Elevation: 2174m

Elevation Gain: 1700m from the parking lot, 700m from brewster hut.

Difficulty: Mostly 2nd class scrambling with possible short sections of 3rd class climbing

Access: Fantail Falls Parking Lot (450m), Brewster Hut (1450m)

Mt Brewster looms in the backdrop. Another fantastic climb in the area.

Description:

This is a fantastic introductory mountain with relatively easy route finding and easy-moderate scrambling.

*Some photos are from a separate trip I did with my friends, Ellie & Logan.

Ruby and I climbed Mt. Armstrong as the second part of our trip to the Brewster hut. We spent the night camping out at the tarn near the mouth of the Brewster Glacier. This area has become incredibly popular in recent years. It’s important to remember if you’re going to camp there that alpine terrain is very fragile and leaving no trace needs to be paramount.

Mt. Armstrong shouldn’t be attempted if you find the route to the Brewster Glacier difficult. Mountain terrain is inherently dangerous and the sub alpine in New Zealand can be incredibly slippery.

We made our way from the tarn back toward Mt. Brewster. To leave the tarn you must ascend a series of gritty, rocky slabs. Once above this section you’ll see the wide basin you must traverse to get back to the Brewster Hut. We wondered around this basin until we were on the wide north-west ridge of Mt. Armstrong. Once we could see the Brewster Hut we turned off the ridge and headed up the mountain.

The lower ridge of Mt. Armstrong.

The first segment of this mountain is tracking up a grassy slope. The clouds had started misting and visibility was inconsistent. The terrain slowly steepens as you approach the alpine terrain. If you keep your eyes peeled you can find cairns. These will guide you toward the summit but they are everywhere so they can be not so helpful at times. We made our way to the north side of the ridge and found a little goat track that picked through the bluffy, lower terrain.

The slabby rock terrain on Mt. Armstrong.

Once above the steepest of the grassy sections the mountain transitions to rocky slabs. The ridge is very wide from here and a variety of routes are available to reach the summit. We just kept a general trajectory toward the summit. The slabs transition to broken rock near the summit and the summit finishes at the edge of a steep cliff with a fantastic view of Mt. Brewster.

Views from the summit of Mt. Armstrong.

Typical terrain on Mt. Armstrong