Powell Hut in the Snow

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.