Our target for the weekend was Blue Lake Hut, nestled in the Nelson Lakes National Park next to reputedly the clearest water in the world – Blue Lake with 80 meters of visibility. Walking in and out on the same track, we conservatively estimated eight hours of tramping each day. Our weekend jaunt to the … Read more
Over Easter weekend I was on a climbing holiday in Takaka and having a very excellent time; and looking forward to a tramping trip over the ANZAC weekend up to the summit of Faerie Queene (a mountain in the Spenser range, just south of the Nelson Lakes). The plan was simple, head down the St … Read more
Who names a mountain “Hopeless”? By all accounts, “an early survey party with a poor attitude”! Three days before our ferry left Wellington, I carried out my standard ritual of emailing all the trip plans to my Dad. He usually replies with “Thanks Son, be safe out there” or encouraging words to that effect. This … Read more
Holy Cupola! A snowcraft graduates ascent of Mt Cupola in Nelson Lakes National Park Spring was marching on, the snow was melting, and enthusiasm for alpine trips appeared to be on the wane. I felt like I hadn’t squeezed enough out of my snowcraft experience yet, so when Tony G offered Angelus trip-goers another bite … Read more