“On a Mish” #11 Summer Snow (Part Three). East Face of Ocean Peak. Mt Aspiring National Park. 16.1.2012. Te Waipounamu sits in the line of some rather nasty weather and anything near the west coast gets it first and at its most furious. Luckily most of the populated places are far away from the fury that nature unleashes but it is post storm that an indescribable beauty can be found, and this to me seems to make braving the weather worth it. The phrase ‘four seasons in one day’ can be a perfect way to describe a day in the mountains of Aotearoa, however it was the fact that snow was falling in January that made my summer climb of Ocean Peak really interesting…
Apart from climbing a short exposed gully to the top, the hard stuff was over. I gave myself a ‘man up’ pep talk and within a few tense moments I was standing on the top of Ocean Peak. The summer snow added to the epicness and I even got the best glimpses of the Darran Mountains I’d seen all day. Also for the first time I could see Lake MacKenzie and all three faces of Ocean Peak at once. I reported my accomplishment to the crew over the radio and then it was time to get back to my car, which seemed as far away as ever.
It was lucky I went all out and brought my crampons as I really needed them on the descent. In places I had to downclimb and just hope that the spikes held. By now it was mid morning and the snow was starting to get really soft. The space in between my spikes kept filling with snow and I had to keep stopping to clear it out. The process made downward travel slow, but at least the scenery was super epic.
I eventually got down onto easier ground and to my surprise I saw the Chamois footprints that I had followed early in the mish. At one point they led to the edge of a bluff / cliff and I was a little puzzled as to where I should go next. I didn’t have much time to think before the ground around me began to move and before I knew it I was looking at the blue sky while I fell towards the base of the cliff. I landed backwards facing, pack first in a pile of snow and managed to pick myself up and dust myself off. After a few seconds I began to walk, once again puzzled but this time it wasn’t about the whereabouts of the goat but about what had just happened.
It was probably back at the lodge when I was describing what had just taken place to one of the lodge managers that I realised how lucky I had actually been. The mini avalanche was kind to me and it definitely could have ended very badly. After a quick cuppa I continued on my way, and within a couple of hours I was driving back to Queenstown with a story to tell the other guides.
My experience on Ocean Peak was a real reminder that Mother Nature is in charge out there and we have to do our best to survive in her world. Every now and then she throws a curve ball at us and for me it was summer snow on a peak called Ocean but named after a sea…
