Elevation: Mt Macpherson 1931m, Traverse Pass 1987m, Mt Talbot 2105m
Distance: +/- 12km
Difficulty: 3rd & 4th class scrambling, rope may be required on the Talbot Ladder. Easy glacier travel in early to mid season. Moderate navigation on traverse pass.
Access: Park at the Gertrude Valley Parking Lot
Descending the snowfields above Gertrude Saddle.
Description:
The Macpherson-Talbot Traverse is an excellent day out in the Darran Mountains and one of the most pleasant alpine outings I’ve been on. It also makes for a tougher, yet still manageable, alpine mission for climbers who are preparing to tackle mountains such as Aspiring, Brewster, and Earnslaw.
The grassy field beneath the headwall of Mt Macpherson.
We left the roadside near Homer Tunnel around 6:30am and headed into the rocky field under the headwall of Mt Macpherson, We aimed for an obvious low point in the ridge above the tunnel. This is the same access one would use to reach Moir’s Mate, a popular alpine rock destination. Making your way to the saddle is easy, albeit, a little tiring with the elevation gain. There is minimal exposure and the route is very easy to follow.
Regrouping at the saddle above the Homer Tunnel.
We regrouped at the top of the saddle and begun visualizing a route through the Talbot Ladder. This is seen as the crux of the climb and features exposed scrambling on a series of steep, grassy slabs. There are bolts throughout the route so it is possible to rope up and pitch this section out if needed. Our party had a couple of fresh climbers and they had no problem so I would say that as long as you have a good head for exposure it should be fine.
Sam on the Talbot Ladder. This is typical terrain.
I remember thinking that the Talbot Ladder was surprisingly short. In no time we seemed to reach the mellowing ridge of Mt Macpherson and the snowfields that covered it. The snowfield heading to the summit of Mt Macpherson is mostly benign and the risk of crevasses early in the season is very low. I still suggest roping up as glaciers can be unpredictable. You can follow the outer rim of the mountain to reach a bench beneath the summit.
Luke and me above the Talbot Ladder.
The snowfields below Mt Macpherson.
To reach the summit of Mt Macpherson you’ll work up a steep corner. It’s surprisingly tricky scrambling for such a short climb. It’s maybe 15-20m before it mellows out and the true summit isn’t much higher.
The summit of Mt Macpherson.
The next leg of the trip is to make it to traverse pass. This involves travelling across the more serious glacier. We had no issues with crevasses when we went and navigation was straightforward. The route from the summit of Macpherson started with a series of snow patches and rock outcrops. It’s worth it to just keep the crampons on for this if they’re made of steel but I was using Petzl Leopards, which are made of aluminum, so I was constantly taking them on and off. Once you reach the low point of the snowfield you’ll make a beeline for the col behind Mt Talbot. The snowfield seems to stay mellower the further climber’s left you move, however, you will want to join up with the mountain ridge just to the left of Traverse Pass.
Standing above Traverse Pass. It steepens on the Gertrude Saddle side.
When we reached the rock ridge behind Mt Talbot we pulled the crampons off and worked up a series of dusty ledges until we met the ridge. We were about 100m away from the pass once we reached the proper ridge. We contemplated tagging Mt Talbot but some of the party members were keen to get back to Queenstown so we skipped it this time. When you look down from Traverse Pass it looks like a sheer drop to the snowfield below. There are ways to down-climb to the snow without having to rope up. This is one of the most exposed sections of the route, from memory.
Looking toward Mt Talbot.
The route eases up once on the snow. We slid down the glacier until we were just above Gertrude Saddle. All difficulty of this climb ends once there. We stopped at a small tarn for a swim before making our way back down to the car. A short walk through the Gertrude Valley saw us back at the car and on our way back to Queenstown.