CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Snow-chains & courage
should be carried at all times. Road sign en-route to Mount
Olympus; Pearce and dad, Laurence, on top of the Sphinx
ready to descend to Top Hut, Mt Olympus.
BeyondLakeColeridgetheOlympusroadwoundthrough
rocky hills.A signtoldus‘snowchainsandcourageshouldbe
carried atalltimes.’
On up wewentona narrowroadwithoccasionalcrumbling
edges andenoughsnowto addfurtherinterest.Onduskwe
parked at theskifieldwheretherewasnothingbuta littlehut
and Viv andPearceto greetus.
Top Hutitselfwasperchedhalfwayuptheslopes,
necessitatinga journeyontworopetowsto reachit. It wasa
very specialplaceto stay;sleepingsome 50 peopleandvery
well appointed.
Perhapsit wastheSundaynight,buttherewasnowildparty,
just conversationswithaninternationaltribeonallthatwe
love aboutthewhitestuff.
The playgroundof thegodstreateduswellthatlastdayof
what had beenanincrediblethreeweeksskiing.Inclearing
skies, the twoupperropetowsgaveupsomebeautifulskiing
before wehikedupLittleAlaskafora softsnowreturn.After
lunch we gobbleddownmorerunsbeforeLaurence,Pearce
and I bootpackedupto theSphinxforonefinaloff-pisterun.
The endwasnigh.Partwaydowntheaccessroad,a signtold
us somethingwedidn’twantto acknowledge.‘Backto Reality’
it proclaimed.TheFourteenFields
Visited:
MtDobsonwww.mtdobson.co.nz
Ohauwww.ohau.co.nz
Roundhillwww.roundhill.co.nz
FoxPeakwww.foxpeak.co.nz
MtLyfordwww.mtlyford.co.nz
Porterswww.skiporters.co.nz
TempleBasinwww.templebasin.co.nz
BrokenRiverwww.brokenriver.co.nz
Craigieburnwww.craigieburn.co.nz
Cheesemanwww.cheeseman.co.nz
MtOlympuswww.mtolympus.co.nz
Notvisited:
HanmerSpringswww.hanmersprings.co.nz
Rainbowwww.skirainbow.co.nz
Awakinowww.skiawakino.com
Allareashireski/snowboardinggearandthose
withropetowsalsohirenutcrackers,beltsandglove
protectors.Don’twearyourbestskigearfortherope
tows.
SkishopsoutsideChristchurcharefoundatFairlie
andDarfield.UsefulResources
Generalinformationcanbefoundonthetourism
sitesChristchurchNZ(www.christchurchnz.com/),
TourismWaitaki(www.waitakinz.com/)and
MackenzieRegion(https://mackenzienz.com/)
ThecomprehensiveChillsite(www.chillout.co.nz/)
hasoffersonsnowpassescoveringmultipleskiareas
anddetailsontheCraigieburnHauteRoutetour.
Bothweatherandforecastingarehighly
unpredictablein theSouthernAlps.Metserviceis
thegovernmentservice(www.metservice.com/
mountains-and-parks/ski-fields). TheNewZealand
AvalancheAdvisory(www.avalanche.net.nz/)is vital
foranyoneventuringoff-piste.SKI NEW ZEALAND
Outdoor \ 57