Following our
mildest June ever we finally had a run of cold weather and some
serious snow up in the local Tararua mountain range.
The forecast for the
weekend was for cold but sunny weather, so I decided to head up into
the hills. The target for the trip was Powell Hut which is the most
accessible of the high level Taraura huts.
The start of the walk.
I parked up at the
Holdsworth roadend and was greeted with the awesome sight of snow
capped peaks. I set off on the Gentle Annie track which ascends up
600m or so to Pig Flat. The track is aptly named and is beautifully
engineered and graded and about the easiest way of going up hill
short of not going up hill. Unlike most Tararua tracks, there are a
number of more open sections which give some great views of the tops
but also act as a reminder of how far one has to go.
This was taken on one of the more open sections of the Gentle Annie track.
There was no snow on
this section but what there was was lots of bird life. I saw dozens
of birds and heard many more. To put this into context, in the past I
have rarely seen any any signs of bird life in this area. So why the
difference? The difference is that the area has been subject to a
pest eradication program involving among other things, 1080. 1080 is
extremely toxic and is used in the form of pellets which are
dispersed by plane and are used to kill non-indigenous species. The
1080 drops are a contentious subject in this part of the world with a
vocal minority of people opposed to its use. They claim that the
pellets kill family pets and poison waterways among other things. The
odd family pet has indeed been killed over the years but a quick walk
through the woods reveals how effective 1080's use is, and in my
opinion, without it we would have no native wildlife at all. I
suspect many opponents idea of the great outdoors is sipping a latte
outside on a sunny day and have little idea of the grim reality for
most native species. Anyway, enough of the rant and on with the walk.
Similar to the previous picture but taken at a wider angle.
After crossing Pig
Flat the track becomes quite steep and heads up through lush bush
which gradually starts to become more sparse and stunted as altitude
is gained. I soon started to come across small
patches of snow until after about 40 minutes or so I was walking
through deep snow. The final section of the track used to involve
some minor scrambling up rocks and tree roots but has been upgraded
recently with these sections now covered by wooden stairs. I have
mixed feelings about the upgrade. The stairs certainly make this
section of the walk easier but also means that it has lost some of
its character and some of its fun. Having said that, the snow was
very icy and slippery and the stairs were certainly a more appealing
option than the rocks.
The higher I went the more I saw of this stuff.
These were put in about a year ago, before that it was all done the old fashioned way.
Eventually the track
starts to emerge above the trees onto an open ridge and it was here
that the wind really hit hard and the temperature plummeted, so it
was a welcome sight when the hut came into view.
Taken on the final ridge up to the hut.
When climbing up
steep hills like this, even in freezing temperatures, I tend to wear
just shorts and a tee shirt. This is all fine, but as soon as I stop
then on comes the cold and on go the layers. The next job was to get
a brew going and think about what to do next.
The last little bit to Powell Hut. The snow was starting to get pretty deep by this point.
I had been
considering climbing Mt Holdsworth which is about an hours climb
above the hut but all of this is above the tree line and in these
conditions not to taken lightly. I met another tramper at the hut who
had ventured a short way up but was beaten back by white-out
conditions, so that put paid to that.
All that was left
was to have another cup of tea and beat a tactical retreat back down
again. This wasn't without its hazards as the ice made for a very
tricky descent at times, but as soon as I cleared the snowline the
wind dropped, the sun appeared and all was right with the world.
