Mt Sedgwick

[pkbgr]

Has anybody tried climbing up Mt Sedgwick from Lake Margaret? I plan to go there soon, on an overnight trip, camping at Lake Adam. There looks to be a bit of scrub on the map on the main ridge up towards and over Sedgwick Bluff. Google Earth shows a fair bit of rock however. An alternative might be to walk eastwards around the shore of Lake Margaret, and then bash uphill more directly towards Lake Adam.

[north-north-west]

Anywhere below the plateau is going to be scrubby. Very, very scrubby. The only scrub-free route to Sedgwick is by helicopter.

It can be done, but it won't be a lot of fun until you hit the rock ridge just above the plateau.

[Nuts]

I wouldn't hesitate to send a peakbagger that way

Meanwhile, i'd be trying some other way. Up onto the spur above the dam or even over the Tyndalls.
I came down from Lk Adam to Margaret. It wasn't too bad, but took much time finding small cliffs in scrub. Ended up sliding down cascades in a creek, which was fun.. going down..

There's some nice rainforest at the bottom, otherwise lots of t-tree and big cutting grass.

The other obstacle is a set of rock banks/cliffs on the eastern shore near the dam. If the water is up you may need to swim around them i'd imagine. Either that or you may be able to get around the top of them (very steep).

Lovely country though, Lake Adam camping you'll need good weather as it is pretty exposed around there. There's a photo on here somewhere.

[rohjoe]

I've received a report of a successful day walk to Mt Sedgwick which took place last Tuesday, involving the famous peak-bagging Woolford brothers.

Apparently the only really bad bit was the initial climb after leaving the duckboard, up onto the spur above the dam. This took well over an hour. Once on top of the ridge it was pretty good going the rest of the way. Bands of scrub which are encountered on the ridge can be walked through quite easily (allegedly). Their total time starting from the power station was 10.5 hours.

Rohan

[eggs]

I have walked along the old tramway and at a point prior to the dam wall I have scrambled up the low ridge on the south side.
I have then walked along it to the main ridge that comes in above the dam and climbed up onto it. All this was quite straight forward.
It was my opinion then that one could work along the ridgetop to Lake Adam from that point.
But I have not tested how much scrub that might entail. It looked clear at the time, and photos from other angles suggest little would be encountered.
Edit - cross over - looks like the ridge is fine.
Climb up before the dam - perhaps 1.2km or more back along the line. I did do it 33 years ago - so not sure how the scrub earlier back might have changed?

[pkbgr]

Big thanks to those above who have taken the time to post replies. I liked the interesting information posted by Nuts and Eggs especially. I'll let folks know how the route is.

[agistachys]

I think NNW is a bit pessimistic about the amount of scrub on Sedgwick. When I climbed Mt Sedgwick from the south (Comstock Valley) some years ago, I looked north across the beautiful glacial country, alpine vegetation and little lakes on the Sedgwick plateau and thought I really must come in that way one day. I haven't!
But here's a radical idea. Go in via L Margaret (north shore) and Lake Mary then up onto Sedgwick from north and just keep going. Down the southern side which takes you into the denuded country like around Queenstown.
We had got permission from Mt Lyell Co to go up from Comstock Valley. Permission might be harder to get now. But if you are already in there, they have to let you out. It's not Murmansk! And you would have had a satisfying through walk for yourself. With a couple of extra days you could add the Tyndalls to the through walk and thereby avoid walking around the edge of Lake Margaret.
Agistachys

[rohjoe]

The trip to Mt Sedgwick went ahead successfully this last weekend, although unfortunately pkbgr himself was unable to take part.
As expected, the only real scrub was during the brief climb up onto the approach ridge.

[Nuts]

Nice!

[eggs]

Fantastic - just like I had envisioned it.
I presume it was ok to leave a car overnight at Lake Margaret township?
I seem to remember reading about locked gates on the road?

[ofuros]

Mmmmm, makings of a exploratory summit-come-fishing circuit, post xmas......great info & pics.

[rohjoe]

Fantastic - just like I had envisioned it.
I presume it was ok to leave a car overnight at Lake Margaret township?
I seem to remember reading about locked gates on the road?

Yes, there is a gate several kilometres along the road which is locked on weekends. We arranged access with Hydro.

Rohan

[north-north-west]

Nice, although that takes all the fun out of it.
Can one park in there for two or three nights, midweek?

[rohjoe]

Nice, although that takes all the fun out of it.
Can one park in there for two or three nights, midweek?

We all had plenty of fun, thanks. It was a minor inconvenience and the operator was very helpful.

I don't know what the long term or mid week parking rules are. We were only there for Sat night.

Rohan

[north-north-west]

If you're allowed to stay overnight on the weekend, I can't see why it would be any different midweek. I'd like to do a full circuit for the PS, and actually get some views from both Sedgwick and Tyndall, as they were socked in when I was there.

[mrcareless]

The trip to Mt Sedgwick went ahead successfully this last weekend, although unfortunately pkbgr himself was unable to take part. As expected, the only real scrub was during the brief climb up onto the approach ridge.]

Might be testing your memory, but how long did it take approx from Lake Margaret to the summit of Mt Sedgwick?

[north-north-west]

Access is no longer possible via Lake Margaret township, as far as I know.
Best route is the one in the book: track onto the Tyndall plateau, down the other side, past Myra and Monica, turn right when you're near enough to the Nectar Lakes, past Apollos, Peter and Paul (but not Mary), and up the obvious rocky spine. It's a full day from the plateau; most people camp up there for a night or two.