French Ridge

A Maverick Traveller: The Podcasts of Mary Jane Walker

French Ridge is one of several mountaineering and hiking destinations at the head of the Matukituki Valley, west of Wānaka, New Zealand.

MY tramp up to French Ridge Hut was quite difficult, as the track was coated with spiny plants native to New Zealand called speargrass, which gets very slippery underfoot when it snows. The track was also filled with mountaineers who, like me, wanted to climb Mount French. I had brought my ice axe along and wanted to practice my skills with it on the mountain.

From the flat, trampers ford the Liverpool stream or cross over on a swing bridge to the track and climb for a few hours through bush and sub-alpine terrain to reach the French Ridge Hut.

The hut offers spectacular views of the nearby Mount French, named after WWI Field Marshal John French, who was, rather ironically, said to have been be afraid of heights (hat tip Danilo Hegg, ‘Mt French, 2356m’, in southernalps.wordpress.com).

The climb is only a five to six-hour return trip from French Ridge Hut, heading up towards Quarterdeck Pass and then along a snowy ridge to the summit. Although not a prominent peak itself, Mount French is an incredible viewing platform for the nearby Mount Aspiring and Bonar Glacier, and is often climbed by mountaineers in consolation for not making it to these. The views back down into the valley are really good as well.

Original blog post: a-maverick.com/blog/french-ridge