A foothill with a number of DOC tracks around and over it. From the top the view is magnificent, from the Pacific all the way to Mount Cook.
With a dry, sunny forecast we headed to Mt Somers to go climbing on the crags above the Pinnacles hut. But on the drive over the strength of the wind became very apparent, buffeting the car and making the drive more exciting than expected. Not being a fan of climbing/belaying in strong winds we changed our plan, and decided to just hike up the mountain from the Woolshed Creak end.
Overall its a relatively pleasant walk, with good signs and a decent track. The last few hundred meters up to the summit is fairly steep and a little loose. The only issues we had were with the sand flies when we stopped, and a slight lack of water as, at the time, we were a bit concerned with drinking out of the streams. The wind we experienced on the drive over was only really noticeable at the start and near the summit, and it was never too bad for hiking.
The view from the top is great and makes the walk more than worthwhile. This was my first view of Mt Cook, and to be honest it looked pretty huge and difficult from this distance.
