Curtis also made a name for himself as he and his brothers explored the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki/Egmont and cut the original track on that face. With T. H. Penn and Frank Arden he completed the first recorded alpine circuit of the mountain over Christmas 1888, during which they named an eastern ridge and a Manganui River waterfall after Curtis. Charles' wife Emma was also a mountaineer, and was the first woman known to reach the summit by the Stratford Road track. Curtis was also a founding member of the Stratford Bowling Club.