Snowcraft Course

The snowcraft course is an introductory mountaineering course- the goal being to gain skills and build confidence walking through an alpine environment. We learned how to use crampons and ice axes and spent several hours sliding down the mountain (forward, backwards, on our fronts and backs) practicing properly stopping ourselves with our ice axes (self- arrest). We also built snow caves. The university tramping club ran their course at the same location this weekend. I almost did the course with them rather than with the Christchurch tramping club- they built giant snow caves and slept in them- I heard it was a little chilly! (We stayed in the warm club hut in the town of Arthur's Pass). The 2nd picture is a Kea- one of the few alpine parrots in the world. They are amazingly intelligent. Like a lot of NZ birds, they are very unafraid of people since before humans arrived (which in the scheme of things was not that long ago) they had no predators.

Port Levy

Banks Peninsula (Christhcurch is right next to Lyttleton on the top)
Port Levy is the 2nd bay from the top

These trees just grew this way due to the prevailing wind!

Thundercat Boating

Kayaking

This weekend I went to Port Levy with the tramping club. Although the weather wasn't perfect, it was nice to see what the bay was like. Port Levy is one of the many bays in the Banks Peninsula. The Banks Peninsula is of volcanic origin (you can tell from the map), and it is just south of Christchurch. All the bays are very calm and great from kayaking (and swimming- in the summer. The water feels really cold at this time of the year!) Someone from the tramping club brought along their Thundercat boat and we each got to go for a ride. It can go really fast- and if there weren't straps for your hands and feet you'd surely fall off! A crazy sport is Thundercat racing over giant ocean waves. It's really dangerous though- it's not uncommon for boats to flip over.

Cameron Hut (Arrowsmiths)

The Arrowsmith mountain range is one of the mountain ranges in New Zealand that has been glaciated, and it looks a bit more like the rockies. Cameron Hut is located in a glacial basin, and the Cameron glacier and Douglas glacier are just behind it. Unfortunately they have retreated a lot in recent years (the hut has been around since 1952), so nowadays only the very base of the Cameron glacier can be seen from the hut. The hut has 9 beds (as bunks) but it is pretty tiny- and uninsulated, with no stove! It went down to -12 at night, but surprisingly, after cooking supper, it stayed fairly warm in the hut- although a few people woke up to find their hiking boots frozen solid. (Just to be sure, I had kept mine practically under my pillow!)

Clear Day at Mount Hutt

Yesterday was a really clear day at Mount Hutt. There are still a few un-open runs because it is still early in the season. The conditions were good even though there hasn't been any new snow since the last time we went (almost 2 weeks ago). It was great to have good visibility, but it's weird not having any trees on the ski hill! (Less obstacles to avoid though).

Rapaki Rock

On other side of Christchurch (Diamond Harbour)

This weekend I did a couple of short hikes in the Port Hills which surround Christchurch to the east and south. There are dozens of great walking and biking trails- all with nice views from the top. It was sunny for once- so we could even see the snowy Kaikoura Mountains in the background. Christchurch is in a valley, and lots of people still use only "log burners" (fireplaces) to heat their homes- so that's why there is a bit of haziness over top of the city.