Rapaki Rock Climbing

Bit of easy Trad on a rather cold, windy but clear day. I lead 4 climbs, up to grade 16 before we called it a day and drove down to Sumner for Fish and Chips on the Beach.

Pip seconding at Rapaki

Benmore Range Loop

From heat stroke to Hypothermia! It was a bit of a shock coming back from the tropics to late Autumn in the Southern Alps...

Teaming up with Geoff and Rick, who wanted a two day trip, Pip and I arranged to walk with them on day one which set up a neat through trip for them. Our day trip did a reasonably long loop from the Lyndon Rd, up a long lazy ridge to the summit of Benmore, then back via a ridge to the south.

The wind was swift and very cold, which had me wearing just about all my warm gear at the top during lunch. It was a neat trip, with good views of the Torlesse, Craigieburn and Mt Hutt Ranges, as well as the Rakaia and Wilberforce Valleys.

Sadly, it was a poor ending to the days activity; my car window had a rock thrown through it and Pip's IPOD was stolen..

Steep ascent to get onto the laid back main ridge,

Porters Ski Field in the background

Mellow walking on the ridge proper

Rick scrambles up the scree to Benmore


Pip, Rick, Geoff and Chucky on Benmore, 1655m

Views out to Lake Coleridge and the Rakaia Valley

On descent back to the Acheron River