West Coast Weekend!

After finishing work at 5 on Sunday, Axel picked me up and we drove to Lake Pearson, on the way to Arthur's Pass. We found a good spot, off the beaten track, and set up camp. we had a great dinner of curry, and washed it down with a few beers, a great start to the weekend! We woke up in the morning and drove to the West Coast, passing coast to coast runners on the way through Arhtur's Pass. After Greymouth we stopped to pick up Axel's new kayak, then drove on to Punakaki. At punakaki there is a place called pancake rocks, where there are interesting layered rocks ( a bit of a tourist spot). We drove to Charlston and went for a walk up to caves where they do tours. The caves were closed, but not locked, so we snuck in with our head torches for a sneaky exploration! we ventured quite far in, and saw stalactites and stalagmites. We then heard voices in the distant cave, so made a swift exit! We ran out and luckily did not get caught! Shame we could not have explored more, but I have to admit, I was getting a bit worried that someone would come and lock the gates while we were in there!
We stumbled across a pile of large inner tubes on the way back down, used by the caving tours to do black water rafting (ie floating down a cave in the tube in the dark), we couldn't resist, and "borrowed" a couple, jumped in the river and tubed our way back down to the car, awesome! We obviously left them were they could be found and used again the next day.
That night we had dinner, and went to the local, and rather unfriendly, European Hotel for a beer, then returned to camp by the sea with a wine.
The next morning was bright and sunny, we set up a top roped and rappelled down a couple of sea cliff climbs, climbing back up them, in the sunshine. We only managed a couple of routes each before we had to leave for home, and night shifts again. A great weekend :-)

Mt Murchison 2408m

1st-2nd Feb 2010
After finishing work on Sunday at 5, jumped in the car with Axel and Peter and we headed back to my second home, the CMC hut, Kennedy Lodge, in Arthur's Pass. We had some beers as we made plans, deciding on Mt Murchison, an easy climb but a long walk in and the highest peak in Arthur's Pass.
We got up and drove to the Bealey pub, where we left the car and walked in along the Waimakariri river bed, occasionally leaving the bed for forested areas. 15km into our walk we passed the Carrington hut, a large hut, where we had some lunch and a rest, and cached some stocks for the return trip. we carried on, boulder hopping along the white river, getting wet feet on the necessary crossings. After a while the river turns into a gorge, so we left the bed for steep scree and tussock slope on the true left. Hard work, especially with big packs! After a couple of hours we did some scrambling on loose scree/rock up to the Barker hut where we would spend the night. It was now 7.30 pm, a long day! We basked in the sun next to the hut. The hut is tiny, and perched high on rock, surrounded by huge mountains. You could see down the valley to Rolleston. The sky was blue, and we were happy to be resting, so we brought the matresses outside and made a fantastic couch, with the best view in the world. We drank a little bourbon, and ate dinner, chatting into the night. The sky was so clear, with millions of stars, and a bright moon that lit up the snow on the mountains around us. The sunset over Rolleston was amazing. It was a mild night so Axel and I slept out under the stars in our sleeping bags. An awesome experience.
We woke at 5am and set off up Murchison. it was an easy snow plod up a moderately steep slope, with some loose rock to climb at the end. We took a bit of a detour, and gave ourselves a slightly more challenging, and way more fun, rock route. On the summit you could see for miles and miles you could even see Mt Cook, and the sea of the west coast. It was one of my favorite moments ever. It was perfect, perfect blue skies, and mountains as far as the eye could see. I really felt that this was exactly what I came to NZ for.
Happily we descended after lunch, bum sliding the slopes (avoiding the crevasses!) and practiced a bit of ice-axe self arrest. Back at the hut, we packed up and began our long walk out. After four hours we reached the Carrington Hut, and picked up the rest of our food, but decided to walk the remaining 15km out that night. It went on forever! We happily reached the Bealey pub at 9.20 pm, had some beers and went back to the CMC hut. We didn't even manage much bourbon before falling asleep! What a fantastic couple of days.

Arthurs Pass, 2 Scots, a Pom and a Kiwi!

Andy is leaving NZ so we decided to take a trip to Arthur's pass, with his mate Magnus and our friend hayley from work. We headed off Sunday 24th Jan to the CMC hut, had dinner and a few drinks that night. Hayley joined us at 6.30 am th next morning, and we all set off, after a good brekkie, to Avalanche Peak. It was a beautiful day, and we followed Scott's track up through the bushline, through tussock and on to a rocky ridge. From here the summit was gained by all, after a little encouragement.....
The views from the top were amazing. Rolleston looked beautiful as always, and you could see Murchison and Franklin in the distance. The boys chose to carry on around the ridge to Mt Bealey, but Hayley, whose first ever mountain it was (Yey) and I went back down the way we came.
Tired but satisfied we had dinner drinks, and games that night at the hut. Next morning we took it easy, had an ice-cream, and a walk to devil's punchbowl waterfalls. Me and Andy went for a run, and we spent the rest of the day basking in the sun. We went out to the "wobbly Kea" for tea and a glass of wine.
The next day the boys were leaving for the west coast. Hayley walked the Bealey track and I raced to the top of Avalanch peak and back in under three hours, just to see if I was fit enough, as I am now officially entered in the Routeburn Classic, a 32km cross country run in the fjiordland mountains!
We has an ice cream and headed home, for a good rest before an early the next day. An awesome few days :-)