Tag: mountains
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Turoa, Jul 2026
The country was finally blasted with a cold southerly that brought snow to both islands after what seemed like weeks of winter weather that was either too warm or too wet. Finally ‘our’ mountain, Ruapehu, was the winter playground we’d been waiting for. So, late Saturday the 11th, after a successful morning hunt, Will and…
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Tukino Rock, May 2026
May is an unusual month to be heading to Tukino for rock climbing, cold, probably to cold to enjoy rock, but not cold enough for ice. Then again we would most likely have the place to ourselves. The team this time included Alex, Aiden, Chris, Caleb, Aaron, Emma and Nicola. The weather played ball. Triangulating…
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Pehi’s Bluff, Jan 2026
Pehi’s Bluff sits south of the Bruce Road, an easy 45-minute walk from the carpark at the start of the Round the Mountain Track (E-1819412, N-5654488). I’d climbed there once before, but this was a first for my climbing partner for the day, Will Young. Pehi is a great stack of cracks and corners, terrific…
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Whangaehu Valley, Aug 2025
Following a couple of beaut Search and Rescue training weekends based at Tukino Alpine Sports Lodge, and with a positive forecast and good snow and ice, it was time to get out and play. Don French knows the area better than most, with years of climbing and route-setting here he has a crag named in…
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Minarets, Aoraki/Mount Cook NP, Jan 2025
Following a very long lay-off from mountaineering, and likely the result of some sort of mid-life crisis, I decided that 2025 was the year to give it another crack. To achieve my goals I contacted Doug from Aspiring Guides in Wanaka in mid-2024. Over the next few months we sorted out where my level was…
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Hopkins & Huxley Valleys, Ruataniwha Conservation Park, Dec 2024
Driving back from Otago, having just finished a Christmas trip through the Caples-Greenstone, Nicola and I found ourselves with a few days up our sleeve. It was finally a chance to explore the country beyond Lake Ohau: specifically the Hopkins and Huxley river valleys, a place I’d read about in enough hunting, tramping and alpine…
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East Holdsworth, Aug 2024
I started tramping in the Tararuas in my teens, the mid-1980s, 35-plus years ago now. Back then, good winter days on the tops with deep snow or hard ice were common. I recall many trips floundering through heavy snow, falling into leatherwood shrubs, or delicately learning to crampon across sastrugi ice, always with a deep…
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Travers Valley, Nelson Lakes NP, Sep 2017
Back in September 2017 Guy Land, Jon Parker and I spent a few days at Nelson Lakes National Park. After a cold night tenting at St Arnaud’s Lake Rotoiti campground we caught a water taxi to Coldwater Hut which is about as appealing as its name suggests. From there we headed up valley for a…
North of the Saddle 