Mount Madeline 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 Madeline is the second-highest peak of the

Darran Mountains The Darran Mountains are a prominent range within New Zealand's Fiordland National Park, the country's biggest national park. They contain the park's highest peak, Mount Tūtoko (). Geography The range lies between Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) a ...

. It is situated 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 ...

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 ...

, and 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 drains west to the

Tūtoko River The Tūtoko River is a river located in the Darran Mountains in New Zealand. Originating from the western flank of Mount Tūtoko it is a tributary of the Cleddau River. See also *List of rivers of New Zealand This is a list of all waterwa ...

via Leader Creek, and east to 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 ...

via Madeline, Cleft, and Glacier creeks.

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 Hollyford Valley in four kilometres and above the Tūtoko Valley in four kilometres.

History

In 1895, Malcolm Ross, Kenneth Ross, W.J. Hodgkin, and Tom Fyfe climbed the lower west peak (2,516 m) of Madeline. 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 true summit was made in March 1920 by Alf Cowling and Samuel Turner.''Mt Madeline''
New Zealand Alpine Club, Climbnz.org, Retrieved 10 January 2025. The mountain was named in 1921 after Samuel Turner's daughter, Madeline.''Mount Madeline''
New Zealand Gazetteer, Retrieved 10 January 2025.

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 Madeline 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 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 unnamed glaciers on the peak's slopes. 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 10 January 2025.

Climbing

Climbing routes with the first ascents: * South West Face – Samuel Turner, Alf Cowling – (1920) * North East Ridge from Glacier Creek – R. Offer, G. Mason, A. Witten-Hannah – (1953) * North West Buttress – Margaret Clark, Jim Clark, G.D. Cowie – (1958) * North East Ridge – Ian Brown, Tom Williams – (2009) * ''Mad Line'' – Steve Skelton, Justin Venable, Simon Rutherford – (2016)

Gallery

File:Mount Madeline from Routeburn Track.jpg, Southeast aspect File:Beautiful Views From Air Milford.jpg, Aerial view of Mount Tūtoko (left) and Mount Madeline (right) File:Mt Tutoko and Mt Madeleine.jpg, Mount Madeleine (left) and Mount Tūtoko (right) are the two highest peaks of the Darran Mountains. Viewed from east. File:Mount Tutoko - Mount Madeline.jpg, Aerial view of Mount Madeline in front of Mount Tūtoko, lined up together from southeast. File:Mts. Tutoko, Madeline, Alice.jpg, Mount Tūtoko (left), Mount Madeline (center), Alice Peak (right) aerial view. Camera pointed northwest.

References

External links

* Mount Madeline
weather
* Mount Madeline
New Zealand Alpine Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madeline, Mount Fiordland National Park Mountains of Fiordland