High Expectations

Text taken from the club newsletter.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Mt Angelus post-snowcraft Alp 1 trip by MAJ-BRITT ENGELHARDT

Tony had told me, ‘I expect you all to get to the top and to all have a good time there’. Good doesn’t start to describe this trip.

Day 1

Tirteen of us boarded the ferry just before 5 pm—10 in the van, three in a car. Juan lef us at Picton for his own adventures on the Queen Charlotte Track—not to be seen again until Monday. About 10 pm we arrived at Kowhai Point campground, back to a lucky 13 afer having picked Jacob up from Blenheim. Head torches on, then two tents up, and for the rest, a few quick lessons in putting up the two large club flies and for most, longer lessons in why having a bivvy bag is good under a fly.

Day 2

Next morning, dew-sodden tents and flies were stuffed into tiny bags. White (Saturday) and yellow (Sunday) plastic bags of food were passed around before the half-hour drive to Nelson Lakes National Park.

Afer van-car shuffling, we split into two groups at Robert Ridge carpark—a faster group (Team F), led by Mike—with Bart, Jacob, Emily F, George and Uta. Emily

S led our group of seven (Team A).

A few minutes up the track, Uta joined us. Team F was not spotted again until we saw George’s silhouette waving and yelling at us from the ridge by the hut.

We snaked our way up, up, and up the well-groomed Pinchgut track, enjoying the vistas but with a few doubts as to how much Snowcraf there’d be as the only white visible was on the tops of distant mountains. Afer about an hour Relax Hut was the perfect place for our first morning tea and Caryl’s delicious homemade Bliss Bombs.

At the intersection with the Bushline Hut track to our delight. snow patches appeared.

Soon we were walking on snow like real Snowcrafers, with Matt fully looking the part with his reflective goggles.

About half an hour later as the snow was getting harder, and the traverses more difficult, we put our crampons on and took out ice axes over another morning tea break.

Te next few hours were spent applying sunscreen and soaking up the scenery—snowy peaks beside us and more mountains and valleys around—as we climbed and sidled towards the hut. Afer a few nervous stretches for some we stopped to fix crampons as an excuse for lunch, and more ‘wows’ as we looked out.

About 3 pm, the first of Team A arrived at Angelus Hut, filling billies to melt afer seeing the note from Team F, ‘No running water, hole in lake, follow our footprints— don’t go alone.’

Navigating the blocks of ice on the hut veranda and benches, more crampons, boots and helmets finally came off and our group made themselves at home in the hut.

Team F had arrived there about 1 pm, lunched (as Emily F had been told there was no time on the way), and in their words, ‘Lef at 2.40 pm, doing an anti-clockwise loop of the ridge around the lake, back at 5 pm.’

Almost right on time we saw five small dots approach the hut from the Mt Cedric Track end.

With all back the hut turned into activity central— yoga sessions, dinner preparations, climbing across table undersides, photography, reading and more.

Finally—dinner—quiet—sleep.

Day 3

Afer suggestions of climbing Mt Angelus for the sunrise, with a serious alpine start of 3 am, Bart had the genius idea of going up the nearby small ridge instead.

With alarms ringing at 4.30 am, we were on the slopes at 5 am only to be waiting up there for over an hour. Sprinting, dancing, walking, hand-rubbing among the actions to keep warm waiting for the few moments of sunrise. First patches of sun on the nearby mountains, and then finally, an arc, then the globe, rose. Magic!

Back at the hut 15 minutes later for breakfast, packed up ready to hit the mountain within an hour.

Mike, Bart, Emily F and Jacob (Team F4) led the way. With some smart route finding, we reached Sunset Saddle afer about an hour and with less difficulty than I’d expected.

Seven of us dumped packs for the final stretches to the top but the F4 continued up fully laden.

Te higher and closer we got, the more our front- pointing and other Snowcraf training was put into use, with some scree thrown in at patches just to keep us on our toes even more. Only a few more stretches, the steepness eased and at last, the summit.

When all 10 of us were up, there were few words but lots of hugging and happy sounds as all our expectations were exceeded.

Peaks. Snow. Magnificent. Mountains. Every direction. Tis is what the word ‘awesome’ really means.

But then for the down! Uta, side stepping, smoothly slalomed down while most of us more tentatively faced into the mountain taking it step by step.

At the bottom, we caught up with Aimee, Matt and Jacob, who most of us joined for a leisurely morning tea break as we waited for the last few from the summit.

Now for the Hopeless part of our trip.

A final few metres of up and over the saddle before our descent down Hopeless Creek towards Travers Valley. Team F4 sped ahead, leaving a helpful path of steps and footprints in the snow.

Most of the next few hours were stretches of short traverses followed by drops to the next small gully, giving us plenty of opportunity to practise various Snowcraf techniques, some more than others.

Across one of the side crossings, Avalanche Aimee swifly self-arrested, as small piles of snow rolled on her from above before tumbling into the valley. Tracey, though, took the record, with two quick self-arrests afer a couple of short slips on the traverses.

Afer reaching another thinnish crossing to reach the sofer snow that Matt and Emily slid down (deliberately), digging their ice axes, I opted to go straight down instead, with soon a trail of small figures sidestepping and front- pointing down towards me.

Continuing down the creek, the snow started to change again. We hit patches of small bushes and alpine grasses that were slipperier than the snow and easier to cross with crampons than without. About 10 minutes later we could see the snow end.

Getting off was more challenging, as the closer we got to the scree the sofer and deeper the snow seemed to get. With only about 50 m of snow lef to go, I caught one leg in a snow hole, with the snow too sof for the ice axe to grip into. Tanks to a good tip from Emily S (take a heavy pack off when trying to lever out) I made it out.

We all had a late, long lunch break at the start of the scree, soaking up sun, and for George and Uta, some snoozing.

We were now officially back on a track, having found our first cairn at our lunch spot.

With less than half an hour skidding down the scree track and some rubble-walking we saw an orange triangle taking us into the bushline and a path back on the map.

About an hour later we reached Hopeless Hut expecting to enjoy afernoon tea inside only to see it living up to its name with broken windows and the door strapped closed with ‘DANGER’ tape warning of avalanches. Fortunately, we’d timed our trip when the risks were low.

As a reconvened whole group we all deferred deciding where to camp until the intersection with the Travers- Sabine track about 1-1½ hours walk away. Afer what now seemed like easy strolling tracks, with a couple of small river crossings to keep us on our toes (and wet our feet), we reached the Hopeless track-end, with more ‘DANGER’ tape closing the track.

Te consensus was to continue onto Lakehead Hut even though it meant an hour or so walking in the dark. Weighed up against the possibility of an earlier ferry the next day, and not sleeping under the large flies, another 2½-3 hrs walking seemed appealing. We all powered on the now easier track. Caryl’s new (stiff) mountain boots crunched behind me. Te almost full moon rose as we walked through the grasses on dusk. A wild pig ran across our path (and went on to live another day). Finally—a beacon of light—the hut, but still a few ‘k’s away.

At 7:30 pm, the first reached Lakeside Hut 16½ hours afer we’d first hit the snow that day. From a 5 am start for sunset, with an hour back at the hut for breakfast, and a few stops on the way, there were a lot of tired and some sore bodies by the time the last came in just afer 8 pm.

Dinner preparations were quickly underway. With full bowls, 13 very hungry people went suddenly very quiet.

A veteran tramper, who thought she’d have the hut to herself, filled in the silence with history about the hut and a wealth of other tramping stories. All 14 of us were in bed by 9:30 pm and sound asleep not long afer.

Day 4

Monday morning, 6 am wakeup to get the earlier ferry. All set to go at 7 am. A few group photos and then an easy walk back on the well-marked route by the lake.

Happy faces arrived back at Kerr Bay carpark. As boots came off, we were greeted by swarms of sandflies— and many painful blisters which had been stoically hidden and walked on.

Lunch at Picton, there was still no word from Juan who was to return in the van from there. At the ferry terminal Emily S calmly explained that Juan wasn’t with us but should and might be and Jacob who wasn’t with us on the way over wasn’t Juan and should be with us.

At Wellington station, 13 of us unloaded packs, carrying home stories and photos of a spectacular Snowcraf trip, and us already planning our next one.

Special thanks to Emily S for leading, Mike for co- leading, and Tony Gazley for organising and mentoring the trip—despite not being able to join us.

Trampers: Emily Shrosbree (leader), Mike Wilson (co-leader), Matt Conway, Maj-Britt Engelhardt (trip reporter), Aimee Paterson, Bart Stiggelbout, Caryl Ramos, Emily Fifield, George Bowman, Jacob Stiggelbout, Tracey Avolio, Uta Benecke, Yenfei Chan.

P.S. Juan made it back safely to Wellington that evening with his own happy tales to tell.