Mount Aspiring!

Now this was a very special trip!

Mount Aspiring

 We did not decide to do the trip until 10am that day. After calling up the helicopter company we found out there we just 2 spots left in the chopper, which was perfect for us as it means it is also cheaper! So we frantically threw all our stuff together and drove to Raspberry Hut parking lot, about an hour from Wanaka. From there we flew up to the only Department of Conservation allowed landing spot and skied across the Bonar glacier to Colin Todd Hut.

Driving up the valley

Our helicopter

Up to the hut

 That afternoon we went for a little walk just to get into the groove of things. It was a very clear night, with a beautiful sunset.

Mount Aspiring with Hut

There were 4 Italians, an man from Israel, a man from Belgium, and a kiwi guide. It was cozy. We woke up at 4:30am the next day and set off on our adventure at 5:30am. I was very excited! We climbed while the sun was rising. We were very lucky to have a clear, blue sky day and not a breathe of wind.

Ready to go!

Mr Hasler, the brains and skills

Climbing my headlamp

Here comes the sunshine!

We are getting there!

Gorgeous.

 The route we took went up whats called the 'Kangaroo'patch' and then up the normal NW ridge route. We made it to the summit at 9am, and had lunch....which seems strange as it was 9am. It did not feel that early though. It was so beautiful! After a nice relaxing 20mins on top, we headed back down via the ramp. We only had to do one small rappel and then we were homeward bound.

Bruce on the summit

Team extreme!

Yahoo! Me on the summit

An amazing day!

Now back down the ramp

Up the glacier

 Once we got back to the hut we had a real lunch of soup and lollies, packed up, and headed back out enroute to French Ridge hut. We ski toured up the Bonar glacier with an ominous cloud following us. Luckily is seemed to stop just at Colin Todd hut and we had a clear tour up the glacier. The crevasses were amazing, and it was the most amazing experience just being in the middle of nowhere, using your own strength to get around, as well as having had a successful climb. I was very happy. We skied up to the 1/4 deck and from there had the most amazing ski down to French Ridge hut. It was the best snow I can remember ever skiing. It made for an amazing end to the day.

The ominous clouds!

It was amazing

Fortunately they just stayed there

Aspiring in the background

French Ridge Hut

It was so nice to get here, which was at about 6pm! The first thing we did was make a cuppa and jump in our sleeping bags for a nap. Our faces were very red and our bodies were quite tired, but it was a very satisfied exhaustion. That night we just cooked (pesto and pasta!) and went to bed. Party!

The next morning we headed down the ridge. And what a ridge it is! Hiking down in plastic mountaineering boots with your skis on your very heavy backpack is ridiculous! The ridge is more like a beaten path, and with the skis on your back both tips get stuck on either the trees above or the rocks under you. This then pitches you forward to your death. I down climbed a lot of it facing the hill because it was so difficult. This was the hardest part of the trip! Let me tell you, getting to the river at the bottom was a very good feeling! Too bad there was still more than 3 hours to go.

Down the ridge

Fun times

Beautiful though

Finally the river!

I was happy to get to the bottom,

 We then set off and hiked for another 3 hours along the valley. It was very beautiful, although it felt as though my feet were going to fall off. Luckily they didn't. Making it to the end was very exciting, and I felt very privileged to have been given this opportunity to experience such an amazing New Zealand gem. Thanks to Bruce for the most amazing guide and friend in the world, and for getting me home safely. And thank you to Outside Sports in Queenstown for the skis- Without them I would have been walking! You ROCK!

Mueller Hut and Annette Plateau- The windy wonderland!

Adventure galore have been happening here in New Zealand, with two amazing glacier trips lately: one up to Mueller Glacier in Mount Cook national park, and the other was climbing Mount Aspiring in Mount Aspiring national park.

 The Mueller trip was forecasted to be beautiful. Murphy's law it wasn't. The winds were so strong (60 - 80km/h) that camping in the wind scoop on the top of Annette Plateau blew my socks off, and us almost off the mountain! Cooking dinner was a mission in itself, not to mention the 6 hour ski tour to the plateau.

Sleeping in the single-skin summit tent, it felt as though the sides of the tent were going to be torn apart. Actually, it was probably a large possibility. It was a fun game though, trying to read the wind and then press yourself against the side of the tent to give it a bit more stability. Needless to say, it was a sleepless, shaky night, and in the morning it was a treat to find the cooking pots and stove frozen solid and covered in snow. We made the decision to pack up as fast as possible (it was 7am) and make our way back to Mueller hut (without breakfast or tea!) to get some shelter from the wind.

I may look a bit special, but this is me trying to tackle the wind. I lost :(

 

Upon our arrival to Mueller hut, we made copious amounts of tea and oatmeal, crawled into our sleeping bags, and chatted with a random man named Ingor. It was very peaceful, oh, apart from the wind outside which sounded (and felt) as though it was going to blow the windows apart. At 4:00pm we decided to head down, even though we had planned another day up there. The weather was not looking good for the next day either. We skied as far down as we could, resulting in becoming to far left of the trail, and requiring a little bit of vigorous bush wacking and a bit of down climbing with ice axes. It was magical!

 But we made it down safely! All in all it was a great experience and fantastic trip!

Nice article on finishing school

http://www.scene.co.nz/292161a1.page

Schools out for...ever!

The snow is melting, but the skiing is still fabulous! It is September 22nd, and training at the Snow Farm yesterday was absolutely amazing! The sun was shining, the targets were falling down nicely, and it was a Wednesday. This meant I was not at school because....I have graduated!!! Yahoo....I have now completed my diploma in Adventure Tourism Management at Queenstown Resort College! Ah, what a feeling it is to not have to go to school from 8 to 4, staring outside and thinking of all the amazing things to do rather than study-- and now I can do them!

My class at out fairwell dinner- can you spot me?

The rest of August and start of September were ridiculously busy- it was full-on school work with many assignments and reports due in, and some pretty tough exams. This has been the most challenging part of the school/training balancing act. I was still able to train, with skiing on the weekends and strength and running/biking during the week (Oh, and a little bit of ice climbing!).

So now, I am just into full-time training mode, and it is such a treat! If any athlete is ever getting sick of full-time training, go do full-time school, and you will run back to training with your arms wide open!

The plan is to train in New Zealand until October 12th (ish) and then head on over to Canmore, Canada and start training over there. Currently, I do not have a coach, so I am on the hunt for one of those! But Canmore is full of amazing support that I think it will all work out!

Take care, have fun and smile!!

Sarah

Winter Games

Well, the 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games have come and gone. What a great two weeks! This was New Zealands second winter games, and it was fantastic. Being the largest gathering of winter sports outside the Olympics, it is a great event to have here, and even better to be a part of it!

The 10km Classic race was one of the first competitions of the winter games. Now, let me tell you I am  not a classic master, but I do enjoy it, and as there were no other Kiwi women in, I decided to go for it. Not much competition, you know, only the 2010 Olympics gold medalist in the cross-country 30km. Nothing to worry about really. So naturally, I put my goal as to be in front by 2 minutes...Not. My goal was not to be last. There were 6 women, with 3 from Korea, one from Japan, myself, and Justyna Kowalczyk. It was a gorgeous day and I felt surprisingly good on my skis.

I ended up in 4th place, which I was smitten with, and spent the rest of the morning watching the glorious men in spandex do their thing. There were two Kiwi boys (Andy Pohl and Nils Koons) in the race, along with both the American and Canadian national team men (Just a couple World Champs and Olympic medalists). It was a great race and the boys did great.

The next day was the Sprint race and I thought it would be a good idea to do that one as well. The shortest race I ever compete in with biathlon is 7.5km, so the 1km loop was a bit of a wake-up call for my poor muscles. It was a bit of a miserable day compared to the classic day, with blizzardy type conditions, but it was still great once you got out there. Justyna Kowalczyk was once again racing, along with a couple Russian cross-country skiers, with one of them also having an Olympic medal.

Racing in the qualifier

 Since there were 9 women, 8 moved on to the semifinals. I qualified 6th, so in the semifinals I was partnered up with Justyna and another Russian women. It was great. I had fun, and I tried my hardest, but unfortunately I did not have my gold medal legs on today. It was still great to be out racing with some pretty fast chicks.

That's me in the back!

The next race was on Tuesday. I was excited for this one as it was the 5km skate, which is a bit more to my liking. Well, on the morning of the race it was awful weather and the wind was howling like madness. The organizers had to make a decision and decided to cancel the race. And that was it for the cross-country portion of the winter games! It was a great time and I am looking forward for the next ones in 2013 where we are REALLY looking forward to hopefully have biathlon in there!

Smile! :)

Sarah

Just a few articles from winter games!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/winter-games/5368192/Cold-rush

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/winter-games/5317437/Olympic-champ-confirms-for-Winter-Games

Training camps galore!

Well, we biked the Heafy track, we biked the Queen Charlotte track, we kayaked the Abel Tasmin, we ran through Nelson, we explored Kaitiritiri, caught up with old friends in Nelson, and managed to fit in a rugby game to boot! What a great training camp. It was an amazing time and after this adventure I was excited to get back to school.


Term 6! Last Term of my Adventure Tourism Management diploma! 5 new classes and a very busy term ahead, it seemed like a great idea to take 2 weeks off of school for an International Biathlon Union Development camp. New Zealand was very lucky this year to have the international camp take place at the Snow Farm, 45 minutes from my home. And with 6 new targets and mats, it was going to be the real deal. Ubaldo Prucker, an enthusiastic Italian, came to run the camp and help with the development of the sport in NZ. Us 7 Kiwis, along with 4 Australians, trained together in the morning with shooting and biathlon practice, with ski technique in the afternoon. The SHPG (snow farm) Lodge outdid themselves once again with great accommodation, and Flying Trestles exceeded expectations in the food department! Thanks guys!

On the last day we had a 10km biathlon race. There were about 30 competitors! Nils Koons (Ben, his brother, went to the Olympics for X-country skiing) was involved in the camp and raced as well. It was some tough competition. I hit 17/20 with 40 second penalties, and Nils hit 12/20. The results came out, and with a 5 second difference....Nild in 1st, and I was in 2nd! ahhh so close! But it was a great day and we all had an amazing time. Thanks to the IBU for support biathlon in NZ and helping us develop, also to Ubaldo Prucker, and all the parent volunteers! Without you biathlon in NZ would not be where it is now!!! You guys rock!

After a great recovery week, I thought it would be a great idea to compete in the Peak 2 Peak, a multisport race I have competed in for the last 4 years. I died! It was so difficult, with a strong Southerly wind (which is cold in NZ!) on the kayak causing us to have to pull-out early, and a nice strong headwind for the 9km run and bike up Coronet Peak! It was tough! I palced 7th in the open women category with a time of 3 hours a 12 minutes, 15 minutes slower than last year. I blame it on the conditions! But it was so fun and I think everyone enjoyed themselves!

Now I am back in class, and the Winter Games are coming up this weekend with 4 cross-country races, and the Winter triathlon! Woohoo, should be a party!

Hope everyone is happy and healthy and loving life!

xx Sarah :)