Showing posts with label Skiing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skiing. Show all posts
13 October 2010
12 October 2010
Mueller Hut, 9-10 October 2010
In spite of semi-bad weather forecasts, five of us had decided to drive to Mt Cook village and do an overnight tramp to Mueller Hut. Several people had backed out due to the expected weather, and in retrospect we probably should have done so as well. Nevertheless, Janine, Philip and myself set off from Christchurch Friday evening with a car full of skis, snow shoes, crampons, ice axes and the mandatory avalanche safety gear, with high expectations for the following two days.
Reaching Mt Cook Village, we met Monique and Brian at the DoC campground, pitched a couple of tents and went straight to bed. Plans were to get up and sign in with DoC at 8.30am, and then head up the track towards Mueller Hut. In spite of our great plans for an early morning, it was 9.40am before we made our first steps towards Sealy Tarns. Five minutes after the start, I realised that I had forgotten my map and avalanche notes and had to run back to the car to get these – a run that proved valuable on Sunday as the weather and snow packed in.
For those that have never been to Sealy Tarns, the track to get there is steep as! I cannot remember seing as many man made steps on a track this short, and with a fairly narrow track, Brian and I found ourselves struggling a bit with our wide and tall packs carrying up skis that just loved catching on to trees, steps and whatever came close. Brian got the idea that navigating our packs had to be somewhat similar to driving large trucks around narrow streets in the city; a comparison that seemed quite appropriate (however, we were not quite sure if we were closer to an 18 or 24 wheeler).
Weatherwise, we had a bit of rain that turned into a bit of snow as we climbed towards the tarns, but nothing too major to destroy our high spirits. Reaching the tarns, the clouds cleared for a moment, presenting us with some of the views that make the long drive worth every hour on the road. Lunch was eaten, before we climbed up the last bits of tussock and rocks and found ourselves facing massive amounts of snow. Without skis and snow shoes, we would have had to turn back at this point, but being well prepared we geared up and made our first steps onto the ocean of white ahead of us.
With a considerable avalanche danger, focus was on safe travel practices from the first steps. Route selections were discussed before moving from one island of safety to the next, and we always had someone spotting the people moving across potential avalanche paths and start zones. Arguably the avalanche forecast was a bit high to go to Mueller Hut in the first place, but we made good progress with sensible discussions and decisions being made on the way.
After half an hour in the snow, Monique and Brian decided to turn back as the terrain was too far out of comfort zones to be enjoyable. This proved to be a very sensible decision, as the rest of us found ourselves in some very exposed places further up the mountains – in fact we probably all should have turned back at that stage. Before splitting up, we had a quick rearranging of food and gear, only to find that we were carrying a tent too much up the mountains – so much for morning coordination of gear.
Janine, Philip and I decided to move on, and made steady progress in the reasonably firm snow. Just before reaching the ridge taking us the last bit towards the hut, we faced the choice of taking the ordinary route looking somewhat dodgy due to a massive snowpack on a perfectly sloped angle facing just the right way for avalanches this weekend or to make the ridge at lower elevations and being more exposed to winds. Since avalanches were highly undesirable, we made the ridge and was faced with a bit of a scramble up some rocks and deep snow. I found myself in waist deep snow trying to make my way up the ridge, and had it not been for a helping hand a few times I might still have been stuck in the snow.
Safely on the ridge, we faced half an hour of easy travelling before reaching Mueller Hut. As we were carrying a lot of gear, as well as a wine, cake and other luxuiosities for the hut, the joy of seeing the hut in the distance put big smiles on our faces.
Reaching the hut, we faced a bit of digging before the door could be opened. Luckily it was only matter of 30-40cm of wind drifted snow since the last person had been in the hut a few days earlier, and the toilets had been dug out recently as well (still it took Janine 30 minutes to dig it out for the first visit – I cannot imagine what it would have been like to dig out the 1.5m of snow covering the second toilet). We arrived at 6.15pm, after a fairly cruizy day, but still tired and very ready for some hot food! After receiving the latest weather update on the radio at 7pm, we had our diner, wine, cake and tried to make plans for the following day. For three hours straight we had a cooker going to melt snow for water supplies – Mueller Hut may have water tanks, but when they are buried under two meters of snow, it seems quite a lot easier to spend the time melting snow rather than digging out the taps (probably just to find them frosen anyway).
We hit the hay around 10pm, and at midnight the wind started picking up. The vents in the hut were howling for the entire night, making earplugs an absolute necessity, and some of the gusts made the hut move a little as well. Certainly not the perfect weather for our walk out the next day, but the forecast promised a window with less wind. All we had to do was to find this window, and so we woke up at 6am to make sure we did not miss the opportunity of getting back to the village. However, the wind speeds kept to a solid 100km/h until noon, leaving us with little choice but to stay put and start thinking about the possibility that we might get stuck in the hut for a few days. Monday promised clear and calm weather, but since a substantial amount of snow had fallen overnight (and kept falling throughout Sunday), the avalanche danger would be too high to risk travelling any time before Tuesday or possibly even Wednesday. We took turns being concerned about the prospects of being stuck, while the other two was sleeping. Going to the loo was quite an experience as well, requiring a full suit up in warm clothing, a shovel to dig out the door from wind deposited snow in between visits, and it took a full hour for the three of us to have our first visits in the morning! By the way, Mueller Hut as a really cool toilet system where you are supposed to deliver your liquids in one part of the toilet and solids in another part – apparently this saves a lot of money flying out the human waste, and I was surprised to see how well it seems to work.
At 1pm, the wind had slowed down to a more reasonable speed, and we decided to head out and have a look around to see if it was possible to get out. We had decided not to leave any later than 2.30pm to allow sufficient time to get out before dark, and after experiencing a few gusts and realising that the wind really was slowing down, we went back in, had lunch and radioed DoC to tell them we were coming down. 15-20cm of snow had fallen during the night and morning, requiring even greater care in route selection on the way down than what we faced on the way up, but luckily we had had a good view of the terrain the day before and decided to backtrack our steps from the way up.
The ridge was negotiated in good time, with just a few interesting spots where gusty winds and exposed terrain made us very aware of the seriousness of the situation. The biggest decision was to be made as we left the ridgeline and moved onto the western aspect of the mountains. Here we expected to find moderate amounts of wind deposited snow, and we had to decide whether it was safe to continue or we had to turn back and stay in the hut for another night or two. I made the first move, with Janine and Philip watching out for avalanches. I called them down, and after a quick assessment and discussion, we decided to move on down. We kept a safe distance in case of snowslides, but never moving out of hearing distance. With Janine and Philip on snowshoes, it took a bit of time coming down, but I enjoyed every bit of it, skiing the best powder of the season and cutting first tracks no matter where I went. In fact, the snow was so good that I managed to pull of some very decent skiing in spite of my 15-20kg pack, and this alone made the whole trip worthwile for me. The other two was not quite sharing my love for the descent, but at least they realised how much they need to get touring skis if they are to go on similar trips in the future.
Reaching Sealy Tarns, we had a quick mueslibar break, while taking off skis and snow shoes and getting ready to walk down the track to Mt Cook Village. It had started snowing, and the wind picked up again. I still find it hard to believe that we hit the tiny window to get out safely – if we had started out just half an hour later we might have had to turn back. Avalanche dangers became very present as we came down the last bits of snow, with cracking and slabs coming loose. Luckily, this was on low angle terrain and with good runout zones not too far further down, but it certainly made the risk very real.
The track down from Sealy Tarns was negotiated in reasonable time, with the biggest problems being navigating a pack with 185cm skis attached to the sides. They had a nasty tendency to catch high steps down, as well as any trees or bushes besides the track. Ski poles proved to be a great aid, especially walking down in skiing boots (which was less of an issue than one might think). We reached the car at 6.30pm, stoked to have made it out safely and in reasonable time. After a quick change of clothes and signing out with DoC, we made the long drive back to Christchurch, reaching the city just before midnight. How I managed to sit a test Monday morning is still somewhat mysterious to me, but the trip was certainly well worth it all.
In retrospect, a few key points remain as a very valuable lesson learned from the trip. This being the most serious winter trip for all of us, there is no doubt that we got in just a little too deep. However, through good discussions on the go and constant evaluation of the dangers present, we managed the terrain and got out not only alive, but in good spirits and without pushing our limits. I keep wondering how much I should have foreseen based on the weather and avalanche forecast, since the issues of rising avalanche dangers were very obvious to me as we were sitting in the hut, waiting for the wind to slow down and allow us to get out. Back home, I found the avalanche forecast for Monday begin raised to high, which would have left us no choice but to stay put until Tuesday had we still been in the hut. We would have had enough food to survive, but two or three extra days would not have been particularly pleasant.
Furthermore, the trip was a reminder that being in the snow can be a very serious business. As the missions into the mountains become more interesting, so does the avalanche danger. I have never felt more exposed than on this particular trip, and I am extremely happy that we were a small group of people knowing each other in advance. Small mistakes could have had major consequences, and although it was a truly amazing trip, it is certainly not recommendable for everyone in snowy conditions.
For those that have never been to Sealy Tarns, the track to get there is steep as! I cannot remember seing as many man made steps on a track this short, and with a fairly narrow track, Brian and I found ourselves struggling a bit with our wide and tall packs carrying up skis that just loved catching on to trees, steps and whatever came close. Brian got the idea that navigating our packs had to be somewhat similar to driving large trucks around narrow streets in the city; a comparison that seemed quite appropriate (however, we were not quite sure if we were closer to an 18 or 24 wheeler).
Weatherwise, we had a bit of rain that turned into a bit of snow as we climbed towards the tarns, but nothing too major to destroy our high spirits. Reaching the tarns, the clouds cleared for a moment, presenting us with some of the views that make the long drive worth every hour on the road. Lunch was eaten, before we climbed up the last bits of tussock and rocks and found ourselves facing massive amounts of snow. Without skis and snow shoes, we would have had to turn back at this point, but being well prepared we geared up and made our first steps onto the ocean of white ahead of us.
With a considerable avalanche danger, focus was on safe travel practices from the first steps. Route selections were discussed before moving from one island of safety to the next, and we always had someone spotting the people moving across potential avalanche paths and start zones. Arguably the avalanche forecast was a bit high to go to Mueller Hut in the first place, but we made good progress with sensible discussions and decisions being made on the way.
After half an hour in the snow, Monique and Brian decided to turn back as the terrain was too far out of comfort zones to be enjoyable. This proved to be a very sensible decision, as the rest of us found ourselves in some very exposed places further up the mountains – in fact we probably all should have turned back at that stage. Before splitting up, we had a quick rearranging of food and gear, only to find that we were carrying a tent too much up the mountains – so much for morning coordination of gear.
Safely on the ridge, we faced half an hour of easy travelling before reaching Mueller Hut. As we were carrying a lot of gear, as well as a wine, cake and other luxuiosities for the hut, the joy of seeing the hut in the distance put big smiles on our faces.
Reaching the hut, we faced a bit of digging before the door could be opened. Luckily it was only matter of 30-40cm of wind drifted snow since the last person had been in the hut a few days earlier, and the toilets had been dug out recently as well (still it took Janine 30 minutes to dig it out for the first visit – I cannot imagine what it would have been like to dig out the 1.5m of snow covering the second toilet). We arrived at 6.15pm, after a fairly cruizy day, but still tired and very ready for some hot food! After receiving the latest weather update on the radio at 7pm, we had our diner, wine, cake and tried to make plans for the following day. For three hours straight we had a cooker going to melt snow for water supplies – Mueller Hut may have water tanks, but when they are buried under two meters of snow, it seems quite a lot easier to spend the time melting snow rather than digging out the taps (probably just to find them frosen anyway).
We hit the hay around 10pm, and at midnight the wind started picking up. The vents in the hut were howling for the entire night, making earplugs an absolute necessity, and some of the gusts made the hut move a little as well. Certainly not the perfect weather for our walk out the next day, but the forecast promised a window with less wind. All we had to do was to find this window, and so we woke up at 6am to make sure we did not miss the opportunity of getting back to the village. However, the wind speeds kept to a solid 100km/h until noon, leaving us with little choice but to stay put and start thinking about the possibility that we might get stuck in the hut for a few days. Monday promised clear and calm weather, but since a substantial amount of snow had fallen overnight (and kept falling throughout Sunday), the avalanche danger would be too high to risk travelling any time before Tuesday or possibly even Wednesday. We took turns being concerned about the prospects of being stuck, while the other two was sleeping. Going to the loo was quite an experience as well, requiring a full suit up in warm clothing, a shovel to dig out the door from wind deposited snow in between visits, and it took a full hour for the three of us to have our first visits in the morning! By the way, Mueller Hut as a really cool toilet system where you are supposed to deliver your liquids in one part of the toilet and solids in another part – apparently this saves a lot of money flying out the human waste, and I was surprised to see how well it seems to work.
At 1pm, the wind had slowed down to a more reasonable speed, and we decided to head out and have a look around to see if it was possible to get out. We had decided not to leave any later than 2.30pm to allow sufficient time to get out before dark, and after experiencing a few gusts and realising that the wind really was slowing down, we went back in, had lunch and radioed DoC to tell them we were coming down. 15-20cm of snow had fallen during the night and morning, requiring even greater care in route selection on the way down than what we faced on the way up, but luckily we had had a good view of the terrain the day before and decided to backtrack our steps from the way up.
The ridge was negotiated in good time, with just a few interesting spots where gusty winds and exposed terrain made us very aware of the seriousness of the situation. The biggest decision was to be made as we left the ridgeline and moved onto the western aspect of the mountains. Here we expected to find moderate amounts of wind deposited snow, and we had to decide whether it was safe to continue or we had to turn back and stay in the hut for another night or two. I made the first move, with Janine and Philip watching out for avalanches. I called them down, and after a quick assessment and discussion, we decided to move on down. We kept a safe distance in case of snowslides, but never moving out of hearing distance. With Janine and Philip on snowshoes, it took a bit of time coming down, but I enjoyed every bit of it, skiing the best powder of the season and cutting first tracks no matter where I went. In fact, the snow was so good that I managed to pull of some very decent skiing in spite of my 15-20kg pack, and this alone made the whole trip worthwile for me. The other two was not quite sharing my love for the descent, but at least they realised how much they need to get touring skis if they are to go on similar trips in the future.
The track down from Sealy Tarns was negotiated in reasonable time, with the biggest problems being navigating a pack with 185cm skis attached to the sides. They had a nasty tendency to catch high steps down, as well as any trees or bushes besides the track. Ski poles proved to be a great aid, especially walking down in skiing boots (which was less of an issue than one might think). We reached the car at 6.30pm, stoked to have made it out safely and in reasonable time. After a quick change of clothes and signing out with DoC, we made the long drive back to Christchurch, reaching the city just before midnight. How I managed to sit a test Monday morning is still somewhat mysterious to me, but the trip was certainly well worth it all.In retrospect, a few key points remain as a very valuable lesson learned from the trip. This being the most serious winter trip for all of us, there is no doubt that we got in just a little too deep. However, through good discussions on the go and constant evaluation of the dangers present, we managed the terrain and got out not only alive, but in good spirits and without pushing our limits. I keep wondering how much I should have foreseen based on the weather and avalanche forecast, since the issues of rising avalanche dangers were very obvious to me as we were sitting in the hut, waiting for the wind to slow down and allow us to get out. Back home, I found the avalanche forecast for Monday begin raised to high, which would have left us no choice but to stay put until Tuesday had we still been in the hut. We would have had enough food to survive, but two or three extra days would not have been particularly pleasant.
Furthermore, the trip was a reminder that being in the snow can be a very serious business. As the missions into the mountains become more interesting, so does the avalanche danger. I have never felt more exposed than on this particular trip, and I am extremely happy that we were a small group of people knowing each other in advance. Small mistakes could have had major consequences, and although it was a truly amazing trip, it is certainly not recommendable for everyone in snowy conditions.
2 August 2010
25 years and counting
- And months later I finally got it together to write another post. Things are happening down here, busy days full of studying, research, skiing, more studying, tramping, avalanche courses, research, abstract submissions, more skiing, more research, a visit from Denmark, studying, more skiing and finally some more studying and research. I guess this post will be a brief list of what has happened since May, and first of all let me apologise for the lack of photographic evidence. Unfortunately, my camera went down a mountain to end up in a stream attached to my big tramping pack without being in any sort of waterproof bag, and since then it has had a tiny drop of water stuck on the inside of the lens. Some day I might come around to making an insurance claim and buying a new camera, until then you will have to settle for my words..
In the beginning of June I went tramping in Nelson Lakes National Park on a wonderful trip to Lake Angelus and Angelus hut. The sceneries were amazing, and I am hoping to do exactly the same trip this winter only on skis! There were four of us going, two Germans, an American and myself, and we had a great trip to refuel before the exams kicked in a week later.
On the exam note, I met my usual changing mood during study weeks and exams, but as usual I made my way through with some very decent results (especially considering that I spent no more than one day preparing for my Anatomy and Physiology exam and still made a B+). The whole change of exam procedures turned out to be ok, though I still think that written, closed book exams might not always be the best way of testing if students have learnt whatever was taught in a course.
After exams came a couple of weeks of study break which I used for moving to a new apartment (much, much better than my previous room), chilling for a few days (I guess they call it nesting - basically I just enjoyed doing absolutely nothing), moving on with my research project, skiing and finally I did an introductory Avalanche Awareness Course with the local Mountain Safety Council. In many ways two very productive weeks, and the best part is that I feel so much better in my new home. Thursday in the first week of semester two I got my first visitor from Denmark. Nina stayed with me for a bit more than a week while buying a car, recovering from the worst jetlag and all the other practical stuff that needs to be taken care of when arriving in a new country to stay for 4 months. It has been absolutely wonderful to have a friendly face staying, bringing Toms Kæmpeskildpadder, proper liquorice and good rum, and now that she has moved on and is out living the skiing dream I must admit that it is very quiet being home alone. On the other hand, it is very good for my productivity, and we would probably have ended up killing each other if we were to stay in my (relatively small) place for 4 months, so I guess it serves the greater good that she is doing her thing while I am stuck in Christchurch getting brighter and brighter for each day that goes by (I really just want to go skiing these days!).
The first month of the skiing season has offered some remarkable experiences. Skiing in New Zealand is truly something different than skiing in the European Alps, and I love it here! All of the smaller ski fields are run mainly by volunteers, and the atmosphere is friendly and welcoming. The lift technology is rubbish, but then again it can all be fixed with a can of WD-40, a big hammer and a bit of duct tape. And when this all means that you can just leave your bag (including wallet, mobile phone and everything) in a lodge at the center of the area without worrying about people going through your stuff it is definitely worth it all! I have taken a beating from one of these tow rope lifts when a stitching in my tow belt ripped, but nothing too serious (and don't worry, if it keeps hurting for more than another week I might just get it checked...) - and it was not a faulty design of the lift, but rather a bad model of my personal gear that was to blame.
To do a bit of namedropping of ski fields (for those who might be interested), I have now visited Porters, Mt Cheeseman (yes, that is an actual ski field here), Broken River, Mt Hutt and Mt Olympus. A few words on each:
Mt Hutt wants to be a European ski field. Stop doing that please, it is just too small to be compared to European conditions, and the atmosphere is just as bad as in France (without the crazy ass after skiing). They have three chair lifts and a fancy chip system for the lift passes - which in my opinion is a massive overkill! Everything is groomed slopes.
Porters is semi-commercial, certainly more atmosphere than Hutt, but still not a proper club field. Has a slope with the awesome name "Big Mama", and some pretty sweet skiing (has had some of the best snow of the early season). Mainly groomed slopes, and the ski field closest to Christchurch (about 110 minutes from the time I lock my door until I have my boots on ready to go skiing). T-bars instead of rope tows.
Mt Cheeseman, Broken River and Mt Olympus are "proper" club ski fields close to Christchurch. Fantastic atmosphere, lots of ungroomed skiing and heaps of back basins waiting to be explored once I get my avalanche knowledge going (which is on my to-do list with a 4 day course over two weekends in August). Cheeseman is quite family friendly skiing, has T-bars and a quite new lodge with a decent cafeteria-thingy (sells coffee and food that can be cooked in a sandwich press or a microwave). Broken River and Olympus both have the infamous rope tows, nothing but ungroomed runs and plenty of friendly faces around. In connection to these club fields are different kinds of acommodation on (or just off) the mountain, again with just the right atmosphere and at reasonable prices as well (at least if you go for the self-catered once, 15 minutes drive from the lifts).
Access roads are a story on their own - some very well maintained (Porters and Hutt), some long, windy and quite exposed (Cheeseman), some more or less just a single vehicle track in the forest (Broken River), and finally some which are a single track, long and windy and certainly very exposed (Mt Olympus). Though Olympus seem quite close to Christchurch on a map, the time to get there is quite long because of the 49km gravel road that leads up there...
Status now is sore legs, a bruced rib or two, high spirits regarding studies (with a slight fear that it may all get horribly stressed over the next five weeks up until deadline of the report on my research) and big plans for avalanche education over two weekends in August. I have not yet decided what to do in the coming weekend, I might see if there are a tramper or two keen on some easy ski touring to get into the game before the avalanche course. Otherwise I might just go "normal" skiing or tramping.
Oh, and on the finishing note - thanks to everyone who sent me a greeting and/or a present for my birthday. It is certainly something else to celebrate such a long way from home, but on the other hand this allowed me to turn 25 without being exposed to ridiculous amounts of cinnamon. I spend the day studying and the night eating out with Eva and Nic, and had a qiuet but very good day. Upon my return to Denmark I promise to throw some kind of a massive party to celebrate all the good stuff that I miss out celebrating in style while away!
That'll be all for now, I am off to bed before another long day at the office awaits me tomorrow. But hey, I am now playing around with BlueFern, our local super computing facility, allowing me to run my simulations in up to 16 parallel processes. It still makes me smile every time I submit a job and see it done within minutes (previously I have had stuff running for 8 hours overnight) - and it will look great on my CV! This next few days I better focus on a presentation on medical imaging of ADHD I am giving on Thursday, but there will soon be time to play around with big computers again..
In the beginning of June I went tramping in Nelson Lakes National Park on a wonderful trip to Lake Angelus and Angelus hut. The sceneries were amazing, and I am hoping to do exactly the same trip this winter only on skis! There were four of us going, two Germans, an American and myself, and we had a great trip to refuel before the exams kicked in a week later.
On the exam note, I met my usual changing mood during study weeks and exams, but as usual I made my way through with some very decent results (especially considering that I spent no more than one day preparing for my Anatomy and Physiology exam and still made a B+). The whole change of exam procedures turned out to be ok, though I still think that written, closed book exams might not always be the best way of testing if students have learnt whatever was taught in a course.
After exams came a couple of weeks of study break which I used for moving to a new apartment (much, much better than my previous room), chilling for a few days (I guess they call it nesting - basically I just enjoyed doing absolutely nothing), moving on with my research project, skiing and finally I did an introductory Avalanche Awareness Course with the local Mountain Safety Council. In many ways two very productive weeks, and the best part is that I feel so much better in my new home. Thursday in the first week of semester two I got my first visitor from Denmark. Nina stayed with me for a bit more than a week while buying a car, recovering from the worst jetlag and all the other practical stuff that needs to be taken care of when arriving in a new country to stay for 4 months. It has been absolutely wonderful to have a friendly face staying, bringing Toms Kæmpeskildpadder, proper liquorice and good rum, and now that she has moved on and is out living the skiing dream I must admit that it is very quiet being home alone. On the other hand, it is very good for my productivity, and we would probably have ended up killing each other if we were to stay in my (relatively small) place for 4 months, so I guess it serves the greater good that she is doing her thing while I am stuck in Christchurch getting brighter and brighter for each day that goes by (I really just want to go skiing these days!).
The first month of the skiing season has offered some remarkable experiences. Skiing in New Zealand is truly something different than skiing in the European Alps, and I love it here! All of the smaller ski fields are run mainly by volunteers, and the atmosphere is friendly and welcoming. The lift technology is rubbish, but then again it can all be fixed with a can of WD-40, a big hammer and a bit of duct tape. And when this all means that you can just leave your bag (including wallet, mobile phone and everything) in a lodge at the center of the area without worrying about people going through your stuff it is definitely worth it all! I have taken a beating from one of these tow rope lifts when a stitching in my tow belt ripped, but nothing too serious (and don't worry, if it keeps hurting for more than another week I might just get it checked...) - and it was not a faulty design of the lift, but rather a bad model of my personal gear that was to blame.
To do a bit of namedropping of ski fields (for those who might be interested), I have now visited Porters, Mt Cheeseman (yes, that is an actual ski field here), Broken River, Mt Hutt and Mt Olympus. A few words on each:
Mt Hutt wants to be a European ski field. Stop doing that please, it is just too small to be compared to European conditions, and the atmosphere is just as bad as in France (without the crazy ass after skiing). They have three chair lifts and a fancy chip system for the lift passes - which in my opinion is a massive overkill! Everything is groomed slopes.
Porters is semi-commercial, certainly more atmosphere than Hutt, but still not a proper club field. Has a slope with the awesome name "Big Mama", and some pretty sweet skiing (has had some of the best snow of the early season). Mainly groomed slopes, and the ski field closest to Christchurch (about 110 minutes from the time I lock my door until I have my boots on ready to go skiing). T-bars instead of rope tows.
Mt Cheeseman, Broken River and Mt Olympus are "proper" club ski fields close to Christchurch. Fantastic atmosphere, lots of ungroomed skiing and heaps of back basins waiting to be explored once I get my avalanche knowledge going (which is on my to-do list with a 4 day course over two weekends in August). Cheeseman is quite family friendly skiing, has T-bars and a quite new lodge with a decent cafeteria-thingy (sells coffee and food that can be cooked in a sandwich press or a microwave). Broken River and Olympus both have the infamous rope tows, nothing but ungroomed runs and plenty of friendly faces around. In connection to these club fields are different kinds of acommodation on (or just off) the mountain, again with just the right atmosphere and at reasonable prices as well (at least if you go for the self-catered once, 15 minutes drive from the lifts).
Access roads are a story on their own - some very well maintained (Porters and Hutt), some long, windy and quite exposed (Cheeseman), some more or less just a single vehicle track in the forest (Broken River), and finally some which are a single track, long and windy and certainly very exposed (Mt Olympus). Though Olympus seem quite close to Christchurch on a map, the time to get there is quite long because of the 49km gravel road that leads up there...
Status now is sore legs, a bruced rib or two, high spirits regarding studies (with a slight fear that it may all get horribly stressed over the next five weeks up until deadline of the report on my research) and big plans for avalanche education over two weekends in August. I have not yet decided what to do in the coming weekend, I might see if there are a tramper or two keen on some easy ski touring to get into the game before the avalanche course. Otherwise I might just go "normal" skiing or tramping.
Oh, and on the finishing note - thanks to everyone who sent me a greeting and/or a present for my birthday. It is certainly something else to celebrate such a long way from home, but on the other hand this allowed me to turn 25 without being exposed to ridiculous amounts of cinnamon. I spend the day studying and the night eating out with Eva and Nic, and had a qiuet but very good day. Upon my return to Denmark I promise to throw some kind of a massive party to celebrate all the good stuff that I miss out celebrating in style while away!
That'll be all for now, I am off to bed before another long day at the office awaits me tomorrow. But hey, I am now playing around with BlueFern, our local super computing facility, allowing me to run my simulations in up to 16 parallel processes. It still makes me smile every time I submit a job and see it done within minutes (previously I have had stuff running for 8 hours overnight) - and it will look great on my CV! This next few days I better focus on a presentation on medical imaging of ADHD I am giving on Thursday, but there will soon be time to play around with big computers again..
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