Mitre Peak, Mt Christina, Black Peak

I think you will find that Christina is a full on alpine proposition requiring ropes and all the technical gear, not to mention the knowledge how to use all that stuff. Mitre Peak will be the same but under appaling conditions. I gather it is climbing, clinging to damp snowgrass with huge drops below your feet. Then there is the prospect of the weather for both those climbs, I think they both require a bivy out. I am suprised the NZAC book on the Darrens doesn't give you all the information that you need. Black Peak however looks like a different propositon, google search indicated that Alpine Guides even run a tour there http://www.aspiringguides.com/black_peak_alpine_trek.html But I am sure you could do it yourself. I see that the peak itself is in a DOC Conservation area but you may need to get permission to cross the land to get there.

Thanks for that. Guidebook only goes into technical detail for rock-climbing routes. Maybe I'm supposed to assume that all routes in the book are technical. Thanks again.

I think you can assume the routes are all technical. I have done the odd climb in the Darrens, including a traverse of Sabre, Marrion and Barrier when I was the tender age of 17. To put it bluntly it scared the living daylights out of me. If you are interested in this area I can suggest a fantastic book. It is called "Beyond the Southern Lakes" by Anita Crosier. It is from the diaries of William Grave who explored the area in the late 19th century. Unfortunatel it is out of pring but you might find a copy in a library somewhere. Wonderful stories of men in hobnail boots and tweed suits tramping in horrendous conditions and shooting birds for food. Makes us all seem very soft these days.

Great book. I recall Mr Graves kept camping in puddles and getting flooded out. Hello? Rationing down to one tsp of cocoa a day was a bit grim!

He also used to ride his bike from Oamaru to Te Anau and then row up to the end of the lake in a boat. On one trip they had 2 packs each and leap frogged them up the valley.

I have just had a look at that NZAC guide on the Darrens. I can see how you might think it has a lack of information on easy routes. But the reason for that it that there aren't any. The pictures might give a clue. I like what it says about Mitre Peak, it describes steep bush and knife edge exposure above bushline as a "joyful day"

Here's more information about Mitre Peak: http://southernalps.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/mitre-peak-m1683/