Cathedral Peak hikes - 2 days
23 Jul 2015 08:28 #64632
by ghaznavid
Replied by ghaznavid on topic Cathedral Peak hikes - 2 days
Allow me to throw my 2c in (is it still 2c - perhaps 10c now? 
)
I rate Cathedral Peak to be a great route - but it is much easier to do in a day than over 2. A few reasons for this - the lack of water means that you will be carrying your water for almost the entire trip from about 5km into the walk. In summer there is a trickle you can use along the section above Orange Peel Gap - but I doubt there is anything flowing there this time of the year. The area gets lots of traffic so it is not wise to stash packs before heading up - therefore the weight you will have to carry up the mountain is substantial. With a day pack you will still need lots of water, but not nearly as much. It isn't that hard to do the scrambles with a 6kg pack, but you will probably have to haul it up with a 15kg pack.
Re a guide: finding the right trail is easy - simply take the road to the trout hatchery (at the first hairpin directly under the hotel), just before reaching the hatchery you turn right, scramble through some overgrowth to the river. Cross the river and find the trail on the other side. From there you have 2 more turnoffs - at the split at the base of the cliffs, go right, at the top of Orange Peel Gap, go left.
The problem with Cathedral Peak is that you have to know the route up - where to leave Bell Traverse and how to get up the scrambles. There is a trail for the most part - it only really dies right near the top. Tony Marshall did a great writeup with a ton of info and photos on the Cathedral Peak thread, and the Hotel has a diagram of the route which is worth studying and taking a photo to refer to on the way up.
Re the scrambles: if you are not entirely certain of yourself on rock or have even a moderate fear of heights, I would take a guide - or at least a 20m of rope (not ski rope) and the necessary gear (make sure you also know how to use it). When myself and Viking did it last year, we hit the crux at the same time as a guide from the hotel, so I took advantage of his rope being there when I did the crux and it was helpful. On the way down Viking gave me a belay down the crux, and I abseiled down the traverse pitch. Remember that anything you climb up, you need to be able to climb back down - which is more dangerous and generally harder to do.
)I rate Cathedral Peak to be a great route - but it is much easier to do in a day than over 2. A few reasons for this - the lack of water means that you will be carrying your water for almost the entire trip from about 5km into the walk. In summer there is a trickle you can use along the section above Orange Peel Gap - but I doubt there is anything flowing there this time of the year. The area gets lots of traffic so it is not wise to stash packs before heading up - therefore the weight you will have to carry up the mountain is substantial. With a day pack you will still need lots of water, but not nearly as much. It isn't that hard to do the scrambles with a 6kg pack, but you will probably have to haul it up with a 15kg pack.
Re a guide: finding the right trail is easy - simply take the road to the trout hatchery (at the first hairpin directly under the hotel), just before reaching the hatchery you turn right, scramble through some overgrowth to the river. Cross the river and find the trail on the other side. From there you have 2 more turnoffs - at the split at the base of the cliffs, go right, at the top of Orange Peel Gap, go left.
The problem with Cathedral Peak is that you have to know the route up - where to leave Bell Traverse and how to get up the scrambles. There is a trail for the most part - it only really dies right near the top. Tony Marshall did a great writeup with a ton of info and photos on the Cathedral Peak thread, and the Hotel has a diagram of the route which is worth studying and taking a photo to refer to on the way up.
Re the scrambles: if you are not entirely certain of yourself on rock or have even a moderate fear of heights, I would take a guide - or at least a 20m of rope (not ski rope) and the necessary gear (make sure you also know how to use it). When myself and Viking did it last year, we hit the crux at the same time as a guide from the hotel, so I took advantage of his rope being there when I did the crux and it was helpful. On the way down Viking gave me a belay down the crux, and I abseiled down the traverse pitch. Remember that anything you climb up, you need to be able to climb back down - which is more dangerous and generally harder to do.
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