Mount Belle is a mountain in

Fiordland Fiordland (, "The Pit of Tattooing", and also translated as "the Shadowlands"), is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of F ...

, New Zealand.

Description

Mount Belle is part of the

Wick Mountains The Wick Mountains are a range within New Zealand's Fiordland National Park, the country's biggest national park. Their highest peak is Mount Elliot , and this can be seen in fine weather from the Milford Track, a popular tourist walking track. ...

and is situated above the east portal of

Homer Tunnel The Homer Tunnel is a 1.2 km (0.75 miles) long road tunnel in the Fiordland region of the South Island of New Zealand, opened in 1953. New Zealand State Highway 94 passes through the tunnel, linking Milford Sound to Te Anau and Queenstown ...

in the

Southland Region Southland () is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists of the southwestern portion of the South Island and includes Stewart Island. Southland is bordered by the culturally similar Otago Region to the north and east, and the West Coast ...

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

Fiordland National Park Fiordland National Park is a national park in the south-west corner of South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 13 National parks of New Zealand, national parks in New Zealand, with an area covering , and a major part of the Te W� ...

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 north slope drains into the headwaters of the

Hollyford River The Hollyford River / Whakatipu Kā Tuka is in the southwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It runs for through Fiordland, its sources being close to the Homer Tunnel and in Gertrude Valley in the southern Darran Mountains. At first, the ...

, whereas the south slope drains into Neale Burn which is a tributary of the

Clinton River The Clinton River is a river in southeastern Michigan in the United States. It is named in honor of DeWitt Clinton, who was governor of New York from 1817 to 1823. The main branch of the river rises from wetlands and coldwater tributaries from ...

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 over above State Highway 94 in one kilometre, and the south face rises in one-half kilometre. The nearest higher neighbour is Mount Talbot, 2.8 kilometres to the north.

History

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 1931 by Scott Gilkison and Norman Davis.''Mt Belle''
New Zealand Alpine Club, Climbnz.org, Retrieved 19 February 2025. The mountain's toponym was applied in 1912 by surveyor Duncan Macpherson (1873–1954) to honour his wife, Isabella "Belle" Macpherson (1874–1941), who he married in 1896 and they had four children together.''Mount Belle''
New Zealand Gazetteer, Retrieved 19 February 2025. Duncan Macpherson was the son of John McPherson and Mount McPherson is situated three kilometres northwest on the opposite side of Homer Tunnel.

Climbing

Climbing routes with the first ascents: * Original Route from Milford Road – Scott Gilkison, Norman Davis – (1931) * North Face – Bill Gordon, Ralph Miller, David Henderson – (1960) * South Face via ''Biggs Hudson'' – Barry Biggs, Calum Hudson – (1974) * South Face via ''Price Scott'' – Richard Price, Barry Scott – (1974)

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 Belle 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. Prevailing westerly winds blow moist air from the Tasman Sea onto the mountain, where the air is forced upward 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. This climate supports a

glacieret A glacieret is a very small glacier, with a surface area less than . The term is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to a large, persistent snow patch of firn or névé. Characteristics Sometimes hardly larger than snowfields and perennial firn ...

on the south slope. 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 19 February 2025.

References

External links