T
Clay Roehner climbing the north face of Mt Alarm with the central couloir line visible at bottom left.
Tapuae-o-Uenuku and the Inland Kaikouras words and photos by Shane Orchard 30 N e w Z e a l a n d r o c k a n d i c e
e peaks of the Inland Kaikoura Range can be seen clearly from Wellington, Taranaki and many parts of Marlborough and Canterbury. A cluster of peaks centred on Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku and Mt Alarm rise high above the foothills, producing New Zealand's highest peaks outside of the Southern Alps. Not surprisingly, this remote alpine area has been held in high esteem by the people who have lived or travelled in the region, both as navigational landmarks and for the cultural associations with the high peaks. Both the Inland and Seaward Kaikoura Ranges abound with history as do the nearby river valleys. The Clarence River, which separates the two ranges, has been a major travelling route for Maori for over 750 years. Mount Tapuae-o-Uenuku is the sacred mountain of the Kurahaupo tribes of Marlborough1. The peak’s name is often associated with the Chief Tapuaenuku although it is also the subject of a traditional story. This relates to the journey of a chief who sought his spiritual wife and child by climbing up to the heavens via the rainbow of their ancestor Uenuku, a tribal war god. Nga Tapu Wae O Uenuku are ‘the sacred steps of Uenuku’ and are associated with Tapuae-o-Uenuku which may also be translated as ‘footprint of the rainbow’. The appeal of following the rainbow of Uenuku has also been strong amongst European explorers with Tapuae-o-Uenuku being a popular summit amongst mountaineers since early times. The first known European attempt on the peak was in 1849 and fell just 15 minutes short of the summit before resulting in the death of Wiremu Hoeta who slid on icy ground on the descent. Sir Edmund Hillary remembers Tapuae-o-Uenuku as the first ‘decent mountain’ he climbed following his successful summit attempt in 1944. Despite lacking technically difficulty, the mountain retains its respect today due to a combination of remoteness and sheer size, and due to its unique position well to the east of the peaks of the main divide. Travelling in this area certainly has a unique and mysterious feel to it. Interesting geology and vegetation patterns are home to an eclectic mix of wildlife including a huge population of feral goats. It’s a goat paradise amongst the bluffy outcrops, spaniard gardens and heavily dissected valley systems typical of the area. It’s also great country for lizards as well as stronghold for New Zealand falcon/karearea. 1. See www.theprow.org.nz/mt-tapuae-o-uenuku/
I remember well a previous trip where the presence of kārearea came to my attention with a sharp blow to the fore-head followed by a period of confusion looking for the culprit. A few moments later I began to register what was happening when assailant number two was spotted at point blank range diving out of the sun. It was a very quick lesson in just how territorial these birds can be! Though we had no such jousts with the locals on this recent trip we did get treated to a great run of weather and the opportunity to explore the area in fantastic winter conditions just perfect for what we had in mind. So it was that we had spotted a rare and solid five day window of bluebird weather and made a plan to head in there for a ski mountaineering adventure. Our main plan was to climb and ski four big lines in the area which had not gone unnoticed on a previous trip. Following a hunch from earlier in the season we were hoping that the biggest and baddest of these lines might be in condition due to some big snowfalls from the south-east. Though I had no pictures of the north face of Mt Alarm to show the other lads I had talked it up a fair bit in order to get us out of the car and headed up the Hodder. So I was really hoping it looked as good as I remembered. Of course, no Inland Kaikouras story is complete without at least a brief mention of the Hodder! I’m sure there are many horrific stories of large packs and of a long day’s grind to negotiate this infamous—but also most popular—access to the area. In our mental preparations I was aware that Clay might be due to suffer the most due to his insisting on being a skier. This meant two pairs of heavy boots were onboard compared to two pairs of liners and hoping for the best in my case. Added to five days worth of food and considerable other excess baggage associated with our snow sliding plans I’d made sure he wasn’t expecting an easy day. He was also mightily interested in the route description which called for 70 something river crossings with snow melt a potential issue. So from crossing number one and with a hint of ‘I don’t believe this’ going on, it became obvious that we were going to have to count them. So we did. In our case the river was low and not really too cold so we set about our work with enthusiasm and splashed on up. I knew something might be astray when the crossing count headed into the 60s and yet we seemed to be nowhere near getting out of the riverbed to the comfort of the Hodder huts. After
a bit of head scratching over a possible wrong turn the mystery was fortunately solved when some fellow trampers appeared to confirm that were indeed on the right river and that we could look forward to many more crossings as well. After entertaining them with our ridiculous loads we bade farewell and did eventually find the huts, but not before a quite momentous occasion in the form of the one hundredth crossing! We made a total of 102 crossings in fact, which might be some sort of record and was probably helped no doubt by the lads actively seeking them by the end of it! Following some exciting evening vistas, the next day was all about an early start with the weather in our favour and a good chance of finding our way to Mt Alarm. Our route took us to the base of the main face in order to scope the descent routes before gaining the standard North East Ridge route which
The north face of Mt Alarm as viewed from Tapuae-o Uenuku.
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A b o v e The summit slopes of Tapuae-o Uenuku on a glorious day with the Kaikoura Coast beyond. Facing page clockwise from top left: Floating above the lowlands looking north from Tapuae-o Uenuku. Nick Sutcliffe riding the Mitre couloir. Clay Roehner scoping the entrance to the north-west face of Pyramid.
provides the safest line to the summit. In the crisp morning light the main face couloirs stood out in sharp relief as did the snowclad headwall which was well filled in right off the summit. About then we knew that this was indeed the day and in few hours we might be looking down at some fairly scary stuff. It was brilliant climb of the ridge and was a great position to look back on Tapuae-o-Uenuku, which lies along the same ridge at the opposite end. To the east the sea shimmered a bright blue and the white slopes around us looked somewhat detached from reality as though floating in the sky. Soon enough the summit with its steep southern exposure was upon us, offering up stupendous views all round. As can often be the case, the moment of crampons off and slidey things on induced a few butterflies in such a locale. So with nervous anticipation we fussed about with gearing up procedures until the inevitable came about. At that point there was nothing left to do but ride. The main line here was a plumb line with a super exposed entry meaning a concerted avalanche avoidance plan. Big sluffs over big bluffs were guaranteed. The first few critical turns were the key to getting safely established on the face and locked in for a good time. Then as though conspiring to prevent an exit
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a slight sting in the tail does appear in the form of a steep icy runnel through the lower cliff band and provides a last chapter of excitement to end a great line. Safely regrouped on flatter ground we reflected on this crazy country of ours and how we had awoken on the beach at Kaikoura the day before with pies and surf in mind. The next day the impressive weather continued and gave us the chance to climb Tapuae-o-Uenuku with an early start en route to an investigation of the star studded west face. There are a number of ridiculously skiable couloirs there but only one which caught any sun. So we headed off the summit via the gentle northern snowfields and then regained the west ridge for the first part of our planned eastwest traverse. The couloir of choice turned out to be a fantastic U shaped feature in the centre of the face and spat us out towards a convenient bench where we regrouped for the next stage. This involved traversing further west to the summit of Pyramid where we had seen the substantial north-west face towering high above the Hodder huts. At that point we weren’t 100 per cent sure which of the routes through the rocky sections on the 1100 metre face might offer the way home, but we were about to find out. Thankfully the face wasn’t as steep
as first impressions suggested and our first choice of line proved to be a perfect winding couloir through a great selection of wind-lips and other features. Ten minutes later we were riding towards a now familiar knoll of friendly tussock at the bottom of the snowline, amazed and bemused at the distance we’d covered. If only it was downhill all day! We reflected on another awesome day on another awesome mountain. The east-west traverse of Tapuae-o-Uenuku via the north-west face of Pyramid is an absolutely classic ski route; three stars or more! It was sad to know we’d be leaving soon with so much expansive terrain around and nearly all of it rideable. Had we a rifle we could have certainly stayed for days courtesy of the local goats who seemed to think they had a dinner invite. They were seen coming right to the doorstep of the hut no less! Alas though, they got away leaving us with just one more day of food and a last chance to explore. For this we headed for Mitre which is the other large peak in the area and also host to an extremely large and eye catching couloir which splits the peak. Being on a northern aspect, the couloir offered up great spring corn and though not especially steep it was a perfect end to the trip. Of course, the trip hadn’t quite ended there since we had the small matter of the Hodder to deal with on the tramp out. It was a long day out but thanks to the rainbow of Uenuku we were returning with spirits high. Our beaten bodies would recover soon enough and quite possibly the memories of this place might blur the details of that long day in. Bathed in the evening sun above a field of golden spaniard, the beauty and the sharpness became one. And then ouch! We were reminded that pinching oneself was not going to be needed here. N e w Z e a l a n d r o c k a n d i c e 33