Author: Canterbury University Tramping Club

Location: Andrews Shelter, Arthur’s Pass
Date: 21 March, 2015
Participants: Matt Falloon and a crew of happy tramps

Words & Images: Susanne Birgelen

On a very sunny Saturday Matt and a group of motivated trampers met at the UCSA carpark. Everyone arrived well prepared with towels and extra clothing, since we were going to be wet. Our plan called for an adventure, so we were very glad for the great weather. We started walking at Andrews Shelter, about 25km south of Arthur’s Pass Village. Right at the beginning we had to walk steeply uphill. But the rest of the first half of the tramp was rather a nice stroll tramping up the Andrews Stream Track. We had plenty of time and pleasure to enjoy the forest, take pictures and watch birds.

Continue reading “Andrews Stream”

Location: Magdalen Hut, St James Walkway, Lewis Pass
Date: March 7-8, 2015
Participants: 60+ Freshers

Images by Samuel Chau and Josie Dransfeld

“This trog is largely concerned with Freshers – CUTC’s first big annual tramping trip – and from its pages a reader may discover much of its character and a little of its history”

Continue reading “Concerning Freshers”

Words & images: Alastair McDowell
Participants: David Chen, Elisha Nutall, Alastair McDowell

There are only a few days each year when the many suns, stars and moons that govern perfect mountaineering conditions at Mt Cook line up. To be there ready, with a climbing partner, feeling fit and primed to pounce at this very moment – the chances seem impossibly slim. But on one such day in mid-December, the impossible happened.

Good weather was moving in for the weekend, so we made our move to advanced base-camp – Plateau Hut – on a miserably wet Wednesday. Although my climbing partners Elisha and David were quite keen, as most are, to fly from Mt Cook village up to the Grand Plateau, I was determined to make a clean ascent from the road-end, and eventually convinced them to join me.

Continue reading “A Journey to the Top of New Zealand – Aoraki Ascent”

Words & images: Enda Walsh
Participants: Simon Litchwark, Jeff Ducrot, Enda Walsh

So Ball Pass. It had been on my mind for some time. I’d first heard about it from Alex Warnaar when we did our Basic Alpine Skills course with the Canterbury Mountaineering Club. We were up at Mueller hut and Alex mentioned it as a route from across the Mount Cook Range from the Hooker to the Tasman Valleys, one that was good to do in Winter if you were confident in your snow and ice skills.

Continue reading “Brilliant Ball Pass”