S.K. (Schormanns-Kaitoke), 4-6 October 1963

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S.K. Foreword The resident taxi driver, complete with son and small daughter, left us Towards the end of 1961 the symbol gibbering. at the end of Schormann's S.K. was born. It could be heard uttered track. This same taxi driver told of ferryin almost revered tones or loudly by ing in Peter and Paul on their ill-fated some of our more extrovert members. mission two weeks previously. The car It stands for Schormanns-Kaitoke and disappeared, leaving us to talk our way merely suggested that here was an in- through pleasant bush to Putara hut. teresting weekend trip bisecting the Tara- The etched against the sky held ruas from north to south. The originai small the bush below was silent was to clowctc plan approach from Schormann's but for the background of distant creeks. track, traverse the Dundas Ridge, As there appeared to be no competi- Northern crossing route, Mitre, Holds- tion we settled down to some serious worth and thence to Kaitoke via Totara sleeping. Flats and the Tauherenikau. We couldn't help noticing when it was No attempt was launched until the four o'clock and leapt tortoise-like tobeginning of 1963. Two parties were wards the silent primus. involved. Henk Bertholet and Ken Mc- The outside was fast disappearing, Natty from Kaitoke and a group of four, below still the tumbling creeks, above Norm Whiteside, Paul Green, Dave Cap- north-westerly with matching grey mist. per, and Bruce Jefferies from Schor- After a lighthearted breakfast 5.20 a.m. manns. Ken and Henk reached Moun- saw us on the cool damp track to the tain House on Saturday but were stop- ridge." At the junction the first icy blast ped by bad weather. The others reached gave us a good picture of the coming Tarn Ridge at 2p.m. on the Saturday day. and called it a rotten day! Both parties We sidled Hines, trod on Ruapai, were under a cloak of secrecy and only froze over East Peak, puffed up West later did the full details leak out! Peak from the saddle that gets bigger On the 21 Sepembter, 1963 Peter every time, surmounted Walker and the Daniel and Paul Green made a deter- distant Pukemoremore (here lies Dome) mined effort from Schormanns but bad and stopped for repairs beyond the weather again forced a stop in Tarn saddle. Here, by the tarn, we refuelled Ridge. and repaired and took stock of the situation. So far it had been all blind On the 5 October, 1963 the current flying and wet and cold which we ex- S.K. attempts saw the first success. This pected due to the foul north-westerly. brought a spate of assaults from both Our morale was low but determined; it directions with another successful occurred that we wouldn't have enough "normal" S.K. and one via the Main time if it stayed like this. Still blowing Range which is longer and harder. At on our hands, we survived over Logan, the time of writing the Tararuas are avoided the confusion spur on Dundas, throwing wave after wave of shock and actually located the snow-bound troops into the attack but unseen forces tarn on Arete bench. It was still are only hurling them back! 11.20 as we refuelled inside our blue skins and tried to make the sun beat 4-6 OCTOBER, 1963 down. Still morale was steady at desperation level and we reached Tarn ridge As Jefferies and I strode eagerly hut at 12.50 p.m. through the famous Wellington station After one hour and 10 minutes heaven we were intercepted by Dick Cowan of inside, forcing our reluctant bodies tothe honourable order of Hutt Valley wards the invisible Girdlestone was gentlemen. We were happy to mislead somewhere between easy and impossible. him and fiendishly made him think of The greyness poured in from the north- Northern Crossings and associated west, and at 3.30 we passed by Girdleregions. Still chuckling, we were stone in the rarified atmosphere of pleasantly transferred to Eketahuna, 5,000 feet! Sinking down like refugees gateway to the north. The weather was near the useless sanctuary of the tarn disturbingly fine and the moon beat down between Girdlestone and Adkin someon a silvery countryside. thing happened. We noticed that we could see Mitre. Naturally when we At Mountain House we had a pit stop looked again it disappeared but we and talked to a father and two children thought it would be a good thing if it in a holiday atmosphere. cleared and it did. We smashed the Leaving Mountain House at 12 noon monster Kings quite easily, ran up and and weaving through the delicate bush down on the Broken Axe pinnacles, and of Pig Flats, we sweated our way past crawled McGregor. Totara Flats to Cone Saddle. Totara From oMA King to McGregor the Flats looked mellow and spring-like in the view was superb and as we looked back sunshine, a contrast to the endlessness of to the distant north we were actually Cone Saddle which appeared to rise beginning to enjoy it all. With a feeling for ever. The track was covered with of smug confidence in the dying minutes opossum cyanide which our frayed of daylight we forced our battered selves tempers didn't take kindly to. to look for McGregor hut. Naturally we It was tiring work lifting the pencil didn't find it but sank down on the soft to write in Cone log book. There was rocks near a tarn. As we lay full of a poster advertising a film. It prostew, great clouds rolled in from the claimed "A laugh in every note". Bruce south, obliterating the twinkling lights stuck it on the back of my pack to give of the Wairarapa. The softly-falling rain us an extra boost. cleverly penetrated our porous covers. The Tauherenikau was 200 miles long At midnight the moon sailed overhead and the Puffer 30,002 feet high. in a clearing sky and we could see the We felt a sort of battered comradegreat gut of the Waiohine rumbling ship as we approached the silent Shelter under a white shroud. Hut. This was a memorable trip. At 6.30 the scene was just as impres- FOOTNOTE: Paul Green and Alan sive, so we just lay and looked while Higgens knocked hours off our time when the sun edged over the top of McGregor. they did it a month later. There was ice on the tarn and my boots Peter Daniel, W.T. & M.C. and Trisseemed strangely brittle, with finger tram of the H.V.T.C. turned off at Arete blowing suddeness we were gone. and attacked via the main range, coming The morning improved into a scorcher out at 7.30 on the Sunday evening of the and a steady stream of Jefferies' wit same weekend. took us past Angle Knob over Jumbo Nick Jennings, combined with two on to the mighty Holdsworth. The whole Tararuas, attempted from the south but range looked superb with its greens and were unlucky to follow the wrong spur distant purples. Dropping down happily at Ruapai after a good effort in bad to Mountain House, we could see Cone weather. Saddle beckoning in the distance. DAVE CAPPER. *