Young siblings Alannah (20) and William Hamilton (17) of Te Anau have recently climbed the world-famous Mitre Peak in Milford Sound.

It was Will’s second time on top of the iconic mountain, having scaled it last year with his father, local GP, Dr David Hamilton.

Aged just 16 at the time, he may have been one of the youngest to have ever completed the climb.

This year he repeated his feat with sister, Alannah.

Although only 1683m high, Mitre Peak, guarded by near vertical walls on both sides is a challenging mountain to climb.

The siblings started early in the morning by kayaking from Milford to Sinbad Gully.

From the beach at Sinbad Gully they walked up along a faint trail through the bush until they reached the Footstool at 832m, then followed the ridge as it climbs to the high peak. 

“It’s quite tricky and you can easily loose the track. It’s also steeper than other climbs I’ve done and very exposed, but lower and there was no snow,” Will said.

Milford Sound from the top of Mitre Peak. Photo: Supplied

It took them six hours to reach the top and five hours to descend back to the valley.

Will is not a novice when it comes to mountaineering. His mother, Harriette Hamilton, said that he was tramping with her before he was even born.

“Once Alannah and Will were born we took them on every tramping trip – one in the front pack, one in the back [pack],” she said. 

He started climbing almost as soon as he could walk.

Looking towards the Tasman Ocean from the top of Mitre Peak. Photo: Supplied

When Will was 3 and Alannah 6, they walked up to the Key Summit with their parents.

His father, a keen tramper and mountaineer, would often take his children hiking, skiing and mountain climbing. 

Alannah, who is studying Public Policy and Spanish in Wellington is currently on her holiday break in Fiordland. She works in Milford for Real NZ as a crew member on the day cruise boat.

“It’s pretty awesome working on the boats and in the boat cafe and then after work having all of Fiordland at my doorstep,” she said. 

Asked about her impressions of climbing Mitre 10 she replied that “the tops were a bit scary because you’ve got a 1600m drop either side but that makes it more exciting too.

The way down was challenging though, it took as long to go down as it did to go up which is a bit of a mental game”.

Will, who just finished year 12 at Fiordland College will join the college team on the Coast-to-Coast race in February 2023.

He summed up their Mitre Peak climb by saying “It wasn’t super scary, but still awesome and rewarding”.