Emily and Sienna came down to visit me in the deep South and they timed it well for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, so there is no excuse not to go to the mountains! Our first thought was to do the Humpridge track off-season (as normal pricing for freedom walk with two nights on a bunk bed and nothing more would be nearly $300, which I had difficulty justify for myself even though I know the track would be amazing).
The weather forecast was pretty poor for the weekend so I postponed my Mt Norma trip and offered a local Mt Herbert adventure instead. In the morning, we left a couple of cars at the end of Monument Track and one at the start of Packhorse Track where we all started.
Avalanche Peak is the most famous mountain in Arthur’s Pass National Park, New Zealand. It’s also the mountain that gets often underestimated, especially if you take Scotts Track on the way up because it’s much easier and the rocky exposed tops may come as a surprise.
I had this very ambitious plan: going to Sudden Valley, climb Mt Scott and Mt Wilson and come back. All that in a day. Kate Taylor was keen to join so off we went, leaving Christchurch just after 6 am.
There wasn’t any CTC trip for the coming weekend. The weather forecast was so good that I just couldn’t resist putting a trip out. I chose The Pyramid where I wanted to go for a while.
The plan was simple: Go from Traverse Peak to Trovatore. The forecast wasn’t too bad, a wee bit cloudy with moderate winds. After arriving at Lewis Pass, the tops were in clouds. We followed a well marked track to the bushline where we had a wee lunch and off we went towards Traverse Peak.
Winter is coming so I thought I’d go high until I can. I also thought about giving my #52peakschallenge good boost as I’ve been always just a wee bit behind to make to 52 by the end of the year.
Another 2 peaks in a day! I did it as a CTC trip as I committed this year to lead a trip a month. Main points from the trip (I have a baby you know, I can’t write novels anymore).
Since I’ve got myself into #52peakschallenge this year, I naturally started looking for places where I can climb 2 peaks in one day. Packard Peak (2066m) had been dragging my attention that week as there was a possibility to climb Mid Hill on the same day. It also didn’t seem to be very popular among Christchurchians which is always a plus.
9 early birds met at Z Russley at 7am from where we drove to Arthur’s Pass Village. We parked at a wee car park at the end of Mount Bealey Road and off we went to battle a steep hill. Somewhere in the middle of this initial steep and bushy part most of us appreciated the early start as the sun was already up, shining harshly on our sweaty backs.