The West Coast Névés: A Hard Earned Battle on Foot!

The West Coast Névés (Lottie Armstrong)

Party: Maddy Whittaker, Imogen van Pierce, Lottie Armstrong, Jamie Gardner, Rebecca Vella King and Conor Vaessen

Times are certainly changing. It turns out walking from the Fox Township up the Fox Glacier to Pioneer Hut is not what it used to be! On Waitangi Day, six of us set off from the township and 14 hours later arrived at Chancellor Hut, the first day of our four day trip on the West Coast névés. The crux of the entire trip was getting to the start of the actual Fox Glacier - the point where not all that long ago a road used to go to. Now the road has been claimed by the river which runs hard against a series of bluffs - which involve hundreds of metres of vertical bush bashing to get around including a rock chimney in the forest and some pack hoisting.


It is certainly an inspiring country. From the swift opaque waters full of chunks of ice in the rivers to the constant rockfall around the glacier - there is no part of this land that is not immensely dynamic. We are very thankful for Rob Frost's beta, which was super useful especially when gaining the chancellor shelf in the dark and mist with maps that no longer accurately represent the changing land. (See bottom of blog entry for his beta and our route map)

Lottie's packing problem (Jamie Gardner)

Where there used to be a road (Lottie Armstrong)

There was a smattering of signs, pipes and once functional road infrastructure in amongst the silt (Maddy Whittaker)

Imogen in the chimney (Conor Vaessen) 

Lottie descending steep and slippery bush (Conor Vaessen)

Maddy sinking up to her waist in quicksand (Imogen Van Pierce)

Imo, Maddy and Conor boulder bashing up the Fox (Jamie Gardner)

Rebecca and Lottie navigate big boulders in the Fox Glacier moraine (Maddy Whittaker)

We reached the Fox Glacier moraine at 4pm. From there the travel increased rapidly in pace. Suicide Alley was not too scary despite it's intimidating name. As a result of glacial recession, it does not resemble much of an alley anymore. The choss we ascended to gain the Chancellor Ridge was worse than Suicide Alley.

Fox Glacier moraine (Maddy Whittaker)

Becca approaching Suicide Alley (Maddy Whittaker)

Big glacier, little people (Jamie Gardner)

Mesmerising shades of blue (Maddy Whittaker)

Sunset over the fox (Conor Vaessen)

As we gained the track on Chancellor Ridge, some of the party began to slow. Camping was suggested. I looked around in the 2m of visibility at the horrendous and soaked scrub. Camping in that would not be fun. The hut was just over an hour away now, we turned our head torches on full beam, desperate to find another marker -  a form of concrete encouragement for the few who were fading out.
"I can see another marker, just over there."
And so it continued, a game of finding the next marker (often hidden or just an old metal pole in the tall scrub) and calling it out to those at the back.
Slowly we progressed through the mist. A beautiful bed drawing ever nearer.

We arrived at Chancellor Hut at 11pm, just as the clag cleared, the stars came out and the glacier began to glow in the moonlight. A sleepy guide emerged from the hut and looked at us with an expression of utmost confusion.

Guide: "Where did you come from?"

Me: "We just walked here."

Guide: "Oh from the glacier?"

Me: "Nah from the township."

Guide: "The WHAT? Y'all are mad."


We all slept well that night.

Imogen using the fixed rope to descend from Chancellor Ridge onto the Fox Glacier (Maddy Whittaker)

More small people, same large glacier (Maddy Whittaker)

Lottie scrambling up the Upper Fox Glacier (Jamie Gardner)

The remaining three days of the trip unveiled the incredible magic that is to be found on the West Coast névés. The kind of trip that is filled with "this is why we do it" moments. Immense glaciers. Captivating peaks. And of course, overlooking everything - Tasman. We walked in the baking glacier sun towards it, mesmerised.

Lottie, Imogen and Conor walking towards Tasman (Jamie Gardner)

Becca and Maddy with one of the many delightfully big slots (Jamie Gardner)

At one point, suddenly the snow gave way below my feet and I fell in up to my waist in a crevasse, my pack catching behind me. I looked down and saw a beautiful deep blue abyss below. Pulling myself out I noticed a bit of a scratch from the serrated icy edge of the hole. Later it would develop into a blossoming bruise that remained for weeks!

Bruise 3 weeks post-trip!

We camped by the Buttress on Tasman. Jamie, Conor and I got up early and attempted Lendenfeld. In the dark we found ourselves trapped metres from the top of a maze of crevasses and had to backtrack significantly to find a way up.  Due to incoming weather and solid blue ice, we turned around on Marcel Col, but not before enjoying views of Aoraki and the Grand Plateau. As we retreated back to camp, it begun to snow heavily, icicles forming on our eyebrows.

Imogen, Becca and Jamie, The Buttress of Tasman behind (Lottie Armstrong)

Conor climbing through the ice fall (Maddy Whittaker)

Jamie and Maddy approaching Marcel Col (Conor Vaessen)

Maddy climbing towards Lendenfeld (Jamie Gardner)

Maddy on Marcel Col, Aoraki and the Grand Plateau behind (Conor Vaessen)

Returning to camp in a whiteout (Jamie Gardner)

"The tents!" It was a cry of delight from Conor as they emerged metres away in the clag. Lottie, Becca and Imo hadn't left the tent that morning. Soaked and frosty, wearing all our layers, we crowded back into the tent. There is something about a yellow tent that is deeply warming.

Wehooo we found the tents! We arrived to find the ashy snow covered in fresh snow! (Jamie Gardner)

In the clag we continued on. It cleared briefly to give us one last glimpse of Pioneer Hut and the full névé, now more beautiful than before, the fresh snowfall from that morning hiding the ashy stains from the Australian bush fires.

We dropped into from Garnier Peak to the Mascarin Glacier down an eternal moraine wall. We zigged as a six across the wall in the mist, and then zagged, back and forth for hundreds of metres, being careful not to knock rocks down on each other.

The Boyd is something else. One of that isolated valleys that feels like no one has ever been there. With towering walls of choss on either side of the valley, we were careful to pick a camp spot in the moraine that was safe from rockfall. To do so required crossing the river. We found a place to jump between two boulders.

The next morning those boulders were cloaked with ice, rendering them impossible to use. The opaque water rushed past, chunks of ice in it. We found another spot to jump. It was a big gap. Jamie and Conor cleared it with ease and shuttled our packs. I stood on the edge and looked across at Jamie.
"Don't worry I'll catch you!"
And he did.

Moraine, moraine and more moraine (Jamie Gardner)

Maddy in the upper Boyd, a place which feels like no one else has ever been there (Jamie Gardner)

We made our way back to the Fox Township by gaining and traversing the Fox Range. This was an awesome route, with breathtaking views of where we'd just been. It also made the trip into a satisfying loop with almost every type of terrain imaginable! It was truly one of those trips that fills you up long after you've left the hills. Beautiful people and beautiful places.

View of Tasman and Aoraki from the Fox Range (Maddy Whittaker)

Jamie drinking from a small trickle of snowmelt on a waterless Fox Range (Maddy Whittaker)

We got out to Fox at 7:30pm on the Sunday, and caught up briefly with Rob on our way out of town. I had a field trip leaving Dunedin at 8am the next morning. And so the driving marathon began, with Jamie, Conor and I taking shifts through the night until we arrived back in Dunedin at 4am. What a great way to end the summer holidays.

Rob Frost's incredible beta