Single Cone

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Single cone is one of New Zealand’s rare ultra-prominent peaks (there are only 10). Among them, it’s one of the most accessible and also one of the most aesthetic. It sits just above the scenic Remarkables ski area, with the South-East Ridge being probably the easiest and most climbed route. The route is mostly a hike that culminates in a class 3/4 scramble through a gulley to the top. The rock quality is good.

I had the opportunity to do this climb with Kathleen Griffin and our friends Sebastian Gitt and Michelle Podrebersek. Sebastian and Michelle were visiting New Zealand to see us on a peakbagging trip through the South Island. Single Cone was an obvious choice for us, as they also wanted to visit the Queenstown area.

On the day of our climb (Mar. 21st, 2026), we got up fairly early and drove up to the Remarks resort parking lot. Our car was packed to the brim, so we had some gear faff as soon as we arrived. We also weren’t sure if there was going to be lingering snow in the gulley from unseasonal snowfall the previous week, so we packed ice axes and crampons. Eventually, after sorting our gear out, we started up the resort.

We quickly got a view of Single Cone, and saw that our snow gear was completely unnecessary. Rather than lug up extra gear, we found a set of boulders and stashed the extra kit. With our bags lighter by a fair bit, we made fast time up to lake Alta. This is a very pretty alpine lake and also where they filmed the exit from the Mines of Moria in LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring.

Past the lake, some route-finding is needed to work up the boulder / scree field and make the ridge. Overall, the rock isn’t too bad and there are lots of trails working their way up. Once we were on the ridge, we were rewarded with another view of Lake Alta while we had a snack break.

Lake Alta from the Ridge. PC: Anton Afanassiev

After our snack break, it was only about 20 more minutes to reach the gulley. We worked our way up on the right to try and enter, not noticing the easier route on the left ledges. Eventually, I reached an exposed step. We had brought a rope though, so I soloed it and planned to set up a belay at the anchor station. But once I had crossed into the gulley, I noticed that we had actually taken the hardest route to get into the gulley. I advised the others to just downclimb and climb directly up the gulley and I would set up a belay for them.

They downclimbed without much trouble while I set up. Unfortunately, it was quite cold in the gulley and I was losing feeling in my fingers. Just as I was about to clip the ATC, I dropped it… Thankfully, it landed near Sebastian, and he was able to send it back up with the rope. Embarrassing, but no harm done.

I belayed Sebastian and Michelle up, while Kat decided to solo. The rest of the gulley was fairly easy by comparison and we made it to the top in short order (see pic below).

Coming up the gulley PC: Kathleen Griffin

At the top, there was a minor exposed step which wasn’t difficult. Then, you come out on some ledges and can walk up to the summit. At the summit we paused to have lunch and take some pictures. We watched another party coming down Double Cone on the Remarkables Grand Traverse. Looked quite intense!

The group on the top! PC: Anton Afanassiev

Kathleen and I on the summit with a view of Double Cone. PC: Michelle Podrebersek

Eventually, we decided to work our way down. Since we had a rope, we chose to rappel the lower section of the gulley. No dropped ATCs this time, although it was a bit faffy. I was once again fairly cold by the time I made it down. Thankfully, the sun was still out and it was a warm day, so that undid itself quickly.

It was a fairly uneventful trip back down to the car where we had to do even more packing faff to fit all our gear back in the boot of the tiny sedan. Later on our trip, we would go on to hike Ben Lomond before working our way up the West Coast.

New Zealand |

Single Cone