New Zealand: Climbing in Mt. Cook National Park (Part 1/3)

My last week in New Zealand was spent living in the middle of the Fox Glacier holed up in desolate shack called Pioneer Hut. Fox Glacier runs through the heart of Mt. Cook National Park and is surrounded by several 3000m peaks. The plan was to use Pioneer as a base camp of sorts and attempt to ascend one or more of the mountains in the area.

To describe the experience I thought I'd post the daily notes I kept during the expedition (with some obvious editorializing).

Sunset over the Fox Glacier.

March 21

The day starts slow: gear check followed by a three-hour drive to the small town of Fox. We arrive to perfect weather. Clear blue skies, no wind, no cloud, and Fox is abuzz as tourists pack the town's outfitters, booking glacier walks, helicopter rides, and ice climbing adventures. I start to think our helicopter ride up the glacier to Pioneer will alone be enough to make the trip worthwhile.

Pioneer Hut and the Fox Glacier.

Our ride on the way out.

We eventually settle into Pioneer, which is quite spacious for just the two of us. I quickly notice two drawbacks: First, there's no heater or stove. Pretty normal for most climbing expeditions, but I'd come to expect luxury during my days in New Zealand. Second, the washroom is located some distance from the hut itself, and the route requires a rather death-defying traverse across an outcrop of rocks. There's at least one V0 move, which I soon learn increases sharply in grade when the rocks are snow covered and/or icy.

Ramp from the heli landing pad.

Kitchen area.

My bouldering problem.

Arriving at the hut Simon (my NZ guide) and I meet a Katie. Katie has a thick Scottish accent and the sunburn on her face, which outlines the place where her glacier glasses would sit, suggests she's a climber. She confirms my assumption and says that on the previous day she and her friends climbed Grey Peak. Today she stayed behind while three of them set off to attempt Moonshine Buttress -- a mostly rock route that Katie says is "crux pitch 17." I have no idea what she means by this but nod and say the obligatory "Sweet." But Katie was worried because her group had not yet returned; when a couple more hours passed without their arrival she became openly stressed.

I tell Simon that this one perfect day at the hut has made it all worthwhile, and that I'll consider the trip a success even if we don't see the sun for the rest of the week. He laughs at me.

Too excited.

We don't see Katie's friends until very late in the day, when Katie yells that she seems them rappelling near the bottom of the rock. We watch them descend the glacier and they arrive back at the hut after 12 hours away. In the meantime Katie cooks dinner for the group and is clearly expecting a relaxing evening.

Descending the glacier.

Her friends have other ideas and suggest the group continue in the dark until they reach Chancellor Hut -- which sits much further down the glacier and they'll be forced to navigate any crevasse fields in complete darkness. Moments after they leave we see them crawling along, using their headlamps to light the way, and I say to Simon that I'd bet they've come to regret their decision.

At least they got a pretty spectacular view of the sunset.

Off they go.

Crevasse navigation by headlamp.

The night sky over Pioneer.

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