“A Mish a Day” #165 Otira Slide. Arthurs Pass National Park. 26.8.2014. For one of New Zealand’s smallest nation parks, Arthurs Pass National Park sure packs a lot into a small area. The difference between the east side of the park and the west side can be worlds apart sometimes, as the West Coast is constantly ravaged by nor’west storms, of which only a small percentage push over the main divide, Kā Tiritriri o Te Moana. Kinda stuck in the middle are the upper reaches of the Otira Valley, which due to its location, is prone to filling up with snow during the winter months. I caught up with my French exploring buddy Cèline, and together we traveled to the small car park located a couple hundred metres down from the Dobson Memorial on Arthur’s Pass(920m). The area was wearing a thick coat of winter snow, and we enjoyed the frosty crunch with each step, as we made our way up the track. The track finishes at a small bridge across the Otira River, and we set up our camp just above the bridge on the snow. I had to set up my tent in the classic winter style, burying my tent pegs in the icy snow, and using rocks from the river to keep the tent secure. The campsite was incredible, with a view across the valley of Phipps Peak(1965m) and Mt Temple(1913m) standing tall above the Temple Basin Ski Area. With a huge amount of effort we somehow managed to start a small fire, which temporarily kept us warm, until the inevitable retreat to the warmth of our sleeping bags.
An early-ish start the next day had us putting crampons on at the door of the tent, under the watchful eye of a local Kea, and then we followed ski tracks up the valley to its head. The mighty west-face of Mt Rolleston(2275m) is an intimidating sight, and we headed left and up the small gut of the Otira Slide. A steep climb took us to the base of Low Peak(2212m) and by the look of all the avalanche pinwheels and the slushy condition of the snow, we knew this wasn’t going to be our day to climb Mt Rolleston’s Low Peak(2212m). Turning back was easy because we were both excited about glissading(sliding on your bum) as much as possible back down the climbing route. A careful down had us away from the super steep ground and on to perfect glissading slopes. This was the one benefit of the soft and slushy snow, as we zoomed our way down the mountain one speed notch away from out of control. The sliding completely made up for the lack of a summit to stand on, and pumped up on adrenaline, we skipped down the remainder of the hike back to the campsite. I was amazed to find that even in the afternoon my tent was still frosted, and the cold stung my fingertips as I stuffed my tent into its cram-sack. The last part of the mission was the wander back down the track in the shaded Otira Valley back to the hum of the cars and trucks on the Arthurs Pass Highway.
