Mountaineering in New Zealand. The Grand Traverse in the Remarkables

We head to Queenstown, New Zealand to climb the Grand Traverse in The Remarkables. We have two days of climbing as training for a bigger goal, Mount Aspiring. Day one is single pitch cragging above Lake Queenstown, getting a feel for the rock, the grades, and the style, plus a bit of classic chimney grunting. Day two is the Grand Traverse in The Remarkables, a full-day ridge mission with scrambling, simul climbing, pitched sections, and abseils, plus rapidly changing weather and some proper route finding in low visibility. We also made one key logistics mistake before we even started, five big guys, a mountain of gear, and the smallest rental car possible. The Toyota Yaris earned its keep. If you’re into alpine ridges, big exposure, and that mix of chill climbing with all-day commitment, this one’s for you. 00:00- 00:20 The Hardest working Toyota Yarris 00:20- 01:38 Climbing above Queenstown, Chimney climbing 01:38- 02:24 Timeline for the Grand Traverse 02:24- 06:04 Climbing The Grand Traverse 06:04- 07:46 What we liked about the day 07:46 -08:14 The next Mountain