25th Sep 2008
Chris Fecher - Wanaka NZ trip 2008 update
We've been based down in Wanaka NZ since mid June for the southern hemisphere winter season.
I've been coaching a fair bit on the hill, but mainly trying to plan a few mission ski touring on the fun mountains down here. Mount Aspiring National Park is right on our door step and it's basically a huge playground. Mount Aspiring itself at 3033m wasn't climbed until 1909, many of the surounding peaks had to wait a few years more for their first accents. Unlike the Euro Alps, access is a tad tricky. No fat cable cars to access the goods in NZ its walkie walkie or for those of you who like to spend up big time you can always jump in a Heli. Actually helicopter drops into the hills are pretty common and it is usually a short cheap flight into the nearest mountain hut.
Huts in the popular areas are pretty common and well equiped. I'm only around for another couple of weeks and waiting on a window to try a peak nearer the west coast called Mount Brewster 2515m. The plan is to ski the South West face, it looks pretty nice and I've been wanting to tick this one off for a while...
Lets see what the weather brings as its been raining cats and dogs for days up to around 2000m.
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