Never In November

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Never In November Paul Richardson Last year I wrote to the Forest Service to enquire whether they had any inforation on the Makawhio Valley in South Next morning a slow climb through Westland. Some months later I received steep difficult bush eventually route notes for the Mahitahi, Otoko brought us out onto the ridge and a and Moeraki Valleys, with the comment blazed track which gave easy travel "I hope this answers your enquiries through the subalpine to the tussock about the Makawhio". Maybe they were slopes of Bannock Brae. We had trying to tell us something! Anyway known about this track but were unable we didn't listen. A trip into the to find the start of it. The excell- Makawhio country had been Malcolm's ent travel soon led us up to the main dream for some years, and now, after range cairn and snow at 4500 feet. a process of eliminating all the other We descended through thick mist and areas in Westland, its time had come. drizzle to the western tributary basin of Greer Creek, then had a vicious Friday 18th November found Malcolm struggle through the leatherwood to Fisher and Paul Richardson leaving gain the main flats. After lunch in Tom Condon' 's farmhouse in the Mahitahi a cold watery sun we made our way up Valley and heading up to the Bannock to the main valley head. Our route Brae Range. It was evening when we lay on the true right bank through started and with no hope of reaching masses of prickly shield fern and the tops before dark we camped about easy scrub before we bumped into the 1000 feet up the slope. leatherwood belt again. Time flew by as we crashed, smashed and thrashed ion we called it a day. Despite our our way through to the snowgrass where lowly altitude of 2100 feet we were camp was pitched after a very strenin a true subalpine setting. Views uous few hours. were superb, especially across the Makawhio Valley to McGloin Peak and Steady rain throughout the night and the Bare Rocky Range plastered with nil visibility next morning confined snow. Eight days of our trip had us to camp until midday when a brief slipped away by now and we hadn't clearance enticed us up the steep even got near the head of our first slushy snowslopes just south of Point valley, but our time was already upo 5800 (should be 5200). The large lake just below was buried under masses On a hot sunny day we wandered down to of snow so we turned our attention the Makawhio taking in the sights of to the ridge rising up to Peak 6475 this rarely visited valley. Further with Malcolm doing some fine leading. down we had views of Stirling Peak It was an enjoyable climb but we never which is a distinctive 6500 foot wedge got the views we had hoped for. 1000 yards directly north of Query Peak, also views of the valley head and prob- Next morning we left in thick mist for ably Fettes. But it's the rock walls the saddle but it was a hard slow climb that attract your eyes like a magnet. in wet knee-deep snow all the way from And isn't that south face of McGloin about 4000 feet. In limited visibility slightly overhung? Rock to conjure we dropped into the snow basins which with (but not for us). Before reaching feed the western tributary of the creek the Makawhio though we had a scare when that drains Mt Butzbach. Let's call Malcolm lost his camera for awhile. it Butzbach Creek'. After carefully However it was soon found and after negotiating several bluffs on the way lunch at the Butzbach confluence we down we arrived at the lip of an 800 left at 1 p.m. for the slow but easy foot drop to the valley floor. The descent to Jumbo Creek where better walls on either side were impressively going quickly brought us down to Greer steep and glacier smoothed. No route Creek for the night. here we thought, but climbing out high on the true left gave no route, and Next day dawned ominously overcast there wasn't much hope on the right and we now left with no regrets for side either where the horribly steep the Jacobs River bridge, but we met walls were raked by avalanches. some true West Coast hospitality on the way out and after a few hours of So we made our way back to the edge being fed and entertained we were driven and by stretching the imagination a the last few miles to the main road. bit we decided to take things straight. To Fox that night and home next day Unfortunately after a pitch or two the in more mist and rain. weather crapped out completely, and as it was hopeless without the visibility The only information we had about the we had to camp. Ice-axes soon hacked Makawhio was a trip account in Tararua out a site from a tussock bank in the Annual 1950 and another in Tararua shelf of the slab. It rained solidly 1952. These accounts made rather defor the next 24 hours, snowed for 12 pressing reading, and luckily they hours, hailed for a few more then the didn't influence us too much. We were process repeated itself with snow down going anyway! What we saw on that one to 2000 feet. Four nights were spent fine day was simply magnificent. We on the shelf but luckily the wind also had the advantage of being able never struck as there was no hope of to judge the Makawhio against all the escape until the snow cleared. It was other Westland Valleys we have visited. very cold. Valleys like the Barlow, Waitaha, Tuke, and the Cropp and Price tributaries of When it finally started clearing we the Whitcombe are all much harder. But wasted no time in getting down to there's no denying that the tops are investigate the route below us to see really rugged - just look at those if it would go. Malcolm came back contours! from the first recce despondent so we both went back down and found a spot Naturally we were extremely disappointed where, with a bit of luck we might get at the amount of ground covered, especdown, but it was a risky gamble. We ially as we'd had all year to think packed and left that night at 8.30p.m. about this trip and had both done a to do a pitch or two and put us onto lot of hard training. This was our the true left side and lower slabs. third bad weather trip in a row in Westland. However, it's always a matter Next day four abseils and some hairy of luck with the weather, and as we've climbing eventually got us into the learned from bitter experience the creek but it was the slowest six hours odds are stacked against you in Westwork we have ever done. A late lunch land. We lost out badly this time, on the gravel flat in this - which is but we'll be back sometime to try again. the main branch of Butzbach Creek was a glorious affair and at the top junct- 18 - 28 November 1977