“On a Mish” #204 It’s Not Going to Snow, It’s Summertime (Part One). Upper Wye Creek. Remarkables Conservation Area. 16.12.2016. From a young age I have been fascinated by the weather. Living in New Zealand is a great way to experience all sorts of interesting weather events due to our remoteness in the South Pacific Ocean. Expressions like “there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing” and “four seasons in one day” are common amongst the hiking community of Aotearoa. And I can say from firsthand experience, in New Zealand always be prepared for anything the weather can throw at you, and that can even be some snow during summertime….
On a lot of my missions, I have carried many items of clothing like extra gloves, down jacket etc, and not even thought about using them. However, on a mission with my girlfriend (at the time) to the tarns in the upper basin of Wye Creek I was going to put my over-cautious approach to each mountain mish to the test when some unexpected snow arrived on the scene.
The wild adventure began with a very sketchy drive up the Remarkables Road into the alpine world near Queenstown. The winter of 2016 had one last storm left, and this rolled through the day before, painting the mountain tops white. The snow increased in thickness as we drove higher on the Remarkables Road.
Just before the ski field’s base building there were a couple of cars parked up, which seemed strange as the real car park was only a couple of switchbacks away? Suddenly, the car’s wheels couldn’t get traction on the road’s icy surface and upward was no longer an option. After a few scary seconds I regained control and slipped and slid back down to a parking area a couple hundred metres back down the road. I now understood why there were cars parked here!
From the lower parking area, we began to wander up the ski field to Lake Alta, and then on to Wye Creek Saddle and beyond. It was good to be out of the car and on the move marching towards our goal. The overnight southerly blast had coated the skifield with snow, leaving it looking like a ski-able day during the early days of summer. In December the place was looking more like it was July!
At Lake Alta we watched a lone deer swim across the semi frozen lake, giving the appearance that the deer was being chased by something. Luckily, we knew that it wasn’t fleeing a predator like most other places around the world. It soon became apparent that the deer was getting away from the next blast from the southerly front, and she knew this was not the time to be frolicking around in the Remarkables Mountains!
As the weather began to deteriorate we pushed on. We both had good clothing and equipment with us, so the wild weather didn’t bother us too much. However, with that said we didn’t expect to be transported to the middle of winter! The thoughts of “It’s not going to snow, it’s the summertime” were now afterthoughts as wave after wave of southerly blast hit us. Some might not enjoy this sort of experience, but when you are prepared for it, it just adds to the excitement. Our challenge now was finding somewhere sheltered to pitch our tent…
