Caroline Hut

A weekend of ski touring around Caroline Hut 14th-15th July 2018 with James Waetford, Sam Waetford, Tanja de Wilde and Imogen van Pierce.

Turns out packing and leave Christchurch late on Friday and getting up at 4.30am on Saturday if the best cure for end of week exhaustion and lack of sleep all week. However, the Ball Road plus Subaru Legacy is not the best idea at 4.30am in the morning. Sorry Scuby, I love you, and will never forget you!

Turned out to be a great weekend, despite the slightly concerning forecast, we picked a great spot. There was lots of lovely powder. Kudos to Sam for making it all the way to the hut in running shoes. The rest of us had a lovely if slightly exposing ski tour along the ride. Bit of a sandbag for Imogen's first ski tour, particularly when it turned out her skins needed re-glueing and proceeded to come off. So she had to boot pack the rest of the way!

Lovely powder turns in the bowls near the hut, the odd bit of wind crust, a few old avalanches , but conditions were very manageable. And capped off with an excellent ski down the basin beside the hut and just a few hundred metres of steep scrub while wearing ski boots and carrying skis.

All in all a great adventure!

Sunrise on the Ball Road, just past Ball Shelter

Looking back down the Tasman at Sunrise

Sunrise over Tasman Lake

Tanja, cool as a cucumber, stoked to be out in the mountains

The clouds closed in slightly towards evening

Sunrise from my sleeping bag the next morning, colours just about match the sleeping bag too!

Weather slightly less clear on Sunday, but no where near the forecasted wind. Spot our touring track from the previous day

Love how the light is picking out the detail in the ridges and moraine here

Ditto here, always really like the way the Murchison River flows in behind the glacier, it just seems somewhat improbable

Couldn't resist the Panorama

Token photo of the Caroline Face, unfortunately about 30 secs too late for the clouds

James skiing. P.S I'm just a little bit proud of those lovely ski tracks below Imogen =P

Tanja shredding the GNAR in this epic basin

Sam in powder action!

Here comes Imogen! Whoops!

At least it was a nice soft landing and we didn't have to all walk back up to find a ski... at least not on this occasion!

Yeh that looks like a great route guys!

Skiers in their element... Hmmm...

Sam the camel had two humps...

Tanja and James had left their shoes at Ball Shelter, so she ran back to get them (using my shoes) and we took turns double packing it on the way out.

Contemplating the Moraine on Ball Road

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