New Zealand's magazine of the outdoors since 1991
MAY 2014
HAAST-HOLLYFORD ROAD
know more, do more, live more
$5000 MERRELL JACKET GIVEAWAY (SEE P60)
Will it destroy a remote Fiordland valley or be a valuable tourist asset?
NZ'S BEST OUTDOOR STORES
(AS VOTED BY YOU)
SKINNING THE TOPS
Why you should go ski touring this winter + Avalanche safety and the gear to take you from piste to backcountry
DRAGONS TEETH HIGH TRAVERSE A scenic wonder and some of the finest tramping in the country
› PREDICT WHEN IT’S SAFE TO CROSS A RIVER
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› 4 WEEKEND TRIPS TO TRY › WET WEATHER GEAR GUIDE › NELSON LAKES’ MAHANGA
RANGE MAPPED IN 3D!
contents May 2014
FEATURES
26
22 And the winners are…
Find out who the winners are in the 2014 Wilderness Outdoor Awards
26 Does dual mean a duel?
After the apparent success of the Heaphy Track mountain bike trial, other Great Walks may soon be dual use. Wilderness finds out what this means for trampers
38 Fiordland road tabled, again
Developers are eyeing a paper road through the Hollyford Valley in the hope of turning it into a multi-million dollar 127km toll road
44 Avalanche survivor’s guide Minimise your avalanche risk with these simple tips to raise your awareness and stay safe in the backcountry
44
50 Snow gear
Kit yourself out for adventures in snowland
54 New opportunities
Ski touring is gaining in popularity and is the best way to explore the backcountry quickly and safely in winter
WAYPOINTS 16 Destinations
Victoria Glacier, Mt Aspiring National Park
18 See more
Three places to view the rare yelloweyed penguin
54
20 Top five trout fishing spots
Easy access locations to cast a lure and catch your dinner
60
$5000
MERRELL JACKET GIVEAWAY Subscribe to Wilderness this month and you’ll go in the draw to win one of 25 Merrell jackets
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1
YOUR TRIPS, YOUR PIX
What did you get up to last weekend?
Laura Roberts and Charmaine White visited Angelus Hut in Nelson Lakes NP
The Hofmann-Body family climbed Gordons Pyramid in Kahurangi NP
Oliver Morton, 7, tramped the Klondyke Spur route in the Victoria Range
Ang Newport and Sue Beaton walked Rakiura Track
Fraser, Finn, Jillian, Caelen and Max Gibson enjoyed the views on Mt Ollivier
Barb Marwick (left) and friends tackled the Pouakai Circuit in Egmont NP
Emma and Kelly Hooton stayed at Hurunui Hut in Kaimai-Mamaku FP
Amy McNabb was awe-struck by this massive tree on the Heaphy Track
SEND YOUR PIX
Get your photo published here and you’ll receive the Swedish ‘Light My Fire’ FireSteel 2.0 ($22) with emergency whistle and 3000°C spark that works wet lighting stoves and fires or as an emergency signal. See www.ampro.co.nz for more. Full submission criteria at wildernessmag.co.nz – search Last Weekend.
Kate Dickson experienced the thrills of Kahurangi NP on her first ever tramp
6 MAY 2014
Bryn Drummond, 7, discovered rare giant snails while tramping the Heaphy Track.
WAYPOINTS
TEETERING ON THE EDGE Victoria Glacier, Mt Aspiring National Park
V
ictoria Glacier icefall teeters spectacularly over the abyss before tumbling some 700m above a small lake at the head of Victor Creek. William O'Leary was probably the first person to admire this view during one of his solitary prospecting trips around the 1920s.The glacier is fed by ice flowing from the equally impressive Marion Plateau. There are some accessible and oftenphotographed icefalls in New Zealand but Victoria Glacier is not one of them. It would take most experienced backcountry trampers three days to get to this
DIFFICULT
viewpoint. Day one up the well trodden Dart Track, day two across the river and up untracked bush followed by a high sidle across tussock, and a third day of steep scree, rock and snowfields to cross the main divide at O'Leary Pass. It’s the awesome beauty and immense scale that makes all of the very few people who come this way stop, stare and wonder for a while. The viewpoint where the figures are standing overlooks a 500m drop to the lake. And there is still almost a kilometre of open air between them and the icefall opposite. - Hugh van Noorden
WILD FILE Access Dart Track begins at the end of the Glenorchy Paradise Rd Grade Difficult Time Two-three days to the glacier Map CA10, CB10
Trampers view the Victoria Glacier icefall from the northern slopes beneath O'Leary Pass
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17
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
30 MAY 2014
MARK WATSON
RIDING the THE STATS DON’T LIE: WHILE BAGGING THE DRAGONS TEETH HIGH TRAVERSE IN KAHURANGI NATIONAL PARK IS THE GOAL OF MANY A TRAMPER, ONLY A HANDFUL CAN SAY THEY’VE DONE IT. MARK WATSON CAN COUNT HIMSELF AMONG THE LUCKY FEW
Saddle between Yuletide Peak and the Needle with Dragons Teeth and Anatoki Peak (left) in the background. The high traverse crosses the centre of the face below the Dragons Teeth
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31
IN SIX YEARS
A PRIVATELY-OWNED HIGHWAY
COULD BE BUILT
THROUGH THIS VALLEY IN
FIORDLAND NATIONAL PARK.
ARE YOU
38 MAY 2014
WITH THAT?
CONSERVATION
The Hollyford River Valley could soon have a private road through it
ISBURY/LIGHTHOUSE CREATIVE
Would a road from Haast to Hollyford be a financial masterpiece bringing tourist dollars to the West Coast and Southland, or would it be a wiggly line of wilderness destruction that would leave rate payers picking up the pieces and trampers rueing what they once had? Matthew Pike investigates
www.wildernessmag.co.nz
39
AVALANCHE
SURVIVOR'S GUIDE Minimise your avalanche risk! Avalanche forecaster Penny Goddard offers some simple tips to raise your awareness and help keep you safer
44 MAY 2014
www.wildernessmag.co.nz
45
MARK WATSON
Near miss – climbers cross recent avalanche debris in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park