A day’s rest back in Naseby (well, OK, I did go for my first trail and longest-ever run – all of ten kilometres) involved pottering around, heading out to the Waipiata pub for lunch and firing up the hot tub. After that downtime, Adele was itching to take me ski-touring up nearby Mt Kyeburn.
Greeted with a well-frosty, clear morning we loaded up the Suzuki and headed up towards Mt Buster. Not doing a big loop on bikes this time, we drove further up the 4WD road and passed the first hut, climbing up to about 900 m. It hasn’t been a particularly snowy winter, so it was just as well it snowed a few days beforehand. While the tussock wasn’t completely covered, the track was and we could park up and start skinning under a blue sky.
A gentle gradient had us climb three hundred metres as the views over the Maniototo and surrounding hills unfurled behind us.
Not much snow looking south-east from where we parked.
Across the Maniototo to the Rock and Pillars.
A tad higher now, at least there is snow on the skin (4WD) track. Looking over to the western reaches of the Kakanui Mountains. I wonder if there is much bikepacking to be had up there…
The wind, strangely, dropped as we got higher and reached more exposed areas. Very pleasant indeed.
We followed these footprints all the way to Buster Diggings, until we finally met two photographers from Dunedin on a day trip. Mt Kyeburn, our destination, in the background.
The gradient leveled off to flat for the next three kilometres, which was easy going to Buster Diggings – once upon a time the highest gold mining area in the country. With the snow and frost on the tussock grass, and the varied colours and textures of the hills under a stunningly clear blue sky – it was an exceptionally gorgeous day, and a very pleasant temperature too.
Into Buster Diggings – a bit difficult to see the remnants of sluice mining when it’s covered in snow. Once again, Mt Kyeburn in the distance – this time from a different angle.
Soon after the diggings we rested and snacked at the tiny Buster Hut. Apparently James spent a rather frigid night in here last winter. Well insulated, it was not.
The ascent began again, gradually taking us higher and providing different views. Few parts were steep and the going was pleasant.
Looking west over the Ida Range; it looks a bit different to when we biked over it almost four years previously.
We looped around to complete the ascent from the north, only the last part to the summit getting steep enough to necessitate some thought of path-picking.
Made it, after about four hours (1636 m); finally proper windy as the Maniototo stretches west behind us.
Looking over to the Kakanuis from the summit.
There was just enough snow that we could get a pleasing number of turns in as we dropped off the summit, away from our skin track, before heading back to the track. Adele did a better job of avoiding dastardly rocks than I, but we both had a lot of fun. A brief walk up a slight rise and we were then hurtling down the track.
The track wasn’t really wide enough, and there was insufficient snow off-piste, that one just had to strike the right balance of keeping enough speed to get over any little rises, but not lose control on the variable surface. Such good fun riding out all the bumps at some speed.
Snow cover getting a bit variable, and the track being pretty rutted made for exciting and knee-flexing times.
Back down at the hut, the skins were back on again for the flat section. This didn’t dampen my spirits as we’d had such fun on the descent so far. Hot drinks from the Thermos probably helped too. Off the plateau, there was still enough snow to switch back to downhill mode and whoop and holler down to the car. Little patches of no snow around drainage ditches made for some interesting jumps and a few hundred metres from the car the rocks became too prominent so we hiked the last little bit.
An absolutely fantastic little adventure from Adele & James’s home. Definitely the most excitable I’ve been about ski-touring. Which is odd, as the snow was sufficient but not fantastic. I think the combination of a beautiful day, having a summit as the objective and the varied, expansive views of the browns of Central Otago contrasting with the snow, and spending time with favourite-sister culminated in a memorable outing. Bonus – my legs didn’t seem to hurt from this unusual amount of skiing either; running might be good for something.