Mt Richmond isn’t apparent from Nelson, you need some distance, like over near Abel Tasman, to see the distinctive, if not memorable, shape. After more than half a lifetime it’s now proved time to climb the peak.
I was 16 at my first attempt, it was Easter and I was in my last year at school. We were an adventurous lot, a tougher crew than I normally hung out with, but the weather turned bleak and the Mount Fell ridge is just not the place to be with inclement conditions, and poorer prospects ahead. I had dredged up memories of some chain attached to a mountain somewhere and shortly thereafter feeling distinctly uncomfortable with the route, not much to hang onto, then having problems finding the hut at the end of the strenuous day, it’s wasn’t quite where we imagined. Then we retreated back down to the Pelorus River, along in steep ridge directly to the door of Roebuck Hut.
I could have been zipping along the Queen Charlotte Track but the thing with Mt Richmond, from Nelson you can just walk out your back door, and with an eye on the weather, when a period of stable conditions was imminent, well, what’s the excuse.
Maybe it would all come together this time . . .
