A couple of days ago I wanted to head down to the Routeburn and get some GPS points for a winter mission I have been planning.
However, the ‘loosers’ from the ‘Biggest Looser’ TV show were on the track the day before and they fucked up some of the bridges….
With the Routeburn off limits, I thought I’d have another crack at getting up to the Earnslaw Glacier. Mt Earnslaw is New Zealands 3rd highest mountain and is a feature in the distance pretty much every day I go skiing.
Two years ago I tried to get up into this valley and a couple of 1,000 foot bluffs prevented me. This time I tried the other side of the valley…. I was like a fat kid on a snickers… I was all over it.
This is the view I had while I ate lunch. First – looking north at the glacier.
From the same spot looking south back towards the car.
Most of the 8hrs hiking I spent below tree line where you couldn’t see more than 100m ahead but occasionally I popped out of the trees and got a bit of a view…..
Like most New Zealand glaciers, Earnslaw Glacier is growing. Perhaps some of those suburban/arm-chair hippies would like to join me next week when I visit ‘Brewster Glacier’. Al Gore has an open invitation.