CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAINS

Inspired by the Scottish Munros, peak baggers in Australia can now add the 158 Tasmanian Abels to their list of must-climb mountains.

- ANDREW BAIN 

ON THE SLOPES of Sandbanks Tier, at the heart of the Central Plateau in lutruwita/Tasmania, boulder fields pour towards the shores of yingina/Great Lake like a river of rubble. For many, climbing this rarely visited mountain is an exercise in gymnastics, hopping and scrambling over rock, but Lewi Taylor moves easily, his long strides turning the puzzle of boulders into little more than stepping stones.

The last time Lewi was on this 1401m-high mountain, he could see little. It was dark and he was rushed. He’d started ascending this peak at 5am, and he planned to climb four more mountains that day. It would be the longest day in his quest to climb the Abels – the 158 Tasmanian mountains taller than 1100m above sea level, with a drop of at least 150m on all sides – in 158 days.

Named for Abel Tasman, the first European to sight Tasmania in 1642, the concept of the Abels was conceived in the early 1990s, and while they’re little known outside of their home state, their recognition has grown rapidly on the island. At the time of writing, just 31 people had completed the Abels, but more than one-third of those “Abelists”, including Lewi, had done so in the last 18 months.

This day, as Lewi ascends Sandbanks Tier again, things are more leisurely. He’s here to finally take in the view, which comes as he rises onto the summit ridge, peering down onto yingina/ Great Lake and as far as kunanyi / Mt Wellington, half the island away. It was on that mountain above nipaluna/Hobart that his fundraising 158 Challenge began in January 2022 and finished more than five months later, on his 30th birthday. As he talks, it’s clear that the most exhausting thing about this day’s climb on Sandbanks Tier is the memory.