Really spectacular views the whole way up Mt Oakden (1633m), including braided river valleys, Lake Coleridge & mountains galore. A real classic.
I got quite excited when first reading about this somewhat challenging tramp up Mt Oakden (1633m), and it did not disappoint. The mountain’s position at the foot of the braided Wilberforce River provides epic views straight up this valley, and these were a real highlight for me. Added to this are excellent views up the Harper Valley, of the Rakaia River, Lake Coleridge, and countless peaks in the Southern Alps. Do it on a clear day for maximum effect.
The whole of Mt Oakden is on private land and there’s no track. The lower slopes are steep and ascending them requires a bit of scrambling through light scrub. No problem for a reasonably experienced tramper, but perhaps not good for a newbie. See my track notes at the end for more info.
Mt Oakden ascent: The Scenery
The views of the Wilberforce Valley from early on in the walk. You know a walk is going to be good when the views are like this at the bottom of the mountain. I think this shot accurately represents the terrain on the lower slopes. Scrambling required, but we are definitely not mountain climbers so manageable for any experienced tramper. Scree slopes off the north western ridge. The Wilberforce Valley Sophia posing for me in front of the Wilberforce Valley. These views were a definite highlight of the walk. A panorama of Lake Coleridge and the Harper Valley. Mt Cotton centre. A steep climb up though scree towards the twin summits. Steep scree slopes higher up. Bright green alpine plant. Possibly a kind of vegetable sheep? Sophia (bottom centre) crosses the fault scarp to access the high summit. The Birdwood Range viewed from the fault scarp that splits the mountain in two. Lumpy tussock grass near the summit. A big panorama looking north-west from the summit of Mt Oakden (1633m). From left to right and background to foreground, the Arrowsmith Range, Rakaia and Mathias Valleys, Ragged Range, Rolleston Range front and centre, and Wilberforce Valley. Sophia admiring the view over Lake Coleridge. Looking roughly west from the summit. A panorama looking roughly east. The low summit obscuring part of Lake Coleridge. Panorama of the Arrowsmith and Ragged Ranges, with the Rakaia and Mathias Valleys in the foreground. I liked this confluence of bulky ridges and peaks. A contact on Instragram identified the back peak as Mt Evans (2620m). It looks like quite a challenging climb. One for next time 😉
This next video is a little glary but you can see the 360 degree views from the summit:
Sophia near the summit with the Birdwood Range in the background. Looking down the Harper Valley over lumpy tussock grass. We decided to descend towards the fault scarp down these slopes, only to realise they were super slippery mud, perhaps due to snow melt. At least as slippery as snow, maybe moreso. Sophia backed by Gargarus, 1655m. This mountain can also be climbed in a day trip. Descending steep scree slopes, with views of the Wilberforce Valley the whole way. Looking up the Harper Valley. An atmospheric shot of the Wilberforce Valley as we descended. (A change in lighting necessitated a bunch more shots on the way down, obviously.) A fabulous cluster of Spaniards here. Best admired from afar. Gargarus, Mount Olympus and Mt Ida. I liked the long shadows from the trees in the paddocks. Coffee and scones before we left. Protected from the southerly winds by our car, as we had been by the mountain on our way up and down.
Track Notes
The route is on private land the whole way, and there’s no track, but navigation is fairy obvious. The hardest parts are sometimes scrambling up the steep lower slopes through a bit of scrub (not much), and it was slow going higher up on scree.
The walk is off track on private land. As of August 2020 you can contact Lake Coleridge Station on (03) 318 5123 for permission to access the mountain. We filled out an intentions form and picked up a key so we could get through a deer gate and park our car inside the station boundary. You can see that exact spot in the Google map below. I suspect that in mid-spring you may not be able to access the land due to lambing, but you can always ask.
From the start head over to a fenced paddock containing greener plants. Pass through a gate and then follow the fence line west until near point 681. You then head pretty much straight up the mountain, joining the ridge that runs from point 681 through point 1173m and on to the twin summit plateau. (I actually made a tiny cairn at the spot I thought was best on our descent, and this was a bit before point point 681, but have a look and see where the scrub is thinnest).
It’s then an easy walk to the high summit, and if you had time you could easily fit in the low summit too (although we didn’t). You can return the same way, and I’ve seen online that others have descended more directly down the eastern face, but I’m not sure about the scrub situation down there.
I found having walking poles to be very useful, including using just one for stability on the steep descent down the lower sections of the mountain. You may well need ice axe and crampons in winter, (others have said so), however in the mild winter of 2020 when we did it there wasn’t even snow on the summit, (a few patches), so we didn’t need anything.
