Mt. Philistine

Mt. Philistine was a superb hike...the weather was incredible and the views pretty specactular over Mt. Rolleston and the Otira Valley. The group this time was Jonno, Claudia, Patrick, Jana and I. The scree climb out of the river valley was pretty steep, followed by a tricky section over the bluffs, and then slow slogging through some snow (nice tongue-twister) the rest of the way. The last section was really steep, but it was pretty easy to kick steps because the snow was soft and quite sticky underneath.

Once on top, we had a variety of summit poses (although we never quite braved the suggested naked summit pose...it'll have to be another time!) before starting our descent. It was ideal for a bit of bum-sliding on the way down, and the quality $10 PVC waterproof trousers worked perfectly for extra speed.

We stopped briefly at The Bealey Arms on the way home, a nice wee pub near Arthur's Pass. Back to ChCh by 8:30pm and ready for a night on the town to celebrate St. Andrews Day with Gav - read the Celtic Arms overview for the full story! It was a really enjoyable day.