Don't Ski in the Winter (Tasman Glacier ski trip)

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DON'T SKI IN THE WINTER A forced three-day stagnation at Un- It was a very soft landing no win Hut ended abruptly when Wednesday at all! Just taxi round to let us bumps showed signs of clearing. Our party (Bill the trip will really have out and Drake, Tony Gazley, Neil Gray and thought. The Head of the started, I Bob Chittenden) raced for Tasman air- Glacier with a week in front Murchison of strip to be first on the list when flying more than enough and usstarted. After a dummy touch-down, here to exhaust our skiing climbing pilot Mike Buckland decided snow con- roaring of the engine enthusiasm. me back The ditions were safe for a landing. reality. Still facing jolted uphill our only to movement had been an alarming side- this time- we were so certain that Mike ways tilt; a wing touched, the propellor promised to drop some beer to us as flicked snow aside and we were well we waved farewell. The engine started and truly bogged. As the engine noise and the plane moved forward. Within ceased the normally welcome silence 50 yards it was heading 30° off-course was verv ominous. and was soon right off our runway. Mike Bill was first out and made startled kept going in a last desperate effort but noises as he disappeared to arm-pit level. the plane only staggered about 400 "But this is why we came so early in yards down the glacier and never looked the winter," we called to him from the like flying. plane, "to learn to ski the true powder." Two of us skiied down to He didn't seem convinced. make the plane safe for the night while Even on skies it was still an effort to the others set about making a track move around as we sank up to the knees up to Murchison Hut. Another plane at each step Eventually we turned the came and dropped supplies, including plane so that it faced downhill- skis for Mike, but on its second trip, achieved by having one of us hang by misjudged the snow surface in the failthe arms on the uphill wing, another ing light and hit a rise higher up the lifting the downhill wing and 2 man- glacier. In the sudden silence one word handling the tailpiece; being enveloped floated out over the snow, neatly sumall the while by the snow thrown back ming-up a serious situation. First aid by the full thrust of the engine. It gear and spare clothes were shoved into was storm gear for this job and even a day pack and we set off for the crashed then the snow sifted into our clothes, plane. It seemed an age before we saw froze our faces and made vision im- two tiny dots paddling a canoe towards possible. However, each "super-blizzard" us-the paddles turned out to be the was of short duration and then it would arms of two men flailing at their sides be stamp, stamp, stamp as we packed in the chest-deep snow. down snow in front of the plane ready It was a painstaking 3 hours before for the next move. we all reached the hut. The two new We packed two runways on skis in an arrivals had to stand on our skis as we effort to gct the plane airborne but each skimmed along, as the snow was too time the plane bogged-in. We decided deep for them to walk. It was fortunto make certain the third time, so we ate that Tony and Neil had broken a stamped out a path for the plane on trail ahead of us-a job which had foot. Another ski plane aade several taken over 4 hours for what is normimpressive dives over our heads and ally a 20 minute walk. touched-down to pack the sncw as an ex- Next day a chopper arrived at first tension to our runway. Success was ours light and took off the 2 men from the crashed plane. We made several fruit- a trail down the Tasman for no matter less attempts to taxi our plane up the whether we used red, blue, green or glacier and then spent the rest of the sliver wax, we couldn't make our skis day visiting the crashed plane and in- run. specting Tasman Saddle. Footnote. We crossed over the Saddle on It was a week after landing before the Friday and spent another four days at snow consolidated enough for our plane Tasman Sadle Hut. Each day we had to fly out. The crashed plane was disperfect weather but snow conditions mantled, lifted out by helicopter and at prevented us from ciimbing more than the present time is still in pieces. Aylmer and peak 9144 ft. We couldn't Advice for those going ski touring ski in it either and almost every turn in the winter-don't. Maybe Octoberended in chaos. Finally we had to break November are the months to go. Bob C.