JUMBO TO HOLD- SWORTH An alpine warm-up B y the time the ‘big storm’ hit Wellington and brought snow to the Tararuas, my feet were itching for some opportunist crampon action. On Saturday 29 June, Natascha (a former WTMC member back in Welly for a few months of work) and I headed off for a snowy Jumbo-Holdworth tramp. We had tried to do this tramp in autumn of 2012 before Natascha returned to Germany, but were turned back at Jumbo by strong winds.
Fuelled by Greytown bakery delights we walked quickly on the renovated track to Atiwhakatu hut and upwards to Jumbo hut. At 915 m altitude we arrived at the first patches of snow. Our walking slowed a bit as we stepped carefully on the snowy ground, sometimes sinking up to our knees in the semi-firm snow. We met a couple of tall trampers who had come across from Powell Hut—apparently hard going with lots of thighdeep snow to fall into. Undeterred by this we kept going upwards. We marvelled at the eerie stillness, the sculptural effect of the snow on the vegetation and then the snowy views as we emerged from the trees—amazed at the transformation snow made to a familiar landscape. Jumbo hut, our destination for Saturday night, was surrounded by firm snow, which was reassuring. The water pipes were frozen but we found some water beneath a block of ice in an outside sink and had a brew.
With crampons on and ice-axe in hand we set off for the rest of the afternoon to do a reccy walk up towards Jumbo peak to test the snow and get our ‘alpine legs’ back in action before our crossing to Powell hut tomorrow. It was pretty damn fine, tramping like John Wayne along a reasonably defined path of firm snow with more grand vistas. Surely better than Texas! As we got higher the wind did get stronger and the snow firmer. We turned around and stopped at a wee basin closer to the hut to practise self-arresting as dusk arrived.
It was a busy night in the almostfull hut. Another group of trampers (who coincidentally were neighbours) were also planning on crossing to Powell hut tomorrow. After dinner we boiled water for our water bottles—until closer inspection revealed food debris in the water source. Hmm—so began the tedious business of melting snow and boiling it. The worrisome business of wondering about the already- consumed tainted water also began. We didn’t fancy emergency night time trips along the icy path to the loo.
The stars and frost were out, and the alarm was set for 5:30 am. We both slept cosily and well. But the background noise of wind permeated my sweet dreams. At 5:30 am I woke and went outside—clear sky with clumps of tussock near the hut waving furiously in the wind. I snuggled back into my bag and we agreed to sleep in till 6:30ish.
About 8 am, Natascha and I set off to Jumbo. The snow was perfect and the wind was manageable. We tramped at a smooth and steady pace up towards Jumbo, with some photo breaks to capture the ice formations on alpine vegetation. The views of the snowy ranges to the south and northwest were amazing and took our minds off the strong gusts that hit us occasionally. Within an hour we were at the top of Jumbo. So far the going had been good—the wind was bearable, we were warm, only a few steps where we fell into the snow up to our knees. Natascha made more photos and then we set off on the ridge towards Mt Holdsworth.
My memory kicked in and I started to get a bit hesitant about a narrow exposed section of the ridge that was coming up. When we arrived at it, it was just that and the snow was softish. So Natascha took the lead and sauntered through it. I carefully stepped along on the snowy crest and then down climbed and traversed underneath a rocky section joining up with Natascha. After that much of the travel to Point 1367 was straightforward but with the wind getting stronger and the visibility getting poorer. Looking back we could just see the other group of trampers descending towards us from Jumbo.
In the saddle below Point1367 we stopped for a snack sheltered from the wet, strong wind. The visibility was just ok but with the combination of a bit of a foot pad and an easy ridge to follow we weren’t worried about losing our way. It was a relief that even in this lower section the tracts of deep soft snow we had been told about didn’t really eventuate—the overnight freeze meant there were only a few places where we sank up to our thighs, but nothing continuous and energy-sapping.
We started climbing, with the wind at the ‘just about to blow you over’ strength. At the junction with the East Holdsworth track we resisted the temptation to take that track for fast relief from the wind. We braced ourselves and pushed on up towards Mt Holdsworth—not that we could see it in the clag. There were some patches here where the snow was deeper and softer and we hauled ourselves out of these by grabbing onto the vegetation. Surprisingly soon we arrived at the ice-encrusted sign that pointed us to the Mt Holdsworth trig. We made our final bid for the summit for photos of the icy trig and grey clag!
As we descended from Mt Holdworth the clag came and went and there were some sections where the wind felt its strongest. This bit also seemed to drag on forever— at one point I wondered if we had taken a detour down High Ridge. We were both getting hungry and were over the wind so we stopped for a snack and to check the map. The clag cleared for a bit and we were able to work out that we were on the rambling ridge down to Powell Hut. Fortified we continued and as we got lower the wind eased and the sun appeared along with views into the valleys below.
After about an hour from the summit and 4 hours 45 minutes after leaving Jumbo Hut we arrived at Powell hut in the sun. We had some reviving brews and a leisurely lunch, feeling weary, wind-blasted and exulted by the successful alpine crossing.
With ice axe, and crampons on, we descended the icy track until the snow stopped at about 900 m altitude. After this it was quick tramping back to the carpark on the DoC super highway, with some dusky views of the snowy ranges from Rocky Lookout.
Jumbo Hut Looking back at Jumbo (in the cloud)
Natascha at the iced-up Mt Holdsworth trig
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