I first scheduled this trip in June. Four full moons later, all the necessary variables (such as snow, clear skies, and no gale wind) finally aligned, and the trip was finally on. What’s more, it coincided with a supermoon and a blue moon! Sixteen CTC members gathered at 5 PM at Z Russley. We stopped at the Springfield bathrooms to change into our winter clothes. This action proved to be very efficient because once we arrived at Porter’s Pass, it was freezing cold. The wind was already quite strong, which made me wonder whose idea it was to go up there on a cold night. Oh well… The moon began to rise just as we got out of the car. Emma suggested I should claim that it was part of the plan, which I did. Not much pep talk was needed this time, as we had a very agile and highly organised group full of CTC veterans.
We started trudging up, and about 30 minutes into the tramp, we put on our crampons. I had originally intended to regroup on the false summit, but once I got there, it was clear that nobody wanted to wait too long in the wind that was quite strong at times. We reached the top of Foggy Peak in about two hours, took some photos, had a quick dinner, and began our descent. Most of the members were wearing balaclavas, so I couldn’t tell who was who until they started talking. Thirteen out of the sixteen participants successfully summited. We barely needed our head torches. We were back in our cars around 9:30 PM and back in town by 10:30 PM. It was a very memorable trip. Some folks suggested that next time we could make it to Castle Hill Peak!
Stats: 5.8 km, 3h 15min, 850m ascent
Participants: Michal Klajban (leader, scribe, GPX), Emma Rogers, Brenda O’Donoghue, Anthony Clark, Mark Nicholls, Lynette Hartley, Monika Bratownik, Sam Meeks, Faith Burnett, Paul Yeoman, Barney Stephenson, Louise Petrie, Chris McGimpsey, Mary Ogburn, Manpreet (Mani) Singh, Phillip Wallis
Tramped on 31st August 2023.
The route taken on NZ Topo Map.
Photos
Map
Max elevation: 1748 m
Min elevation: 939 m
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