By Jack Huygens, 11 April 2025
For bag all the huts 2025 I ended up doing a solo mish in the northern Tararuas involving the classic Dundas loop with a bonus extenstion to include Bannister ridge.
Bannister is a bit of a white whale for me, I've tried to go up there a few times but have had plans change from bad weather, and I've had my eyes on this remote chunk of the Tararuas for at least a few years now. It has a bit of a reputation, with some people calling it the most technical ridge in the whole Tararuas, and others calling it easy (Tommy Thomson). Only a few people in the club seem to have been there, and trip reports online talk about some rather dodgey clambers and very expposed narrow ridges.
But this time around the weather lined up perfectly and I finally got to do my dream tramp of crossing Bannister, and it lived up to the hype! So now I can personally attest that yes this ridge is sketchy, but also no, it's not as bad as people make it out to be. It's certainly not a place I would want to be in any kind of bad weather, but if you're already use to the typical "pinnacle" areas of the Tarauas then this is just more of that, mixed with some really impressive surroundings and awesome looking bluffs. The narrow section of ridge nearing Bannister peak itself is espeicially impressive, with craggy rocks dropping off in every direction and 360 views.
Trip reports always mention one notorious "step" where the ridge throws a several meter tall stone wall at you to block your path, and I can confirm that this does exist and anyone who tries to climb it is asking for a broken leg and a PLB activation. Just sidle 5 mins off to the side and clamber around it like a sane person. While I'm sure the rock climbers would have great fun on this "step", I'm not a fan of balancing on a wet mossy rock face with nowhere to put my hands.
(This photo is not the step, it's just one of the many other steep climby bits along the ridge)
Other than that, the ridge is full of classic Tararua pinnacle terrain with near vertical clambers and narrow ridges, but all of those have tons of hand-holds and solid places to put your feet. As long as you're happy with steep drop-offs and being exposed up high, then this ridge is a hell of a lot of fun. As long as you sidle around the previously mentioned step (like I did) then nothing on this ridge is too crazy.
So my overall review is 10/10, awesome ridge, and I agree with Tommy it's pretty chill.
Bannister is a must-see for anyone who enjoys the Tararuas, and it deserves its title of "most sketchy ridge" since the only others that compare would be the Broken Axe Pinnacles (which you can just sidle and ignore completely) and the Tararua peaks, which are covered in chains and ladders which kill the vibe of being on a remote, rugged ridgeline. Pinnacle spur gets a bonus mention too, but I haven't been there yet since last time I tired I got blown off my feet multiple times and had to retreat back to Arete Forks hut... which was back in Bag-All-The-Huts-2024...
