Main Range - Upper Otaki Excursion

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MAIN RANGE - UPPER OTAKI EXCURSION Club Night, Thursday, January 14, Northern Peak, Tunui, and after a Dion Quirke, Alex Johnson, Julian short, steep climb find ourselves near Pemberton, and Jill Gledstone planned a young lake on Maungahuka at 1.15 a trip-various suggestions- Smith's p.m. Creek, Walls Main Range ? Odd looks Lunch on Maungahuka becomes a from other club members at the Main reality, and followed by several brews Range suggestion. to re-hydrate our desiccated bodies, 8 p.m. Friday 15th, finds the four we move off at 2.45 p.m. into thick hopefuls about a mile down the road murk. The ridge from West Peak to from Otaki Forks, closer approach be- Maungahuka is remarkab'e for the ing blocked by a slip. Three hours number of ups and downs in it-anlater, a brew and into our pits at noying little bumps and pinnacles Fields Hut. Some time later voices that have to be scaled-but from are heard and about eight Tararua Maungahuka onwards the going is types appear. much better. At 5 a.m., Saturday, Dion's alarm After crossing Simpson and wakes us, and the Tararuas, who were where there is extensive erosion, Wright, we heading for Kime as a working party, began the graunch on to also arise. After eating, we set off at Aokaparangi, long the summit up of which 6 a.m. for West Peak. Beautiful day, is reached at 4.40 Time for bright sunshine so far, and Crawford p.m. relooks a long, long way off. We stroll freshments. We drop off Aokaparangi around West Peak inspecting the air- into the saddle near the bottom of drops for the new Kime hut, find which is a bluff which has to be some tarns, and talk for a few min- sidled, and climb on to Kahiwiroa. utes to a couple of Forest Service The weather lifts temporarily, and we blokes working on Kime. One air- check our bearings with compass and drop is said to be on Pakihore Ridge. map, and decide that we are indeed At 8 a.m. we decide that its time to on Kahiwiroa. As we descend towards go, and plough off down the saddle Anderson Hut, a good demonstration on to the Main Range. of the Spectre of the Brocken is seen By 9 a.m. we are eating oranges for several minutes. We trudge very and soaking in the scenery at the top slowly through the bush in the saddle of Boyd Wilson, and then set our before Anderson Hut. Everyone is sights on Vosseler, which is reached rather weary, and water and a hut in another half-hour or so. In time are becoming rather important things we arrive at Yeates and McIntosh to us. Just as the light is fading and gaze longingly down Pakihore rapidly we see some tarns and make Ridge, especially as the sky is cloud- for them. Sereams from Dion-"Tve ing over and the murk is creeping found the hut!"-accompanied by a along from Hector. terrific clatter as the door is opened. "Lunch on Maungahuka!" is the The time is 8.45 p.m, and we collapse cry and we press forward expectantly on the bunks. Eventually a mammoth towards the Peaks, hoping that the stew is prepared and devoured. We tarns haven't dried A smallish estimate that we spotted about 25 pinnacle apechedna this be a deer from the track along the range. Tararua peak? A larger bump loom- By 10 a.m. next day we have reing behind is more like it. "About covered sufficiently, and the interest- 10 apabehin to get over this," says ed observer would have seen four Dion confidenly. "More like an hour," bodies climbing the ridge towards says Alex. We scale two pinnacles and Junction Knob. At first the weather then climb the Southern Tararua is reasonable, but by the time we Peak, Tuiti. The country is very hairy reach Junction Knob at 11 a.m. it is around these parts. A pause at the razor-blade weather. Twenty minutes top of Tuti while we seek the route later at the top of Crawford it is a down, and find our way to the chain howling gale, accompanied by rain, anchored around a rock gendarme. so we back down the ridge and We 'pull the chain'-fun and games drop offim into the Otaki side, because for all concerned-and sidle the the weather is getting really foul.

After a spell of bush-bashing we quilant Bivvy doing a few repairs. find ourselves in a stream, and with Sat in the sun, had a brew, and adperiodic excursions into the under- mired the view from here. Directly growth to avoid waterfalls and bluffs above us was the East Peak (9165ft.) we finally arrive at the Otaki River and further over the West Peak at 4.40 p.m.-just a nice little after- (9250ft) and Pluto Peak (8157ft); noon's rock-hopping! We consult the behind us was Leary Peak (8000ft) map and 'confusion machine', and de- and behind that Sir William (8300 cide that we are above Waitewaewae feet). Fortunately, the two Alpine Hut, and after 11 hours' fairly easy Club members, Bob Craigie and Grariver travel down river, we arrive at ham Ellis, were also going to climb Waitewaewae Hut just at 6 p.m.-8 East Peak this day, and we found hours from Anderson's to Waitewae- their route-finding very helpful wae the hard way! Consultation of through the bluffs. Waitewaewae Hut log book reveals that we were not the first party to About 11 a.m. we started the ascent come from Anderson's to Waitewae- of the peak via a short couloir on to wae by an unusual route. a scree slope. At the top of the seree We eat, and at 7 p.m. decide to the way is barred by vertical bluffs, push on, but by 10 p.m. we are still and it is necessary to rope up at this in Saddle Creek, and feeling rather point, work up another couloir, and bashed, decide to camp. At 4.30 a.m. eventually bluffs. It come across above the on Monday the casual passer-by would left it until was 11 fortunate that we had observe the four maniacs heading for a.m. instead of start- Otaki Forks. After a quick trip down Peak ing earlier, for this route up East we managed to get Dion into town in is entirely a rock climb in sumtime for work at 8.30. mer, and the sun was just beginning to melt the ice glazing that festoon- Total times: Friday night, 3 hours; ed some of the rock. Eventually we Saturday, 141 hours; Sunday, 12 found ourselves again on a scree hours; Monday, 21 hours. slope leading towards the summit, We thoroughly recommend this trip which was reached some 20-30 minto anyone who wants to become a utes later-just after 1 p.m. complete physical wreck! The view from the summit was ALEX JOHNSON terrific! Not a cloud in the sky and the mountains visible from Mt. Cook * * * (12,349ft) to Tutoko (9042ft), with Aspiring (9957ft) standing out like a huge pyramid. On the southern side