“On a Mish” #196 A Fridge Sized Rock (Part Three). Cold Peak(1613m). Mavora Lakes Conservation Area. 11.11.2016. Play it safe and minimize the risk is a good way to approach anything in the back country. Injuries at home are a hinderance, so a minor mistake could be a major when in the mountains. On the odd occasion I have tested my luck and thankfully the odds have worked in my favour, however on one mish I was in the process of playing it safe when things went slightly wrong…
Sleeping to the sound of the odd mouse scampering about is much nicer than the rumble of a random stranger’s snoring. We were very lucky to have Careys Hut to ourselves for the night, and the next morning we woke refreshed and recharged. While collecting water we admired the incredible stillness which created perfect reflections on North Mavora Lake. The atmosphere made us linger lakeside longer than planned, but when Mother Nature puts on a show it is rude to not sit and stare.
Our planned climb of Cold Peak was going to start and end at the hut, so we had the added bonus of light packs to help us up the hill. With a belly full of breakfast, we began to clamber through the maze of Matagouri up behind the hut. All was set for an epic in the mountains above Mavora.
The going was easy at first but slowly the terrain steepened. At one point the ground was very broken and I decided to go ahead on my own for a while to prevent showering my girlfriend with rocks.
As I climbed, I did my best to avoid the loose crumbling crap. I reached for a boulder and before my mind could prevent my hand from grabbing it, what started as a small stone turned into a fridge sized rock. I had unearthed a monster, and like an iceberg most of its mass was hidden. The rock brushed passed my face and continued to roll over my body as it began its violent journey towards the base of the mountain. I screamed out “ROCK” and then watched the boulder smash its way down hill. When the dust had settled, I realized that the rock had bashed and bruised my leg, but it could have been much, much worse.
Running repairs were needed before I could continue on. After applying a pressure bandage I checked to see if I could walk and everything seemed to still work, with some pain. Because we were so high up on the mountain I decided to carry on, and upon reaching the summit we realized it was a good decision.
The final part of the mish was to clamber back down to Careys Hut to collect our bags and then we walked lake side until back at the Mavora Lakes Campground. Once back we repatched my leg and I could finally take some weight off it.
Even with an injured leg I still really enjoyed climbing Cold Peak. The mission showed us that care is always needed when climbing, hiking or even just walking, because you never know when there might be a fridge sized rock out there, just waiting to crush you!
