Mt Wall

Sunday 9 July 2023

Our leader, Merv, arrived at the meeting place on this drizzly day, not expecting to see anyone. To his surprise Wang, Peter and Kerry were there, convinced the weather would be better inland. It was. From the Sheffield, Springfield straight we had views of sunlit snow-capped mountains. We parked at Broken River ski road’s locked gate and walk up the road, then the zip-zag track to the ski buildings. The field was severely lacking in snow as we walked beside the stationary, upper rope tow, then sidled to a spur that led to the ridge. 

Views were limited by mist as we sheltered in the lee of the ridge for lunch. Fresh drifts of powder snow on the ridge were avoided as we climbed to point 1884, higher than 1874m Mt Wall. Minimal snow on the very craggy ridge made our task harder as we turned SE to Mt Wall. In some places it was easier to get off the ridge and sidle. 

From Mt Wall we had good views, but mist further down made it harder to navigate the massive scree areas and know which gully to descend. Only one gully goes all the way to Broken River, the others peter out and run into beech forest. We reached Merv’s car at 4:30 and arrived home to a dark, drizzly evening. 

We: Merv Meredith, Wang, Peter Umbers and Kerry Moore had a good, dry day out, inland, while Christchurch had a drizzly day. [KM]