188
2025-01-04T00:00:00.000Z • Westland District, West Coast, New Zealand / Aotearoa
Hitchin Range - Price Basin - Whitcombe River
Apparently, it doesn't rain in Westland, and transalpinism doesn't have to equate to suffering.
Hike
1
Other
Waitaha Roadend - Isobel Falls
Background (skip if just looking for beta)
I was looking for a hard but rewarding mission to celebrate a hard but rewarding 2024. Chris and Ben were looking to try and get to Ivory Lake (two previous failed attempts) before Chris left the country. An opportunity to join forces and venture deep into Westland. We ended up having a brilliant weather window, and instead of using this to push harder and go further, we ended up using it to enjoy this remote place in peak summer glory at a bit of a slower pace.
My original planned route was fairly ambitious and took in the Bracken Snowfield, and not being in peak fitness I wasn't willing to have a crack at it without a pretty much perfect forecast. It was nearly there - good weather was on the forecast for a few days, with a bit of rain and then a generally dry long outlook. But I realised we could have a crack at something a little bit more mellow and take all of the anxiety from time pressure out of the trip, a theme that ended up continuing through the journey.
If I was going to have to slog all the way back to Ivory Lake I wasn't going to bloody go the same way I'd been before, and I didn't really want to subject Chris and Ben (and myself) to the infamous Waitaha assault unless absolutely necessary. I also didn't particularly want to be turning up the exposure or spice on this trip. Dickie Ridge and its gnarly choss was right out. Some longer and more remote approaches sprung to mind, but I was curious about a route that on the face of it seemed to be the easiest way in to Top Waitaha, traversing the Hitchin Range high above the pain and sufferring of the Waitaha; if conditions were good and if access up Robinson Slip went... and then for our exit strategy, a route that was becoming marginally more popular up into Price Basin, where I heard the hut had a shiny new roof. Armed with most of Remote Huts offline on my phone, I thought we could just venture in roughly that direction, and make a new plan if needed on-the-go.
So a plan is formed, and suddenly it's 4am on go-day and my phone lights up - Chris Allman: "LETS AAAAAV IT"
The Day Begins
We drop a car at the Whitcombe roadend, hopefully to see it again 11 days later. We take the other car to the Waitaha roadend and I finally find myself starting walking, my objectively heavy pack feeling lighter than expected, and dry weather for the approach up the slip. We walked down the Waitaha access route to Macgregor Creek, and then started picking our way up the river towards the slip.
The travel is initially straightforward, moderately steep river rock hopping until about 650-700m, after a side creek joins. Then things start getting very steep and the slip becomes less consolidated; care is required. I would not recommend being in this area in wet conditions or under the vertical slip headwalls during a freeze/thaw cycle. I'd bring a helmet.
There are a couple of different beta options for approaching/exiting the slip I found online, but this one from remote huts seemed reasonable. A scrubby spur was gained around 1100m - 1150m. A confidence-inspiring cairn was found en route to A More Consolidated, Older Slip In A Gut. This was followed to the more gentle tussock slopes of Mt Allen.
We sidled on the south faces of Mt Allen, reaching the spur near pt1385 and camped near tarns on the tussock benches NW of Isobel Falls.
Pretty tiring way to start the trip, but we felt like we'd achieved something, even if in reality we were still pretty close to the roadend! Our campsite was picturesque, and we enjoyed the dying light and low cloud brushing over the broad tussock spur we would ascend tomorrow.
2
Hike
Isobel Falls - (near) Ragged Peak
We dropped through steep scrub to the narrow, steep creek bed. The odd bush sidle was needed as we slithered our way down to Isobel Stream, then pushed through a scrubby bank to gain the broad open tussock spur leading to Ridland Saddle.
We briefly enjoy the broad, rolling spur near Ridland Saddle, before things get a bit steeper up to pt1721.
All is straightforward until we descend the ridge as we continue toward Ragged Peak. A short chossy climb to stay on the ridge crest wasn't the most appealing. Sidling on steep schist scree was a viable option which some would prefer. Then we find a rather exposed, slabby section of the ridge that Chris and I both didn't have any appetite for - We Opted To Sidle through more steep schist scree chutes to get to the broad ridge near the 1600m contour. In snow/ice, this section could present some extra challenges, or be easier, heavily depending on conditions.
Given we had found that spot a bit spicier than the route description could have lead us to anticipate, and still having another 6 hours to Top Waitaha hut, we made our first of many calls to have a short day and enjoy the gorgeous alpine conditions.
And for the first of many afternoons, Chris had a nap and got itchy feet, opting to go for a little "bosh" - tonight's mission to scope the rest of the route to Ragged Peak. He returns quickly, having smashed out the remaining distance in an absurdly short time. The verdict was that the upcoming steep section to Ragged Peak was "Way better".
All anxiety now gone, I got the pleasure of enjoying perfect weather in alpine meadows, looking at flowers and birds and big mountains.
3
Hike
Ragged Peak - Top Waitaha
We started early, well rested, planning to avoid the heat of the day. The Steep Section before Ragged Peak was straightforward to ascend, but descending in winter with ice could be a more interesting proposition. We walked in the cool shade to reach Ragged Peak and stunning views into the Waitaha.
We picked our way down the generally broad spur toward the Stag/Reid confluence.
We dropped down a steep spur and gut towards a stream that drains close to Top Waitaha hut.
What an unbelivable spot, especially with the sun out. Lovely hut in great nick, on a lovely alpine bench near a deep swimming pool in the river. I forced myself into the freezing glacial water for my only proper swim of the trip.
So many people come here exhausted from the Waitaha assault, drenched, in poor visibility - here we were sunbathing and getting up to not much at all in alpine meadows in bloom. I was enjoying my version of experiencing this place very much.
4
Hike
Top Waitaha Hut - Ivory Lake Hut
Another glorious morning broke, and we embarked on our short day's objective while the morning weather held - finally introducing Chris and Ben to Ivory Lake. We picked our way onto the broad marshy benches between Reid and Stag creeks, picturesque tarns reflecting the alpine basin. Spaniard started picking up a bit more as we sidled towards the upper reaches of Stag Creek.
The impressive waterfall outlet of Ivory Lake was a nice place to pause before the final ascent through the bluffs, and there it was - Ivory Lake. I didn't know that I'd ever come back here, but holy cow I was in a much better mood this time.
As the weather started to turn Chris and Ben went for the afternoon bosh up towards Park Dome. They reached the broad knob around 2050m and enjoyed views toward Seddon Col while I had a much shorter and more relaxing wander up pt1620. I could feel I was tired - I was glad we hadn't been having to push hard over the last few days, or I would have been a lot more tired.
Rest day at Ivory Lake
We'd talked about resting during the poorer weather while we couldn't complete our final alpine crossing. Chris decided rest wasn't quite what he was looking for and very rapidly sent pt2056 to scout the next day's route. He couldn't see down the other side but was a lot more convinced that the steep ascent was actually a go-er; it had looked like a blank vertical scree wall from afar.
I decided rest was exactly what I was looking for and spent the whole day photographing plants and the landscape in the changing alpine weather. It was joyous to retreat to the hut in the short bursts of rain, after Chris had gotten back from the first "rest" mission.
Chris' feet were still itchy though, so he pushed up to pt1620 as well, while I listened to albums and ate peanut butter.
The inreach beeped with a weather update - tomorrow morning would be clear, with afternoon cloud appearing. We'd use our rest, start early in the cool clear morning and hopefully get the "crumbling rock buttress" done early in the day in good visibility...
5
Hike
Ivory Lake - Pt2056 - Price Basin
We left on time and started an actually quite enjoyable ascent up pt2056 - good conditions, nothing feeling particularly exposed, and good cramponning on the upper snow slopes.
Clear views of Mt Beaumont, Park Dome, Mt Evans, and of course the extremely rugged Price Basin opened up in front of us.
The ridge was straightforward to ~1900m where the Crumbling Rock Buttress appeared. Chris dropped his pack and scouted sidling on the south side, apparently the best option. We tentatively made our way through the choss, in one section we ferried packs. This would be deeply unenjoyable in poor weather. I again appreciated the excellent conditions we had.
We then began some of the easiest walking we had completed in days, the spur broadening towards Mt Wylde Brown. We enjoyed this fleeting moment, then veered towards the rougher stuff again and found a suitable looking spur to Price Basin hut. The Spaniard grass really started properly flourishing around 1200m - 1000m, and became quite a minefield to avoid on the uneven ground around Price Basin Hut. This was made significantly easier with half of them being in flower.
The hut is a little haven of refuge in a brutal and unrelenting landscape. The only place to camp nearby would be the small grass helipad. Unreasonable amounts of spaniard surround the hut. Its very infrequently visited, mostly from fly-in hunters, and the small contingent with the time and energy to go this way to Ivory Lake.
Another day of working hard but not for very long - another good rest in another very remote hut. I knew all of our alpine obstacles were done, but for our last day in the Alpine region, I was preparing myself for the brutal sounding route out of Price Basin.
6
Hike
Price Basin Hut - Wilkinson Hut
I started the GPS recording a bit late, and had to edit it to show the actual route up the stream bed - this ruined the time data - this day took us about 8 hours.
Remotehuts advised to allow "at least 8 hours" for the route up from the Whitcombe to the hut, and there was mention of "prolific" spaniard grass - I decided I'd be pretty stoked to cover the ~6km in 8 hours going down. Proper westland travel. I wasn't expecting to see a track marker until we were near Wilkinson hut, which turned out to be bang on apart from the odd cairn in Pahlow creek.
We opted to avoid a spaniard bash to the tussock slopes and boulder field below Mt Van Redan as indicated on the map, instead following the stream that drains Mt Van Redan to the tussock line, then picking our way past manageable amounts of spaniard, flowers easily spotted at this time of year. Our line took us above the boulder field and we gained Pahlow Ridge around the 1450m contour, in the clag.
We quickly dropped back out of the clag into a very moody and atmospheric section of ridge travel.
We dropped down a scree before reaching Johanson Peak to a tussock and spaniard shelf. This was sidled until we reached the very steep Pahlow Creek. A slow, rough descent ensued, some bush sidles neccessary. Keep an eye out for cairns and the odd cut branch indicating a bush sidle.
Finally the Whitcombe was reached, with rough but straightforward river travel for a short section until an old permolatted track was reached for the final section to Wilkinson Hut. We spotted a couple of blue duck en route.
Wilkinson Hut was small but tidy after the recent DoC work. I decided I was not keen to go to stay at the bigger Neave hut, making a potential day to Frew hut ~13 hours. Chris therefore made his afternoon bosh a quick mission to Neave Hut.... with heavy rain starting shortly into the rough journey. Ben took a jaunt to Cave Camp. They both returned tired.
The plan was to get to Frew Hut tomorrow, and I was anticipating a long, slow grovel down the river that could be in the order of 10-11 hours. I was happy with my decision to rest.
7
Hike
Wilkinson Hut - Price Flat Hut
It took us four hours to travel on straightforward but rough track to Price Flat hut. The undulating, rough and slippery travel was hard and sweaty work. We got to the hut, and realised we could just opt to call it here rather than having a sufferfest - we had the time. We could just do Frew Saddle as a day trip rather than aiming to stay there overnight. The weight of the suffering ahead lifted and I had another relaxing afternoon in deep Westland forest, looking up at the absurd Pahlow Ridge and wondering who first thought to try climb it, enjoying sunshowers and the tranquility and isolation of the place.
8
Hike
Price Flat Hut - Frew Hut
At least half of the Slips (not marked on the topomap) upstream of Cat Creek are still active and a real pain to cross. Working hard, you're doing well to cover this ~1km section in a couple of hours.
With goregous weather and lots of time in the day, I was actually enjoying the hard work in the forest, and very much enjoying the track becoming easier as we approached Frew Hut.
We arrived at the hut on a hot and clear afternoon, soaking up the sun, and I met the first person I had crossed paths with in 9 days.
I suggested Chris find the track toward Meta Saddle for his afternoon bosh. He suffered from a case of sending too hard and missed the permolat indicating the turnoff - then couldn't stop himself and sent it all the way to Frew Saddle biv in a bit over two hours going up. He still had to come back down though, and came back quite tired. Amazingly, he was still keen to go for a day wander to the same spot tomorrow. I was tired, but inspired by the show of energy, so I started planning to bag one more hut tomorrow.
9
Hike
Frew Saddle Missioning
I had aimed to get all the way to Frew Saddle bivouac this day. Side missioning isn't really my thing but Chris said it was fabulous, and I was feeling suprisingly strong after a lot of the rest on the trip, and was keen to see if I had it in me to keep pushing at day 10 of this trip. Not something I'd usually do. But my knee had been a bit sore overnight, and it got worse by the time I got to the second bridge, and quickly I was in the mental suffer zone, moving slowly to protect my body and realising it would be a long and uncomfortable day to go to the biv.
I asked myself why I was doing this. Why would I not be content with just reaching the alpine pools in the upper stream of this track. It was only the biv being there and me having decided I was going to go hutbagging that was driving me to the discomfort. So after a long trip of doing things the pleasant way, I decided to be at peace with my failures, soak up a bit of sun, have a hot lunch, and not ruin myself before the walk out.
10
Hike
Frew Hut - Whitcombe Roadend
I was keen to get out now - to have garlic bread and a burger and salad and real food, and to get to bed in my own house on time. It was overcast but extremely humid and we sweated hard as we boulder hopped down the final physical bits of the track. The sandflies were particularly bad near Rapid Creek, giving us a push to keep moving, and four hours after leaving the hut we were at a vehicle.
I reflected on the ride home about how this trip had surprised me - how the best use of a long weather window may not always be to push as far into the unknown as possible. I had thoroughly enjoyed the manageable days and lack of stress, and my body being in a much better state compared my last foray to Ivory.
That more ambitious plan I failed to have the courage to attempt still calls to me, but I'll have to plan to do the slower things too - it turns out they're great fun.