It was with great excitement that I packed up my car for my first NZ Alpine trip! I met a guy called Peter over the mountaineering club website and we decided to climb together. He has twenty years alpine experience but has not done much for years, so after warning about my relative inexperience we decided that a trip up Rolleston would be a good first go. I hadn't met him before I went to his house to pick him up, so I didn't really know what to expect. It turns out he was a famous alpinist in his day, putting up first ascents all over the Cook region, including some tough lines on Cook and Sefton. Seems I would be learning from a master! A friend from work, Axel, also decided to come along, having done lots of climbing and mountaineering back at home in America.
We drove off to Arthurs Pass, arriving late and finding ourselves locked out of the hut! A bit of detective work meant that we avoided a bivvy on the porch and got inside the hut. Although tired and ready for bed, a few bourbons seemed like a good idea, and it turned into a 3am bedtime. We had a leisurely start at 8am, and set off for Rome Ridge on Rolleston. Rolleston is a beautiful mountain, clearly seen from the pass, and from Avalanche Peak, which I have climbed before. The initial walk up through the forest and out of the bushline was a bit of a slog, but didn't last long, and we found ourselves on steepening rock. We eventually roped together, moving over loose rock placing anchors where possible. At one point we had to leave the ridge and descend a steep snow slope, with a climb up the other side on snow, to avoid a steep rock section. The weather looked like it was closing in and that we would loose our beautiful blue skies! We commit ed to the ridge by climbing a steep rock step however, as Peter knew the mountain well and we had a clear descent plan. We carried on in light rain, cloud and wind, and eventually reached the final snow slope leading to the peak. I led this last bit, and we happily arrived at the top of the ridge! It was great to be there, but we didn't linger as there was still to come a descent down the steep snow of the Otira Slide. I cant say I wasn't a little scared! Steep snow, and I couldn't see the bottom. Getting down was a relief, but it had been an amazing experience! We walked out of the Otira valley, and still further down a road to the car. Tired but happy, we went back to the hut, for food, wine, and more Jim Beam!
We had a lie in in the morning, Peter slept til midday, so me and Axel went for a couple of beers at the "wobbly Kea", we then packed up and drove to castle hill for a little play on the rocks on the way home.
Back to Christchurch just in time to pick up some red wine and get an early night, before an early shift in the morning. A fantastic few days, absolutely awesome....absolutely knackered!
