This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
The weather forecast sounded rotten enough to make me think twice about leading a group up to Powell Hut, and Saturday moming threatened to make even the forecasters appear cautious. SNOW AT THE HOLDSWORTH ROADEND !!! But waiting for a Masterton extra (who eventually missed out due to car trouble), meant we finally set off in fine weather. Helen had to provide some evidence for her rellies that she had - actually been tramping in snow, so we stopped at Rocky Lookout for a photo-shoot. (Masterton was clagged in but the tops were clear).
Lunch stop was at Mountain House - you know - THAT hut. Even the “For Sale” sign in the window (broken) was looking sad. Needless to say, we didn’t stay too long.
Snow covered the track right through from Rocky Lookout, and ice greeted us somewhere on the upper track - not far below the bushline. By the time we made the bushline, knees and everything else was being used to maintain upward mobility. Powell Hut was awash with snow - INSIDE - and had a distinct refrigerator feel about it. With no wardens for the past couple of weekends, there had been no access to coal. I luckily had the key - BUT first we had to dip the - padlocks in warm water. With a fire going and snow being carried in by the.energetic youths amongst us, we soon got comfortable.
Sunday dawned fine (Masterton was still clagged in), and a short trip up the track warmed us up for the descent.
Now, for some of us the descent from the hut to the bushline was YEEE HAAA !!! (Who needs crampons?) It . was often tooicy to stand and quite frankly more fun, and faster to sit and luge down the chute (read track). My only worry was Nathan’s voice somewhere behind me - “Where's the next drop?!” (Nathan roller blades down Marjorybank Street on a regular basis, it seems. Will NZ see its first Olympic ski jumper 22?)
The thaw had set in overnight and now Mountain House no longer had snow around it. Neither had the Gentle Annie Interstate Highway, and this left me wishing I’d done more lobbying to get some of the party to change their vote.
We had two hours wait for the pair who must have wondered why the hell they had chosen an Otaki Forks entry, with Geoff waiting until the very last second. But not to worry, they were at Kaitoke with the Mediums.
Punters: Shelly Donovan, Wayne Donovan, Rob Cruickshank, Mark Goodwin, Helen Stevens, Nathan Stevens, Katie Taylor, Kara Lipski (leader).