Bowen–Allan Corner
Fiordland NP ● 9 Dec 2025
While spending some time in the Darrans in December we made an attempt on the Bowen–Allan Corner. This is an 8 pitch grade 17 trad route up Moir’s Mate. We only made it halfway up, but hopefully this write up is useful to someone.
This was our first time undertaking a route like this, so navigation and learning to trust the rock (or not!) slowed us down. On the third pitch I made a navigational mistake (although at least one guide I have found shows it to be a legitimate variation), and we decided to bail shortly after this. Once you reach the top of the traversing pitch four, “completing the route is the best way to bail”, although we did face our own dramas trying to pull the ropes after abseils.
The topo below shows the route we took, and more detail is provided below.
Route information
The approach was 3 hours (1:20 to the saddle, then 1:40 to the base of the Mate). We used one fixed line along the ridge, but didn’t need to get a rope out to pitch anything. Where the ridge meets the Mate there is a bivvy spot which could save some time on the approach. There was some unseasonable snow at the base of the face, which required an awkward pitch zero to get around.
Our pitches were as followed (note pitch zero wouldn’t usually be required)
- Pitch zero: Snow at the base (and no snow gear on us) prevented us from accessing the bottom of the climb so we went around it but had to add a pitch across the slabs at the base to get to the climb. Mostly trad, but using a couple of bolts.
- Pitch one: Up the initial vague corner. Went too far left early, which made it harder for myself getting over a bulge. Found the good belay spike
- Pitch two: Relatively straightforward 14, although run out a bit. Then walk up big grassy slope diagonally to the right. Doubted it was the correct one but it definitely was. Then back left on some easy boudldery stuff to a tat belay.
- Pitch three: up to the left, then I made a navigational error and kept following the nice big ledge (sparse protection for Emily to follow on though). Knew this was wrong when I reached 30m but then went up to a hanging-ish belay and brought Emily up. The actual pitch 3 goes to an anchor almost directly above the top of pitch two.
- Pitch four: spooky climb out to arete on the right which paid off because there were holds and protection available. Then short climb up to join the actual route partway across the grade 12 pitch.
Decided to bail off down here as the guide said once we reached the end of this pitch it would be easiest to go up (and we were going slow / hadn’t done the hardest climbing yet)
- Descent: I “lead” the downwards traverse to an actual belay station with tat. Then a single rope abseil down to boulder belay above pitch two, followed by a two rope abseil down to spike belay. At this point there was so much friction we couldn’t pull the ropes. Even after climbing back up I couldn’t find a figuration using the existing tat anchor that would allow us to pull the ropes, so had to downclimb, taking out the cams as I went. Then final 60m abseil to the snow, and soloed back around to get off.
In terms of gear we had two standard racks plus one set of microcams (and used them more than expected), a large selection of wires, two 60m single ropes, and an abundance of extendable draws.