Twin Peaks

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TWIN PEAKS Lyndsay Fletcher Camp at Cascade Saddle Basin (Harry Smith) Mt Aspiring National Park is a place that I will never tire The green grass and sun was so therapeutic after the two from visiting. When other places along the main divide weeks of snow and ice at Mt Cook. are covered in inclement weather the chance that Mt Aspiring has the sun shining is high. The valleys on the Heavy packs full of seven days food and transalpine gear eastern side are lined with beach forest which surround were carried up the West Matukituki valley to Aspiring grassy river flats. When I found out that Harry Smith was Hut, then lunch. That afternoon, in fine weather, we going to have more time after the club trip, which had climbed up to Cascade Saddle to camp in the hanging gone into the Wilkin, Waiatoto and Waipara rivers, I basin. arranged to team up with him and go into the Dart glacier Harry spent a few hours that evening taking sunset region. photographs. Mt Aspiring provided a fantastic back drop for the warm evening colours. I was delayed a couple of days in Kelman Hut, at the head of the Tasman glacier, due to bad weather. A brief An early rise started a days climbing of Mt Liverpool. It clearance allowed me to race out down the glacier and out was a great day and we had light packs. Soon, we to Mt Cook. The weather had turned to the southwest reached the snow line on Plunket Dome. Our packs again and it snowed (up high) as I walked the Ball Hut became even lighter as we dressed up for glacier travel. road to a waiting car. A fast 8 1/2 hours was paid for The same snow storms that I had at Mt Cook had hit this with a large blister on the ball of my right foot. area too. Knee deep plugging got us up to the summit from the Dart glacier neve. Unfortunately as happens so I reached Wanaka the following day where I first visited often in the mountains it clouded over just as we reached the Park headquarters. Harry and I had planned to use the the top. notice board there. Harry was already there and was rather concerned as to my whereabouts. He had only been waiting for 5 days for me to turn up! The wait turned into 6 days as we agreed to let my foot heal a little before having to put boots on again.

On our descent we detoured to go over Mt Islington. enjoy. Weaving our way through the crevasses back on down to the Dart glacier neve, we spotted a helicopter. It landed In the morning the cloud was still hanging about and we twice on Plunket Dome and then departed, leaving behind discussed whether we should try crossing the divide over a group of people. We were both keen to see what they Whitbourn Saddle at the head of the glacier. We decided were doing, but had to wait until we climbed the rise up to give it a go. I had been to the area 15 years ago and to Plunket Dome from the neve. The first thing that stood was not expecting the glacier to be as far retreated as it out was a movie camera. was. As a result, we put up with a long moraine bash before being able to step onto the white ice. We were soon on the level neve at the head of the glacier. The weather was now showing signs of getting worse. The saddle was completely covered in mist, SO we decided to abandon the crossing for the day. We had spotted a rock on our way up that looked as though it could be used as a bivi, sOo we opted for that instead of camping in the snow. After shifting slates of greywacke into place to help level the site, we filled in the gaps with sand. Feeling real proud of our work and fortunate that we were the first to discover it, Harry placed a big cairn on top and named it the "Smith-Fletcher Bivi". Over the next 48 hours the weather changed to the worse. That first night it rained hard enough for us to discover that the bivi allowed water Film crew on Plunket Dome (Harry Smith) to run under the roof. Someone was making a documentary of his own life in Harry was right under the stream, which poured off the and around Glendhu Bay (Lake Wanaka). He and the rest ceiling, and we both had to re-position ourselves. This of the group was up on Plunket Dome filming a portion meant we were not on our level sites any more. At least of the documentary, which covered his climbing we were protected from the wind and so we went back to experiences within the Mt Aspiring National Park. sleep. From there they could take panoramic shots covering Mt Harry was concerned about the stability of a huge rock Aspiring, West Matukituki River, Dart Glacier, Dart river directly up hill from the bivi. He hoped we weren't going and Mt Earnslaw. Harry and I ended up talking to the guy to have an earthquake. If we had, he thought that our bivi concerned and they started to film us doing so. rock might have become the "Smith-Fletcher" memorial bivi rock. The following day we spent lying in our Having finished that scene, the photographers asked us to sleeping bags and reading. Later, the weather turned and go back on down the slope SO that we could be filmed we had thunder and lightning along with snow, which fell arriving on the spot. To make it look as though we were higher up. With each thunder clap, Harry watched that arriving for the first time we had to make new foot prints rock very closely. in a fresh part of the slope. Feeling real proud and fortunate that we were newly discovered TV stars, Harry Our planned route was now looking doubtful as we were asked for our fees. The best they could do for us was one running out of time. Harry was still keen, as he had chocolate bar to share. One of the guys took our names wanted to visit the Snowball glaciers at the head of the and promised to let us know when the documentary would Arawata for a long time, and SO we decided to spend one be showing on TV. We left them to finish and headed off more night under the bivi in hope of good weather the back to camp. Then we lay in the sun for the rest of the next day. The pass was still covered the next morning. afternoon. After a bit of deliberating I convinced Harry that we should retreat to Dart Hut for a comfortable night. The following day we tramped on down the Dart river, This we did and by the time we got back to the Dart river passed the glacier snout and arrived at Dart Hut for it rained. I slept soundly but Harry was forced out to the lunch. We continued on down valley to thej junction of the common room due to a snorer. Finally the weather Whitbourn. A track took us across the Dart river using an cleared to allow us to head back to the West Matukituki. old suspension bridge and we followed the track up through the gorge of the Whitbourn. We decided not to retrace our steps over Cascade Saddle. Instead we headed up to the Rees Saddle and climbed out It was quite early, and we decided to camp at the bottom of the head of Snowy Creek. The intended route down end of the hanging valley down river of the Whitbourn into the head of the Shotover River and out was cut short glacier on the last comfortable patch of tussock. There when we found that we could not get down to Lochnagar. was a good supply of firewood. Low cloud was still We decided on a change of route to continue along the covering the main divide but we still had some sun to tops and travel over the shoulder of Mt Tyndall to a camp in the basin at Cascade saddle. It meant a long day but the The tent was pitched and I cooked dinner once more weather looked as though it was turning to the worse and (Harry was content with that arrangement as I was able to so we went for it. We roped up for glacier travel to make the normally bland meals appetizing while he ascend Mt Tyndall. always washed up). At 11.00 pm we consumed our last evening meal. The decent was not sO easy. I chose a possible way down a wet slabby gut. Harry belayed me down. The rope was That night low cloud surrounded the basin and in the not long enough to allow me to reach the Isobel glacier morning we packed up and dropped down to Aspiring Hut below. Harry had a difficult time down climbing while I for lunch. Down in the valley it was fine with light rain belayed him. I lowered him, once he came level with me, falling up on the ranges. Of the seven days it had rained to the snow. Then it was my turn. It was 8:30 pm when for four. Not too bad as we had accomplished all the we roped up yet again with coils. It was then that we climbing we had planned with Mt Tyndall as an extra. were able to look back and see that an easier descent Harry will have to go back some other time to get into the route was only a few metres to our right. Next time we head of the Arawata. It had been some years since I had will know. Still Harry did say that he learnt more done a transalpine trip, SO for me, this trip was really climbing down that gut than on all the AICS that he has rewarding. been on. The Smith-Fletcher Bivy Rock (Harry Smith)