In New Zealand, one of the most photographed mountains is Mitre Peak, located close to the shore of Milford Sound in the Fiordland National Park in the southwestern South Island. The iconic mountain has a distinctive shape, giving the mountain its name after the Mitre headwear of Christian bishops.
Mitre Peak, or Māori Rahotu, is named after Captain John Lort Stokes of HMS Acheron. The Mitre location is the most distinctive reason for its iconic status, rising vertically to 5,560 feet. You can technically call him a fjord. Moreover, Mitre Peak is in fact a closely grouped set of five peaks; however, from the most easily accessible viewpoints, it appears as a single point. Thus, Milford Sound is part of Te Wahipounamu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
State Highway 94 is the most scenic road in New Zealand and leads to Milford Sound. Every year, so many people make efforts to climb Mitre Peak, which is not an easy job to do. However, the first attempt was made in 1883, but it could not succeed due to bad weather. Therefore, in 1911, J. R. Dennistoun made the next attempt to climb it, but eventually created lots of buzz among people who claimed to have built a cairn on the peak to which he had fixed his handkerchief.
In 1914, the facts were confirmed by successful climbers. There are six routes up to Mitre Peak, and most climbers start by getting a boat to Sinbad Bay. The track through the thick Fiordland bush is unmarked, the route above the bush line is hugely exposed, and it’s a demanding mission regardless of how you tackle it.
Mitre Peak is a country of jaw-dropping mountains, making it very special when tens of thousands of visitors arrive in Milford Sound each year. Milford Sound gets an astonishing 7 meters of rainfall each year. Mitre Peak is a hugely demanding climb and one that should not be taken lightly.