After getting a ride to Christchurch with Chris I took a bus to Geraldine and met up with Shannon. We grabbed some food at the local Four Square and got our 4wd on up the Macaulay River. Our plan was to spend a few days ski touring in the Macaulay Valley
Day 1 Heading up the Macaulay River
We drove 19km up the river with multiple crossing. I quickly realized that if you want to get out to all the hunters cabins you needed a 4wd truck to access places like the Macaulay Hut.
That night we enjoyed the gas powered stoves and a 24 person bunk house to ourselves before waking up in the Predawn hours and heading into the alpine.
Day 2 Heading towards Mount Sibbald
That morning we walked about 8kms to get to snowline and the base of Mount Sibbald. With weather turning we decided to check out lower slopes.
The weather turned for the worse and we were hut bound for the next few days. Once the weather cleared we were heading up into the alpine.
Day 3 Ski Touring in the Macaulay Valley
After skirting around a massive waterfall we got out of the basin and into the high alpine. This terrain was within an hour of the hut.
The snow was quite firm from the wind event which made for easy cramponing as we made our way to the summit.
From the summit the Sibbald Range came into display. There is an abundance of good riding to be had.
We found good nice corn all the back to the base of the valley.
Day 4 The Exit
After a few days up the Macaulay we drove out but not before checking out the Godley Valley.
And after crossing about 10 separate river crossings we had one last one to get back to civilization.
But our luck was against us because the car stalled while crossing and we had a nice wait as the river went through the truck and we were fortunate to get some Japanese tourists to drag our car out via a nice little winch
Luckily there was no damage to Shannon’s car and after a quick stop at Twizel to get some food we were off on a mission to Mount Cook National Park
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