Mt Cheeseman from Texas Flat, Craigieburn Range, Canterbury NZ
Fabulous views await those who climb steeply to Mt Cheeseman (2031m), a peak on the crest of the Craigieburn Range.
Prior to climbing Mt Cheeseman (2031m) we had done only one other big walk in the Craigieburn Range, climbing nearby Mt Cloudsley. So our second peak on the range crest was overdue, but what a great peak it was. I hadn’t expected such fabulous views, which include the impressive Mt Olympus (2094m) – for me the highlight of these vistas. But there are countless peaks in every direction, so a real visual feast. Throw in a couple of tarns and a proper work out, and you have an excellent day out for more experienced walkers.
Only the very start of the walk is tracked – the rest is off track in sometimes rugged terrain. It may be a little more difficult than Mt Cloudsley, despite involving less of a climb, as there are a few quite steep sections. Similar though. Track notes at the end.
Mt Cheeseman from Texas Flat: The Scenery
The Hogs Back Track enters the forest at the bottom of this hill, at which point you leave the track there to pass through the forest. You can see Mt Cheeseman top left.
Once up onto point 1552m the views open up to this alpine basin containing a waterfall and a few tarns. (The creek here is in fact called Waterfall Creek). It was anovelty having some tarns on the route. Not so many of these in the Canterbury Foothills. (Lewis Pass is a good area to go if you like tarns.) A bit of zoom to capture the drama of mountains to the north west. The first big views are when you climb up onto the short ridge which leads to the summit. Mt Olympus (2094m). It was an impressive sight, and was a surprise when I first laid eyes on it. A close up of the impressive Mt Olympus. This is now on the hit list, although it’s a long climb from any direction. Looking north. A panorama north-westish. The view of Mt Olympus and the Ryton Valley from Mt Cheeseman (2031m). A wide panorama from the summit of Mt Cheeseman (2031m). Looking north along the Craigieburn Range.
A video of views from the summit…
The weather was putting on a show to the south. A close up of peaks in the Craigieburn Range to the north. A very nice green tarn there in the basin, with shadows making nice patterns on the smooth scree slopes. You can just see my wife in the bottom left hand corner. It was a reasonably satisfying scree run down this bit. I occasionally attempt an artistic shot. Lots of wildflowers blooming in early summer.
Track Notes
It’s a straightforward start on the Hogs Back Track (shared MTB/ walkers track). When you pass over point 1056m and enter a patch of beech forest, keep straight ahead on an obvious impact track to pass through the forest and approach the base of the mountain. From there it’s a steep climb through grass up to point 1556m, and then along the ridge all the way to the summit.
It’s a straightforward start on the Hogs Back Track (shared MTB/ walkers track). When you pass over point 1056m and enter a patch of beech forest, keep straight ahead on an obvious impact track to pass through the forest and approach the base of the mountain. From there it’s a steep climb through grass up to point 1556m, and then along the ridge all the way to the summit. It’s a roughly 1200m climb over 5km, then back the way you came.
When on the ridge there’s the odd scramble through scree and loose rock but never anything too difficult. Walking poles will help haul you up the scree sections, (and the grassy bits too for that matter).
I got brief notes for this route from arthurspass.com, where there’s a database of peaks to climb in Arthur’s Pass, but also Craigieburn Forest Park and Korowai Torlesse Tussocklands Park. Very handy resource.
You start at Texas Flat cark park on the Mt Cheeseman Ski Field access road. (Note that the ski field itself is actually on Mt Cockayne.)
4 thoughts on “Mt Cheeseman from Texas Flat, Craigieburn Range, Canterbury NZ”
Interesting photos as usual. The Cloudesley family spell their name with an ‘e’, even though Topomap has it wrong. For more on the Castle Hill area see website castlehill.nz and information on my book ‘John and Charles Enys;Castle Hill Runholders 1864-1891’
Thomas Cheeseman (1846-1923) was a botanist, writer and Auckland Museum Director for nearly 50 years. He visited Castle Hill often and explored the hills with John Enys. (see my book). W J Cloudesley was a proprietor of the Castle Hill hotel (destroyed by fire 1904)
Thanks Jenny. I wonder whether I can get my name on one of those peaks if I climb them enough 🙂 Although there are already quite a lot of peaks in NZ named ‘Edward’.
Interesting photos as usual.
The Cloudesley family spell their name with an ‘e’, even though Topomap has it wrong.
For more on the Castle Hill area see website
castlehill.nz
and information on my book ‘John and Charles Enys;Castle Hill Runholders 1864-1891’
Cheers Jenny. I wonder if you know the history of the name Cheeseman? It’s certainly a unique name.
Thomas Cheeseman (1846-1923) was a botanist, writer and Auckland Museum Director for nearly 50 years. He visited Castle Hill often and explored the hills with John Enys. (see my book).
W J Cloudesley was a proprietor of the Castle Hill hotel (destroyed by fire 1904)
Thanks Jenny. I wonder whether I can get my name on one of those peaks if I climb them enough 🙂 Although there are already quite a lot of peaks in NZ named ‘Edward’.