Delphine poses near the start of hike up the Otira valley. The peak on the ridge is a false peak, with Mt Philistine further behind and not visible from the start of the climb.
Delphine poses near the start of hike up the Otira valley. The peak on the ridge is a false peak, with Mt Philistine further behind and not visible from the start of the climb.

Mt Philistine summit (1967m) is a lesser travelled day hike in the Arthur’s Pass National Park. Alex and I tackled this summit with my cousin Aric and his wife Delphine, who were visiting us from Portland, Oregon. We had stayed nearby in Otira the night before and after breakfast in Arthur’s Pass we started just before 9am. The first 30 minutes was an easy stroll along a well worn path up the Otira valley to the Otira valley footbridge which crosses on to the true left of the valley.

Aric Babson, mountain man.
Aric Babson, mountain man.
Posing at the end of the approach, after crossing the Otira valley footbridge.
Posing at the end of the approach, after crossing the Otira valley footbridge.

From here the route follows a faint trail up the rock fields and scree to the base of the Warnock bluffs.

Beyond the Otira valley footbridge the route is marked only by the occasional cairn but the route is straightforward up to and over the Warnock bluffs.
Beyond the Otira valley footbridge the route is marked only by the occasional cairn but the route is straightforward up to and over the Warnock bluffs.
Aric and Delphine above the Otira valley.
Aric and Delphine above the Otira valley.
Otira valley viewed from lower scree slopes.
Otira valley viewed from lower scree slopes.

The Warnock bluffs are the steepest section of the climb, but the route is quite clear and on a fine summer day - as it was for us - they are easily navigated. Even so, a misstep could be very costly and we took care, especially not to knock loose rocks down onto our companions. It is easy to see how a number of deaths have occurred by slipping and falling from these bluffs, especially in icy and/or low visibility conditions.

Morning tea above the Warnock bluffs.
Morning tea above the Warnock bluffs.

At the top of the Warnock bluffs a large cairn confirmed our navigational prowess. We stopped for a short morning tea in a pleasant high meadow before pressing on. After carrying on up the lumpy and undulating slope past some small tarns we quickly found ourselves in some navigational uncertainty. The east ridge had come into view above a small buttress but without spotting any cairns we eventually decided to navigate the buttress on its right margin (looking up the slope).

Route up to the east ridge, above Warnock bluffs.
Route up to the east ridge, above Warnock bluffs.

Above this we again picked up some cairns. However they didn’t continue up the slope from the base of the east ridge and we were left uncertain whether to climb the ridge directly or carry on up the rock and scree slope behind the ridge. After some investigation up onto the ridge we decided that the rock and scree looked the better option. The rock fields would have been completely snow-covered in winter and quite nice going with the appropriate equipment, but in summer there was just a small patch of snow that was easily skirted.

The only significant patch of snow left on the route up to Mt Philistine summit.
The only significant patch of snow left on the route up to Mt Philistine summit.

The terrain required some care and even large rocks were disturbingly loose on occasion, but overall the going was good.

View of Mt Rolleston over the Rolleston glacier.
View of Mt Rolleston over the Rolleston glacier.

Keeping the east ridge close on our left, a gap eventually appeared, revealing a view down to Rolleston glacier below Mt Philistine’s peak, and to Mt Rolleston itself across the upper Otira valley. This was the point at which we moved back onto mostly solid rock for the final scramble, which was steep but easy going to the top.

Delphine and Aric on the Mt Philistine summit.
Delphine and Aric on the Mt Philistine summit.
Selfie of Alex and me on the summit with Mt-Rolleston reflected in my glasses. :)
Selfie of Alex and me on the summit with Mt-Rolleston reflected in my glasses. :)

After a nice lunch break on the summit tucked down out of the wind but still with a view of the glacier and Mt Rolleston we began our descent at about 12:50pm. The return trip was much easier navigationally, and we returned along a slightly better line with the benefit of the descending view.

View down the east ridge towards Arthur's Pass, on commencing descent.
View down the east ridge towards Arthur's Pass, on commencing descent.

At the base of the east ridge buttress we were delighted to stop long enough to notice a pair of Rock wrens. The male kept a safe distance but the female got close enough that we could take a few decent photos of her as she hopped around us on the rocks.

A female rock wren gave us a show on the way down near the base of the east ridge buttress.
A female rock wren gave us a show on the way down near the base of the east ridge buttress.

The wind picked up a little and the clouds started to close in behind us as we descended from the summit. But we kept visibility ahead of us, which I was grateful for as we went down the Warnock bluffs.

Panorama of the view down to Arthur's Pass from the top of the Warnock bluffs.
Panorama of the view down to Arthur's Pass from the top of the Warnock bluffs.

From the bottom of Warnock bluffs the return was an easy stroll and we were back at the car by 3:45pm.

Panorama of the view down the Otira valley from the footbridge on our return in the early afternoon.
Panorama of the view down the Otira valley from the footbridge on our return in the early afternoon.