Mt Rolleston Attempt
Activity Date:
Updated:
People:
Finn,
Justin,
Francie,
Becky
| Sat Apr 9, 2022 [Show, Download GPX] Mt Rolleston Adventure | 12.96km 7:17:34 | 1.78km/hr 1236m ⬆️, 1216m ⬇️ |
| Sat Apr 9, 2022 [Show, Download GPX] Otira —> Arthur’s Pass | 5.15km 0:40:12 | 7.69km/hr 129m ⬆️, 276m ⬇️ |
| 18.11km 7:57:46 | 2.27km/hr 1365m ⬆️, 1492m ⬇️ |
The day started at 5 am when my alarm went off. I snuck out of bed, crept into some clothes and wandered down the driveway with my backpack to wait for my parents to pick me up. We stopped in Arthur’s Pass to pick up Becky and had another coffee which was much needed!
The sun was coming up, blue sky and no wind. A peak autumnal day. We started off up the Otria Valley Track wearing too many layers, of course and soon paused to shed some clothes. We continued on for about 90min before reaching our turnoff point near the head of the valley. We took a sharp left and picked our way through the tussocks up to Goldney Ridge.
We started the traverse along the ridge but realised we had to dive off it to get around a bit of a gulch. No matter. We continued up the ridge – the face to Point 2212 (Low Peak) looming in front of us. Dad is a mountaineer since his youth and Mum and Becky have done some scrambly peaks but none of us was enjoying the increasing exposure. We continued along a bit further but decided it wasn’t for us today and turned back.
After lunch in the delightful sun we clambered down what looked to be a scree slope, but upon closer inspection was revealed to be more bouldery than anything. No matter. Back to the car.
I decided to run the track back to Arthur’s Pass because I was feeling good and like I wanted to be outside a little bit longer. Mum and Dad too my gaiters and I turned off just before the car. The first part of the track is in severe disrepair but it gets much nicer after passing Temple Basin. It’s got a whole lot much undulation than I expected, but was a totally enjoyable run!
