2/09/1985 – 6/09/1985 Memorial Hut based “day” trips
Cass River, Lake Tekapo region, NEW ZEALAND
Distance: 9km Total Ascent: 800m Total Descent: 800m
Participants: Gottlieb Braun-Elwert, Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Dave, Stella
Day 1: Monday 2/09/1985 Memorial Hut – Mount Lucia foothills return
This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.
Max elevation: 1326 m
Total climbing: 465 m
Total descent: -467 m
Average speed: nan km/h
After quickly organising my gear I was outside my accommodation at 7:00am waiting for my ride. I didn’t know what to expect but a smallish Toyota 4WD rolled up with one Gottlieb Braun-Elwert and Dave inside. From here we were off to Gottlieb’s place for a gear check session and further packing.
My skis were deemed inadequate but the Tyrolia bindings were said to have a bad reputation for falling apart due to plastic failures in very cold conditions, so they were left behind and replaced a pair of 180cm Head skis with an all chrome metal set of Silvretta bindings which looked really durable. We left Tekapo for the three hour drive to Memorial Hut via Tin Hut via Jim Murray’s property. Memorial Hut being on the Cass River and situated under Mount Lucia and Hall Range and a few other un-named peaks and waterfalls, two of which could be seen from the hut. The hut, seeing little use, was in excellent condition and had a very pleasant surrounding pine windbreak and new toilet.
Steve at Memorial Hut 2/9/1985
When the snow extends down to the hut it is not always possible to drive the vehicle right in. Although the distance from Tekapo is minimal it was very rough along the gravel bed of the Cass River “road” in. Talk about geology in action, you can sit and watch rocks falling down the scree slopes. The “road” only lasts until the next flood and undermining is common. Several large boulders looked conspicuously out of place on the valley floor and were the result of earthquakes.
Gootlieb turned out to be a maths-physics major, just as I am. He has also done some teaching while Dave is a geologist involved in petroleum exploration work. The other’s included Stella, a teacher of economics from Nelson Polytech and a part-time alpine guide.
After lunch we headed out for our first ski. It took about half an hour to reach the spring snow and then climbed until about 330m above the hut. Just a short afternoon session for Gotlieb to evaluate our skill levels. I had only skied yesterday but was not doing very well today losing edge control a couple of times before recovering. Gottlieb an excellent skier with a few first ascents and descents to his credit.
We were back in the hut at 3:30pm. Superb sunny weather with some cirrus clouds and high ice rolling from the north-west (a bad sign). I enjoyed the afternoon sun after heading out on a little photographic excursion around the hut and nearby waterfall, a magic spot.
Some rice risotto with carrot, broccoli, sultanas, chopped hard boiled eggs, apple and raisins formed a very nice main course. This was followed with a rather sloppy cheesecake.
The hut provided some very old 1970’s reading material but it was interesting to see how the world had changed in that time. We all got to bed at an early hour in anticipation of an early start in the morning.
Day 2: Tuesday 3/09/1985 Memorial Hut
Shit, shit and double shit, don’t bother getting out of bed. A front has arrived overnight with lots of rain and cloud. It rained all day long and at times was very windy, excellent conditions to get exposure.
Gottlieb stated he had based his operations on the eastern side of the Main Divide to get then best of the weather and estimated that nine out ten days are OK here, while high on the western side it might be only two or three out of ten due to the weather there.
Hot milk, muesli and bread for breakfast. Took a couple of photos out through the windows. Read some twenty year old magazines and Agatha Christie’s “The Mystery of styles”.
Gottlieb outlined his personal introduction to the mountains via Alpine clubs and the army.
Our weather forecasts were picked up via a wireless receiver. The aerial of which consisted of a length of insulated wire stretched between two ski poles sitting about 50m apart. Unfortunately, Gottlieb reckoned the reports were always about 12 to 24 hours behind the reality.
Did twenty minutes of stretching in the afternoon trying to relieve the boredom.
Malted rye bread, sardines, cheese, jam and honey and an apple for lunch.
An interesting mix of noodle, boiled eggs, Chinese beans for dinner with strawberry flavoured instant pudding for dessert. A very boring day exaggerated by inactivity.
Day 3: Wednesday 4/09/1985 Memorial Hut
Here we go again, rain still falling from the northwest. Finished reading the Agatha Christie novel. Repeats of yesterdays breakfast and lunch.
Spent the rest of the day reading the rubbish lying around the hut and peering outside checking what the weather was doing.
The first snow, huge flakes mixed in amongst the rain fell around midday after it become very calm midmorning. We had some very wet snow on the ground later in the day.
Day 4: Thursday 5/09/1985 Memorial Hut – Ailsa Stream return
This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.
Much to everyone’s relief we had about 15cm of snowfall overnight but it was still totally overcast this morning. We got out for a trip up behind the waterfall in the basin with the cloud-base sitting about this level. It was very calm and humid and we got very hot slogging our way through the soft snow despite the cloud cover. I needed to keep stopping to brush aside beads of perspiration.
As the avalanche danger was still extremely high, it was a good thing we had practiced using the avalanche transceivers on Monday.
After two rainy days we now had about 15cm of slush under 15cm of fresh snow. Travelling up through the basin was quite frightening with point avalanches falling from nearby rocky tops, so we didn’t go all the way up, the danger level was just too great.
We had lunch with more snow falling before we headed out again. This time it was magic. Skiing along with ski tips well and truly buried and still able to turn, even parallels if I kept my feet about 30cm apart. Managed turns as sharp as Gottlieb’s, but with no where near as much finesse. It was a very gentle slope but I did manage to figure of eight his turns.
Returning to Memorial Hut 5/9/1985
Soon however, we watched a point avalanche descending to where we had just been. Gottlieb yelling to Stella to watch whats going on.
Walked back to the valley floor taking lots of photos along the way. The clouds were finally starting to break up. Returned to the hut about 2:00pm where we had some tea and biscuits. Despite a strong desire to do some more skiing we couldn’t due the avalanche danger, so we hung around all afternoon watching the sky clear. By evening it was cloudless and our spirits were soaring.
As an overnight freeze will reduce the avalanche danger considerably and we should be able to do a Mount Lucia return tour tomorrow, fingers crossed.
Gottlieb estimates there are currently only about 25 guides on the South Island. Usual soup, dehydrated vegetables, tuna and spreads with a boiled apple dessert.
Relaxed by the fire until 8:15pm before heading outside to check out the stars and heading to bed early for the planned 5:30am start.
Day 5: Friday 6/09/1985 Memorial Hut Escape
Awoke at 2:30am to a nasty dream, covered in a cold sweat. Got up and grabbed some fresh air to be disappointed by how warm the air had become since dusk. The clouds had also also returned, yuck! The low pressure system was moving slower than expected. Returned to bed for a later than expected wakeup call.
It was now snowing again and the avalanche danger was back to severe. It was now necessary to pack and get the vehicle out as soon as possible. We had loaded and left by 7:45am. We hadn’t even got down the Cass River before it was necessary to get out and push. The Toyota 4WD fortunately a high wheel base but still sliding all over the place. At some points we were forced to unhook the trailer and try without. Gottlieb becoming decidedly frustrated by our predicament.
A few more very interesting spots were encountered along the river. Stella often walking out in front of the vehicle trying to identify the best path. The river being up a little made the crossing very exciting. Dave appeared a bit spooked by it, turning around several times with a “will we make it expression” on his face. We were back to Lake Tekapo about 11:00am where there were intermittent snow flurries.
After a shower and pleasant lunch at Gottlieb’s place we watched a slide show he had made from the same trip three weeks previously. He and an expert Swiss client did the first known ski ascent – descent of Mount Hutton. I was back in Christchurch for the night.
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