Gargarus Saddle

Went for a cruise up by Lake Coleridge towards Mt Gargarus.

Had a bit of a late start then failed to find the old farm track that weaved conveniently through the worst of the scrub beneath the saddle. Ended up taking far too long to get to the saddle, so we just found a bit of snow partway up the Spurs and did some crampon instruction before retreating from the incoming weather.

Finding our way through the scrub

Chucky and Mt Oakden (far left)

Weather starting to break

Porters Back country

Went for a short Back country foray behind the Porter Heights Ski field.

Took a single ride up the T-bars then traversed about a km away from the top tow to find a nice big north-west facing bowl.

First run was a little crunchy, but it was very consistent and therefore not too bad to ski on. 500m vert in a couple of minutes on the way down and 80 mins on the way up...

Second run was sublime, as the warm sun softened the surface into perfect conditions; 10cm of spring snow on firm powder..

Stepping out from the top of the T

Not far from first tracks!

Ski Area boundary

Fresh tracks!

Livin' the dream...

Time to pay for the turns (credit card style skiing)

Mt Enys in the back ground

Facing the Wilberforce Valley

Chucky goes splat on the 'mashed potatoes' of the ski field

Mt Phipps, Arthurs Pass NP

Toine and I began our day at 3am in Chch for an ascent of the SW ridge of Mt Phipps. Conditions were virtually perfect, good freeze, cool temps, clear skies and light winds.

Toine and Mt Rolleston at dawn

Approaching the SW ridge 'Ramp'

Climbing the Ramp

Got up the ramp to the ridge without much bother then began along the mixed crest toward the summit.

At the col, onto the main ridge

Nice views to the west

Gettin' a little narrow..

We traversed off the spine of the ridge as the difficulty increased, then had to do some steep soloing and two pitches to get back onto the ridge near a notch.



Toine belays for our second pitch


From there it was a reasonably narrow snow arete all the way to the summit.

Able to take a picture during the widest bit of the snow traverse.


We turned back about 60m from the top by a small rock step that would have proven tricky. The wind had really got up by now and it required concentration to remain stable on the narrow ridge. I was pretty glad to get back to the slightly wider bit of ridge, but savoured the rest of the return journey. 11.5hrs round trip, 1390m vert.

Toine at our high point. Summit visible behind him.

Descending the upper ridge

Rapping from the notch

Strolling back to the ramp

Downclimbing the ramp

Mt Harper

This trip up through the Ashburton Gorge towards Erewhon was to a completely new area for everyone on the trip. Toine, Geoff, Sarah, Murray and I all were rather impressed by the huge open valleys and sharp craggy peaks of this 'big sky' country.

Mt Harper reflected in the waters of Lake Roundabout

Our trip began with a bee line from the car to the ridge of choice (through a swamp). Over an hour and lots of cursing later, we began up the steep spur in the warm sunshine.

Muddling our way throught the 'Swamp of dispair'

Geoff and the Mt Taylor Range

As we climbed, the wind steadily increased and the clouds darkend above. Once we gained the main ridge, it was extremely windy, so we paused down the side of the hill to eat, hydrate and to change into storm gears.

Toine on the summit slopes of Harper

Fortunately, the weather remained constantly cold and windy during our ascent to the summit. Amazing views abounded up the Rangitata headwaters; Mt D'Archiac and her neighbouring summits looked incredibly rugged. the Arrowsmith range poked its head up to the north, and back to the west, we could see the Port hills and the Pacific Ocean.

Chucky, Toine, Geoff, Sarah and Murray on the Summit



Arrowsmith Range


Chucky all rugged up :)

Descending the broad SW ridge

Murray admires the Two Thumb range and Rangitata Headwaters


The descent was very mellow, down rolling tops then a little more steeply to Balcamaan saddle. From here, we had a 7km stroll back down the valley, avoiding the swamp and to our cars via head lamp.

Chucky at Balcamaan Saddle

Sunset over Mt Taylor (2330m)

A 9hr round trip, 19km long and with 1390m of vertical.

Sudden Valley, Arthurs Pass NP

The weather was looking sketchy, so we chose a quick foray up into Sudden Valley for a nosey at a potential canyon. Grey skies but mild temperatures greeted us at Hawdon Shelter where we kitted up and began up the valley. Crossing the Hawdon was a bit of a wake up call, but we were able to warm up trudging up the gravel of lower Sudden Valley.

Crossing the Hawdon River below Pyramid Peak

Heading up the lower Sudden Valley

As the valley tightened, we were forced to cross and re-cross an angry looking river that smashed its way through huge boulders and gnarly gorge. The river was running clear but very full, so we only made it a few crossings upstream before we chose to beat a hasty retreat. The grey skies above made us uneasy and the feelings were vindicated when it began to rain lightly on us when we stopped for lunch at a safe spot downstream. Neat trip, more exploring required when the water is lower!

Time to get gorgey


Delicate traverse above white death

Lower Sudden valley, Woolshed Hill behind.

Godley Geocaching

Took the Office out for wednesday afternoon sport; Geocaching at Godley Head. Found two caches in the cold, grey weather, but all the girls seemed to enjoy thier trip :)

Jac performing her dance routine in the gun emplacement

Checking out the magazine

Found it!

Doing some 'recruiting' concurrently with Geocaching