A peak too far CLIMBING NEW ZEALAND’S MT ROLLESTON
Attempting Mount Rolleston was going to be my first proper outing into the world of crampons, ice axes and all-round epicness of mountaineering. Having done a snow skills weekend a month earlier, where we were taught the basics of manhandling your axe, swinging your axe, thrusting your axe and various other wholesome, euphemistic axe-based activities, it was time to put the practice to the test and climb a mountain. I had enlisted the help of some eager, more experienced friends to provide pointers, tips and moral support when things inevitably got ‘a bit real’.
On Friday evening five of us travelled up to Arthurs Pass, a small township at the base of Mount Rolleston, nestled in the alpine pass between Christchurch and Westport in the South Island of New Zealand. Over dinner we decided that, based on the length of the route we were going to do (about 8hrs); it was best to attempt it ‘Alpine Style’. Had I realised that this meant getting up at 3:30am instead of having a bowl of muesli and a morning’s session of yodeling, I may not have been so enthusiastic to agree.
Roll on 3:30am, which comes far too soon regardless of what time you go to bed, and after 45
