Ohau, Mt. Cook
Here's the full story...!
At the tramping club meeting on Wednesday evening, I’d randomly suggested going to Ohau skiing/boarding for a day, followed by a hike around the Lake Tekapo area the following day.
Suddenly seven people were going, and I felt slightly responsible for organizing a good trip – feelings of guilt and disappointment were setting in as the rain lashed down on Friday night driving towards Twizel. However, the sky cleared and the sun was out early Saturday morning as we drove up to Ohau ski field. It was an incredible day, with perfect views and not a cloud in the sky. The views over Ohau Lake and the surrounding mountains were spectacular, and the snow conditions were superb. Everyone had a brilliant time, the highlight for me being a hike up to the ridge and boarding down the powder slopes. Even Jana enjoyed it, although she’s never had such a sore bum in her life and may never go boarding again.
We stayed in Twizel Mountain Chalets both Friday and Saturday night, fun and cosy with all of us in one chalet. We cooked up a tasty stir fry on Saturday night, and of course enjoyed a few après-ski drinks. We’d had such a good day we decided to hit the slopes again on Sunday, this time heading for Mt. Dobson. The weather was equally good, although the views couldn’t match Ohau, but it was still impressive. The boarding started to ‘click’ for me the second day, and by the end I was managing the S-curving turns I’d been searching for unsuccessfully the day before!
Despite a good effort to convince everyone to stay an extra night, only Jana and I were able to take Monday off, and we headed to Aoraki/Mt.Cook on Sunday night. We stayed in the YHA there, which was somewhat of a luxury with a sauna inside! The next morning we made an ambitious early start and tried to hike up for a sunrise view but didn’t find the best area to view it from. With better plans for the rest of the day, we rented crampons and set off towards Mueller Hut. After taking the wrong track for 20 minutes (good start) we eventually headed in the right direction, and climbed steeply up above Hooker Lake towards the ridge. An alpine club had kindly made great tracks in the snow a couple of days earlier, which made it much easier for us to work our way through the waist-deep sections. I didn’t think Monday could be any better than the weekend had been, but it was another unbelievable day.
We had lunch in the sun at Mueller Hut, with superb views towards Mt.Sefton and Mt. Cook, it is definitely worth a trip to the area. It must be a first for me to be in shorts and t-shirt in the snow, and have a massive smile on my face! Bum-sliding on the way down made it an amusing and very speedy descent, and meant the drive back to Christchurch wasn’t too late either.
We stopped briefly at Lake Tekapo on the way back, which has a lovely old-fashioned church (Church of the Good Shepherd) and great views of the surrounding area. A fantastic 3 days!
The overview...
This was an amazing weekend! We had a group of 7 for two days, skiing and snowboarding at Ohau and Mt. Dobson. The snow was perfect, the weather was incredible, and the views were also superb (especially at Ohau). Hiking up to the ridge and snowboarding down in powder snow was a definite highlight. Clear blue skies and the sun was shining, we couldn't have been luckier.
Jana and I stayed on for an extra day and did a snow hike in the Mt.Cook/Aoraki region. A steep 3-hour climb through deep snow gave us beautiful views of the surrounding area, and plenty of fun sliding back down!
See more pics!
At the tramping club meeting on Wednesday evening, I’d randomly suggested going to Ohau skiing/boarding for a day, followed by a hike around the Lake Tekapo area the following day.
Suddenly seven people were going, and I felt slightly responsible for organizing a good trip – feelings of guilt and disappointment were setting in as the rain lashed down on Friday night driving towards Twizel. However, the sky cleared and the sun was out early Saturday morning as we drove up to Ohau ski field. It was an incredible day, with perfect views and not a cloud in the sky. The views over Ohau Lake and the surrounding mountains were spectacular, and the snow conditions were superb. Everyone had a brilliant time, the highlight for me being a hike up to the ridge and boarding down the powder slopes. Even Jana enjoyed it, although she’s never had such a sore bum in her life and may never go boarding again.
We stayed in Twizel Mountain Chalets both Friday and Saturday night, fun and cosy with all of us in one chalet. We cooked up a tasty stir fry on Saturday night, and of course enjoyed a few après-ski drinks. We’d had such a good day we decided to hit the slopes again on Sunday, this time heading for Mt. Dobson. The weather was equally good, although the views couldn’t match Ohau, but it was still impressive. The boarding started to ‘click’ for me the second day, and by the end I was managing the S-curving turns I’d been searching for unsuccessfully the day before!
Despite a good effort to convince everyone to stay an extra night, only Jana and I were able to take Monday off, and we headed to Aoraki/Mt.Cook on Sunday night. We stayed in the YHA there, which was somewhat of a luxury with a sauna inside! The next morning we made an ambitious early start and tried to hike up for a sunrise view but didn’t find the best area to view it from. With better plans for the rest of the day, we rented crampons and set off towards Mueller Hut. After taking the wrong track for 20 minutes (good start) we eventually headed in the right direction, and climbed steeply up above Hooker Lake towards the ridge. An alpine club had kindly made great tracks in the snow a couple of days earlier, which made it much easier for us to work our way through the waist-deep sections. I didn’t think Monday could be any better than the weekend had been, but it was another unbelievable day.
We had lunch in the sun at Mueller Hut, with superb views towards Mt.Sefton and Mt. Cook, it is definitely worth a trip to the area. It must be a first for me to be in shorts and t-shirt in the snow, and have a massive smile on my face! Bum-sliding on the way down made it an amusing and very speedy descent, and meant the drive back to Christchurch wasn’t too late either.
We stopped briefly at Lake Tekapo on the way back, which has a lovely old-fashioned church (Church of the Good Shepherd) and great views of the surrounding area. A fantastic 3 days!
The overview...
This was an amazing weekend! We had a group of 7 for two days, skiing and snowboarding at Ohau and Mt. Dobson. The snow was perfect, the weather was incredible, and the views were also superb (especially at Ohau). Hiking up to the ridge and snowboarding down in powder snow was a definite highlight. Clear blue skies and the sun was shining, we couldn't have been luckier.
Jana and I stayed on for an extra day and did a snow hike in the Mt.Cook/Aoraki region. A steep 3-hour climb through deep snow gave us beautiful views of the surrounding area, and plenty of fun sliding back down!
See more pics!
posted by Mhairi
0 comments
