09 Jan 2011 – Avalanche Peak (Arthur’s Pass)

This is the day we are going to tackle the Avalanche Peak at the top of Arthur’s Pass).  This is the most popular day walk as it is the only peak in Arthur’s Pass that is marked by a poled route to the summit.  The climb is 1,100 m (3600 feet) and on a fine day (like today) you have grand views of the surrounding peaks, particularly Mt. Rolleston/Kaimatau and the Crow Glacier on it.   We are taking the Scotts track since it is 2 ½ km to the top but is stated to be easier than the other route Avalanche track which climbs the same height but in 1 ½ km.

As we climbed the track we had great views almost from the beginning.  In particular we were able to see Devil’s Punchbowl Falls which are across the valley. 

As we climbed the views just got better and I had a tough time sorting out the pictures I took later.   The sight that caught our attention the most was the Kea (green Parrott) that was flying around at the summit.  More interesting, the Kea seemed to enjoy posing for pictures, but watch out if you set ANYTHING down because the Kea was right there to try to take it.  One person at the summit left his backpack open and when he was not looking the Kea was pulling out the bags he had in the backpack.

I took my camera and tripod up (very light weight one) and I was concerned that when I was using the timer to take a picture of Wes and I, the Kea would knock over the stand.  Fortunately he did not.

Another view that really was impressive was the glacier on Mt. Rolleston/Kaimatau called Crow Glacier.  The elevation here is not that high, but apparently they get so much snow from the Tasman Sea moisture during the winter that it creates the packed snow and glaciers.  We plan to explore some more before we finish here.

You may have noticed that I have not mentioned the track.  Again it was 3600 feet elevation gain (1100 meters) and the distance we traveled to the peak was only 2 ½ hours.  To give you a bit of perspective the Grouse Grind is almost 3 km in length and climbs 2800 feet.  So the distance here was shorter and the climb was 1/3 more.  VERY Steep.

Ok, now the condition of the track – ok WHAT TRACK?  I have to explain that the first few feet of the track were almost straight up from road level.  And this was the good part.  Most of the track for the first half was through various sized trees/shrubs but hard to call it woods. It was sub-alpine growth.  The track snakes up the hillside following the water drainage path.  We were constantly looking at our feet as we walked since there were loose rocks, (loose and bedrock), tree roots and large erosion sections where we had to step up 2 plus feet using roots, rocks and soil for footing.

As we got to the Alpine area we started to walk up the ridgeline but this really was something else too.  We were going over broken shale, bedrock and loose small pebbles.  Remember this is the longest type of stair master you could imagine.  We are climbing steeply and focused totally on our footing going up using our poles and often needing to use our hands to grip and pull upward. 

Finally as we neared the peak we are walking on narrow rock ridges that are no better than the Alpine walk we had been doing.  Wes is incredible when climbing he is a goer but me I am plugger, slow but sure.  We took 2 ½ hours to reach the peak which is considered average.  Officially the trail is stated to be a 6-8 hour return.  So I felt that we did good in getting up in our time.  Then took pictures, ate our lunch, enjoyed the views and started the return trek.  That was almost as hard but at least we were not sucking for air like before.

The way down really took as much concentration as going up.  This time I as more comfortable going down and Wes is cautious.  In fact he was having a bit of pain in one of knees which is a bit worrisome but not too serious so likely he will not have it checked out.  He did put on the knee support I carry in my backpack and that helped.  Remember this is an unusually steep and long downward trail. 

We managed to reach the end of the trail in 6 1/4 hours which includes the time for lunch and pictures.  We celebrated by stopping and buying an ice cream cone which the young guy who served us put on more than normal amount – but we did not complain.

We then drove to the west coast town of Hokitika and tomorrow we will continue to reposition to our next adventure.  Details to come.