Having our days off aligned again, we decided to wander up to Mt Brewster to see what condition the mountain was in, with the hope to climb a chimney on the north side or the classic south west face. On top of the obvious summit challenge we wanted to get a photo for the Christmas cards to send to family and try and see the meteor shower we heard on the news.
Driving along the Haast pass road with towering valley walls reminded me of the walks we did in the glacier carved fiordland, right until we saw Mt Brewster perched over 2000 metres above us and covered in what looked like loads of snow, then I remembered this time, we're going to the top! 2 kilometres and 1000 metres of ascent guard the popular Brewster hut. Climbing the tree rooted path through beech forest in temperatures of the high teens, we started to feel the effects of the 45 hour work weeks, but planned our hydration points and soon found ourselves marveling at the view across the Southern Alps.
 |
| Enjoying the Alps |
Having chat's with folks returning from a night at Brewster Hut, told us of the busy night they had of 20 people and only 12 bunks, leaving people to sleep on the deck outside with the Kea's as 5am alarm clocks... They also told us of 2 climbing parties who had been forced to turn around due to soft snow and cornices and that there was a party who was giving it a go that day. Although I've learnt to take information gained from folks on the hill with a pinch of salt, this information coupled with the amount of snow we'd already seen started the bubbling feeling from my stomach of 'this isn't going to be as straightforward as we first thought'. Lucy however, seemed to be happy in the thought that she wasn't drafted for work and that she was out on an adventure no matter what.
Camping high in the hills is always a special event; mountain visa's, escapism and the chance of a light free star kissed sky. Our 1900 metre spot was no different; a glacier, countless summits and never ending skies, gave this spot the wow factor. It felt so raw, that the whole camping experience felt as if I was camping in the hills for the first time again. As I became accustomed to camping again and after we filled our belly's with the normal camping food, we started to replan the next day. Having spoke to the climbers who reached the summit that day after a 12 hour climb and descent (not including the 5 hour walk down) we decided that we would err on the side of caution and decided that the less committing west ridge would be our best option for this trip and fell asleep with the warm sun still beating down on us, ready for an early start.
 |
| Camp spot |
With the warmer summer alpine temperatures comes the beauty of early alpine start's. 3am rolls around and the stars are out and a chill is in the air. Unfortunately, my quarter-assed attempt at photographing the sky, mountains and camp spot whilst packing down and cooking breakfast resulted in poor photos. Even with a full assed attempt, I still think the photos wouldn't do the star's justice. Millions of star's scattered the sky from horizon to horizon, with a denser band running straight over head showing off the impressive Milky way. Having the perception to reach out and touch the star's only enhanced the surreal experience of traversing towards Mt Brewster.
 |
| Across the glacier |
Tramping across the glacier as dawn broke on the mountains was a refreshing experience, away from work, Wanaka business and the general everyday life, this was our weekend and this was why we came to New Zealand.
After four hours we reached a spot height of 2200 metres and realised we had a decision to make, commit another few hours to get to the summit and accept the long day ahead or take the conservative option and snap the Christmas card shot there and cherish the experiences so far away from the all too familiar summit fever.
All I can say is that after 12 hours on the go we arrived back at the car having picked the conservative option.... and finally made it back in time to scoff some food and shower before falling asleep.
 |
| Our high spot |
Even though we didn't reach the summit, or even get on the climbing route we wanted, we still had a fantastic weekend less than 2 hours drive from Wanaka. Despite the slight regret for not committing, we're still fired up and ready for the next alpine adventure.
