The Pyramid – Loop via Sudden Valley

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.

16 CTC trampers started off in style: by crossing freezing Hawdon River. Bryce was extra prepared by bringing his “waterproof” sandals. After some initial short bushbashing we found a vaguely marked but really beautiful ridge track. I found the track superb with a few scrambly fun parts, likely my favorite bush track in Canterbury.

We took a break on the bushline and continue up. More scrambly parts together with superb weather made me think that it may be worth continuing along the ridge and drop down later to Sudden Valley. The scrambly parts just didn’t look too fund on the way back. The group agreed so after reaching the top and another break we kept going along the ridge. It was quite an easy ridge travel but pt1565 is a bit tricky and I wouldn’t be happy there on a rainy or icy day. It’s got some exposure so some extra care needs to be taken when bypassing around it.

Once after the pt1565 beast, we dropped down on a first-class scree slope. The last few hundreds of meters were just another bushbashing fun. Once in Sudden Valley, we took another decent break. Going out of Sudden Valley was fun with quite a few river crossings.

The whole trip was great. It could become one of my favorite trips in Canterbury if it wasn’t for that bloody pt1565 peak! This was my 19th peak of my 52PeakChallenge!

Tramped on: 2nd May 2021.

Rough stats: 12 km, 1200 m up, 8 hours.

Participants: Michal Klajban, Glenn McKinlay, Stephen Lukey, Carmela Terrobias, Simon Barr, Jonathan Carr, Andrew Ecker, Louise Petrie, Bett Koch, Alan Ross, Liam Dangerfield, Richard Kimberley, Kate Taylor, Louis Jensen, Xiaoqiu Jiang and Bryce Williamson.

Map

Total distance: 12153 m
Max elevation: 1621 m
Min elevation: 549 m
Download file: GPX-hikingisgood-com-nz-2021-the-pyramid.gpx

About the Author

Michal
I lived a pretty ordinary life for a while. I did my studies, my second studies, my third studies, my first job, my second job, and my third job. I wasn’t really sure what’s going on so, in 2014, I left my home country (Czechia) to learn about the world. I’m still not sure what’s going on but I enjoy it much more. I lived in a few countries before settling in New Zealand.

2 Comments on "The Pyramid – Loop via Sudden Valley"

  1. Hi Michael, the track you described here is a true gem.👌
    We might have left a bit light headed but a so happy we challenged the hike.
    Bevore that I just had one or two rivercrossings and tended to take of the shoes. These times are over😅
    Sadly we have to return home now. But will definitely come back to explore more. And I will keep your blog in mind with is really nice to get ideas where to go.
    Stay safe and have a great time
    Daniel and Jana

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