Unconventional SK and a scramble up and down memory lane

Having had my West Coast dreams crushed by the wet weather over the Christmas break, I was waiting for a fine spell to do something local but interesting, which presented itself in the form of a Carkeek SK (Schormann’s-Kaitoke) with a twist in the first week of January. Several people in the club had been … Read more

WTMC Talks: A nearly solo weekend SK Tararua traverse

photo of the Tararua mountain range

WTMC member Megan Sety will talk about her successful (nearly) solo traverse North to South of the Tararua mountain range known as a SK (Schormann – Kaitoke) traverse via the main range. The traverse gains some 6800 metre of elevation over roughly 80 km. *WTMC social nights are open to WTMC Club members and the … Read more

A very short and circular “SK”

When I put an “SK” on the schedule for Easter weekend, I envisaged four glorious sunny windless days on the tops of the Tararua Ranges. More than one fellow club member laughed at me for such an ambitious trip over a typically mixed bag weather weekend. However, right up until the week before, I was … Read more

SK Main Range Traverse in sub-48 hours

I first heard about this challenge a year or so ago when I found out about the book full of all the previous trip reports, most recently updated and published by Tony and Megan from our club. The challenge itself started out with the simple rule that you need to work until closing time Friday, … Read more

Schormann – Kaitoke new record! First woman to run under 24 hours.

The Schormann to Kaitoke (S-K) traverse of the Tararuas has been on the hit list of many trampers since the early 1960s when it was first suggested that it may be possible to do the trip in a weekend. This was finally achieved in October 1963, and was  then followed by many more in subsequent years. Later … Read more

“It’s all downhill from here…” – A sensible SK trip

Be sure to check out all of Tony G’s photos. Megan had advertised in a newsletter earlier in the year that she would be leading a sensible SK trip over the Easter. Sensible in that it would be done over 4 days and all punters would keep their trousers on for the duration of the … Read more

Not your usual Tararua tramp

We were rushing to get out of town on Friday night and eat a fast dinner, because David Heffernan and Shay had planned to tackle the SK challenge – the North to South crossing of the Tararuas in under 48 hours. Since the Medium and Medium-Fit trips for the weekend only had one punter and … Read more

Schormann – Kaitoke Traverse in a weekend

Editor’s note: Since 1997 some keen WTMC members led by Lindsay Cuthbertson have been publishing a little know guide called “Accounts of week-end, two-day and 24-hour Schormann – Kaitoke (or Putara-Kaitoke) traverses of the Tararuas, North Island, New Zealand, via the Main Range, Tarn Ridge, the rivers and in reverse!” I’ll be looking to update … Read more