No Fixed Abode: Scramble from the start

Sun 07 Feb 2016 - Arthur‘s Pass - Avalanche Peak

Although the Klondike campsite was a little further from the railway Yvonne still managed to get woken by one train and spent more than an hour trying to get back to sleep. Some screeching birds in the early morning didn’t help so we both awoke somewhat sleepily. Not a good start for a big walking day.

We drove to the car park at the trailhead for breakfast and used the extremely posh toilets there - best so far in NZ in fact. Yvonne nipped over to the DOC centre to confirm the weather forecast was still sunny and dry then off we set.

Our target today was Avalanche Peak, aptly named in winter apparently, at over 1800m and an 1100m climb. While the guide booklet did mention the Avalanche Peak Trail was steep we were not expecting to hit a scramble from the off. In fact the first 1 hour was a very steep trail through the forest with rocky scrambles every 100m or so. Although it was quite tiring we did gain over half the height very quickly, albeit at the expense of getting very hot.

Once above the treeline we were out into the blazing sun but helped by a cooling breeze. Good job we’d both worn our lightweight shorts. Stopping for first lunch we listened to a couple of girls chatting and trying to recognise their language. After enquiring it turned out they were Israeli. We were set for another day of international walkers.

Although not as scrambly as the forest section the path remained steep and wound its way up an ever narrowing ridge through scrub and some surprisingly long almost pampas like grass tussocks. making steady progress we played tag with the Israeli girls as we stopped to admire views and take photos of the surrounding mountains and the steep valley below us. Eventually we dropped across a small col and joined Scott’s Path, which is an alternative way up and our descent route.

By now it was walking poles away and full on two handed scrambling up the final rocky ridge to the summit. About 200m from the summit was a small plateau where many people were gathered. After looking along the very narrow final ridge we could see that the summit was a very small peak and already full of other climbers so we found a place and sat and ate second lunch while admiring the glacier on Mount Rolleston, listening to youngsters chatting in French, German and four people using a language we could not determine.

Eventually several climbers left the summit and after waiting for them to traverse the narrow section we made our visit to the top along the very narrow, very exposed ridge. From the top we had 360 degree views of mountains as far as the eye could see, the higher ones still bearing snow. We didn’t stay too long as there were others waiting so we returned across the narrow ridge then started our descent of Scotts Path.

This route follows another ridgeline down and was a bit more of a scramble so lots of hand holds and dangling down short walls. Eventually we reached a steadier section and unpacked our poles to help protect our poor ageing knees. This route was a little less steep and had great views across the valley to a waterfall we hope to visit tomorrow.

At the tree line we stopped for one final treat - afternoon yoghurt. The sugar always gives us the lift we need for the last couple of hours. We tarried here a while looking at the beautiful waterfall being blown around by the wind when suddenly a Swedish guy appeared behind us asking for a sip of water. He and his girlfriend were not regular walkers and his request was followed by the self admonishing statement of ‘big f***ing mistake only bringing 1 lire of water between us’. He was bright red, shaking and looked in a bad way but fortunately Glenn had plenty of water left and, to the guy’s great relief, let him have plenty. He left in a better state and very grateful.

A steady drop through the trees returned us to the road and after a particularly precarious section walking against the fast moving traffic we reached the van and a nice cup of tea! Much revived we found a great little camping spot just off the road next to a river and far from the railway line!