Climbing Fanthams Peak on Mount Taranaki
Definitely not Type I fun!
It was midsummer (December in New Zealand), and fingers of snow still reached down the upper slopes of Mount Taranaki, an aesthetically pleasing cone-shaped volcano.
On closer inspection, there is a secondary cone on one side – Fanthams Peak – which stands approximately 500m lower than the majestic 2,518m summit of the main volcano. Fanthams Peak was our target, as I don’t have winter mountain-climbing skills, and we didn’t have the equipment we would need for a snow-bound summit.
The first time we planned to tackle this climb, clouds shrouded the peak throughout the day. We decided to wait. On the second day, we had the same issue, but as we didn’t want to wait any longer, we decided to see how far we could walk before becoming mired in cloud. It would be a good warm-up hike if nothing else.
Mount Taranaki stands in the exact centre of Egmont National Park1, which forms a circle around its peak. Native bush cascades down the lower slopes and ends abruptly at the boundary, replaced with barren expanses of agricultural land.
Wooden steps lead up through the lichen-festooned forest and the scrub and grassland above it. We were enchanted.
At the far edge of the grass, the wooden steps end. This is where the Type I fun also ended, and the Type II fun began2.
Above this point, the steep slope is almost entirely made from lumps of scoria (known as clasts), which sit loosely in drifts. Every step upwards is accompanied by a demoralising slide back downhill. Whenever my mind turned to how much I was sliding in the wrong direction or how difficult it would be to walk back down under control, I seemed to slide further.
On reading my books, you will discover that I’m a fan of mantras. It was time to bring one into play! Firstly, as we were in the land of Lord of the Rings, I thought about channelling my inner elf. I focussed on how an elf would run lightly up the scoria without disturbing it at all. This did not seem to make much of an impact.
Instead, I just kept repeating one word to myself:
Up, up, up!
That seemed to help. After a couple of hours of this hellish effort, we reached the end of this ugly section, and the ground firmed under our feet. Within minutes, we were at the top.
All the way up, the cloud had cycled between wrapping itself around the summit and retreating. Just at the right time, our efforts were rewarded – Mount Taranaki was freed from its grey mantle. The sun reflected off the fingers of snow in contrast to the scoria below, which seemed to suck all light into it.
To the west, we looked out over the clouds that were hiding the mountain from below. To the south, the clouds were thickening but not yet threatening.
We sat on a bench in the sun, chewing the cud with a couple of hikers staying in Syme’s Hut overnight. They had had the foresight to carry some tins of beer up, which they had cooled in the nearby snow and were now enjoying. Oh, how jealous we were that we just had water to drink! I don’t think I’ve ever been warm at the top of a mountain before—it was so blissful that I briefly forgot about the horrendous journey we were expecting back down that scoria.
And it was every bit as awful as I had anticipated. In some places, we could slide down under control, making good progress. In others, the boulders or ground abruptly stopped us from sliding and threatened to topple our balance. The clasts of scoria were jagged and crying out for skin to shred. Time for some more self-talk!
Be confident and careful. You can do this!
When overwhelm threatened, I reminded myself of my first time up Striding Edge in the Lake District. I was terrified and having to talk myself up when we came across a couple of young women who had got stuck halfway, now unable to go up or down. My terror was overpowered by the desire to be a positive role model, so I helped them up the very slope I was struggling to climb myself. It was a great reminder that I can do things that terrify me as long as I approach them with the right mindset.
Be confident and careful. You can do this!
The going was slow but much faster than the route up. I was so relieved to see the end of those shards of rock and the start of the wooden steps at the grass line, even though we still had a couple of hours of hard walking ahead of us.
Mike says we reached our limits that day. I disagree—I feel that I redefined my limit that day. Just recalling it now makes me feel exhausted from the mental and physical effort it took. But the sense of satisfaction? That’s what makes it fun!
Of course, some people climb Fanthams Peak much faster than we did. Here’s a video of a fell runner doing just that. It gives a good indication of the terrain – and shows exactly how we didn’t tackle it!
If you love mountains, you might also like reading About Mountains by Ronald Turnbull.
Join me again next week for something altogether less terrifying and totally magical…
Mount Taranaki is also known as Mount Egmont.
Type I fun is fun at the time. Type II fun is fun later, when the pain has ended. Type III fun is not to be recommended!
Sounds an amazing walk as we were freezing here - but yes more Type Ii than I !