With only a few weeks notice, I proposed a week long trip to Arthur’s Pass to get some time on the snow. The plan was simple – climb some of the many easy peaks as day trips and come back to the village each night and stay warm and cosy. Organising the trip was also … Read more
It takes courage and skills to organise an alpine tramp for a party of 20 to go all the way from Wellington to Arthur’s Pass, and our amazing Megan Sety had the courage, the skills, and much more. With at least three months of planning, she managed to put together an outstanding frontline of six … Read more
Arthurs Pass to Mt Cook A hiking trip from Arthurs Pass to Mt Cook stopping just short at the Godley Valley when the weather changed for the worse and we ran out of time. This guide covers route details for a 14 day tramp on the east side of the Southern Alps from Arthur’s Pass … Read more
Now I’ve been in New Zealand for 9 months, I thought it was about time for my second overnight tramp with the club. For a Brit, looking at the summer schedule in January was a little confusing, but the Edwards-Hawdon trip looked like a good one; good potential for great views and nice timing for … Read more
I’m not quite sure where to start. The idea to do the 3 passes at Christmas emerged, I think, from Ian’s head sometime in September. From there it spread, multiplied, mutated, entered the Cloud, and finally was brought down to earth again at 6.15pm at the Railway Station the Friday before Christmas, after an epic … Read more
In Arthur’s Pass on Friday night we pack ready for an early start. DJ has a cold and has so far refrained from reminding me that he is on an alpine sabbatical. I decide to sleep in the main room at the Alpine Club Lodge so DJ is not disturbed by me checking my watch … Read more
The closer it gets to a long weekend the more often the weather forecast pages are up on my Internet browsers. No different for this years Easter weekend. The weather patterns coming up over the West Coast of the South Island and over Arthur’s Pass were changing every time new data was uploaded, but had … Read more
“Arthur’s Pass. Arthur’s Pass. This is Goat Pass Hut, Goat Pass Hut” “Go ahead Goat Pass Hut” “Arthur’s Pass, we were wondering if we could get an up to date weather forecast for tomorrow?” (Sounding slightly irritated that anybody would be foolish enough to go into the outdoors based on yesterday’s forecast) “It’s much the … Read more
Accompanied by a light westerly and drizzle we pulled our packs out of the car, switched on our head torches and headed up the Coral track. This could be a short, steep, sticky night time jaunt to the bush line and back if the wind doesn’t abate we joked, philosophical about our chances. Unlike previous … Read more