This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
by Tony Gazley
Ut Travers from the lower slopes of Kehu Peak. East Ridge between light and shadow
Bob had never climbed Mt Travers. This seemed strange to me given that he had lived most of his life close by in Nelson and had climbed nearly every other major peak in the area at least once. Greg hadn’t climbed it either, but he lived in Christchurch. So the plan for our up-andcoming has-beens annual reminiscing trip in late April was loosely arranged around an attempt to get to the top of the mountain.
I flew to Nelson to drive with Bob to St Arnaud to meet Greg for a speedy boat trip up the lake to be followed by a quick walk up the valley. Breakfast at home — tea at Upper Travers Hut. Cool. We woke next morning to a valley filled with mist. Not a day for Mt Travers we decided. So instead we headed up the grassy slopes and steep screes towards Kehu Peak and soon climbed above the cloud. On the west face of the peak are some of the best slabs in the Nelson Lakes Park. Not very high, perhaps only 150 m, but they are quite steep, firm, red rock. We headed directly up to the summit, mostly following the same line but making our own way where we thought we had found a better route. Plenty of holds, generally just where you needed them. Groovy.
From the top we couid look directly across the valley to the east ridge of Mt Travers. In other directions were peaks and passes stretching to the horizon. We didn’t find the easy way down that I remembered from a previous trip so we made one abseil and then down-climbed back the way we had come. At the hut another party had already arrived and there was a cheery coal fire burning in the heater.
During the night the cloud of the previous day cleared away and the morning was fine and calm. This had to be our Mt Travers day. We headed off before dawn following the track that climbed towards Travers Saddle, then turned back onto the lower section of the East Ridge. The first step in the ridge was quite steep, but from then on, as far as we could tell, was a long section of lower-angled rubbly rock. Climbing this was fairly straightforward — though it was mostly very unstable. Each handhold had to be well tested, and even taking care we still managed to dislodge a few rocks onto whichever one of us happened to be below. We gained height steadily until reaching the final step to the south ridge that we had seen from lower down. This didn’t appear to be too difficult but because we were unsure what lay ahead out of sight we decided to pitch the last two rope lengths. This was the most enjoyable part of the climb. Steep but reasonably solid rock. Then an easy walk along the ridge to the summit. It was a happy little group that spent some time in the warm afternoon sun admiring the view as we ate a late lunch. Wisps of cloud lay in the valleys but above us the sky was clear and there was no wind. The trip had been about getting to the top — and we had done just that. Awesome. The easiest way back to the hut was to traverse the peak and head down Summit Creek and then up the Travers Valley. So we went that way arriving just on dark to find a different party in residence with a fire already burning in the heater again. Now what to do the next day given that the weather still seemed settled? Greg hadn’t climbed Mt Cupola — so away we went. The walk back down the valley was pleasant enough, and the climb up the track to Cupola Basin Hut was not too much bother either. We arrived in plenty of time for a leisurely lunch sitting outside the hut in the sunshine and a clear view of the rugged south side of Mt Hopeless. -
It is not much more than a walk to the summit of Mt Cupola in summer and we were on the top in two hours from the hut. Bob found a jar under the summit cairn that contained the records of many past ascents. But most pages were damaged and faded by water and very difficult to read, so he decided to bring them back with us to be rewritten and properly sealed before being returned to the summit.
We left early next morning and wandered down the valley to Coldwater Hut for a quick boat trip down the lake and Bob and me drove to Nelson and I flew to Wellington. Breakfast at Cupola Basin Hut - tea at home. Cool.
One lovely park, two good mates, three nice summits, more than four calling birds. And five fine calm days. Magic.
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On the summit of Mt Travei