Woolshed Hill and an attempt on the Savannah Range

With a trip to Greymouth for work, I took the opportunity to have another attempt at the Savannah Range traverse, our previous two attempts having been stopped by  waist deep snow the first time and strong winds the second.

I left the Hawdon Shelter at a little after 16:00 on the Friday evening after a brief chat with a couple of hunters heading up Sudden Valley. Climbing at a reasonable pace, I reached the first tarn, which was to be my campsite for the night at around 17:30. The tarn was a bit more exposed than I remembered it, being completely unprotected to any westerly winds. Luckily the night was completely still. It was pitch dark before I finished dinner and the temperature dropped rapidly too. I hit the sack pretty quickly.

Mount Binser from near the Hawdon Shelter.

Woolshed Hill Track.

Late evening over the Waimakariri River and Black Range.

Last daylight from Woolshed Hill.

I was up early on the Saturday morning. It would have been pretty fresh overnight as there was frost on the inside of the tent. I spent a while watching the sunrise on the Polar Range before heading off.

First light on the Black Range.

Morning Sunlight on the Black Range.

Sudden Valley from Woolshed Hill.

The Polar Range.

Woolshed Hill campsite.

Up to point 1520 the range traverse is straightforward, though there is a fair amount of descending and climbing , including a drop right down to the bush line just before point 1520. I stopped for lunch just after this top to survey the route ahead.

Sugar Loaf and Cass Hill from Woolshed Hill.

Mount Binser from Woolshed Hill.

From here the ridge changes in character. I sidled across the face below point 1676, but regaining the ridge I encountered some fresh loose snow on the ridge. The ridgeline narrowed a lot at point 1657 and the wind had got up making balance unsteady. The guidebook talks about sidling around this on steep scree, but it looked very uninviting and slippery from where I was and I calledit a day at this point. Maybe after three goes I should give up on this range traverse?

Point 1676 on the ridge traverse. I sidled across the face to avoid the bluffs (L)

I back tracked a little and then dropped down in to the Andrews Stream off of point 1478. A recently used (like yesterday) deer trail made the descent very straightforward. I camped at one of the many sites in the Andrews Valley at the bottom of Hallelujah Flat, a much warmer nights sleep than the previous evening.

Looking towards Point 1657 on the Savannah Range.

East Hawdon watershed with Mount Valiant in the background.

Ridge around point 1657. The narrowest section is in the centre of the image.

Sunday was a simple but very wet walk out to the Mt White  Road. I was lucky enough to be picked up by a Possum Hunter at 9:00am on a gravel road in the middle of nowhere, who was kind enough to give me a ride back to the Hawdon Shelter. With this shortcut I was back in a sunny Christchurch for 11:30