The grand entrance to The Alpine Highway - Highway 73. There's alot of magic glittering up in these hills, you can feel it when you see them appear on the horizon from 50 miles away. This is my first taste of it, but with so many similar ski clubs (5 or 6) with rave reviews within about 30 miles, I want nothing more than to return and expore the whole region.
Blog Update - Video!
(Below) These families rock for taking their kids out to the pass to enjoy some floaty time, a few minutes here does yer smile good. There were tons of kids sledding down with inner tubes, and their loyal parents towing them back up (up to a certain weight limit).
Near the top of the Broken River access road (maybe a 15 minute drive... a very hairy, slippery drive), it's thick with snow. Some of the most intense snow driving I've ever done, and I've done tons. But it wasn't lethal were you to crash - your car would slip down the steep hill, but the many trees would catch you. Car = totalled, you = poor but not dead. It's on the better side of Nz access road treachery in my book. 2wd with chains was very unstable, however.
The narrow trail up provided some impressive sights.
As long as you didn't look over the rope! some areas had about 1 foot to walk on, and slipping under/past the rope meant sliding down some really steep stuff, hard to get out alone if you biff it. I was impressed at the rawness already.
nutcracker instructions - read carefully and still suffer. I saw maybe 6 or 7 different methods of latching on. The pros all did a cowboy sling over the rope, but I find that method A) slams your fingers, and B) puts the nutcracker on at a bad angle, ripping it free from your fingers as soon as you hit the 1st or 2nd pulley. I had to "drop" the cracker onto the rope. It's hard to explain what positions my hands were in so I won't try.
This is a fun walk, especially your first time - from the cabins to the day lodge and tow ropes. We had sooo much recent snow (3 feet or so in a few days) that the steps were all flat with packed pow, it was all about using the ropes. No escalator?!?
This Kea didn't want his picture taken. So I did... to document his objections. He later (or one of his doppledangers) picked up my Burton super-duper gloves and gnashed massive slits in them, within seconds. You will always underestimate the power and conniption fittage of a Kea until they destroy something you love.
you can tell these mountains are the newest in the world. They twist and jab quite sharply into the sky.
Completing the final leg of the hike to the tows, you look up and see tracks ending abruptly. But strangely... there are no ropes, or barriers. In the same manner as there are no guardrails on the cliffbound roads, the ski area just... ends... It instills a sense of personal responsibility unrivaled.
day lodge (above) and main ski area (below)
The snow quality up top of the Main Tow (tow #2) was just rediculous... words will betray us! Crystalline burlesque dancers, each and every one of em. Looking over the edge of the backside, was both temptful and frightening. It would be one... sweet... run. To not tell about.
The pinnacle of Broken River technology - the Top Rope Tow. This torture device is much more brutal and awkward than it seems. It's goofy footed for a snowboarder, is frequently elevated above head level (or below waist), has tons of slack, and is just a damn beast to master on a board... backwards. I finally did it at the end of day 2 (and then on 3), but... yeah, it was humbling. And so rewarding, like an Andes Mint after downing the worm at the bottom of the bottle.
Off to the right is our beloved cornice, very exciting to drop off and hard to land.
Sitting on the edge of it, I realize it's quite a few feet down yet, but I give it a shot and tumble a couple times into a mushy fluff pocket.
Here are a couple views of Hamilton off in the distance. This spot (above and below) can be easily reached by hooking a hard right off of Tow #1, it takes you to a great powder area that I doesn't get tracked nearly as hard as the main basin to the left.
I'm not sure what these two guys were talking about, but they're in all 3 of these pictures. They never moved - just soaking up the energy pulsating from this pristine powder patch. I figured they were Illuminati Bilderbergers plotting the end of humanity, or something private like that.
This place is so totally sick. You can choose a powder run, mad steeps, or play with the cornice, cliffs, or chutes, all that jazz, ending in rollers and a really short cat track back to the bottom tow. This is my happy place to go while being tortured.
The tracks on the left supposedly funnel down into Cragieburn, down from the Ham. Unfortunately Cragie had an avalanche that wiped out their main tow pulleys, so it wasn't an option for us, unless you had a car waiting at Cragieburn. Taking the plunge into the valley would be obscene. Tim (see below) and friends rode some of the impossible (1 level up from expert) chutes to the right... and narrowly survived, after Tim's chute had a slide right before him, forcing him to dangerously traverse to another chute.
The Mighty Tim Hull does some break dancing Aussie style after leaping off some wooden thing.
Ben from Australia prepares for a powder dunk above the valley. Ben is a great rider who conquered the nutcrackers impressively fast, fastest within our group of 3.
Sunset from the cabin decks
See those tracks in the upper right? At least 1/3 of those are mine, I finished my journey with still-fresh lines right there in plain sight, 2 days after the storm. That's what the HELL I'm talkin bout!!!
Taking my final run right down the middle, out through the in door. Man I'm gonna miss this, but every part of my body will be thrashed for a week so I'm proud to survive. No serious damage - my thumbs took the brunt of it, curling up and locking muscle due to the nutcracker trauma. Rest of hands seriously sore. Arms devastated from the uphill speed. Legs are ruthlessly sore from everything especially all the hiking, but nothing compared to the upper body damage.
Note to self - exercise ARMS when training for Canterbury
This van was here to greet me when I arrived, and again to see me off.
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