There is so much untapped potential in the Darran Mountains that the opportunities for climbing are only limited by the amount of rainfall- Talk about the amount of rain. There is something for everyone, with easily accessible bolted roadside climbs, long multi-pitch routes, opportunities in unexplored territory, intricate ice climbs, bouldering routes, and big walls. Not to mention that the sight are spectacular; the Darran Mountains provide stunning vistas and the nearby Milford Sound is a world famous destination and one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.
Rock Type: Diorite – a relatively rare and extremely hard rock associated with granite.
Climbs: 500+ routes and lots of untapped potential
Location: Surrounding the mountain pass to Milford Sound. Map
My Experience
I saw an article in The Alpinist recently about climbing in the Darrans. The story went on for almost 20 pages, making me realize just how much possible climbing exists in this area. Since we only touched a tiny fraction of this (aka I didn’t climb it at all, and John only did one two-pitch climb), I can hardly argue that my opinion on climbing here is even remotely relevant. However, it never hurts to tell my story.
While visiting Milford Sound, we ran into the first American we saw on our trip to New Zealand, only to learn that he was a climber from Austin. He had been living in New Zealand working at the campground in Milford Sound for a few months, and had some great local insight. (include a link to the Milford Sound blog entry) He and John were pretty well matched in terms of climbing level, so I was more than willing to take a step back and let John do some real climbing for a change. He took John to a tough two-pitch climb that started on a narrow ledge.
I have oscillated back and forth as to whether I am going to retell the following story, because it is somewhat embarrassing for me. However, after some thought, I realized that it is quite likely that no one will ever read this besides my parents, and I have no shame anyhow. So, while John and our new friend were doing some pretty impressive climbing, I suddenly had to go the bathroom. It wouldn’t wait. As my fellow ladies can attest, relieving yourself in the woods is simply one aspect where life just isn’t fair for us. I managed to find a large tree (probably almost a foot in diameter) and leaned on it over a ditch a few feet below where my feet were. Apparently, this seemingly sturdy tree was rotten to the core and quickly snapped. I plunged backwards into the ditch, impaling (okay, just scratching… but it was a deep scratch) myself on a branch poking up and bruising a vertebrae. The worst part is that I was sprawled on my back, pants around my ankles, in a ditch for several minutes before I was able to overcome the pain in my back in order to clothe myself. At this point, I was simply thanking my lucky stars that the branch broke before I had started to go… With my pride and my back bruised, I decided against trying to climb anything and we continued on our way.
Leave a Reply