Mount Cook

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Hey everybody!

I apologize that it has taken me a while to update the TravelBlog. I have been preoccupied dealing with some issues that have come as a result of a substantial change in my personal life. Surprisingly, I am doing really well! However, I always greatly appreciate emails and phone calls from all of you.

Ok, on to Mount Cook. Mount Cook is the tallest mountain in Australasia (Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islander countries). It is the largest mountain in the Southern Alps—the major mountain range of the South Island. Mt. Cook is located in the middle of the range near the west coast of the South Island (about 4 hours away from Christchurch) and has snow covered peaks year round. Eight of us students piled into two rental cars and took off on a 5-day camping trip (or as it is known here—“tramping”). We arrived at the base of Mt. Cook on Thursday evening just in time to set up our tents and enjoy some beverages.

Mt. Cook is extremely treacherous—steep, bad weather, strong winds and frequent avalanches—so climbing to its peak was not a possibility. Instead, we decided to take the “Mueller Hike” to the top of the mountain adjacent Mt. Cook. The Mueller Hike has been defined as a “popular yet strenuous” hike. At the end of the hike/climb on the top of the mountain, there is a hut which is creatively named “Mueller Hut.” The hut had neither electricity nor running water. In fact, to obtain water for a pasta meal on top of the mountain, I had to head out on the mountainside with a shovel to collect snow in a pot so we could boil it in the gas kitchen. Ha!

We woke up early on Friday to commence the Mueller Hike. The weather was beautiful—sunny and 75 (sounds like San Diego…I can’t wait!!)—and remained beautiful during the entire weekend. According to the Mt. Cook Visitor Center, the hike was supposed to take somewhere between 3-5 hours to complete……of course they neglected to tell us that this estimate was based on hikers carrying day packs, not ridiculously heavy overnight packs. The ascent, with a 30+ pound backpack (food, booze, sleeping gear, clothing, water, flashlight, batteries, etc.), was one of the most taxing exercises I have ever done! I reached the summit exactly 4 hours after I started the hike and was completely exhausted. However, the tough trek was well worth the climb—the view from the top of the mountain was absolutely amazing! From the top, I could see (and hear) avalanches tear down Mount Cook. I have never seen an avalanche in person, so I was very impressed.

To say that the hut was a modest means of accommodation would be an incredulous understatement. The hut consisted of a kitchen/dining room/card room, an outside deck and a 20-person bedroom. The hut had a lighting system that was powered by a giant rechargeable battery. So, when the sun set, we were able to use the battery powered lights to play poker in the kitchen……however, the batteries only lasted for 45 minutes at a time before they shut off and left us in darkness. Thus, our poker games were played under the glow of headlamps and torches. It would be safe to say that cheating was prevalent. Pretty funny.

The descent was not as physically taxing as the ascent—I was not struggling to catch my breath—but was rough on the knees and ankles. We traversed through a cloud during the most dangerous part of the descent…..kind of scary, but also really cool!

Although I have said this before, honestly, my pictures do NOT do justice for what I have seen with my eyes! The views were amazing. Even if I strapped a video camera to my head and filmed at all points in time, the videos would not be able to capture the beauty of this country.

I have multiple updates that I will be sending out over the next couple of days. Again, I apologize for being out of touch recently, but I promise I will make up for it with great pictures!

Andy

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Photos

Running Sheep
In New Zealand, there are 4 million people and 40 million sheep (as I have been told, "No jokes please"). The sheep here are absolute sissies......they tear off as fast as they can when they hear a blaring car horn. It is absolutely hilarious to see their little tailfeathers a shaking.

Geraldine
Lovely little town on the way to Mount Cook.

Hooker Valley Campgrounds
Up front: My tent
In back: Matt stretching
Surroundings: Hooker Valley Campgrounds

Hiking
At low elevations, much of the trail had steps. However, as we moved up the mountain, the steps disappeared.

Clouds Rolling in.....
...behind Adam and I.

Comments

[Aunt Laura]

Love you!! Enjoy!!!

[sheila]

beautiful
Andy, beautiful pictures. Love Mt. Cook Lake. It is exquisite! Come home soon. We miss you.

[Colichio]

BAAAA
Sheep are sissies EVERYWHERE. Although, they might be a bit more sissyish in NZ. You'll have to get back to me about that one.

[mom]

What a great blog!!! What a great guy!!! Love you much. Can't wait till you get home. We can share stories. You in NZ and me in Stilwell. Very similar stories, I am sure.