I’d wanted to climb Mt Sealy via Sebastopol Ridge for a while. The route had always appealed to me, particularly the idea of heading straight up from the village to the Annette Plateau.
Eventually, everything lined up, the right weather, a great group of people, and everyone having time off at the same time.
At the time, I was living in the village, so the trip literally started from my back door. There was something pretty satisfying about putting a pack on, walking out of the house and heading straight into the high mountains.
The track out of the village is straightforward and climbs directly towards Sebastopol Ridge. Route finding is simple, the scrub bashing is fairly minimal, and once we gained the ridge the terrain became much more enjoyable.
We cruised up the ridge in good time, leaving the rope in the pack. The rock was solid, the climbing secure and the scrambling genuinely fun.
At one point, a group of around a dozen kea joined us on the ridge. They followed us for a couple of hours, eventually catching up as we stopped for a break. They hung around and circled above us for a while before eventually disappearing off into the mountains.
The final 200–300 metres of elevation gain on the ridge are particularly good. The rock has more of a schist character than the greywacke found elsewhere in the area, giving the ridge a slightly different feel as it steepens towards the plateau. Eventually the ridge leads onto a snow slope that provides access to the Annette Plateau.
We put the rope on for a couple of pitches, partly to give some of the less experienced members of the group some experience climbing on snow. It was a useful opportunity to practise moving on steeper terrain. Once we reached the plateau, we packed the gear away again.
Most of the elevation gain is concentrated in the climb from the village to the plateau, so from there we were able to settle into a much more relaxed pace and wander across the alpine plain towards our planned camp at the top of Sladden Saddle.It was cloudy and warm, but we made good time across the plateau. We made camp on Sladden Saddle that evening, preparing for the west face of Mt Sealy the following morning. It was a bitterly cold night.
The previous day we’d spent a fair amount of time travelling through wet snow, and come the morning our boots had frozen completely solid. Getting our feet into them was painful enough that we definitely all questioned our life choices for a few minutes. The cold also meant that it took us longer than expected to get moving.
We’d arranged for a helicopter to pick us up around midday, so the slow start meant we were cutting things fairly close.
Once we finally got moving, we made our way towards the west face. A short approach from the saddle, maybe 30 mins before we put the rope up and began climbing the western snow slopes.
The climb itself was enjoyable, three or four rope lengths up a moderately steep snow slope, followed by an easy but exposed traverse towards a final little rock step onto the summit slopes.
By the time we reached the top, we’d fallen behind our original schedule. Fortunately, we were able to contact our pick up and arrange a delay. That changed the feel of the summit completely.
Instead of immediately turning around and racing back down, we could actually sit, relax and enjoy being there. And it was spectacular. Mt Sealy surely has a high seat at the table.
We were sitting in the sunshine with incredible views stretching along the Main Divide, north and south, and across the surrounding ranges.
Eventually, we had to start heading down.
The descent gave everyone another opportunity to use the skills we’d been practising. We used a combination of lowers, downclimbing and rappelling to make our way back down the route.
It was a good experience for the whole group, not just climbing the mountain, but getting to practise and experience the different skills that make up a mountaineering day. Back at camp, we packed everything up. Around half an hour later, the helicopter arrived and picked us up.
Thirty minutes after that, we were back in the village enjoying a cold beer and hot, salty chips! There was something particularly satisfying about this trip. I think particularly the way it was so close to the village.
I’d wanted to climb Mt Sealy for a while, and the idea of going straight from the village, up Sebastopol Ridge and onto the plateau had always appealed to me.
It was simply a really good crew, a good mountain and a good couple of days out.
Classic New Zealand mountaineering. A trip I’d fondly recommend.
