30 N e w Z e a l a N d r o c k a N d i c e N e w Z e a l a N d r o c k a N d i c e 31

T 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, pro-

ducing 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 naviga-

tional 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 tra-

ditional 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 sum-

mit attempt in 1944. despite lacking technically dif-

ficulty, 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 sys-

tems 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/

Tapuae-o-uenuku and The Inland kaIkouraswords and photos by SHaNe orcHard

i remember well a previous trip where the pres-

ence of kārearea came to my attention with a sharp

blow to the fore-head followed by a period of confu-

sion 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 infa-

mous—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 bag-

gage 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 fel-

low 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 hun-

dredth 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.

Clay Roehner climbing the north face of Mt Alarm with the central couloir line visible at

bottom left.

32 N e w Z e a l a N d r o c k a N d i c e N e w Z e a l a N d r o c k a N d i c e 33

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 snow-

line, amazed and bemused at the distance we’d cov-

ered. if only it was downhill all day! we reflected on

another awesome day on another awesome moun-

tain. 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 cer-

tainly 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.

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 noth-

ing left to do but ride.

The main line here was a plumb line with a super

exposed entry meaning a concerted avalanche avoid-

ance 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

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 awo-

ken 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 east-

west 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 tra-

versing 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

A b o v e The sum-

mit slopes of Tapuae-o

Uenuku on a glorious day

with the Kaikoura Coast

beyond.

F a c i n g p a g e c l o c k -w i s e f r o m t o p l e f t :

Floating above the low-

lands looking north from

Tapuae-o Uenuku.

Nick Sutcliffe riding the

Mitre couloir.

Clay Roehner scoping the

entrance to the north-west

face of Pyramid.