A Night on Mt Aicken

It was my fourth year tramping before I climbed Mt Aicken at Arthurs Pass. I hadn't climbed it before then because I couldn't see anything special about it to interest me (of the Arthurs Pass peaks only Mt O'Malley seemed to have less going for it).

To make it special, I climbed it on the shortest day of the winter in 1975. It did make it special, and it now stands out more clearly to me than my first time on any of the other easy Arthurs Pass summits.

I also discovered Mt Aicken really was a worthwhile place to go to.

In mid winter 1995 I suggested to Simon Hassall we go up and sleep out in the open, right on the summit. That fitted his style and he couldn't say no. Sitting up in our sleeping bags on the summit we could see the lights of the Bealey. They were watching "the game". We were living real life.

Honora and I talked about how we were going to best use the guaranteed anticyclone after weeks of dodgy weather. I wanted to sleep out under the stars, Honora had never been up Mt Aicken, It was mid winter...

Lake Pearson on the road to Arthurs Pass. Always picturesque, often stunning.

The advantage of an afternoon ascent for a night out was that we could drive to Arthurs Pass during the daytime and see the countryside at its best. There were high snow banks alongside the road over Porters Pass and many family groups were out tobogganing.

At Arthurs Pass we stopped in at the Lassche's cafe for lunch before our climb.

The snow was deep and frozen around the village. At this time of year the frost lasts all day where the sun doesn't reach in the deep valley. The footbridge and the first part of the 'Great Walk' style track to the Punchbowl Falls were slippery with ice.

We turned uphill on the Mt Aicken track. For a while we were following the footprints of others in the snow. But eventually they had turned back. The snow was knee deep on the ground and hung heavily on branches.

The snow had fallen onto bare rocks or frozen old snow. This made the footing slippery underneath and we took our time.

Honora selecting her mattress of snow on Mt Aicken

Above the bushline we came to a shoulder on the spur that had enough of a flat area for us to camp on. The sun had already gone down behind Mt Rolleston.

We used snow shovels to create a level platform to sleep on and a wall to give some shelter from the light breeze.

We cooked tea sitting up in our sleeping bags, and warm mugs of soup did double duty warming our fingers too.

Soon we were snuggled down and and looking at the sky crowded with bright stars. It wasn't long before I saw a meteorite streak across. Then another, and another, from every part of the sky. I saw the Southern Cross and Pointers, so I measured 4 1/2 times and down from the long axis, just to make sure the South Pole was in its proper place. One bright star to the south twinkled red and blue like a galactic police car. The Milky Way turned as I watched...

In the morning the peaks across the valley brightened with a pink tint. Then the first sun touched Rolleston and rapidly spread downwards.

Dressing for the day after breakfast in bed on Mt Aicken

We lay there watching the sun slowly bringing life back to the world. Only when the day was fully unfolded did we start into our leisurely breakfast.

The sun came over the ridge behind us and brought us warmth, but it was also a reminder we had work to do and got us packing.

The snow on the slopes above our camp was still deep and soft.  It was warm work climbing.

I only went as far as the first bump on the main ridgeline, but Honora went on to claim the summit of Mt Aicken.

Far below Mt Aicken is the broad valley of the Waimakariri.

A young man from Greymouth was up for the day. He was looking all around, asking questions and talking about his plans for future climbs. Everywhere I looked I already had memories of being there. The mysteries slip away one by one.  It's a sad thing to lose the excitement of the unknown.

I started down and eventually Honora caught up, returning from her summit. The valley below darkened again. The frost was intense when we emerged at the riverside.

After changing, we stopped in at Oscars Haus (the "wobbly kea") for a delicious roast dinner. A group from the tramping club had called in there to settle up their costs after a session on ice axe practice at Temple Basin. There were some good friends among them but when they'd gone it was good to quietly finish off our great weekend together in the snow.

Comments

[Adrian Barr]

Superb Frank - great post.

[Frank]

Adrian. Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was a pleasure for me recalling all those precious moments.