Wilderness August 2023

THINK DEHYDRATION and you probably imagine sweating profusely in sweltering temperatures in shadeless terrain. But the most dehydrated I’ve ever been was after making a simple mistake while winter camping in Tongariro National Park. It wasn’t that we’d spent the night on the Summit Plateau. That was incredible. No, we had forgotten to keep our water inside our sleeping bags and our entire supply, in two three-litre water reservoirs, froze solid. Compounding matters was our gutless stove that had no business being used at that altitude in the middle of winter. Half the fuel canister had already been wasted as we tried to boil water for our dinners. Melting enough snow for the day ahead was out of the question. Initially, we didn’t give a second thought to the lack…

PATAGONIA ARTICLE A DISAPPOINTMENT The article ‘What I learned tramping in Patagonia’ included some fine photographs, but the accompanying words and the ‘us and them’ theme were disappointing. Two of the finest skylines in the world deserve more than a few complaints and comparisons with New Zealand. In peak season there will be too many people, like a Khumbu trek or the Tongariro Alpine Crossing … or Venice! But the free Poincenot campsite below Lago de Los Tres – wow! – what a location. Perito Merino, a wooded headland where boardwalks face the sheer tongue of a calving glacier: unforgettable! And the climb to the moraine lake under the breathtaking Torres del Paine: so memorable! I am lucky to have been to these places. The cynic might say that Argentina…

Last Weekend submission criteria can be found at wildernessmag.co.nz.…

LANDSAR CELEBRATES 90 YEARS OF CALLOUTS LandSAR has rescued lost, missing and injured trampers in more than 30,000 operations over nine decades. “Across the board, it’s always very busy for us, and 90 years later, it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down,” says LandSAR fundraising manager Jon McQueen. It started with the ‘Sutch Search’ in April 1933, when four trampers went missing for two weeks in the Tararua Range. Up to 200 volunteers, supported by radio communication and aircraft, searched the Waiohine Valley. The search and subsequent rescue ignited a public debate over responsibility for those lost in the outdoors, as there was no overriding organisation to take control. It led, a year later, to the establishment of LandSAR, a group of unpaid professionals who volunteer their search and rescue…

Mount Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters is helping remove more than five tonnes of rubbish from Haupapa Tasman Glacier. This is New Zealand’s largest glacier and the one most frequently visited by climbers, skiers and tourists. The company applied for an Environment Heritage Lottery Grant for the clean-up work, which began with the dismantling of an old snow groomertrapped on the glacier that was visible to visitors. It had been left there by a previous operator in the early 1980s and eventually collapsed into five metres of snow and became encased. Gutsell and his team deconstructed it into smaller pieces, and each helicopter load shifted as much as 900kg. “Project Haupapa isn’t limited to any specific area, although we are starting with our home turf first,” Gutsell said. “The rubbish…

New Zealand is full of cold-water swimmers, and winter water temperatures don’t seem to put any of them off. Advocates of cold-water immersion say the benefits are numerous, if not simply for cleaning off dirt and sweat after tramping. A bone-chilling dip can boost your mental health, help rid you of anxiety and provide a calmer mental state. Cold water can reduce inflammation, help with better sleep and circulation and aid in muscle recovery after exercise. Keen tramper Louis Haigh fractured his T5 and T6 vertebrae after clipping a tree with his shoulder while mountain biking in April 2022. He says the mixture of saunas and cold dips were an essential, part of his arduous recovery. “Now that I’m fit, healthy and back out on the trails, it’s a tradition.…