Peak bagging is a popular pastime around the world and has been a term increasingly on the lips of Kiwi trail runners and hikers in recent years.
Written by Rob Bathgate
Updated April 3
Peak bagging is a popular pastime around the world and has been a term increasingly on the lips of Kiwi trail runners and hikers in recent years. In recognition of this trend the Wild Things Peak Directory has been created with the following key goals in mind:
NB the Directory is NOT an exhaustive list of all New Zealand mountains and most specifically excludes peaks that are the domain of mountaineers rather than runners or hikers. While the cross-over into mountaineering territory can be something of a grey area we have done our best to provide definitive guidelines as to what is/isn’t a running/hiking peak and to grade each peak to give the user an idea of how close to this crossover any peak comes.
Unlike the Wild Things Trail Directory, which offers runners prescribed routes (and detailed instructions) to follow, the Peak Directory is much more basic and deliberately provides little more than the location, height and grade of peaks. This reflects both the ‘do it yourself’ philosophy of peak bagging and the simple fact that there are often many different routes to the top of a peak.
Part of the fun is planning your own route, working out the best way to get there and what peaks might be combined to make a great day out or a great multi-day running/hiking/fastpacking trip.
That said, there is a provision made for users to add Trip Notes that can be shared to assist others who may wish to follow in their footsteps. We encourage all peak baggers to share their experiences in this way.
What ‘peaks’ make it on to any formalised list of ‘Peaks’ and which are left out is often a topic of hot debate, so some formal guidelines are required (and some exceptions allowed to keep things from becoming too rule-bound!)
The guidelines for the listing provided by the Wild Things Peak Directory are as follows:
The following scale has been developed to grade the technical difficulty of the listed Peaks. Bear in mind the grading is based on what you can expect to find in good summer conditions. As noted above (Pt 2) many Peaks will become a lot more challenging and hazardous in poor weather or winter conditions.
* NOTE: The term ‘Straightforward’ refers ONLY to the lack of technical terrain. It does NOT imply that the Peak is automatically easy to bag. It may still involve a long and strenuous access run/hike and/or steep climbs. Plan accordingly and stay within what is prudent given your abilities, fitness and experience.
Some Peaks have not yet been graded. If you have experience of one of these Peaks please use the green button to provide feedback so we can allocate a grade.
Every time you bag a peak that is listed in the Directory you can claim Peak Points. This should happen automatically if you have a Strava account connected to your Wild Things account OR you can do it manually by clicking the 'I DID IT' button on the detail page for any listed Peak.
The points system is very simple with each Peak scoring its height above sea level e.g. a 1250m peak = 1,250 Peak Points; a 342m peak = 342 Peak Points etc.
When planning peak bagging routes you need to be vigilant with respect to land access and make sure you don't stray on to private land without permission. The following sources will be helpful (as will the Trip Notes in the Peak Directory as they get added over time):
- DOC maps: under the 'DOC features' tab tick 'Public conservation areas' to see all land that is under DOC administration. You'll also find it helpful to tick 'Walking and tramping tracks' and possibly 'Huts'. Under the 'Base Map' filter tick 'Topo'
- Walking Access Aotearoa: gives similar info to DOC maps but with more detail and is more easily searched by location.
- ClimbNZ: an online database of NZ peaks with a focus on mountaineering - a useful way to check just how technical a route is on bigger mountains.
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