The Abels
Tasmania has 158 mountains which are classified, according to criteria established in 1973, as Abels. Reaching the top of all 158 of them has been named, by Lonely Planet, as one of the world’s 10 great composite climbing challenges. In this regular column, well-known sports and adventure writer Rob Shaw leads us on some definitive Tasmanian adventures.
Tasmania has 158 mountains which are classified, according to criteria established in 1973, as Abels. Reaching the top of all 158 of them has been named, by Lonely Planet, as one of the world’s 10 great composite climbing challenges. In this regular column, well-known sports and adventure writer Rob Shaw leads us on some definitive Tasmanian adventures.
Forty South

Good day, bad day

by Rob Shaw
30 Jan 2022

Looking south from the summit of Mount Murchison is like gazing at an Abels to-do list.

The Abels

The toughest day walk in Australia

by Rob Shaw
28 Oct 2021

Rumour has it that Bob Brown has climbed Drys Bluff once for each year of his life. Having heard it described as the toughest single-day walk in Tasmania and taken four attempts to finally reach the summit, I felt I couldn’t write about the...

The Abels

Frenchmans Cap

by Rob Shaw
19 Aug 2021

Attempting to describe the appeal of Frenchmans Cap is not only challenging but also unnecessary, since explorer Tom Moore did it perfectly 134 years ago. “If there be an Elysium on Earth, it is this. Poets and artists would feast with enraptured...

The Abels

Clumner Bluff: Mount panorama

by Rob Shaw
29 Apr 2021

When it comes to views, the Abels are like any other real estate: it’s all about location. At 1,458 metres, Clumner Bluff is – just – in the top 20 on the list of Tasmania’s 158 highest mountains, as defined by author Bill Wilkinson in his two-volume chronicle The Abels. However, given its location, towering above the eastern shore of Lake Rowallan on the Western Plateau surrounded by sibling peaks, this old friend of mine punches way above its height. There may be taller, and certainly better known, Tasmanian peaks, but for panoramic views, this tops my list.

The Abels

Mount Ironstone

by Rob Shaw
13 Jan 2021

If global warming was to get a little ahead of itself and Tasmania become flooded to a height of 1,400 metres, two-thirds of the remaining land would be on the Ben Lomond plateau. However, the second-largest remaining island may surprise many.

The Abels

Mensa Moor

by Rob Shaw
11 Nov 2020

A regular question asked by Abelists – that select, slightly obsessed and possibly deranged group of hikers dedicated to scaling Tasmania’s highest peaks – is whether they would tackle certain mountains again. Is there sufficient satisfaction in merely ticking off another of the 158 designated 1,100-metre-plus peaks, or has the experience been so enjoyable it requires repeating? For a peak which for most people falls into the “never again – not even under threat of torture” category, Mensa Moor has a surprising amount going for it. 

The Abels

Black Bluff

by Rob Shaw
24 Jul 2020

It is 2.18am. I am warm, dry and comfy in my sleeping bag, and the only sensory intake is the strangely melodic chorus of insects chirping, frogs croaking and my hiking companions snoring. Less than two metres from my tent is Paddys Lake, the most northerly glacial tarn in Tasmania, and looming large over that is the formidable, moon-lit outline of Black Bluff, with all the menacing presence its name suggests.

The Abels

Classic climbing

by Rob Shaw
10 Jul 2020

Nescient Peak is an uninspiring, nondescript Tasmanian mountain that has existed in relative obscurity for about 150 million years. Easy to overlook, it is mostly covered in mundane scrub, offers little in the way of views and almost certainly gets...