Rome Ridge / Rolleston-Philistine traverse

Shawn Cohen and partner Matthew link two Arthur's Pass classics into one great day of winter mountaineering

I had attempted Rome Ridge three weeks earlier with other CMC members at the East West Climb Fest, but due to several reasons we only made it as far as The Gap. A couple of route finding errors were made (the first being my fault when it was my turn to break trail and I led the group up the face of the second buttress instead of veering right onto easier terrain, I would recommend studying route descriptions before going out, it may save you time…) and I was determined to remember them to improve my chances of success next time round.

After studying the weather forecast religiously for two weeks, Saturday appeared to be our chance and once we had feedback that conditions in Arthurs Pass were the best they had been this year, we packed our bags and headed for Kennedy Lodge straight after work on Friday.

Alarms off at 3am, several parties ate breakfast, got ready, and headed out for a 4am start. We reached the bush line 45 minutes later to a clear night’s sky, wind was nowhere to be found and the snow was perfectly firm. A vast improvement on conditions three weeks prior.

We cruised through the first section and as we approached the second buttress, I remembered to drop right to find the snow slope. Hard snow had settled, allowing us to climb up the buttress with relative ease.

Relative to my previous attempt that is, the steepness still had us pausing every few meters to catch our breath. Once over the buttress and a little further along the ridge we dropped down onto the East Crow Glacier to skip the final buttress before regaining the ridge at the Gap for 7am, just as light started to appear.

We took in the views and refuelled before commencing our ascent up to Low Peak where we caught the sunrise.

Catching the sunrise shortly after the Gap on Rome Ridge.

We summited Low Peak at 8am, and after a short break pushed on. Our original plan was to link up a Rome Ridge ascent with a traverse to Philistine if conditions were right, we were making good time, and we were feeling it.

Snow was firm, we had made it to the Gap an hour and forty minutes quicker than my previous attempt, and stoke levels were high. I guess that means the traverse is a goer! We opted to skip Middle Peak to save time and dropped down onto Crow Glacier and headed straight to High Peak.

The blanket of powder over the glacier had us wishing we had skis with us (not that I really know how to ski all that well). Forty-five minutes later High Peak was bagged, and with wind picking up we briefly soaked in the views and decided to head down the ridge to find a sheltered spot for a 9am “lunch”. We had been up for six hours already after all.

Summit views from High Peak of Rolleston looking at the traverse to Mount Philistine.

To gain the ridge we descended via Sampsons Couloir, a route up Rolleston highly recommended by Paul Hersey at the East West Climb Fest where he went as far as to say he preferred it over Rome Ridge! If it wasn’t for catching the sunrise on Rome Ridge I would probably have to agree.

There is an element of remoteness and adventure you experience when roads and village lights are out of sight, and when combined with a sustained, steep but beautiful climb it simply makes for an outstanding route.

Matthew downclimbing along the traverse; Matthew descending Sampsons Couloir;

As we were about to veer off the couloir to ascend back up to the ridge a short spell of whiteout suddenly dropped over us, almost losing sight of each other and obscuring the route ahead. Luckily, I had taken a photo of what was to come moments before, and we were able to discuss our route before continuing.

Once we regained the ridge proper, the clouds opened up sufficiently long enough for us to negotiate the more technical and exposed portion of the traverse. And the clouds were back, on time and as predicted by the forecast.

The remainder of the traverse was largely under the cover of cloud, occasionally making us lose our perception of depth in small bursts of whiteout. Whilst the clouds and wind kept temperatures low, preventing the snow from becoming soft (which helped us keep a good pace), a surface layer of sticky snow was consistent across the full length of the traverse. This had us constantly whacking our crampons with axes to limit the buildup which was otherwise making for a slippery underfoot.

Intermittent views ahead.

Finally, after many false summits under whiteouts, we made it to Mount Philistine by 1PM and swiftly began the descent. I must admit, the best part of Mount Philistine is the long run outs at the base of slopes, making for safe and fast bum slides even in low visibility.

I should probably note that I had been up Mount Philistine twice in the last year and knew this, we were not sliding into the unknown! Once we had descended past the bluffs we were reminded of the dangers winter climbing has to offer, a sizeable avalanche had previously fed into and covered the scree slope that forms the usual route up the mountain.

We reached the roadside at 3PM, making our round trip an 11-hour success. My first fruitful ascent up Rome Ridge and winter traverse to Philistine, and Matthew’s first ascent of either mountain.

I normally reflect on my decision making after a trip to see what I did wrong, what gear did I need/ not need, and how could I improve my experience on the next mission. On this rare occasion I felt things went exactly to plan and as smoothly as they could have, however, this was largely due to the conditions.

The clear sky from the moment we left the roadside up until High Peak and down Sampsons Couloir allowed us to see the route ahead and navigate the more technical terrain in plain sight. The cloud cover and cooler temperatures for the duration of the traverse kept the snow from softening, allowing us to travel quickly through the easier terrain.

Any change to these conditions could have made this day a much harder objective, both technically and physically. I am sure if we had encountered really soft snow our rope and gear would not have just come along for the ride, and in increased avalanche conditions I would not want to find myself on Sampsons Couloir.

By Shawn Cohen