This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 90, no 11, December 2018
A lovely ski touring trip
November 10th to 11th, 2018
Visiting Wairere Stream or far side of the Pinnacles Our group of four, Lisa, Dave, Marcus and I, spent a cosy night at our favourite backpackers, The Crossing. Having all been tired and sleeping like babies, we started the day feeling energized and ready. Up to the top of Bruce Road, we drove to the car park and started our stroll up towards the snow, hiding our boots in amongst the rocks and equipping our ski gear as the untouched powder waited for us. As we skinned up, our experienced and brave guides Marcus and David encouraged us as we kick-turned our way to the top. At the cloudy peak, we peeled off our skins and clipped our boots in, ready to sail on our skis down the other side. Although not so confident in my ability at first, we all managed to make it down to the bottom, as our beautiful campsite was revealed. Atop some volcanic rocks, we decided to set up camp and get the chai on. Although it was a tiring but rewarding day, it seemed like one of our members had a bit too much energy, which ended up with them almost being swept through a freezing river underneath the snow. Luckily, we all safely made it back up to the top the next morning with a beautiful, sunny run down the other side. With a quick lunch break and a technical ride down to the carpark, the gear was off and packed away. Back into the car and off we went, ending up in good old Wellington.
- Party members
- Marcus Baguley, David Grainger, Lisa Grainger, Clark McLauchlan (scribe)