Elevation: 2205m
Difficulty: 2nd and short sections of 3rd class scrambling. Wet bluffs can be sketchy but not difficult.
Access: Canyon Creek Track up the Ahuriri Valley (If you don’t have a 4wd or an ambitious Subaru you may want to bring a bike for the last 10km or so)
Mt. Barth in late summer conditions.
Description:
Mt. Heim seems to be a consolation mountain. Everyone I’ve talked to who’s been up there only went because Mt. Barth wasn’t in climbing condition.
The storm roared through the valley and Jordan’s Mitsubishi Triton roared right behind it. A bad weather window for the Sunday but clear day on Monday had us hitting the trailhead in the late afternoon. We were on the trail of a storm that was working its way North. We hopped out of the truck at the start of the trail and were greeted with 2 inches of water everywhere. We grabbed our bags and headed into the wilderness.
Canyon Creek is an incredibly beautiful track. I also believe it’s dog friendly but you may want to check into that. The trail starts with a steep, narrow, forested valley. To get to this beautiful valley you will need to walk through some pretty high grass. After a storm this grass is often wet. My pants and shoes were soaked before we even started. We walked through this forest for what was probably 30 minutes before exiting into the broader valley. The track is very well trodden and marked. There’s also ample camping throughout the valley.
The forest opens up into a classic New Zealand Valley. The walls of scree on both sides seemed to climb for over 1000m. It’s the kind of valley that holds your attention every step you take. We made our way to the back of the valley. From here you follow a track climber’s left to reach the hanging valley ahead of you. This steep track is very easy to follow in broad daylight. We did not have that. We got to the back of the valley at dusk. There is nowhere to camp until you get into the next valley. We had close to no idea where we were headed but decided to press on and try to get to the bivy rock even if it meant travelling in the dark.
We got to the start of the hanging glacier just at dark. Now all we had to do was find a bivy rock somewhere in the valley before going to bed. We bashed through the tussock under the cover of night. Our headlamps guided us through this foreign region. We bashed on for about an hour. It must have been reaching 10pm before we decided to start scoping out flat areas that were big and dry enough for 2 bivy bags. We told ourselves we would walk for 5 more minutes before calling it if we didn’t find the bivy rock. Almost out of nowhere, this giant boulder, clad in rock walls appeared. Our 5 star accommodation awaited. We were introduced to an almost water-tight, grassy shelter. Just enough space for 2 bivy bags. No spiders. No mice. No possums. We were in luck. We set up camp under the shadow of our objective, Mt. Barth. We went to sleep in luxury.
I woke up at 5:45am and peered out at our objective. I glanced at it for a second before thinking, “There is no chance I’m going up there.” Not only was our glacier completely chopped up and shimmering with ice, but the mountain had also received a nice helping of summer snow. Hard ice was covered in a layer of fresh, summer snow. The snow ramp we were supposed to climb was gone and left with a 30m rock cliff.
The rock slabs on Mt. Heim.
We decided to give Mt. Heim a crack. It’s a much easier peak with limited snow exposure. Thanks to the storm, the bluff we had to climb was soaking wet. We zigzagged up this steep, mossy, wet bluff until it levelled out. Grass turned to rock slabs and our objective was in our sight. We walked up the bluffs until we saw a very aesthetic rock spire. We decided, as we had time, to see how easy it was to climb up this tower. It was pretty mellow 3rd class scrambling, much to our surprise.
Our rock tower.
After that quick detour, we headed for the summit of Mt. Heim. This involved walking across a mellow snowfield and scrambling up an easy gully. The views from the summit were stellar and you could see from Mt. Brewster all the way to Mt. Aspiring. I’m sure the view on Mt. Barth would have been nicer but sometimes it’s just the way of the road.
Jordan on the rock tower.
We descended, packed up, and walked out. At the rock bivy I realized I had left my camera up on the mountain. I thought it was gone forever but some Australian climbers came across it as they had the same circumstances fall upon them. They posted a picture of my climbing partners/ housemates on the NZ Mountaineering Facebook page. We got in contact and I got my camera back! It had survived a week up there, being battered by storms.
Mt. Barth from the summit of Mt. Heim.