Climbing in the Remarkables and at Wye Creek, Queenstown, NZ

It was nice to find time for a climbing weekend with my friend Lauren, after a little deliberation we decided  to do some traditional climbing in the Remarkables close to Queenstown. Lauren knew a couple of young ladies, Annika and Christina, who wanted to go sport climbing at Wye Creek and were willing to share the cost of petrol. Gasoline is twice as expensive here as in the states so the more the merrier. We left my place on Memorial Ave in Christchurch in mid-afternoon for the 6 hour drive to Queenstown; a beautiful drive down into Otago and by the Southern Lakes. We were fortunate to have a beautiful day and stopped at Lake Pukaki to stretch our legs and take a few photos.

The intrepid explorer Lauren Brown discovers Aoraki (Mt Cook)

Mount Cook across Lake Pukaki

Annika, Christina, Lauren, and the Vagabond

After the break we jetted on down to Wye Creek, another 3 hours or so,  and set up camp for the night. Wye Creek is in the Remarkables Range about 12 Km south of Queenstown so there is a nice view across Lake Wakatipu. 

Sunrise over Queenstown and Ben Lamond across Lake Wakatipu.  

I talked about climbing Ben Lamond in the February Blog, "Travelling in the Southern Lakes". The walk goes up to the saddle between the two higher peaks and then ascends the ridge on the left. A couple of day later I circumnavigated Ben Lamond with my bicycle, going up the Shotover River Gorge and then down by Moke Lake before riding the road back into town. 

After breakfast, Lauren and I drove up to the Remarkables Ski Basin for some alpine climbing above Alta Lake and below the summit of Double Cone. 

View of Queenstown and the Kawarau River Valley from the road up to the Remarkables Ski Basin

Lauren walking up to Alta Lake towards Double Cone

Alta Lake and Double Cone

Lauren contemplating the face and scoping out routes

Lauren on the sharp end looking for somewhere to place protection. The rock is beautiful schist but doesn't offer many competent placements so tends to get a little run out. 

Lauren climbing up pitch 2 with Alta lake below. My camera decided to stop opening the shutter completely :(

We had a fun climb hoawever getting off the crag got a little interesting with a bit of tussock climbing and gully scrambling. As we hiked out around Alta Lake and down through the ski area we saw a pair of Keas or alpine parrots who were interested in the construction equipment at the ski area. The Kea are known to be mischievous and love to break into things. We enjoyed the views as we drove down the ski basin road and back to Wye Creek to meet the ladies who were sitting in the parking area enjoying some nachos when we arrived. The next morning we walked up to the crag to do some sport climbing. We couldn't ask for a more lovely place to climb. 

Wye Creek Crag from the parking area. 

Christina leading and Annika on belay. 

Christina on lead, you can see the beautiful schist with the different colors and wavy patterns. 

This is me on a convenient ledge before heading up the headwall of the Mission, grade 16 (5.8ish)

View from the crag across Lake Wakatipu you can see the prominent roof on the left which where the next few photos were taken.

Lauren getting ready to climb a 23 (5.11d)

Vagabond belay

Lauren working the moves

Annika showing us how it's done, grade 23

Annika almost around the corner

Up on the vertical face, you can see how steep the roof is from this photo. 

Annika taking a break and showing off her lovely smile. She climbed this route three times so earned her break. 

Christina climbing a 21(5.11b/c)

Christina photo op before turning the corner. 

Final clip before getting on the upper face. 

This stream flows down beside the crag and is a main water supply for town. 

The trail goes along the top of the water pipe and is one of the more interesting approaches I've seen. We stopped at the intake and filled our water bottles. Most places in the mountains of New Zealand you can drink right out of the streams.

We had a great weekend with beautiful warm weather but were all fairly knackered on the 6 hour drive back to Christchurch.  

Ice Climbing on Fox Glacier, March 2nd & 3rd

I was hanging out in the Golden Bay area when Tasha invited me to meet at Fox Glacier for some ice climbing. It was time to see some more of the West Coast and I was excited to get back together with my friends and do something fun. John and I headed down to Fox Glacier on Saturday afternoon after breaking our toys in Hokitika; I guess that was as good a sign as any that we should do something different. Tasha and Paul Barr met us at the Backpackers where we had booked a room for the weekend. They arrived bearing lots of food and refreshments so we immediately gathered in the kitchen to start cooking and catching up. New Zealand is set up well for travelling; the Backpackers Hostels and Holiday Parks usually have nice kitchens, dining areas, media rooms, and lounges to hang out in whether you are staying in a room or sleeping in a van or tent; most also have internet for a reasonable price. We had a room for four which was nice and got upgraded so we had our own bathroom and kitchenette; not a bad place to spend a few days. The weather wasn't great on Sunday but we went up to the glacier in spite of it. Unfortunately we were short one set of crampons so Tasha volunteered to sit out the day which was sad but since it was rainy I think she may have been the smart one. We arrived in the car park and pulled in next to a woman who was fixing breakfast in the back of her vehicle. I jumped out and said something like "It's breakfast time", she looked at me and said "I know you"; it was Emily and Steve from England who I had picked up at the north end of the Heaphy Track and given a ride to Takaka. It's a small world and an even smaller New Zealand. Emily told me that in New Zealand you see everyone twice. Following a brief reunion, Paul, John and I geared up and hiked up to the glacier. Paul had done some guiding on the glaciers (Fox and Franz Josef) and is very knowledgeable and experienced; we are fortunate to have him as a friend. He showed us where the glacier came to 3 years ago and it has receded significantly. It comes down from the Southern Alps and is, or was, about 15 Km long.  After a little wander around the glacier we found a nice hole to climb out of so Paul set up an anchor using a couple of ice screws. We were lowered into the hole and then climbed out until the rain finally convinced us to leave.

Paul found the perfect hole for climbing, nice view of the ice fall in the background

Yes, this looks good; let's lower into the abyss and climb out

Anchor set up and John is ready to lower in. Paul looks like a happy man.

John climbing

J Paul climbing

J Paul on belay duty, my shiny black jacket is soaking wet but I was happily dry inside. Love the high tech gear. Kiwis never let a little rain spoil their fun. 

Paul showing his expert technique

Looking into the abyss

When we got back to the room Tasha was keen to get some exercise so she, Paul and I drove over to Franz Josef for a hike to the Tatare Tunnel. http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/west-coast/glaciers/tatare-tunnels-walk/  The tunnel was hand excavated 500 meters through hard rock in the late 1800s to channel water through a sluice for gold mining. In 1911 it was reutilized to drive a power house for electricity. We had our lights with us so we slogged through the stream to the other end for a look. I had managed to keep my feet dry through the ice climbing but was now offically wet from top to bottom.  It was worth it though to see another interesting bit of New Zealand history and we got treated to glow worms inside the tunnel. 

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny so Tasha, Paul and I went back to the glacier. Paul spent a little time showing Tasha how to use her crampons as she had not climbed ice before. The day before we spotted a low angle face that would be good for teaching so Paul set an anchor and we climbed until Tasha got comfortable. We then walked to the abyss and climbed the route we had done the day before. Paul then moved the anchor to a spot where I could stand at the bottom of the hole and give Tasha pointers as she climbed. I was a little nervous relinquishing the rope but had faith in my friends not to strand me. This part of the wall wasn't quite as steep although it was a tiny bit overhung at the top; Tasha climbed it like a pro. After we all had a go we decided to pack up and go for a ramble up the glacier to get a closer look at the ice fall. 

Oh what a difference a day can make. Three years earlier the glacier was up to the tree line on the opposite side and extended down to where we crossed the ropes. 

Paul teaching Tasha how to front point and use her axe. 

Mountain me with a view of the ice fall in the background. 

Tasha climbing out of the abyss

Paul belaying Tasha at the top of the climb

Me working those pointy things

Tasha at the bottom with my axes and gloves

Wandering around in the ice fall

Nice view down the valley

Despite the rain on Sunday it was another succesful adventure.  I've been fortunate to experience New Zealand in many ways and am thankful to have found friends to enjoy it with. I've found that it is always the people who make the experience special; may we have many more in the future.

Mountain Biking in Mining Country

I was hanging out in Nelson trying to decide what to do when I got invited to go to Fox Glacier and do some ice climbing. The invitation came from Tasha, who I had not seen in a while; Paul Barr was willing to guide for us and John Rosseter was going down so how could I refuse? It is always more fun to have people to play with and these folks like to play my way.  I had been talking about riding the Queen Charlotte Track on my bike and John was keen to go. I looked at the logistics and the QCT promises to be epic, not from a technically difficult perspective; although it would be challenging, but as a beautiful ride that should not be rushed. On the Queen Charlotte Track you can stop off in a cafe for lunch, sleep in nice accomodations, swim in beautiful spots, gather your own mussels, and ride some great singletrack. Plus, there is a water taxi to and from the ends complete with baggage transfers; how sweet is that? I didn't want to rush it so it is in the future; anybody interested? Instead, I decided to head down to the west coast and hook up with John for some riding a little closer to Fox Glacier. We met in in Reefton which is a  mining town; the City of Light, still getting mileage from the fact they had the first electricity in New Zealand which doesn't keep them from rolling up the sidewalks before the sun goes down. Reefton has a reputation, or at least sells itself, as being a Mountain Bike mecca. I picked up a map of bike trails at the I-site and it looked good. When John arrived I suggested that we go play on some of the easier trails in the afternoon and take on something more difficult on the morrow. Well...... we mounted up and rode out of town, then back in again, seems we're having trouble finding the start of the trail. We finally settled on something that went up, rode a little bit and then pushed. I pushed more than John but this trail was steep and it turned out to be an infinite hill. Every time we thought we were at the top the trail continued up. Finally, we found a trail that was on our map, some sweet single track which lead right up into the swamp. I'm thinking, only in New Zealand can you have a swamp at the top of the ridge. A few hours later we made it down to the river road and headed back to town still 12 Km away.  The sun was setting and we were hoping we could find some place to have a beer and grab a bite to eat. Thankfully the pubs don't shut down quite as early as the rest of town so we were in luck.

Nice colour in the trees alongside the infinite hill

Looking down into Reefton and beyond from the infinite hill

Reefton from above

The Ajax Gold Mine and two tired bicycles; how is that for a double entendre?

Since the easy trails around Reefton wore us out and the rest of the options were long or very steep loops we decided to go over to Westport and see what we could find there. We stopped in the local bike shop which I find is the best way to get the latest info on local trails and spoke to a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic woman who gave us some info on The Old Ghost Road (another adventure for the future if anyone is interested) and some trails around Denniston which is a mining area north of Westport along the coast. They sounded like just what we were looking for so we drove on up. They were mostly two track four wheel drive and mining roads but in a very scenic location so we spent a couple of hours riding, not pushing, and having  a good time. 

John working on my bike which was starting to get finicky 

View towards the coast from the Denniston Plateau

Yours truly enjoying the ride and the scenery

John enjoying his new 29er 

After riding for the afternoon we stopped for groceries and headed back to camp at Reefton for some dinner and a beer. The next day we decided to get a little closer to Fox Glacier and drove down to Hokitika a cute little beach town further south along the coast. We stopped in the bike shop and spoke with Nelson who sent us up to check out the "Jewel of the Crown" of the West Coast Wilderness Trail which is the latest addition to Nga Haerenga, the New Zealand Cycle Trail. http://www.westcoastnz.com/newzealand/west-coast-wilderness-trail/

Nelson told ud we should stop in Cowboy Paradise which is along the trail and spend a few dollars with the owner who is building an Old American Western Town right along the trail. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so you'll have to take my words for it, it was quite an experience. The trail was as advertised, wide and easy, never steep and through some of the amazing New Zealand bush with lots of ferns and beautiful scenery. We rode up a side road as recommended and took abreak along astream that had greenstone veins in some of the boulders. The track down was fast and fun and when we got to Cowbly Paradise we were ready for a break.  We weren't quite ready for what we found there but life is an experience. The proprietor Mike, or "crazy Mike" as we dubbed him first asked us if we were one of the couples they were expecting for the night. Not us, we were neither a couple or staying for the night, just stopping to spend a couple of dollars. He lead us inside to a construction zone which is going to be the main saloon and then out the back to a partially finished deck where he was drinking beer with his construction crew. I'm begining to see why nothing is quite finished yet. Mike did have a cooler with beer and a plywood bar so we sidled up and had one or two along with some very entertaining conversation.  The plan is to build 57 buildings and have an entire town complet with everything you could ever get in an old western town. The shooting galleries were already in place and well used. The idea is you can hire guns to shoot, ride horses, drink whiskey, play poker, and even get a woman; you might be starting to see why we dubbed him crazy Mike. It will be interesting to go back in a year or two and see what kind of progress has been made. 

After we flew back to the car with just a threat of rain we drove into Hokitika to the holiday park and fixed ourselves a well deserved meal. The next day we rode up to a mountain bike network called the Blue Spur after a mine and spent an enjoyable morning riding some sweet single track until we both managed to break our toys. My chain broke and John's freewheel locked up, someone was telling us it was time to take a break from riding and head on down to Fox Glacier to meet Tasha and Paul for some ice climbing. Unfortunately we were a couple of Km outside of town and it wasn't downhill all the way so we had to push. We stopped at the first Chippy we saw and enjoyed some fish and chips before packing up and heading out. 

John enjoying the view of Hokitika Beach

The view southeast from the Blue Spur Tracks, in the morning Mount Cook was visible to the south

View to the east from the Blue Spur

Hokitika River valley to the southeast

John on one of the not so infinite hills

John enjoying the view

Without the clouds you can see Mount Cook from here.