Rees-Dart in a Day: A Fastpacking Mission
21/9/2019 - 22/9/2019
Party: Torea Scott-Fyfe, Maddy Whittaker, Tom Hadley
Not quite knowing what to do with our weekend, Maddy and I did the classic “throw-gear-for-everything-in-the-car-and-head-for-the-mountains” and rolled up at Torea’s house around midnight. Turns out we were both tired and Torea was tipsy, so not knowing what to do, we went to sleep. We woke the next morning and after handling a Grade 5 faff situation, we embarked on the ambitious trip of fastpacking the whole Rees-Dart in one go (which Maddy had done before in 3 days). We started off running up the Rees river at 11am. We were all feeling light and speedy, moving consistently through the beech trees and popping out into the expansive valley. Approaching the top of the valley (4 hours in) we encountered a bit of an obstacle. Seeing as it was September, there was a lot of snow. The next hour or so saw us cover ground a lot slower through waist deep snow, getting us pretty cold and knackered.
At the top, the path up to the pass was a fairly steep face of firm snow. Luckily, we came prepared. We pulled out the old reliable OUTC steel crampons, strapped them onto our trail runners and we were ready to go. We made rapid work of the steeper snow and spent the next few hours, moving quickly through snowy valleys, crossing freezing streams and dropping below the snow line just as the sun set. Despite passing frequent huts, the grind continued. We knuckled down, put on a layer and started ticking off the k’s down the Dart river. After a long night on the feet we emerged at the road end. Me to Torea: “What time do you reckon it is? Maybe like 2am?” Maddy: “Guys it’s almost 5”. Ah well. After 17.5 hours on the feet we crashed on Torea’s floor as the sun rose. We only woke after Rowan came into the house and had finished making a cup of tea. Epic days. Weehoo.
Party: Torea Scott-Fyfe, Maddy Whittaker, Tom Hadley
Not quite knowing what to do with our weekend, Maddy and I did the classic “throw-gear-for-everything-in-the-car-and-head-for-the-mountains” and rolled up at Torea’s house around midnight. Turns out we were both tired and Torea was tipsy, so not knowing what to do, we went to sleep. We woke the next morning and after handling a Grade 5 faff situation, we embarked on the ambitious trip of fastpacking the whole Rees-Dart in one go (which Maddy had done before in 3 days). We started off running up the Rees river at 11am. We were all feeling light and speedy, moving consistently through the beech trees and popping out into the expansive valley. Approaching the top of the valley (4 hours in) we encountered a bit of an obstacle. Seeing as it was September, there was a lot of snow. The next hour or so saw us cover ground a lot slower through waist deep snow, getting us pretty cold and knackered.
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| Maddy and Torea flying up the Rees Valley (Tom Hadley) |
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| Tom plugging (Maddy Whittaker) |
At the top, the path up to the pass was a fairly steep face of firm snow. Luckily, we came prepared. We pulled out the old reliable OUTC steel crampons, strapped them onto our trail runners and we were ready to go. We made rapid work of the steeper snow and spent the next few hours, moving quickly through snowy valleys, crossing freezing streams and dropping below the snow line just as the sun set. Despite passing frequent huts, the grind continued. We knuckled down, put on a layer and started ticking off the k’s down the Dart river. After a long night on the feet we emerged at the road end. Me to Torea: “What time do you reckon it is? Maybe like 2am?” Maddy: “Guys it’s almost 5”. Ah well. After 17.5 hours on the feet we crashed on Torea’s floor as the sun rose. We only woke after Rowan came into the house and had finished making a cup of tea. Epic days. Weehoo.
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| The trusty OUTC steel crampons (Maddy Whittaker) |
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| The route up to the pass (Maddy Whittaker) |
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| The team in the Dart (Maddy Whittaker) |
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| Tom and Torea wondering what time it is (Maddy Whittaker) |
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