Mount Awful is a mountain in

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Description

Mount Awful is located 15 kilometres northwest of the community of

Makarora Makarora is a small community within the Queenstown-Lakes District of the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated on on the eastern side of the Haast Pass and adjacent to the Makarora River. Local tourism operators of ...

in the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...

of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. It is set within

Mount Aspiring National Park Mount Aspiring National Park is in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, north of Fiordland National Park, situated in Otago and Westland regions. The park forms part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site. History Moun ...

which is part of the

Te Wahipounamu Te Wāhipounamu ( Māori for "the place of greenstone") is a World Heritage Site in the south west corner of the South Island of New Zealand. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1990 and covering , the site incorporates four national par ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's west and south slopes drains to the Wilkin River via Siberia Stream, whereas the north and east slopes drain into the headwaters of the North and South branches of the Young River.

Topographic relief Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...

is significant as the summit rises above the North Branch in two kilometres. The nearest higher neighbour is Mount Alba, six kilometres to the southwest.

Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Mount Awful is located in a

marine west coast An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...

climate zone, with a

subpolar oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...

(Cfc) at the summit. Prevailing westerly winds blow moist air from the Tasman Sea onto the mountain, where the air is forced upwards by the mountains (

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

), causing moisture to drop in the form of rain and snow. The months of December through February offer the most favourable weather for viewing or climbing this peak.''The Best Time to Visit the South Island''
nzpocketguide.com, Retrieved 2 January 2025.

Climbing

The

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

of the summit was made in December 1944 by J.W. Aitken, J. Gillespie, E. Miller, and F. Wilkinson.''Mt Awful''
New Zealand Alpine Club, Climbnz.org, Retrieved 2 January 2025. Climbing routes: * North West Ridge – J.W. Aitken, J. Gillespie, E. Miller, F. Wilkinson – (1944) * ''Weta Walk'' (East Face) – Clinton Beavan, Allan Uren – (1996) * ''A Stitch in Time'' (East Face) – Anna Gillooly, David Hiddleston – (2000) * South West Ridge – Mark Morrison, Regan Low – (2001) * ''Wicked'' (East Face) – Milo Gilmour, Llewellyn Murdock – (2013) * ''Summer of Yes'' (East Face) – Milo Gilmour, Nick Flyvbjerg, Rich Tribe – (2013) * ''A Very Hungry Weka'' (East Face) – Timothy Hargrave, Alan Goldbetter – (2014) * South East Ridge – FA unknown

References

External links

* Mount Awful
weather
* Mount Awful
New Zealand Alpine Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Awful, Mount Mountains of Otago Mount Aspiring National Park Southern Alps

Description

Climate

Climbing

See also

References

External links