Mt. Holdsworth (1470m) for Matariki

 Since we took on Mt. Hector a few weeks back, proper winter weather has set in, meaning time to strap on the crampons and grab the ice axe and head up-- this time, to Mt. Holdsworth, just outside of Carterton.

The bush is remarkably diverse on this side of the Tararuas, and above 1,000m it becomes a proper winter wonderland.

 The winter weather was somewhat less wondrous as we cleared the tree line and approached Powell Hut.

Luckily, the group of trampers who'd arrived before us has started a fire. Jake, Gareth, Chris and Matt were "gastro-camping", and carried plenty of libations as well. And, as if we needed more proof that Wellington is a village, we quickly discovered a common connection in Lucia, who is working with me at Te Whare Marie and godmother of Jake's son.

 Although is snowed most of the night, the weather cleared around midnight. We got up before sunrise to see the Matariki cluster of stars in the pre-dawn northeastern sky. The first new moon after the rise of Matariki (aka the Pleiades) heralds the Maori New Year.

 Then it was up to attempt the summit. With all the fresh powder, we made it to the ridge before the final ascent, but were hampered by thigh-deep drifts. Still, it was absolutely magical.

We made quick work of the descent, and snapped this "here's where we spent the night" photo on the way down (at Rocky Lookout).

Here is Kristen's Tanka commemorating the journey:

Oblique winter moon

Casting long, mid-day shadows

The forest approves

Ascending, green turns to white

These shortest days: Exquisite

Otaki Forks to Mt Hector (1529m)

With the calendar turning to June, the days grow short and the nights cool. Soon the Tararuas will be covered in a blanket of snow, but the peaks (for now) are still relatively accessible. We began our ascent at the Western trailhead, Otaki Forks. If you look closely along the right slope of the hill in the centre foreground, you can see a little shimmer coming off the river flat where we started.

The bush is fairly lush up to Field Hut, but quickly gives way to high-country tussock above 900 metres. Luckily, the clouds were hanging out at 1200-1300 metres, so above them we had clear sky (well, not on the way back down, but what's a tramp without a little weather?).

 The picture below of the moonrise was taken from Kime Hut, the icebox where we spent the night.

Well, to be fair, we only spent part of the night there, as we got up at 3:30 AM to summit Mt Field and watch the moon set. It turned from bright silver to pumpkin-orange as it set below the clouds, leaving us in total darkness with the Southern Cross low on the opposite sky and the band of Milky Way stretching at an oblique angle from horizon to horizon. Before heading back to bed to warm up, we sat and mused at how small we are, two specs on a tiny planet looking inward from the edge of the galaxy. 

Soon the sun rose from the same Eastern sky where the moon had risen the night before. As the wind and clouds were rising rapidly, we scrambled up to the peak of Mt Hector, at the far right of the picture below.

And here's the view from the summit of Mt Hector. Looking to the East . . .

. . . and to the South.

The coolest part of this experience was the fact that this is the highest peak of the Tararuas we see in the distance when looking North from the window of our flat in Wellington on a clear day. Now we can point to it and say, "I've been there."

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