Exploring the Tasman Glacier

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27/8/2019 - 1/9/2019
Party: Tanja De Wilde, James Waetford, Torea Scott-Fyfe, Maddy Whittaker, Tom Hadley




A collection of memories from a mind blowing place 

Driving through rain, stars, excitement and New Zealand. 
Sitting in the van drinking tea with new friends, preparing for missions ahead. 
Driving through iced puddles, anticipation and clearance both high enough.
Looking over the moraine in the morning light, seeing mountains carved by a turbulent yet sluggish river of ice. 

Onto the ice, flanked by tumbling ice falls and towering mountains, we felt small as we traveled against the glacier's flow. 
In the dark we plugged ahead, is it a star, is it a hut, I didn’t know. We moved past the light, threading our way through dimples of snow. 
Water bottles frozen, feeling light headed, feet and shoulders sore. Strange tracks in the snow guided us ever closer with each step. 
Finally a red box materialised out of the darkness, sleep came easy. 

Walking up the white slopes, snowshoes carving up the hillside. We crested the soft saddle which opened up to boggling views of endless peaks. 
Down the Tasman and up the Darwin we went, just as dawn was breaking, pink light flooded the peaks ahead. 
The Darwin was cold, intimate and swirled with spindrift. 
We pushed up the snow slope, steep and exciting before topping out onto a tight saddle. Up on the high point, we looked around, overwhelmed by mountains. 
And then we found ice caves, deep drippy cathedrals, blue and translucent, we walked through labyrinths of water. Arriving back at sunset, watching endless stars, painted across the inky sky.

Life feels a bit strange back on earth.


Aoraki (Mt Cook) from Tasman Saddle Hut (Maddy Whitttaker)


Seracs on the Tasman Glacier seen from Tasman Saddle Hut (Maddy Whittaker)


Snow blowing over the ridge near Tasman Saddle (Maddy Whittaker)


James excavating the kitchen window (Maddy Whittaker)


James, Tanja and Tom below Mt Elie De Beaumont (Maddy Whittaker)


James ice climbing on a serac, Hochstetter Dome behind (Maddy Whittaker)


Tasman Saddle Hut (Maddy Whittaker)


"Let's whack it" (Tom Hadley)


Hochstetter Dome (Maddy Whittaker)

Walking in to Tasman Saddle Hut


Exploring the Darwin Glacier


Exploring on Hochstetter Dome and Elie de Beaumont

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