SK ATTEMPT 2014 MARTIN AND IAIN ATKINSON

Just as a precursor this is not the legendary 24 hour attempts just trying to do in under 48 hours. We failed at the 48 hours but really made me appreciate what these 24 hour people do when you get  a feel for the distances and terrain . An SK in 24 hours is incomprehensible but some have done it...


First of all congratulations to Paul and Marta .Success!! You guys smashed it getting out Sunday about 1 in what I reckon were pretty bad conditions Fri night...Sat night from later on and Sunday but what Paul describes as 'windy fri and rain sun'...I bet it was hosing down and cold and squalls of wind and rain -full on basically "...It certainly was about as windy as i have been up in the Tararua on the night mission on Fri Night from Herepai to Dundas!.

Iain and I are buzzing with the experience although we didn't make it we traversed a new SK route I have devised Putara Road to Otaki Forks via Waitawaewae. Its definitely an easier version but i feel we achieved a NE to SW traverse so worth something. It felt like an accomplishment anyway.

Here is a brief debrief.

Elite SK Team 1

Paul Helm

Marta Zanetti

Team 2

Martini

Iain Atkinson

Paul picked Iain and I up at Avalon 2 20 ...we made Putara Rd by 4 30 and got away quickly. Immediately Paul and Marta were off -They had 6 kg bags and Iain and mine were 11kg. Plus they were significantly fitter -I think both pairs were a good match, But they were making v fast speed.

Iain and I  climbed up to Herepai and from Herepai all i saw were black clouds of Mordor high winds and rain looming menacingly above . We were climbing up into this what looked like storm as light was failing. I was mildly anxious as knew not what was in store but i had been told it is v tricky nav. Iain was cheerfully chatting to the people in Herepai hut i told him lets push on  and we forged on and up. What we found was something akin to Broken Axe pinnacles...Its more of a route than a track and how people navigate with out GPS  is  a testament to their aptitude with compass and map as i had no idea at all which may surprise you RCJ (this is the area in which if I understand it Eric Duggan had to sit the whole night on his pack and wait for dawn as he had temporarily lost trail) . I have to say at this stage i began to love Iain and his GPS and i told him. It was a special moment. However I fell out of love with Viewranger which failed me in my time of need.

Iains GPS unit was awesome ( he will tell you what it was)  as we navigated these very narrow spurs and ridges with drop offs in high wind in darkness with head torches on was pretty full on and i felt like i was in that movie Touching the Void although obviously an exaggeration it was pretty full on. Especially for me who embrace Type 1 fun. We were counting down the ever diminishing metres to the hut and we were getting pretty tired after 5-6 hours of ridge hugging and scrambling. We finally found the small wooden sign saying simple 'hut' and an arrow. We descended the spur down to a 1920s hut Dundas.We opened the door and in there were a beaming Paul Helm and Marta who were buzzing as to making it so well. It was great to be part of a group of people which felt like we were doing something special. Shackletonesque i would say...

We cooked up and got to bed early. All Sharrons kit she leant me saved me too i would say my slimmed down 11kg was looking like 15-20 if i had taken my pack and uge sleeping bag. Let me tell you now weight is paramount on SK! Thanks Sharron who also picked up both Iain and I and Swallow!!! She gets special mention in dispatches for best SK support crew 2014.

Paul and Marta took off about 20 min earlier than us Sat morning for Kime at 6. We left 20 min later en route for Mangahuka we didn't think we would make Kime.  I heard rain and wind from inside hut and thought we were in for  pasting but when we climbed the 200m or so up to main ridge it was great and from then on for most of day was perfect conditions not windy but cool and great vis. Iain and I bashed on to Mt Dundas Arete where you cross over to West part of range which is one of my fave bits when you see both mountain axes and huge sweeping valleys. Magnificent...Pukematawai then descending onto the Te Aroha trail which is mainly bushy muddy trails at the start  but this was the piece where Iain and I felt a big low I think we had been going about 5 hours at this stage and felt the going hard to Drac Biv then more bush and  a huge climb to the tops again. We were both digging deep and Nichols Hut never seemed to arrive. We climbed out of bush ontop tops then we descended down to Nicols Hut and then had a cup of tea and a talk about the scale of this. After tea and spirits replenished we climbed onto tops again that continued to Junction Knob. This was a great piece of route with sweeping views and we were both v confident of now getting to Mangahuka that night.

After we went past Junction on the way to Andersons the heavy black rain clouds swept in like a wall and the speed that it came in at was amazing. In a matter onf 20 min it had gone from clear and inspiring to the badlands again. The forecast rain and wind had picked up and another 3-4 hours bashing up v steep spurs to Mangahuka did not appeal followed by the ladder and peaks to Kime in the morning in the forecast heavy rain. So we retraced our steps and after 13 hours of tramping with about 20 min break all up descended to Waitwaewae and spent a lovely night with great foreign trampers who were tramping the Te Aroha trail and a hard core solo hunter who had to turn back at a flooded river.

Yesterday we took the new sidle route out which is a sh*t route and the slips are MASSIVE. I think we spotted where the Austrian tramper would have gone wrong on a tricky bit of new sidle track on way out.

We got out to the hallowed scene of Otaki Forks panning out beneath us amidst sheets of rain and clag....We then were abou to sit by road and try and hitch a ride to train but we found that you could ring out on DOC landline. So we got in touch with Swallow who was on his way up to Putara to do his solo SK (I will leave it to Swallow to debrief you on what happened .. lying in a daze beneath leatherwood upside down is involved ) and then Sharron who came to our rescue and drove all the way out to pick up two happy trampers having a nice cup of tea.

Thanks Iain for being a great capable companion and keen to complete it with you when we get our weather window.

And congrats again to Paul and Marta who i am sure will give you a full debrief! Pauls debriefs are rather understated as is usual for someone that does this stuff al th time and Martas has a lot of Italian swear words although I think they two were a finely matched team who supported each other in their dark moments. This is a trip you need to rely on each other and be suited in fitness which they were. Marta is one tough donna...!

Anyway if you want a debrief i think we will all be at The Southern Cross after Tues running at 8. Come down if you still knocking about Wellington

BOOM

Here are some pics....I really recommend anyone who feels like it give it a go its EPIC. SK is an inspirational route.!!!


https://www.flickr.com/photos/96525237@N08/sets/72157649806086656/