First ascent 1894 | Elevation 3,198 m Prominence 770 m | |
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Mountain range Southern Alps, Malte Brun Range Parent ranges Malte Brun Range, Southern Alps Similar Mount Lendenfeld, Elie De Beaumont, Mount Tasman, Mount Dixon, Mount Sefton | ||
Malte Brun is the highest peak in the Malte Brun Range, which lies between the Tasman and Murchison Glaciers within New Zealand's Southern Alps. According to Land Information New Zealand, it rises to a height of 3,199 metres (10,495 ft), although other sources give heights ranging from 3155–3199 m. A list published by the New Zealand Alpine Club ranks Malte Brun as the third highest mountain in New Zealand.
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Map of Malte Brun, Canterbury 7999, New Zealand
It was named by Julius von Haast after the French geographer Victor Adolphe Malte-Brun.
Climbing
Malte Brun was first ascended by Tom Fyfe (solo climb) in March 1894 via the North Face. Today, many climbing routes lie on the mountain, all of which require technical experience and equipment. The classic route is the West Ridge which includes the "Cheval", a knife edge ridge traversed by straddling. Some of the major climbing routes on Malte Brun include:
- West Ridge (NZ Alpine grade 3+)- South Ridge (NZ Alpine Grade 3)- South Face (NZ Alpine Grades 4 - 4+)Two huts servicing climbers used to exist on the lower slopes, The Beetham hut in the Beetham Valley, and the Malte Brun Hut on moraine terraces above the Tasman Glacier. The Beetham hut was destroyed by Avalanche in the early 1990s.