This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
Alpine 2 Fit - 5 to 8 September by Lorraine Johns
Trip leader: David Jewell Climbers: David, Steve Austin, Stuart Meiklejohn, Lorraine Johns.
Spring is finally here and the little snow bunnies are emerging from their snow holes to seek summits without being devoured by wintry blizzards or avalanches. The summit seekers for this weekend's alpine excursion were David, Steve, and Stuart (superfit mountaineers) and me (fresh off an alpine course and on my first club trip). Bound for high places, our target was Mount Uerau, a linguistically challenging peak in the Seaward Kaikouras.
Arriving early morning in a chilly Kaikoura, we tented in the wind and rain by the roadside. As forecast, the weather fined up nicely for our walk into Hapuku Hut, where we were based for our climb. The next morning we wakened to crisp, clear conditions. The warm sun was welcomed by our feet, as our boots were still wet from river crossings the previous day (and in my case, that day too). The team plan was to bush-bash our way up through the snowy flanks of the mountain until we found a ridge. By mid-morning we had climbed above the bushline to a wide plateau which linked to our chosen ridge. Here, the boys stopped to admire the view of surrounding mountains while I dubiously eyed up the rather steep and edgy-looking terrain ahead.
For the next few hours I gingerly negotiated my way up the mountain after the guys, trying to avert my gaze from any nearby vertical drops. This seemed to be a bit of a relaxing stroll for the others. David’s comment after watching me was “well, ’ve never seen anyone go across a mountain like that before, but whatever works.” We couldn’t see the summit on our way up so I kept hoping that we were nearly there. Luckily, David kept us grounded by providing updates on how many Mount Vics we still had to go (and much better, team jelly beans).
Many Mount Vics later, we came across Stu and Steve waiting below the summit ridge so that we could all summit together. The weather was glorious and the view surreal, with the peninsula on one side and snowy peaks as far as the eye could see on the other. Up this high, we were back in cell coverage, so Stu took the opportunity to book us in on an earlier ferry out the next day (“sorry sir, you’re cutting out” — “yes ma’am, I’m on top of a mountain”). A lateral thinker, Steve suggested we also dial Hells Pizza and ask for delivery to the hut.
When it was time to go, Steve sprinted off like there really was pizza waiting at the bottom. I took a more cautious approach, willing my crampons to cling on as they crept down the mountain under David’s watchful eye. I remember eating a lot of snow during the descent
(mainly because I was thirsty, although I did fall over a bit). I don’t know how, but Stu survived the return trip on a meagre 700ml of water! The next day was the comparatively more sedate walk back down the river gorge (Steve with his camera ready, just in case anyone fell in), and ferry back to Wellington.
This was a pretty challenging trip for me, so it was lucky I had some great people to learn from. Among other things, I recall Steve plugging lots of steps, Stu waiting by many a trickier bit, and David patiently giving the altimeter readings whenever I asked (every 5 minutes). If you get a chance to go ona trip with any of these three, I’d definitely recommend it. Thanks again guys, I had a fantastic time! lron Bark Hut Easy Tramp - 26 to 28 September by Michael Lightbourne