Waikanae Next Year (Rakaia Christmas trip)

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WAIKANAE NEXT YEAR Lyell Hut, Over Prospect Hill on Sunday, with Christmas Ewe. frequent photo stops, and on up the true right back of the Rakaia with warm Dear Dave, sun and cooling wind, until we stopped Knowing how you are always for the night at the Washbourne Hut. looking for Christmas-trip copy, I Meins Knob the following day was prethought I might begin while on the spot. ceded by an inspection of the repaired Before relating our experiences to date, 3-wire bridge across the Lyell, which perhaps I had better introduce the trip looked acceptable, and the bluffed apmembers, together with their idio- proach, which did not. (Anyway, not syncrasies. First, meet our able trip with heavy packs.) So, with the lowleader, grandad Norm Whiteside, who level route on the other bank denied hopes to spend next Christmas at Wai- us, we slogged the near-vertical vegekanae. Murray Hall and Kate Brady, the table climb to the top of Meins Knob, intellectual members of the party, insist meanwhile telling ourselves that we had on holding literary discussions in which always intended to come this way for the no one else feels capable of joining. view. Half an hour spent admiring the Coming up the track from the scrub- Ramasay face of Whitcombe above the lined stream below the bluffs of Meins interminable Ramsay Moraine; and the Knob is Ann Walls, who has just been peaks at the head of the Lyell, then washing herself again (today is a rest down enjoyable snow-grass slopes to day). Kevin Jamieson, a last-minute re- Lyell Hut, where we were joined two cruit, seems to be perpetually hungry, hours latter by Bill Drakes party who while that fit bod Colin McNatty has had crossed the Rakaia at Prospect said loudly that rest days should not be Hut, and come up the opposite bank only allowed when there is climbing to be to be drenched when crossing the Lyell done. Our morals officer is Mr Kelly opposite the hut. Their humour increased Yip, who runs round each new hut we still further on finding that we were come to, gathering up and confiscating occupying all the available bunks. all the "Man magazines. Lastly, there Paul Green has just dropped in, havis your Tramping Correspondent in the ing gone for a "gentle stroll" oyer Meins Rakaia Headwaters, Fraser Walls, and Knob, leaving Geoff, Joe, and Gary despite my own private supply of food, at Washbourne. He is returning as soon I am hungry too. as Kate has finished cutting his hair. Although the weather still remains fine, The trip began with a vociferous send- there is (and has been) a continual stream off from a large party of T. & Ms on the of misi drifting over Erewhon Col, and Ferry Wharf, and their far calls could ringing Whitcombe, hence there is constill be heard half-way across the har- siderable speculation as to whether the bour. being much appreciated. Outside air-drop has gone in. Tomorrow, Huey the Heads it became a trifle windy, but permitting, will be a climbing day. did not stop the usual interchange of friendly abuse between rival tramping Boxing clubs also on the boat. Day. Kelly and Norm left at 3.30 a.m. yes- Saturday produced a hurried breakfast terday for Malcolm, above Rangitata in Christchurch, followed by a train Col, returning jubilant and burnt at journey to Ashburton, thence to Lake about 71 p.m., after a successful climb. Heron by bus-not omitting an enjoy- Murray, Colin, Ann, and I left at able break at Mount Summers for a 5a a.m. (far more reasonable an hour!) final appreciation of the benefits to be for an unnamed, unmapped bump found in certain civilised areas. Late downstream from Goethe Pascoe, in just the Saturday afternoon found a party of 8 long-book, claims this as a probable first T. & Ms pioneering a new and entirely recorded ascent. Somewhat inadvertently, unnecessary route between Lake Heron we climbed it by the east face via shingle and Downs Hut, which lies beneath scree, rotten rock rib; snow couloir (2 Prospect Hill, overlooking the Rakaia. hours, and about 1000 feet), and finally Two other parties of T. & Ms, by delay- climbed up a 50-degree snow face back ing their start and spending the time on to the rock rib-now consolidated with some brilliant map-reading, were able snow. From there it was a 200-ft. snow plod to a broad snow and rock to follow a four-lane highway to the same reached at about 1.30 p.m. An hour summit. for objective. photography and lunch was followed b:

an easy descent by rock ridge and an the next sack and we dug in on a slope enjoyable tobottom to the snow basin of about 15 degrees, which was the feeding the creek we had climbed out steepest slope with enough snow, that of that morning. Back at the hut we we could find, with poor visibility (whitewere joined shortly by Gary, Joe, Geoff, out) and the time available. That night and Paul, who had all become somewhat we spent rolled together on the floor of hydrated while crossing the Lyell. the cave, and the next day dug the massive sloping bench-15 feet long, 8 feet Today we packed, and were just step- deep. and approximately 41 feet high. ping out the door bound for Erewhon Digging was very wetting, and pleasantly Col, when Huey arrived with all his re- warm, but those cleaning snow on the inforcements. Back to the vacated bunks, shallow slope outside were not so happy, and into the scratcher again, much to for a strong wind and thick mist comthe disgust of Gary, Paul, and Co. who bined to make the weather bitterly cold. had slept outside and who were wait- The girls probably had the worst of it, ing to fill the empty spaces. (Lyell has crouching behind a lean-to fly shelter, only 8 bunks). There is much con- trying to keep the primii going for brews jecture about the position of the air- and stew. drop-Hokitika-- Erewhon Col? Continual cloud and West Coast scunge, and We dried out on the third day, in hot no one has heard a plane. sun, though surrounded by light mist, but beat a hurried retreat to the cave about midday as the West Coast murk re- Snow Cave, appeared. Since then we have slept, nth day here read, argued, and last but not least we (n large, and unknown). have eaten. This seems to have been neglected for The food position is now serious in the several days, Dave, sO I'll catch up now. extreme. From "running on the smell of The next day we slogged up the Ramsay a greasy stew billy" we have graduated to the unenviable state of unable moraine being to the accompanying continual to breathe deeply, due to over eating rumble of loose, misplaced moraine (in some cases anyway) and still we can't rubble about our feet and the occasional consume the rations provided. Looks as roar as we passed a sink hole. of the if we will have to leave some behind. The entrance tunnel is now Ramsay Stream-an underground torrent blocked with powder snow-much completely of it -here, buried beneath some hundred drift snow, and the atmosphere here feet of moraine and ice. Then up the builds up to quite a fug when the glacier to a snow camp-site on some primuses are going. However, no one is bluffs beside the Ramsay icefall. Weather suffering from headaches, so some air must be diffusing through the 8 feet of fine, but no one had heard the plane, snow above us. We are very thankful and food was somewhat low. Good that there are no ice banks above, for crampon conditions and fine weather this reason. made an early start worthwhile, and It takes half an hour to dig a hole to Norm and I, having left earlier, spent the surface, shovelling the snow back half an hour watching avalanches peel into the cave behind us. It takes only off an icefall just below the saddle be- another half hour for the hole (18 in. tween Whitcombe and Erewhon Peak. high) to fill in again, so we limit our- We regretted this some hours later, for selves to two trips outside per day. We as we panted to the top of Erewhon in shall have to build a fly-shelter over it, some time, but everyone is from rapidly softening snow, the West Coast suffering murk rolled in, effectively blotting out a peculiar lethargy. Probabliy a cold boot any view of the air-drop. However, ten lethargy. This-as we have said for the minutes later we had spotted it, and last few days, but I'll say it again-should celebrated immediately by polishing off clear up in a day or so. It can't lasta bar of chocolate each-not forgetting people never get this sort of weather cans of a certain liquid found (quite during Christmas trips. Will write further accidentally!) in the first sack we opened. when the lethargy wears off. Then out with the snow shovels from Home again.

Dear Dave, enough time to go through Whitcombe This account has been hit Pass to the Whitcombe, so we retreated down the Rakaia to Manuka Point homeby a new sort of lethargy, an "anti- stead where we were met with real back- Christmas trip write-up" lethargy, so Tll country hospitality. This was greatly apget it cleaned up, sO you can have it to- preciated, especially since it was once night. again raining. Then, after a four-hour taste of civilization (homestead style), We were unable to descend to the we climbed into the hastily ordered trans- Whitcombe via the Barr Glacier, since port for the journey to Ashburton. and the steep snow was too soft for a shaft a year of planning and waiting for next belay to hold anyone, had a skate Christmas. While in there we all agreed occurred, so we were forced to return that it was to be "Waikanae next year", down the Ramsay to the Rakaia. Condi- but now I am not so sure. Perhaps I tions were somewhat unpleasant with enjoyed it all, regardless of Huey's unknee-deep snow. for about four hours. wanted presence. Thanks to Norm for and a complete white-out, necessitating a very well organised trip, and to every- Tararua-type navigation, so we felt quite one for providing such enjoyable comat home. Only two brilliant members of pany. the party had the foresight to wear snow Your Rakaia Correspondent in town, goggles, so the next two days were spent recovering from snow blindness. Not FRASER WALLS. *