — show steep ice, weather that often pins teams in huts for days, and objective hazards such as avalanche and crevasse falls. Every source has been verified live.

References

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